Working on a movie is a pretty cool thing. I'm meeting people that worked with Stallone on Rambo. I'm surrounded by creative minds and problem solvers. I'm making friends from another part of the world.
And it's exciting!
The other day a coworker was bit by a monkey. I watched an elephant put a bomb on a truck. I rode a rubber raft to set one night in the dark because it was the only way to get there. Oh, and the food on set is spectacular.
Then there's the other side. I'm staying in a shitty hotel fill of mosquitos (mosquitoes?). I've officially eaten too much rice. I'm done with rice. Fuck rice. I'm stuck in a small, hot room 12 hours per day doing something don't particularly enjoy.
I'm calling that last bit "paying my dues" for the moment. But I'm not meant to be someone's assistant. I resent being told to call someone and get information about things when there's a phone sitting beside that person. I resent catering to their strange requests solely on the basis that I "might learn something" because they've got more experience than me. Don't get me wrong, I've learned a lot but I hate feeling like I'm someone servant. Its a mental thing, a bizarre mistrust and dislike for authority. Maybe I'll get over it one day, but probably not.
On the plus, I'm headed to Laos in 5 days. Never been to Laos... let's see what happens.
L
Showing posts with label editing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label editing. Show all posts
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Monday, October 3, 2011
Making movies - Freelance work
Here's an interesting thing about freelance work in art. A lot of the time you work alone. Hell, MOST of the time you work alone. The meetings, consultations and all that jazz take up only a small percentage of your time, its the actual production, where you roll up your sleeves and get things done where you spend the bulk of your time.
Here's an example. Take my upcoming job editing "The Fence" a short film a friend is producing. I will no doubt spend about 40 hours in the editing suite getting this done. The first 5 will just be organisational. They're shooting RED so I'm sure they will have overshot the hell out of everything. So I'll have to go through and pick out the usable takes, get rid of slates and end cuts.
The time actually working with the director and producer on this project will be quite minimal, until we get to the end of the edit. After that we will be living together for the next 30 hours or so hammering out the little details. Which take should we use to show the little boy's reaction. How many frames should we sit on that reaction before the cut. Which direction do we grade...etc etc.?
Happily I'm working with a team of editors during this project. We are all regular FCP users who are simultaneously learning Avid and have decided to work together to help each other grow as editors. This should be a fun, yet frustrating experience.
Another project I'm doing for the fence is creating a children's book as a prop. I sat down with the director, over the course of a few meetings, for about an hour, hashing out ideas. Now that we know what we want, I have to create it, which involves actually painting in the studio for several hours creating this book, then bringing that work into the computer digitally, fixing it up and sending, adding the text and creating a version for the print shop to produce the final product for us.
Working alone can have serious pitfalls that can slow down or even stop your workflow in its tracks. You need to have constant communication with your client. Missed communication can mean spending hours on an idea they didn't necessarily want, or is fundamentally flawed over some small detail. Sometimes this is just the product of the creative mind expanding on an already great idea. Other times it is a simple misunderstanding of the facts.
Lack of communication can mean waiting for important details that will allow you to move forward. Downtime is expensive. It can also mean not being privy to changes in a project. Often the off site supplier is forgotten in the decision making process when they can provide valuable information that may sway a decision one way or another.
Freelance work is a great way to earn a buck. You need to be disciplined, smart and open to alot of new ideas. The key creating a good working relationship with your clients, especially if much of your work will be off site and solo, is to keep the channels of communication open. Having those channels closed can be time consuming and costly.
Here's an example. Take my upcoming job editing "The Fence" a short film a friend is producing. I will no doubt spend about 40 hours in the editing suite getting this done. The first 5 will just be organisational. They're shooting RED so I'm sure they will have overshot the hell out of everything. So I'll have to go through and pick out the usable takes, get rid of slates and end cuts.
The time actually working with the director and producer on this project will be quite minimal, until we get to the end of the edit. After that we will be living together for the next 30 hours or so hammering out the little details. Which take should we use to show the little boy's reaction. How many frames should we sit on that reaction before the cut. Which direction do we grade...etc etc.?
Happily I'm working with a team of editors during this project. We are all regular FCP users who are simultaneously learning Avid and have decided to work together to help each other grow as editors. This should be a fun, yet frustrating experience.
Another project I'm doing for the fence is creating a children's book as a prop. I sat down with the director, over the course of a few meetings, for about an hour, hashing out ideas. Now that we know what we want, I have to create it, which involves actually painting in the studio for several hours creating this book, then bringing that work into the computer digitally, fixing it up and sending, adding the text and creating a version for the print shop to produce the final product for us.
Working alone can have serious pitfalls that can slow down or even stop your workflow in its tracks. You need to have constant communication with your client. Missed communication can mean spending hours on an idea they didn't necessarily want, or is fundamentally flawed over some small detail. Sometimes this is just the product of the creative mind expanding on an already great idea. Other times it is a simple misunderstanding of the facts.
Lack of communication can mean waiting for important details that will allow you to move forward. Downtime is expensive. It can also mean not being privy to changes in a project. Often the off site supplier is forgotten in the decision making process when they can provide valuable information that may sway a decision one way or another.
Freelance work is a great way to earn a buck. You need to be disciplined, smart and open to alot of new ideas. The key creating a good working relationship with your clients, especially if much of your work will be off site and solo, is to keep the channels of communication open. Having those channels closed can be time consuming and costly.
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