I got another credit on my belt/resume as I worked on a short production two weeks ago. It's been awhile since I've been mostly concentrating on getting into post production, rather than hauling c-stands.

The 13 hour posting said it was a NYU production, but it also mentioned cash payment. So I shoot my resume over an email, and I was working on the borrowed apartment set on following day. The writer/director/producer was a MFA from Stanford who was taking a film course at NYU over the summer. (I didn't know NYU offered a summer production course.) He was taking advantage of the school facility & equipments to make his short, shot in 16mm. Shooting a film is a notch up and an expensive endeavor in the days of DV and digital world today. Since he paid people, I was there, a pro grip/electric guy, a AC guy showed up, and few more PAs who just got out of (film) schools. I learned and relearned few tricks and tips from those guys.

We shot over two hottest days of the summer where temperture would rise as high as 100 degree OUTSIDE, and higher inside because of people crammed in a small space and lighting. And we had to turn off air-conditioners for the duration of shoots for the sound. Fortunately, DP used mainly Kinos which were easy to deploy and dissipated less heat than other lights. Shot mostly in WHITE wall apartment, I was afraid that the background would be little dull, but it was least of my concern.

The director had a shot list, thank god, but he didn't have either storyboard or camera blocking. He borrowed the apartment for a week, yet he could've blocked the shots and made a digital camera storyboard easily in a day with his DP. This may be just me and myself, but I believe pre-visualization is the most important part of filmmaking. Legendary Spielberg shoots fast and under-budget because he is thorough with pre-viz before the actual production. That's how he squeezed "War of Worlds" into his schedule along with Tom. In visual oriented medium like film, it is imperative that the director speaks visually with his a)storyboard, b)shot list, and c)blocking, so that production team work without second-guessing the director/DP. If you deliver picture fast and under-budget, you will be guaranteed to make more films.

The story called for a kid, and I was wrangling him most of the time if I wasn't busy with production work. Kids and animals big hassles in a production, but the kid behaved well and followed direction well since he was already a veteran in commericals, since his diaper commerical period. He apparently made enough money to afford every gaming console out in the market now and enough games to kill his time between takes. I've talked with his mom about his career and his interests in games during lunch break. Apparently every model wants to move into film world so that they would be more than just a face, and have a longer career. Commercial experience enabled them to earn money with an exposure and an industry connections. Not that ALL models can do that, but by default, they are photogenic, and with some proven acting chops, they can move up faster. Just look at Cameron Diaz or Charlie Theron. Hollywood can't get enough of pretty faces.

Anyhow, in the end, I got paid enough to cover my rent, met new interesting people, got another credit to my glowing/growing resume, and I discovered parts of New York that lent beautifully to the cinematic background. Taking a camera outside was akin to taking a newborn baby outside with fresh perspective on just about everything out there. In a way, each film production is like a birth, rearing a baby that offers a fresh perspective on human life and its conditions, and sharing that experience with people.