Brown Paper Bag was the first feature film I worked on in Los Angeles. It was an exciting experience and a lot of work.
The Parlour Room, Hollywood. The DP framing up the next shot while the Director is sitting in with one of the producers.
The 1st AC pulling focus.
The talent getting into character.
DP and 1st AC working with the Alexa mini.
The DP dialing in the next shot.
The director and 1st AC
The power of your network and contacts is priceless. Have you ever tried shooting a feature length film in a week?
"I was the plug on this project. I assembled the majority of the crew saving production thousands of dollars by utilizing my contacts."
Helping produce this feature was an exhilarating experience for me. After only living in LA for a couple months and networking with some crew members on a big production (America's Got Talent) that I worked on, I was presented an opportunity to help produce my first feature. The catch was if I knew anyone with a really nice camera and they could DP it. Fortunate enough for me I just finished shooting a music video with a colleague that went to the same film school as myself but never met in school but happened to just move to LA and we were connected through a mutual friend. Adam just moved to LA and helped me AC a music video I DP'd. He just purchased a brand new Arri Alexi Mini and was willing to DP the movie with his camera so I was able to get him on the project. By bringing Adam on I was also able to bring on the 1st AD, Production designer, the gaffer, the 1st AC, and a couple production assistants. I was the plug on this project. I assembled the majority of the crew saving production thousands of dollars by utilizing my contacts. Our production was a week long and everyone's pay was pennies on the dollar. You may ask why especially if we worked 12 plus hours a day for a week straight. The answer is simple... because everyone I brought on is passionate about their craft and everyone believes in me. Production was a little stressful at times. Even though I didn't have a creative say I had to facilitate and make sure the crew members I brought on were satisfied and taking care of. There was a couple times were I had to step in and make executive calls. One situation I would like to mention was after wrapping up day 5 we went over by 3 hours. We had an early call time the next morning and my crew was beat. The director wanted to shoot early but my crew was tired and wanted at least a full 8 hour turn around time. I had to call the higher ups and explain to them that my crew was exhausted and needed a solid 8 hour rest before returning to set the next day. After going back and fourth with the two executives in charge I was able to meet my crews demands and have the call time pushed back a couple hours. It's not what the director wanted but we still made it work. Making sure my crew was satisfied was very important to me throughout the production. If a crew member needing something I was there to make it happen.
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