A few years back I was asked by a local production company, One Twenty Nine Films, to scout for a Toyota car commercial to be shot here, in the Bay Area. They needed a location where they could put a car and a rig to suspend talent next to the car, like a genie. You know the kind…magical, floating genie. Yes, to be sure, reality is not an issue in this business.
Nick Seuser was the Executive Producer, Steven Condiotti was the DP, Christopher Knox was the Line Producer, Doug Freeman was art director and his daughter London Freeman was a PA....Strong team. I was excited to be on this job for sure. Half the fun is the crews you work with and when you have this kind of team on a job you know it will go well.
The shot needed to be on a hilltop overlooking the ocean. It needed to be flat, private and a big enough area to hold not only the car and rig for talent but also an entire crew of about 50 people. It would be a sunset shot.
This location was the big challenge for this project. I searched around my location database and found nothing even close to what they were asking for. The next step was to ask around my production community and once again, they saved me. Having a community of folks who you know that can help in instances where you’re looking for special things is extremely helpful. There was a hill overlooking a beautiful view with a large enough area that was flat and had access. The water company owned it and I proceeded to give them a call and start the permitting process. We were lucky because they were willing to play along.
We locked in our location and set the shoot day. Call sheets went out and everything was good to go. The day of the shoot arrives. Our call time was noon,so the sun was high in the sky when we got there.
The big challenge for the DP and the crew was that this was a sunset shot. So even though we arrived at noon to set up, we weren’t going to start shooting until around 8:30 that night. There was only a window of about 20 minutes when the light would be perfect. We also had huge HMI’s and they needed generators to power them. We had dolly track to build, makeup and wardrobe for the genies and a number of moving parts to build and then get them all working together to get the shots.
The crew was quite large when you add it up. And they all had cars or trucks that needed to be parked. It took me over an hour to park and one of the grips decided he could do a better job and started telling people where to park. I gently let him know that there was someone already doing that work (me, the location manager). He apologized and I understood that in the end he was just trying to help. But if I had not stopped him from trying to do my job, we could have fallen behind schedule quite easily. The load in is very important because if it’s delayed it can cost time — and time is always money.
We got everyone parked, unloaded, and the day went forward. But because the call time was noon what did that mean for anyone reading this call sheet? You can determine that the wrap will be in the dark. So, come to the set prepared. This is the time you will want that flashlight handy. Think about the tools you will need for these jobs.
The creative was to have a floating genie in front of a car and that’s what we did. It took some time to coordinate the camera move with the dolly and the rig holding the talent, but in the end they got a fantastic shot of two different genie’s selling the magical features of Toyota with an incredible sunset behind.
We started the wrap and 9:30p and wheels were up by 10:15p. I was the last one out of the area and we had to lock all the gates and make sure that we left it the same condition as we found it. This is very important. NO garbage or props left behind.
Usually the PA’s and location staff are the last ones off the set. Be prepared. I handed the PA the garbage of the day and their job was to go and find a supermarket or garbage bin to dump it. I had a very seasoned PA who had brought plastic covers to protect her car. Garbage smells so she was smart in bringing those bags. This is job no one likes but if you do it with a smile, you will be remembered and asked back.
Lessons from the Set
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need from your community. Lean on them and they can help you find resources or items if you’re in a bind.
Don’t do anyone’s job unless they ask you to do it. Keep to your lane. This is very important.
Always keep a cool head and be nice. – you’ll get good results with this approach.
Read the call sheet in ADVANCE of heading to the location – best to do this the day before.
Volunteer for garbage duty. Keep plastic bags in your car for protection. It’s a great way to be remembered for doing a dirty job with a smile and you’re prepared.
Vocab:
• Scout- this person commonly referred to as a location scout, finds different locations for the shoot.
• Rig- this is a word for any type of special machine built for a special effect. A generic term.
• Location database- Location scouts and managers will sometimes have a database with locations and contacts that can be accessed easily.
• Grips - Grips are the labor of the department. They put up the stands, build scaffolding, set up the C-stands, lay cabling for the lights, carry sandbags for the stands. They are truly the heavy lifters on the set.
• HMI- Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide, or HMI, is the trademark name of Osram's brand of ... Multi-kilowatt HMI lights are used in the film industry and for large-screen slide projection because of their daylight-balanced light output. They are big and they pull a lot of power.
• DP- Director of Photography, known as DP or DOP, is the person responsible for the “look” of the project. They paint with light, So they often tell the gaffer and key grip what’s needed, along with a camera operator. Sometimes the DOP can also operate the camera.
• Load in-This is the time when the trucks arrive, park and everyone loads into the set. It’s the most chaotic of times for a shoot.
• Dolly- A dolly is a rig that is a platform that sits in rail tracks or it could be just wheels. The camera sits on the platform and will “dolly” or move on the wheels or tracks.
• Call time- This is the time that the crew is to be on set. Not driving up or close to set, but at the set. Most professionals are early to the call time.
• Creative- This is a term used to describe the script or what the film is about.
• Garbage duty- Usually PA’s are given this final last task of the shoot. They are to find a place to “dump” the garbage for the day.
• Wheels up- Literally wheels up! That means in the trucks driving away.
