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Valentine’s Day Weekend Make A Film in a Day: Behind-the-Scenes Production Assistant Log

February 17, 2015 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Who will be joining us as guests for our Top 3 Badasses of Spring? Two of the three badasses will appear in our March educational reports. Actress Tricia Hakenwerth and Director of Photography Leo Tutor. Where can you find our third nominee? On the set and leading the company she was born to run. Badass #3 is Producer/Director Elena Altman, founder of the film production nonprofit: MMTB. Readers are encouraged to find out for themselves what makes local indie producers/directors unique and so we’re staying mum.

Where did SmartyGirlLeadership meet these digital shorts badasses? At badass Make a Film in a Day during Valentine’s Day weekend.

The proofreader only allows badass to be used as a noun twice and adjective once per article so this reporter will change to another descriptor.

How many film races have our Editors done? Three so far: one with Team Tacoma of the Seattle 48 Hour Film Project, another with Director Quan Zhang of UC Berkeley, and Make a Film Day led by MMTB’s Elena Altman.

We Editors would not ask our Readers to do anything that we aren’t willing to do ourselves. Write a novel in one month? Yep, did NANOWRIMO. Seasonal Fitness Challenge? Absolutely, did the Eagal Lakes Run. Digital Shorts for film festivals? Right here beside you. We are in your corner so why not video reply on our YouTube Channel, post your portfolio link and share your Vimeos with us on our SGL Facebook. The “solitary” artist has a league of friends.

Churro Waffles

Photo Credit: Six Sisters’ Stuff Churro Waffles

3 Fun Facts about the Valentine’s Day Make a Film in a Day Potluck

  1. Cheetos and churro-waffle-donuts are the new food of love. Conversation hearts? Nah.
  2. Sports Videographers, including one who regularly covers the World Cup, went undercover as Production Assistant
  3. Bi-lingual Spanish/English Writers were awesomely funny in any language when such SmartyFellas double as Sound Operators pulling pranks on the set with the “dead cat” (wind dampener)

3 Fast Facts Social Intelligence Emotional Intelligence

  1. Notice the Fast Facts shrunk from 10 to just 3 compared to the 48 Hour Film Project educational report? That’s what happens at a 10 A.M. to 7 P.M. film race. Time compresses everything from building rapport to learning equipment. Be ready for that agility mentally.
  2. Tension is higher than on the set of the 48 hour shooting and editing schedule. Why? Because brilliant people have strong opinions and racing the sun adds heat to such personalities.
  3. Let go of ego and stay positive as Production Assistant because you are as much “on camera” as anyone else. The behind-the-scenes word of mouth will spread across social media networks and at mixers if you are a douche to anyone.

4 Technical Tips

  1. Leave your camera and tripod at home if you are in a non-camera role as Production Assistant. Too much equipment clutters foot traffic areas. Space and time is at a premium.
  2. Go lean as Production Assistant. Bring your survival minimum in your PA kit. This can mean Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in a vest of bandolier instead of a full backpack. Unless you are filling that backpack with water for yourself and crew.  Think about photojournalist Laina Dawes advice about live concerts in the heavy metal pit: don’t take up much space.
  3. Anticipate clogged toilets so be ready to bring hand sanitizer in case you must take care of plumbing. Rectangular packets of facial tissue work well as toilet tissue too.
  4. Show initiative. If you have special skills such as fight choreography, speak up. Believe it or not, Israeli Martial Arts training came in handy for one PA who could contribute to a scene to avoid stereotypes of a “girl catfight”.

“Spidey Sense” for Subterranean Documentaries: An Interview with Biologist Niall Doran

October 11, 2014 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

In horror movies, the plucking of string instruments usually signals the crawling of spiders onto someone with arachnophobia. In contrast, imagine a group of camera operators pursuing spiders into the dark for a documentary.

Niall Doran Documentary 16L

Photo Credit: Joe Shemesh Bookend trust Dr. Niall Doran

SGL (Media) met via Skype with Biologist Niall Doran of Tasmania last week. Dr. Doran is working with Bookend Trust and celebrity Neil Gaiman. Here Dr. Niall Doran answers  our readership questions about filmmaking, camera hacks for corrosive environments and adventure.

SmartyGirls and SmartyFellas are partnering with Niall Doran from now to Halloween to assist in raising $100,000 towards his awesome-face research.

What did the research require? 19 hours underground with little light and lots of damp and cold. Repeat for 30 days. Then repeat again for 90 days. Continue for 2 years.

Fun fact? 6 P.M. Pacific Standard Time (PST) in North America is before noon in Tasmania.

Why is SGL partnering with spider documentaries this season? To encourage art, science and filmmaking. As a thought-starter for those considering lifetime career  in science for the environment.

1. In what way can my blog and social media partners assist you with Sixteen legs? Do you hope for more likes? Donations?
We’re definitely happy with more likes/followers, either via Twitter (@BookendTrust) or our Facebook page , and we’re also after schools, teachers and students from around the globe to look at what we’re doing and to be a part of our general education programs – either online, or through touring of our exhibitions and other materials. But at its heart, this current campaign is really about fundraising. Bookend began with a small group of people putting their own money into this work because we believe it’s important to inspire the next generation. We’ve been running this work for a long time now, but this current project (Sixteen Legs) is a bit more than we can manage just on our own!

2. My audience includes filmmakers who are curious what types of gear was used for the shoots in the dark and in water. Tell me how you dealt with conditions. 
Given the challenges involved in getting the footage (spiders not liking light or heat, cameras not liking wet & corrosive conditions, and crew not liking extended periods in dangerous dark places) we decided to film at the best resolution available at the time, so that we wouldn’t have to go back to do it all again. The best available at the time was digital 5K with a Red Epic camera, which in turn put limitations on the rock crevices we could access and the focal distances we could work with. Depending on how much background your audience wants on the film-making challenges, here’s some extra info:

(i) A sneak peek at some excerpts from the behind-the-scenes doco, where our DOP discusses the choice of cameras.
(ii) And in much more detail, here’s a link to an article that was run in Australian Cinematographer on
the challenges of the filming

 

3. How long is your campaign: 6 weeks? We’d like to assist from now to October 31st.

That’s fantastic – any help getting a good response before the end of the month would be greatly appreciated. We’re planning to run the fundraiser to the end of November, although we will need to close off on some items before then so we can get the books printed and delivered before Christmas. That’s especially so for the Deluxe book option, in which people get the books signed by the contributors (including Neil Gaiman) and their name printed inside the book.

Other comments:

At its heart this a quirky, fun and slightly creepy story about giant prehistoric spiders seeking love in the dark. They grow to the size of a dinner-plate and they are still living in the caves of Tasmania. They have a legspan of 18cm (7 inches), and webs that can be six feet or more across. They live in some of Australia’s biggest and deepest caves, and they are of high scientific interest globally as their story spans at least 200 million years. They are survivors from the first age of the dinosaurs; they predate the splitting of the continents when Antarctica, South America and Australia separated (their closest relatives are in Chile and Argentina); they appeared at a crucial junction in global spider evolution; and they have endured throughout the entirety of human civilisation.

Everything about them breaks the usual spider rules: they have complicated and very kinky love lives, they build highly structured egg-sacs that are much more complicated than those of other spiders, the young take longer to merge than other spiders (9 months! instead of 6-8 weeks), and they live for decades (instead of 2-3 years). We’ve pieced together the spider’s life history through 23 years of scientific research, and we have just captured the key facets of all this via 2 years of documentary filming.

By sticking a camera crew underground for months at a time, we’ve finally captured their lifecycle on film, in glorious 5K resolution, and we’re working with best-selling international author Neil Gaiman (Coraline, Sandman, Doctor Who) on a documentary that not only presents the science, but has a ‘dark fairytale’ rendition of the science woven through it. This was recently showcased to an audience of global broadcasters in France as one of only 7 ‘in production’ natural history documentaries selected from around the globe. The main “Sixteen Legs” documentary won’t be finished until next year, but a shorter piece on what it took to film the spiders (“16 Legs: Spider Love”) has just been selected as a finalist at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Canada, where it will screen in November. It will also be shown in a dual world premiere at the Breath of Fresh Air (BOFA) Film Festival in Australia on the same day (November 9 – both hemispheres on the same day).

We’ve also recently held an exhibition about the filming, complete with 18 foot (!) replicas of the spiders, and there’s a whole range of educational work we’ve been doing on this topic – see http://www.bookendtrust.com/caves for how the whole educational side fits together.

Why are we doing this? We run an education charity called the Bookend Trust, and the successful exposure of this documentary will both promote and support our work. The short version of our mission statement is to “inspire students with the careers they can build making the world a better place”. We started this work as a self-funded group of individuals with backgrounds in science (many of us biologists). Bookend was initially funded through my long service leave and equity on my house. We now draw income from a range of sources, including working as consultants, incoming grants and donations, business sponsorships, and the development of documentary content. The range of projects we run with students has grown dramatically, and although we are based in Tasmania we have participating schools across Australia and around the globe.

A video snapshot of Bookend’s work

Overview of all our projects

We’re not using a typical crowd-funding approach to this project, as the books and other rewards will be available irrespective of the funds raised. However, the fundraising target – if reached – will release an extra reward for one lucky contibutor, and that’s the trip to Tasmania. It’s an opportunity to get to a fantastic far away place with Neil Gaiman, at a time when the exchange rate is good and supporters from the northern hemisphere would be trading winter for summer. The winner will see fantastic behind-the-scenes work with endangered and unusual animals in Tasmania, as well as cultural experiences (such as the world-famous MONA Museum and associated Festivals) and the opportunity to be a part of the filming of Sixteen Legs.

Where to donate/buy fundraising rewards:

www.sixteenlegs.com

2014 Banff Mountain Film Festival Finalist – Sixteen Legs
2014 Official International Pitch Selection – Sunny Side of the Doc international market, France

Seven Questions For An Actor: Interview with Alex Hager of Seattle Part 2 of 2 for 48 Hour Film Project

August 17, 2014 by Tabby Constantennia Leave a Comment

SmartyGirl Chasya Hill interviewed Actress Cami Okins, most recently seen in Seattle’s 48 Hour Film Project playing Cami “Heart Wants“, a road trip movie.

Did you try a few of the thoughtstarter questions from Ms. Okins list lately as small talk with film actors lately?

Not yet? Well, here are 7 more questions that actors are happy to answer and wish people would ask more often. We promised our readers a follow up to our digital shorts campaign, right? Comment below on the results of your DIY summer filmmaking.

Many thanks to SmartyGirl Tabora Constantennia for her phone interview with Actor Alex Hager, a co-star in “Heart Wants”.

Actor Seattle Alex Hager

Photo Credit: Actor Alex Hager

See below for SmartyGirl Tabora’s questions and SmartyFella Actor Alex Hager’s replies paraphrased by our guest reporter.

1 What got you started into acting?

From the ages from 9 to the present at 18 Alex was involved with a computer company. One

of his chief responsibilities was to marketing, which he accomplished by web design, and web

based commercials distributed by social media outlets such as YouTube. Alex enjoyed producing

and acting in these commercials so much he decided to pursue them outside of his company.

Less than a month before we spoke, Alex had signed on to a talent agency, and was looking

forward to the new opportunities that would offer him.

2 What kinds of work have you done?

Alex focuses his activities to acting and modeling. He still creates and performs commercials for

his company, but he has also appeared in promotionals, commercials, and even a short film for

other companies as well.

3 What is your favorite assignment so far?

One of his first assignments was a promotional for Macys. His job was to dance to the music,

have fun, and hand out promotional items to people as they passed him and his colleagues.

He had a sense of feeling bad that he was being paid to party and have a blast, but definitely

NOT bad enough to reject the paycheck. That experience help encourage him to seek out more

opportunities.

4 What assignments do you enjoy most?

HAPPY ONES!

Alex has an amiable and upbeat personality, and enjoys doing and working in situations that

highlight this characteristic.

But like most actors, he has no intention of limiting himself. Playing personas that extremely

different from his personality and/or that entail intriguing complexities fascinates him,

and presents areas of growth that he is ready to tackle. He would particularly enjoy a role

that would display a person as he journeyed through the struggles and adversities the plot

presented, and give him the opportunities of acting out large varieties of emotions and

responses. But of course, he would not snub any role if the only emotions and responses the

plot afforded were hurtling through the air, or narrowly dodging the bullets and/or fists of a

high action movie with special effects. In fact, to him “that would be SO COOL!”

5 What are your current short term goals for your acting/model stint?

At 18 Alex has deliberately delayed attending college. Knowing that both endeavors require

a lot of time and hard work he has decided to give his attention to acting and model, and

concentrate on developing his skill in this area. He sees his youth, energy, as well as a lack

of any pressing obligations as an excellent reason to take the risk of trying a career in acting

now. College is something he believes can be done at any time, but he may not get such a great

opportunity to act or model again.

6 What are some questions you wish people would ask you about your 

acting and modeling experiences?

Alex has two that readily come to mind.

1) Tell me about your first acting/modeling experience?

Remembering his own experiences, he is sure that would bring interesting insights, if not

humorous anecdotes to the conversation.

2) What was your most difficult experience?

Most people love explaining how they conquered the wiles of life with success. For Alex,

that came in the form of a commercial he did as part of his original company. He had to

complete the commercial within a very short time period. But the day of the performance,

it was VERY hot, and the facility has no air conditioning. Fortunately he and the equipment

survived intact.

7 What is your ultimate goal for this acting/modeling season of your life?

Right Alex is learning the complexities of the acting/modeling world as well as enjoying and

improving himself with each assignment. But he see an excellent opportunity to maximize his

positive amiableness would be in the role of a game show host, where he could foster humor

and spirited interaction among celebrities and/or the ordinary participants. He did not specify

which game show, or what type. But we agreed that should quidditch, the broom flying strategy

game made popular by the Harry Potter franchise, should ever appear in a televised game show

format, we would both anxiously look forward to having him audition for the presenter spot.

 

SF Renaissance Faire Tabora Constantennia

Photo Credit: SF Ren Faire Tabora Constantennia

SmartyGirl Tabora Constantennia is a podcaster for “T is for Tabby” in Northern California and graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her killer homemade green tea ice cream sweetened with honey is a staff favorite at SGL Media. If you liked her summer reporting here and for last summer’s MakerFaire, then visit us again.

Seattle 48 Hour Film Project: Behind-the-Scenes Assistant Camera Operator Log

August 3, 2014 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

Yoda E.T.

Photo Credit: All You Need is Love by Zed1 via Laughing Squid

Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol participated in the @Seattle48HFP with Team Tacoma as Assistant Camera Operator under the leadership of Writer/Director/Producer Serena Berry, Assistant Director Christine Brewer and DP Victor Antonio Labarthe. The image above captures how she feels for her peers after this marathon weekend.

Fist-bump to her Palo Alto Media Center producer and crew buddies in California too who trained her for this event out-of-state.  She misses you all.

We promised that we would be right by the side of our readers in digital shorts production this summer, right? That means we also  communal living room campout and stand out in the sun for hours. Hot tub victory soak? Of course!

We are so proud of you movie-making SmartyGirls and SmartyFellas. Please comment below. Make sure you video reply to our YouTube Channel post.

3 Fun Facts

SmartyFella Victor Antonio Labarthe was born in Southern California but lived in Lima, Peru. His past work includes lighting for award-winning documentary “Maikaru”

SmartyFella Greyson Boevers hosts the YouTube channel “No Rest for the Caffeinated” when he’s not writing poetry, music, or science fiction. You might catch this gaffer on a Star Wars Chewbacca longboard (skateboard) catching moving-car-shots while wearing a GoPro strapped to his chest.

SmartyFella Patrick Rodriquez does landscape photography in Seattle.

Film Race Seattle

Photo Credit: Jennifer Faulkerson Patrick Rodriguez on “Heart Wants” set

Yep. This is just a sample of the awesomeness of the past 48 hours.

 

10 Emotional Intelligence/Social Intelligence Fast Facts about Your First Seattle 48 Hour Film Race

1. Offer bartering to couchsurf at headquarters the evening when the script is written

2. Be on best houseguest behavior

3. Reach out to professionals your junior and your senior

4. Watch to know when to speak on the set

5. Trust but verify that your leader knows your strengths and limitations

6. Mingle and leave a favorable memory

7. Study nonverbal signals

8. Cut the tension when conflicts arise but be yourself

9. Accept what you can’t control

10. Count on developing strong professional crushes of mutual temporary mentorship

Simply conserve your energy and do not be an energy drain on others. This is a top 3 priority when participating in an athletic/creative/technical event such as this. Stingers (i.e. extension cords), power strips for outlets, and battery charging cradles need to stay charged and so do all humans on the team, right? Shorten the distance you must travel so you can use your concentration for being the best you can be with unfamiliar technical equipment instead of road hazards.

Do not add to the pressure on others. Hum a song to yourself. Whisper entertaining small talk. Be a listener. Find whimsy that is not distracting to others.

Go outside of your comfort zone and join conversations outside of your subject matter expertise. Rotate and socialize with each department of the team. Listen to actors. Hear the challenges of leadership. Give a high five to production assistants. You will be rewarded. For example, our Editor Renee learned about the humor that takes place on horror production sets and best practices for keeping youth actors from emotional trauma for scary scenes.

After the first two mistakes, you’ll know where to look and when to speak.

Just as we are unable to control the position of the sun in the sky, don’t get upset if your recommendations can’t be implemented. Watch how well others support the leadership and offer options respectfully. Timing is also key!

Director Camera Film

Photo Credit: DP Victor Antonio Labarthe Director Serena Berry and AC Renee Marchol

 

Don’t be afraid your professional admiration will be mistaken for romantic interest. Chatting while waiting is part of the job of an Assistant Camera Operator for the next setup on the shot list. It’s ok to chill and network with SmartyFellas and SmartyGirls. For instance, curious? Ask someone your junior. Young professionals are willing to get you up to speed on how to use a Star Wars longboard (skateboard) and chest strapped GoPro for additional trucking shots for outside-a-moving-car footage. Who knows? You might also find yourself partnering for future podcasts, award-winning documentaries, or growing YouTube channels.

Be very careful to avoid giving unsolicited and ignorant advice. Listen. Listen. Listen. What worked in the past for you may not apply. Different gear. Different time frame. Different mix of people talent. Avoid the S-word (should). Don’t describe a way of doing things as the “right” way. Never touch equipment belonging to someone without asking. Don’t be the handsy-douche who thinks he/she has all the answers.

Never pretend to know something you don’t. Fix it. Learn it. Need to look up how to set a certain manual mode on Canon T2i or Canon 7D? Find the most popular and well-rated tutorials on YouTube.

 

 

5 Technical Fast Facts about the Seattle 48 Hour Film Project

1. Ask the onsite expert during his/her downtime for a 10 minute demo

2. Sacrifice sleep to practice drills solo

3. Teach self to fill in education gaps

4. Same seats

5. Guard gear

Remember school bus field trips? Same seats reduced confusion and people left behind. Same goes for riding in carpools for equipment and people. Usually ride back with the same group you arrived with unless leadership says differently.

There are no porters (production assistants aren’t personal assistants).

Bring trolley cases for your gear. Wear a slim backpack. Our Editor used her beta-model Runnur hands-free carry all from her Las Vegas International CES roadtrip. (CEO Andrew Hamra, the red/black Runnur is still intact!)

Washington State has many individuals from the Armed Forces. This applies to creatives professionals such as actors. Treat your assigned camera as you would with any expensive and lethal equipment. Treat it right. Keep it clean. Know how to dissemble and reassemble it. Example? Editor Renee cut three hours off of her sleep time to practice drills, solo, with her assigned camera to support her team as competently and quickly as possible.

Visit again next week for guest blog posts from cast, crew and leadership for their behind-the-scenes log.

 

This was our Chief’s first film race with new coworkers in her new home: Washington State. Check out the road movie “Heart Wants” by Team Tacoma at the screening next week!

 

 

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