Problems on set. Somebody please tell me if it's normal

GeneralO'neill

GeneralO'neill

New member
I just recently got done shooting a 40 min film. This is the longest that i have ever done, and I also had the most problems during this one. Problems that ranged from actors going out of town without notice during shooting, to the buffet table being tipped over by clumsy crew on an outdoor location. Am I doing something wrong, or is this normal?
 
A show is a living, breathing thing. Your experience sounds like nothing out of the ordinary. You can chalk it up to skill, luck and the grace of God that you're done and nobody died.

Every show has its challenges and they all end eventually.

e
 
Curious questions, was your actor working for free? Chances are that's why they weren't as committed to the project as you were.

Rob
 
Everyone was working for free. I guess that there are those that act for money, and those that act for experiance and fun.
 
LOL. Perfectly normal--directing is an excercise in constant problem solving. Your backpocket should be stuffed with Plan B, because things large and small will go awry.
 
Is that all that happened. Wow, you lucked out and sounds like a great shoot. Every heard of an Irishman named Murphy? He's got a law named after him and in filmmaking, it is in effect 24/7. If something can go wrong, it will. Just be as prepared as possible (always have a plan B) and learn to go with the flow. Also, keep up your sense of humor.

Some of Murphy's antics on projects I've worked on include:

PA's digging a large hole in the ground, that an actor had to jump into, dug right into a buried horse, a decaying buried horse. Because of time constraints, had to use the hole. Most of the crew almost puked from the smell.

2nd AC, responsible for bring raw stock to location, left raw stock back at office (over 50 miles away).

Camera operator forgot his glasses. Whole days shoot was very soft.

Forty percent of camera original was scratched at the lab.

PA walked through a door-wall (sliding glass door) on the set.

Lead actress got sunburn on day off.

Actor got a hair cut.

Actress has asthma attack in middle of scene.

Wide angle adaptor knocked off front of camera.

Police showed up!!!

Guns malfunction. Guns malfunction. Guns malfunction. Oh, did I mention guns malfunction.

Car load of models, with costumes (for a fashion shoot) were turned back at the border by Canadian customs. Something about work permits, oops.

OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) undercover arrested main male model, who proudly showed them his new penis piercing. (Same shoot as above, not a good day.)

Store front plateglass shatters from heat of light. (That was my bad, I thought it was far enough away, oops.)

Road construction re-routes traffic right by location scouted for its lack of traffic noise.

Plus the run of the meal flat tires, keys locked in cars, cars broke down, people getting lost, actors not knowing lines, "I forgot we were shooting today", "I thought you said nine o'clock", airplanes circleling the location and on and on.

Your experience is not unusual. Get used to it.
 
General, if that's the worst you get...your actually unlucky :)

As you work in the business and get around more seasoned professionals, you start hearing the craziest of stories...like Rosestar's. They become war stories, that once you get thru them, they are great fun to regale others with over some drinks,"You think today was bad....".

That being said, 90 percent of productions suffer from Murphy's law. What pisses a lot of us off is the 10 percent that get all the luckiest breaks are the one's with the most boneheaded producers/directors. Some people just fall assbackwards into things, and it's never the nice guy/gal. Despite that, the best you can do is put a lot into pre-production so you can try to be prepared, leave yourself extra time (if it seems it should take an hour, plan for 3), and communicate, comunicate, comunicate. Most issues arise because the exact person that needed to know something didn't.

Also, rent "Man From La Moncha". :)
 
I worked with a SFX fellow at ILM who had his team individually hand-carry the Ewok talent into the woods because they couldn't get them in there any other way. Resulted in amazing overtime issues and a run-in with the Teamsters, who claimed "jurisdiction".

I've already told the story of how we jumped a stunt car directly into a city stoplight post on Nash Bridges. The driver was cited by a SFPD cop in front of the entire crew.

Same show, we several times blew shrapnel into our talent with balsa squibs.

Different show, which shall remain nameless, saw our lead actor arrested on-set for aiming a rubber prop gun at a child bystander. Lost another full day because he had an outstanding traffic warrant and the cops didn't like him.

Very, very recently had a PA drive Z1U batteries over thirty miles to my remote location (in the country) after completely forgetting to bring extras. Note to self: 5 hours, 31 minutes on an InfoLithium is without the tape rolling.

These stories are everywhere! Have fun, don't take it too seriously.

e
 
Rosestar said:
PA's digging a large hole in the ground, that an actor had to jump into, dug right into a buried horse, a decaying buried horse. Because of time constraints, had to use the hole. Most of the crew almost puked from the smell..
Click to expand...


LMFAO! Holy shit that was funny as hell! BUAHAHAHAHA :laugh:
 
While you had the dead horse there, did someone at least beat it? I mean, can't let an opportunity like that go to waste, can you?
 
And that is the problem unfortunately... when people are not being paid your film is not on the top of their priority list... I am working on my first feature and most will be working for free or deferred payment... so I expect hassles...
 
Rosestar said:
Is that all that happened. Wow, you lucked out and sounds like a great shoot. Every heard of an Irishman named Murphy? He's got a law named after him and in filmmaking, it is in effect 24/7. If something can go wrong, it will. Just be as prepared as possible (always have a plan B) and learn to go with the flow. Also, keep up your sense of humor.

Some of Murphy's antics on projects I've worked on include:

PA's digging a large hole in the ground, that an actor had to jump into, dug right into a buried horse, a decaying buried horse. Because of time constraints, had to use the hole. Most of the crew almost puked from the smell.

2nd AC, responsible for bring raw stock to location, left raw stock back at office (over 50 miles away).

Camera operator forgot his glasses. Whole days shoot was very soft.

Forty percent of camera original was scratched at the lab.

PA walked through a door-wall (sliding glass door) on the set.

Lead actress got sunburn on day off.

Actor got a hair cut.

Actress has asthma attack in middle of scene.

Wide angle adaptor knocked off front of camera.

Police showed up!!!

Guns malfunction. Guns malfunction. Guns malfunction. Oh, did I mention guns malfunction.

Car load of models, with costumes (for a fashion shoot) were turned back at the border by Canadian customs. Something about work permits, oops.

OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) undercover arrested main male model, who proudly showed them his new penis piercing. (Same shoot as above, not a good day.)

Store front plateglass shatters from heat of light. (That was my bad, I thought it was far enough away, oops.)

Road construction re-routes traffic right by location scouted for its lack of traffic noise.

Plus the run of the meal flat tires, keys locked in cars, cars broke down, people getting lost, actors not knowing lines, "I forgot we were shooting today", "I thought you said nine o'clock", airplanes circleling the location and on and on.

Your experience is not unusual. Get used to it.
Click to expand...
Ha, ha... Murphy and his law... in effect 24/7? Isn't that the truth. The problem with making a film is more things go wrong than things go right. Sometimes I wonder why we stick it at all.

Maybe because we're passionate about the story?

Chris
 
Barry_Green said:
While you had the dead horse there, did someone at least beat it? I mean, can't let an opportunity like that go to waste, can you?
Click to expand...
Yes, can't miss that. Beating the dead horse.

Sometimes talking to crew about showing up in time and knowing your lines is like beating a dead horse...
 
On my recent short film shoot, one of the actors, who happened to be a very close friend, called me two days before the shoot to say she couldn't make it because she had to go to a party! I re-cast. And have never really forgiven her.
 
Those are great, Rosestar!

One feature project in particular I worked on for a short time was pretty bad. They hired an army of free P.A.s, and then promoted them on set to positions they had never done before because they never bothered hiring people with any experience. (i.e. the ACs, G/E crew were all PAs)
Some of the highlights from that shoot were:
50% of the 16mm was out of focus, and what wasn't rendered useless that way, had been flashed and/or double exposed for various reasons.
A super 16 Canon zoom lens got dropped and busted, and it got tossed into the trash with all the food. The rental house needed the busted lens back (for insurance reasons), so someone had to find it and dig it out of all the trash - when they returned it, it had some burger inside the lens.
They tried blocking off a street without hiring any cops from the city, got caught, fined, and had to hire a cop for the rest of their shoot.
For a ten day shoot, they shot 25% of the script the first 7 days (14 hr days), and ran out of money the 3rd day. They never finished the project, and they never shot any useable footage.
A number of the gaffer's HMIs got destroyed due to stupidity (they hot striked them), and only by luck did no one get hurt.
They bought the cheapest food possible, not even feeding people every 6 hrs - and one day, they got some Really cheap Chinese food - shortly thereafter, everyone started puking and got really sick.
A PA who didn't know stick drove into a building with a truck.
After the 7th day, production had to stop because no one would work for zero money anymore - surprise! - and the next day the camera truck with all the camera gear disappears. (because someone parked it in abandoned mall parking lot somewhere on MLK blvd with the keys in it)
The director's assistant and another P.A. (both white) drove through Compton for a day looking for the missing camera truck and found it... sans camera gear. All the other props were there, including the crates of the really crappy energy drink that was sponsoring the shoot.
The insurance company decided not to insure the camera theft because it looked and sounded really fishy. The police even commented that it looked like an inside job.
The last I heard of it, the director and producers were being sued by basically everyone involved. (rental house, the prod manager, the gaffer, the City of L.A., a hair salon, etc)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top