Most common things that go wrong on a set - and how to prepare for them

C

c.g._eads

Veteran
I was reading some of the older posts about "war stories" from the front - everything that could go wrong did go wrong. And I just wanted to start a thread on the most common problems that go wrong on a set and how you can prepare for them.

Maybe some of those wiley vets could tell us the things they see people making mistakes on over and over and over and how many times you've rolled your eyes at them. How can we rookies avoid those mistakes?

Best, Chris
 
I am no "VET" but I have worked on many a film set. One of the things I see happening a lot is too early of a call time for actors. Actors want to WORK when they get on set, they don't want to have to stand around for an hour or two waiting for you to finish up another scene with someone else. Always try to give your actors a call if you're running late on something else.
 
the biggie for me is just what brandon said. but more specifically, calling them in for each set-up. i now use stand-ins to block. make sure every dept is ready to go (camera, sound). and then i bring them in. and make sure you're first AD clears the set after each set-up and that the actors have somewhere to go that isn't in the middle of your crew trying to prep for the next setup.

also, having a contingency plan for food. because something will go wrong -- an order will be missed, or a deal you made with a restaurant will fall thru. always make sure your 1st AD has some local menus and a credit card on hand. oh, and have a 1st AD. he/she will save your life several times over.
 
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Too many times, people try to pull off too large a project with too small a crew...this leads to all kinds of problems. (I assume we're talking about low budget, indie films and not the big boys with big bucks. :) )
 
Too many chiefs getting confused on who is directing.

Determine roles and responsibilty in the beginning and make sure everyone get's the ladder
 
John_Hudson said:
Too many chiefs getting confused on who is directing.

Determine roles and responsibilty in the beginning and make sure everyone get's the ladder
Click to expand...
Ain't that the truth...:thumbsup:
 
I am a vet of some 20 years on commercial films, music videos and features. Some of the most common problems:
1. No directions or bad directions, maps to the set.
2. No A.D. on set to direct trucks, generator placement and where people should park so they won't be in the first shot.
3. Actors not being given an early enough call time so that they can be put in wardrobe, madeup and hair. Because then the whole crew stands around and waits. Who cares if the actors have to stand around. Time is money and we are burning hundred dollar bills here.
4. Writing or editing the script on set the day of the shoot. Whole crew stands around again.


Anyway I could go on and on but the basic idea is that not enough prep and planning is the most common problem that I see that effects the day's shoot. Any experienced actor knows they will have to sit around during the day and is prepared for that fact. Everyone needs to be prepared and given as much information about the shoot as possible so that they can preform there job as effeciently as possible.

A large crew with a large compliment of rental trucks, cameras, dollies, cranes, etc. can cost a lot per hour. Now if you are talking a few people getting together to shoot a no budget film then the cost may not be an important factor, but you still are talking about peoples time.
 
Blaine said:
Too many times, people try to pull off too large a project with too small a crew...this leads to all kinds of problems. (I assume we're talking about low budget, indie films and not the big boys with big bucks. :) )
Click to expand...

Blaine, have any examples?

What kind of project and how big of a crew? Just looking for some general numbers.

Are we talking five people trying to pull off Armageddon? Or 15 trying to pull off Garden State?

Actually, this gives me an idea for another thread.... :)
 
Always make a check list of equipment you need prior to the shoot and test it before you leave.
There's never enough batteries.....
Don't have your PA's park where the grip truck is loading/unloading, unless they are holding a parking spot(s) for the truck.
Make sure you have EVERYONE's cell phone number with you, As well as their home number.
Make a note of the closest restaruants,gas stations,hospital (you never know) hardware store, craft shop, and make sure more than one PA and or grip knows where the equipment rental house is.
Make maps, call times, and make sure your call sheet states AM or PM on locations. Several if not all of these assignments should be taken care of by your AD, or perhaps your UPM or even your location manager. But on smaller indie shoots, these are some things quite often overlooked.
Don't know how to put your rented jib together, you shouda done that yesterday...
Don't have a PA leave the set to pick up anything till they know what it looks like, how many, what color, what size, and if they don't have what you want, what would be a good second choice if they don't have it..
I got a million of 'em. Good luck. Jon
 
Zak Forsman said:
and a credit card on hand.
Click to expand...

Also, have a good amount of cash. There will be times you will need to send someone out for something and you may not want to give a PA your credit card and some places will not take credit (i.e. - a bodega, pizzeria, etc.)

I've seen a couple occasions where the director yells at a crew member in front of the rest of the crew. If you feel the need to reprimand a crew member, do it as privately as is possible.
 
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Think in terms of the things you can prevent from going haywire, by investing some time in the right kind of preparation.

For example, when it comes to a given location, walk it/scout it/photograph it/note setups ahead of time. With that preparation, you can prevent lighting problems (cause you know what to expect), camera placement problems, parking problems, noise problems, sightline problems, electrical, sound, etc etc etc problems - all by just knowing in detail where you're working.

Apply that approach to as many aspects of your shoot, as you can think of. Have at least a sketched plan, to deal (within reason) with anything.

This will leave your a little more free to deal with the impossible-for-anyone-to-have-anticipated catastrophes, that tend to crop up ever so often.
 
Here is my list of things that can go wrong, or to avoid while shooting a film. The context is a 15 days shoot, micro budget indie horror. 25 volunteer crew.

1. Transportation was a huge issue. People were told that they have to find their own way to and from the set but in reality were picking up and dropping people off all the time. Because we never went in with a transportation plan it was chaotic.

2. Electrical issues. If you have no electricity you have no shoot. The more lights you have the more power issues you have to deal with. In preproduction you really need to look at your electrical needs , whether its generator, generator operators, electical permits.

Dont expect someone else to cover this issue. It must be taken care of in preproduction. Your DP and lighting crew will be freaking out if they dont have power.

3. Rentals - (security) In longer shoots when your renting gear over long periods of time someone needs to be in charge of keeping track of every single piece of gear right down to the last cable. Quite often gear shows up to the set from various places and gets mixed up. Someone needs to be given this job. At the end of every day every single piece of gear needs to be accounted for.

4. Rental Returns - It seems like a very simple thing but when rental vehicles or gear goes back a day or two late it can mean $100's of dollars in extra charges. You must have someone tracking this stuff and confirming returns. This kind of stuff can never be ASSUMED... if its not someone elses cash on the line they won't care about it as much as you do.

5. CASH FLOW : there are dozens of things that your going to need cash for once your production starts so your going to need someone who has that cash and can get it to people. Production Manager needs to have a chat with ALL Key People telling them that NO EXPENSES get paid without prior approval ... ( make an approval stamp and give a demo of how it works ) They have to understand that they cant come hand you an invoice and expect it to get paid just because it was a film expense.

I had countless people involved in productions come and hand me invoices for expenses that had been approved by no one. Believe me this misunderstanding happens soo easily which is why the whole production crew needs to know... NOTHING gets paid without the stamp.

6. NEVER allow cast or crew to drink alchohol on set. IGNORE this at your own peril.

* I'm gonna stop here.. there is tons more hard lessons learned but these are some of the biggies. Maybe on bigger budget shoots this kind of stuff would never happen, but this is my experience on a very indie style micro budget feature where the crew is aggressively shooting about 7 pages of script per day. Unexpected things happen and its usually nothing to do with framing a shot or acting performances.
 
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