Abnormal to feel like you do everything on set??

Elmy

Elmy

Well-known member
I get the feeling that people become so "Localized in film". I'm still in the Indie market as is probably 90% of the people on here and I feel like most people don't have the same experience as I do.

I own a company with two other guys, we've done a few pay gigs, and some big things are being worked on, however for the most part we shoot self funded short films and music videos currently. Usually the crew is friends and other then the fact that I handle DP, my friend directs, and the other is basically an AD/Key Grip we generally all do everything. I don't just dictate what lights to use, lens, camera, ect. Usually I'm camera operating, setting up my own lights, doing the electrical, ect. My friend is directing/producing...so on and so forth.

I use to feel like this was the norm. But after reading some posts here I get the feeling that some people do the opposite, as a cinematographer I shouldn't be doing some things, I should know and have a 1st AC, Production Designer, producer, ect. and so forth. I feel like I don't even know how to limit the role of DP from say what a Gaffer or Key Grip is doing. Should I not identify myself as a Director of Photography if I perform other tasks as well?

This is part venting part confusion. what your guys experiences and roles on set?
 
It's completely normal to wear many hats. I think the majority of people on the site typically work on small sets like you describe.

Job titles can be tricky on sets with few people. Just take the "best" title out of all the jobs you did... so just Director of Photography. It'd be unnecessary to have a DP/Gaffer/Electrician credit.

There's much debate over the correct term for the guy in charge of the visuals. DP and cinematographer are generally interchangeable, but some believe cinematographer is used when the DP is the camera op. There's also "lighting cameraman" which isn't used much in the US.
 
It all depends on the budget. In the indie market, it's rare to only wear one hat

Edit: Drew beat me to it. We even used the same cliche! I think we should be friends.
 
lol thats quite funny. I guess I just feel like since Im using to basically doing the gaffer/grip jobs as well that I'm so unsure on what a normal DP would be doing. nice to know I'm not alone in the hat wearing business ;P
 
A good DP is someone who runs and has the experience in grip, L/X, AND camera depts...so if you're doing all 3 on a small crew...you are indeed the DP.
 
Nothing wrong with wearing many hats; but yes, there are some on the set that just want to hang out and play 'Hollywood' and not lift a finger.
 
I've worked on both kinds of sets.

Generally, I think there's a line that's crossed between "everyone helping get the movie done" compared to "everyone do your job". If a DP was setting up all the lights on a larger set, it would take hours to setup everything. A crew helps him get the lights, flags, dolly, ect... get put into place while he focuses on what's really important "how the movie should look".

On 3 man crews (Director, DP, sound) I think it's unquestionable that things get overlooked because there simply isn't the time/manpower. Plus when moving a light for a better shot means you need to do it yourself, you're always more likely to start rationalizing why "the audience won't notice" or "I actually like it more now that I think about it".

And there's actually Union rules about what departments can or can't touch other peoples gear. In Indy world it seems absurd. In the Hollywood world you don't want the art department "helping" to move a 20k light and end up knocking it over endangering crew and actors.

Neither type of set is "wrong" and they both have their advantages, but they are different experiences. (And if anyone doesn't know what they're doing in the latter style, you'll hit brick walls very fast)
 
it's the future of filmmaking, much like it was when it all began in the early 1900s. Crews were usually 2-3 people, and i think with the way things are going you'll see a lot more of this aside from the big ass blockbusters. Even Rodriguez works like this, minimal crew whenever he can. honestly, it's gotten so out of hand that there are way too many useless people on set you specialize in such petty things that it becomes a huge waste of money and breeds incompetent people in this industry.
 
J.R. Hudson said:
Nothing wrong with wearing many hats; but yes, there are some on the set that just want to hang out and play 'Hollywood' and not lift a finger.
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I actually get frustrated when I'm on a set with a decent-sized crew. I'm so used to doing everything, that I feel like I'm doing nothing in those situations.
 
I don't like downtime, and will work as much as possible to speed things up. I have never waited while someone else did their job. However, if you have people who care about what they're doing and who you can trust to do it- not just friends who are their for your sake- stepping on toes is more important of a consideration. Your crew should have enough of your respect to be able to handle their jobs themselves. It makes them a stronger part of the production.
 
Paunch said:
it's the future of filmmaking, much like it was when it all began in the early 1900s. Crews were usually 2-3 people, and i think with the way things are going you'll see a lot more of this aside from the big ass blockbusters. Even Rodriguez works like this, minimal crew whenever he can. honestly, it's gotten so out of hand that there are way too many useless people on set you specialize in such petty things that it becomes a huge waste of money and breeds incompetent people in this industry.
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I agree with the first part of your post. I'm just curious about which positions you see as potentially petty. I've been on 50+ person sets where everybody is always working.
 
Those "useless people" who are a "waste of money" are actually a very cost-effective insurance plan. Once you've worked on (or better yet, been responsible for) one of those sets, you start to see more upsides than down.
 
My question I guess is more directed towards the DP's....with a large grip crew, does a DP explain the type of lighting he wants and the gaffer, key grip, grips figure out how to do that? I'm use to on the small sets just basically leading them. I guess also most the time my lighting setups arent finalized till on set anyways though, since I dont get much time beforehand.
 
I try not to get too hung up on credits, lol, my last film, I had: Producer, Armorer, Stunt Coordinator, and Stunt Actor (2 roles). The one before that: Armorer, Stunt Coordinator, Actor, and Transpo Captain (never knew I had that job, but got the credit anyway).

Anyway, see a trend here?

I don't like downtime
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What the heck is this "downtime" of which you speak?
 
Elmy said:
My question I guess is more directed towards the DP's....with a large grip crew, does a DP explain the type of lighting he wants and the gaffer, key grip, grips figure out how to do that? I'm use to on the small sets just basically leading them. I guess also most the time my lighting setups arent finalized till on set anyways though, since I dont get much time beforehand.
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Exactly, when I worked as an electrician the DP didn't usually tell me where to put things, the DP and the Gaffer would talk and then the Gaffer based in his/her experience would tell us electricians and grips (because I was also a grip) where to put things. Sometimes the DP would give us directions, for example, pan the head, move that flag a bit. But just when it was time for the final tweaks.

In that way the DP was focusing more on how the image would look more than how we made it look like that. Thus getting a more elaborated, visually rich scene.
 
I'm probably going to do every single thing on my first film, so I feel like just putting in other people's names so the credits aren't filled with mine. :P
 
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