Diet and Nutrition for Working Productions

Jordan Scott Price

Jordan Scott Price

Veteran
I feel like I need to start a thread on this topic. (I could not find one like it - please kill it if one exists.)

While I have been on dozens and dozens of sets over the last couple years and have worked short films, television shows, commercials, corporate gigs, a feature, and several solo photo shoots, the most recent project this last weekend really got to me physically. I work a 7-4 job during the week, and I showed up Monday a completely useless sack of bricks.

I live in North Texas in the heart of the Dallas Metroplex. I am no stranger to the intense heat or to shooting in it, but this last weekend - just two days of shooting - pushed me to my limits.

The high was 102 for both the Saturday and Sunday we shot. We worked about 12 hours each day. The first day mostly took place in an open-air three-car garage from 4:30pm to 4:00am. The second day we shot almost entirely indoors with two giant fans and ample AC and water supply for the cast and crew. We worked from 11:00am to 2:30am.

I felt like I was wearing a full-body condom, to steal a comment from my gaffer, after sweating into my clothes for so long.

I felt great on set, as I usually do; I was just hot.

Monday I was completely drained, which is understandable because I slept two hours. But today - Tuesday - I was still zapped of almost all energy. Every muscle ached and every joint hurt.

I'm used to the normal aches and pains of an arduous shoot, but this was different. My body feels...damaged, in a way. It's hard to explain. It's a penetrating feeling of exhaustion. I drank a ton of water, but I still had cramps in my legs and shoulders today and Monday.


So, my question for all of DVXuser:

What do you do to prepare yourself physiologically for a shoot? This could be one that takes place in extreme weather - be it heat, cold, or what have you - or one that involves prolonged intense, strenuous activity, like hauling equipment up stairs or operating glidecams, etc.

What do you to maintain your energy, stamina, and mental acuity during an abnormally taxing shoot?

What do you do after the shoot to allow your body to recuperate?



JSP
 
When its that hot and physically demanding, you need electrolytes. Gatorade and Pedialyte work wonders. Water alone doesn't cut it for me when I'm sweating a lot.

For aching joints: Osteo Bi-Flex (Glucosamine and Chondroitin).

For sore muscles: Ibuprofen.

For energy: Protein and Carbs.
 
Stretching is useful for preventing muscle aches.

For mental acuity, caffeine. Probably not the healthiest answer, but I survive off it during tough shoots.
 
Hydration - not just on the day of the shoot, but before.
If I know I'm going to be doing a lot of shooting outside, I'll make sure to go into it properly hydrated by making an effort to drink plenty of water the day before.
That's critical (to me anyhow) shooting in Texas... Stephen Mick and I were out shooting just in the past couple of days and the thermostat read 109 degrees at one point.
Ugh.
 
Are there Trader Joes in Texas? They sell a giant bottle of electrolyte water for $.99. There's also Smart Water. Part of my weight training and high cardio routine is fasting 24 hours twice a week--from dinner to dinner. On those days I have more energy and can run farther faster in the heat. I also think quite a bit clearer. I drink lots of water on those days, though, and finish the day with a high protein shake with l-glutimine. It was really tough to deal with the first week I tried it, but now I look forward to my fasting days.
 
Luis Caffesse said:
Hydration - not just on the day of the shoot, but before.
If I know I'm going to be doing a lot of shooting outside, I'll make sure to go into it properly hydrated by making an effort to drink plenty of water the day before.
That's critical (to me anyhow) shooting in Texas... Stephen Mick and I were out shooting just in the past couple of days and the thermostat read 109 degrees at one point.
Ugh.
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Definitely.

Hydration is even more important if you're also following my advice to stay caffeinated.
 
ugafan said:
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Don't they use that exclusively for squelching BBQ flareups in Texas?
 
Make sure that you're doing both aerobics and weightlifting monday thru friday. Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, complex carbs (flaxseed bread, etc) and low fat, high-yield protiens during the week (egg whites, chicken breast, ground turkey, eye of round).

Hydrate and floss.

On the day of the shoot eat enough calories that morning so that you don't need to eat much during the rest of the day. Shoot for around 1,000 calories if possible. Just stay away from heavy fats like cheese and bacon. Stick with eggs, pancakes/french toast, steak or turkey sausage. Drink orange and pom juice.

And make sure to take all your vitamins 7 days a week. 1 multi, 1 C, 1 D and one B complex.

Hydrate and floss.

Absolutely and 100% stay away from any alchohol, drugs or smoking.

Keep stress levels low and allow for at least 8 hours of sleep each night.

Hydrate and floss.

If that doesn't work after a couple weeks, go see your doctor and have a full battery of blood work and allergy testing done.
 
Water. Or if you're really dehydrated, mix a gatorade with water ratio of 1:4 after a long day to help.

A big thing that I find helps, don't overeat on set and stay away from the crappy junk food. Eating healthier helps.
 
You need to be watching what you're eating all the time, not just on the day of the shoot. If you eat poorly, and don't get enough hydration, as a general matter, very little you do on the day of the shoot is going to make that much difference. You can fend off some of the worst by eating well on that day, but it's all about how you conduct yourself generally. Those doughnuts you eat all week (not that you do) are still going to be on your back the day of the shoot . . .
 
Hydrate in the days before. Maintain during the shoot. If you're not properly hydrated before you start sweating, you're fighting a losing battle
already.

On pro shoots, the set medic should have some cloths soaked in ice water and maybe some sort of metholated stuff that you can cool down with. If not, DIY. Tie the cool rag around your neck. Works wonders!

I also keep baby powder in my bag to prevent chaffing.

I hear yoga is pretty helpful, but I just stick to stretching a bit before heading out for the day.
 
And if something tastes dicey, don't continue eating it. I have gotten sick 3 times from crafty. And that seriously messes up the rest of the day. This really hits home for me. Today, I grabbed a munchie from the craft table (veggies and dip). I had one sprig of cauliflower with dip, and it tasted funny. I thought, "hmmmmm, where is this dip from?" An hour later........... let's just say......being doubled up on set and running sound.........not a good combo. During the takes, I found myself wishing that wearing/using a diaper as an adult was acceptable socially. It wasn't a pretty scenario. LOL, one take, one of the gaffers comment to me "Did you hear that on that take? Someone's stomach is growling" My response "Yeah I heard that......good thing we are doing another take........"

The EP sent someone to get me Tums and Pepto ASAP, and after a couple of trips to the loo, I was somewhat better. But, finally......a lesson hard learned.
 
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This is great, guys.

On this last shoot, I drank far more water than usual, even when I didn't want to, but I had not thought about hydrating long before and up to the shoot. I always drink coffee in the morning to wake up (I'm a caffeine addict, truly, so this is something I just deal with). I have maybe one beer a month (which is usually at a wrap party), so alcohol isn't a concern.

I'm hearing from others that supplements are an absolute must for long shoots, which has been reiterated in this thread. I think that's something I need to heed.


As for craft, Doc, I always bring my own snacks in the form of Powerbars, Nutrigrain bars, and fruit because 9/10 shoots have absolutely horrible craft. I get so sick of walking onto set and seeing the following spread on the table:

Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, Sprite, what have you...
Candy
Donuts
Pizza, especially when it's ordered at the END of the shoot, as if working 8-10 hours with pretzels and water and starving for the last 2 hours while everyone can only think about what they want on their pizza instead of the next shot is a good idea.
McDonald's. Period.
More Candy
Doritos
Home-cooked meals. Seriously, I don't care how good a cook your mother is, I don't know where she bought her groceries or if they're fresh and free of e. coli. Get your craft fresh or have it catered properly by a service. I've become sick, too, on set from "southern home-cooked goodness." No thanks.
And anything that's messy or cumbersome (but that's a personal thing; I don't like to sit down and eat huge meals on set, and I don't like to have to build lunch - i.e. hamburgers, sandwiches, etc.)

There's nothing above that's conducive for anyone whose job on set is physically demanding, which is almost everyone's.


My view of ideal craft:

A metric ton of fruit
Bottled water
Gatorade or juice (the real kind, not Sunny Delight)
Dry snacks like pretzels, trail mix, and nuts
Catered, fresh, ready-made sandwiches - the kind that only require one hand to eat
OR Salads that are catered and packaged in a container that you can label with your name and put away in a cooler for later


Just my thoughts. It's great when the producer actually gives a damn about the crew's well-being and invests in quality craft.
 
On the few longer shoots I've been on, long days of training (I'm a triathlete) and on a recent 12+ hr hike in the Grand Canyon I survived off of Gu Gels (electrolyte gels), homemade trail mix, Clif Bars, apples/bananas, PBJs, and of course, tons of water and some Gatorade to boot. Those Gu Gels are a life saver for anything strenuous that takes more than an hour or so, I can't recommend them enough.

Adam
 
David Jimerson said:
You need to be watching what you're eating all the time, not just on the day of the shoot. If you eat poorly, and don't get enough hydration, as a general matter, very little you do on the day of the shoot is going to make that much difference. You can fend off some of the worst by eating well on that day, but it's all about how you conduct yourself generally. Those doughnuts you eat all week (not that you do) are still going to be on your back the day of the shoot . . .
Click to expand...

+1. Absolutely hit the nail on the head.

If you just stop eating the processed food you'll start to feel better. After a couple of weeks, you'll feel remarkably better. This includes of course bottled drinks of all kinds. It takes a couple of weeks to recover from caffeine addiction, but once you do the world actually becomes a nicer calmer place, even if everyone around you is still charging around and grumpy as hell.

Without the processed foods and bottled drinks, you'll loose weight. You don't have to try, it just happens. Your spirits will pick up. You'll have more money in your pocket, and you'll have less trash in your trash cans.

I've been eating this way for about four years now. It really is the right thing to do, especially if you have periods of high stress and long hours like we get in production. It gives your body a solid base with which to deal with the stress.

The down side? You do have to cook. When you cook your own food, you don't include any artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives, extenders, texture agents, extra sugar and salt (to cover up the taste of the artificial crap). So it shouldn't be a surprise that it's better for you.

And cooking isn't hard, it's actually pretty enjoyable once you get into it. And it doesn't take that long to do it. Actually, less time than eating out if you include all the time and effort to gather people together, sort out where to go, go there, wait in line to be seated, wait to order, wait for the order to arrive, wait to pay, then drive back to where you started.

So, I'm with Mr. Jimerson on this. If you eat right all the time, you don't need to make adjustments on the set.
 
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