On Location Etiquette

chromeboy007

chromeboy007

Well-known member
Hi there,

I have a few questions about treating actors and especialy actresses. I know I'm supposed to feed them and stuff, but what else am I expected to do. Specifically, am I expected to provide them with transportation from one location to another? Wardrobe if they are wearing normal clothes? what if we wrap late? am I expected to make sure they (actresses) go home safely? I want to treat them good, but there is only so much I can provide....

thanks
 
Unless they are a name most people (at least on my end) lets them drive themselves and provide their own wardrobe (unless it is something specific you want to film with).


(edit) as clarification, unless you are on a budgeted movie this is typically what you will be doing. Even on Feast (the project greenlight dealy) they showed Krista Allen driving in with her vehicle. You would like to do whatever it takes as long as you do not bust your budget but sometimes that means you kill all the extras. As will be mentioned numerous times though (and from experiance on the shoot I was on these last two weekends) feed your people well and make sure it's on time. The producers had food delivered and it seemed as though the food guys were perpetually late. It did not bother me too much but some of the other crew were really getting pissed.
 
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If you're not paying them, certainly provide lunch and do whatever else is in your power to make life easy for them. Of course, this applies to crew as well as talent. You don't want to foster a crew vs. cast mentality because of giving certain people special treatment.

The best thing is to set expectations up front ("I can provide meals, but you'll need to get your own transportation"). For an upcoming shoot in another state, I am covering hotel and meals for the cast and crew, and offering transportation. In the end, the cast members are driving separately, but at least I offered.
 
They are contributors to your project just as much as you are...

If the film requires a certain wardrobe, ask them if they already have that wardrobe.. or you might have to provide... just ask them what they need. If they have a car, perhaps they can pick other crew up for the shoot etc... or maybe you will need to get them out to the location if they have no car..

just plan this all before the days shoot and you will be fine..

about getting home safe... are you going to be in some sort of shanty town esque area? It is always nice to know if they made it home ok, but I'd say you should worry more about them showing up on time etc..

I mean if they are walking home from this place at like midnight... alone.. then ya.. I'd be a little concerned.. but if they are driving.. or being driven.. I don't think you have much to worry about.

peas.
 
thanks guys. Yeah they are wearing normal clothes so they are fine with providing their own clothes.. I'm providing food and everyone is happy about that... it's the transportation between locations and going home late that I'm worrying about... I'll play by ear and see how it's gonna play out.
 
Why don't you try approaching your most outgoing (and reliable) actor(ress) about organizing a car pool and then let that administrative detail get worked out amongst the people that it will involve.

They could even arrange a rotating schedule so no one gets stuck hauling other people around every time. If this is a no budget production, and everyone is well aware of that, then non-driving actors (and crew) might even be willing to reimburse their rides with some gas money, since it's between themselves.

I think if you frame this in the context of wanting to ensure the comfort and safety of your team but, unfortunately, don't have the resources to purchase those services, folks will step up to the plate and be happy to help make it happen.

You know they're going to go out for drinks after the shoot to talk about you anyway, so might as well get the most out of it!
 
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chromeboy007 said:
Hi there,

I have a few questions about treating actors and especialy actresses. I know I'm supposed to feed them and stuff, but what else am I expected to do. Specifically, am I expected to provide them with transportation from one location to another? Wardrobe if they are wearing normal clothes? what if we wrap late? am I expected to make sure they (actresses) go home safely? I want to treat them good, but there is only so much I can provide....

thanks[/QUOTE

Yes you should feed them.
Yes you should provide transportation (if you are paying them then definatly, if you're not then you still should make sure they have transportation if they need it just because you're a stand up guy)
It's your movie..provide the wardrobe.
If you wrap late then get them home if they need a ride.
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From My experiences I can share a few things.


1. Food - I made one mistake of not getting food one night, but i had enough soda, water, and other soft drinks that I thought would be enough... but in essences it wasn't. Luckily Papa Johns provided us with Pizza at a discount, or in some cases Free of Charge for a screen credit.

I later moved up to homecooked meals. Baked Ziti, Garlic Chicken and meatballs for big indoor shoots. It cost me about $100 in materials to make it, plus time, however, everyone enjoyed the meal and had a great time. Pizza is considered the bottom of the barrel on most shoots. So don't make it a habit of providing pizza on every shoot. Also make sure you ask your extras and actors if they are Vegatarians or have food allergies.

2. Transportation - Most people will drive themselves, and I make it a point to announce in casting calls that they make sure they have their own transportation. If a principal needs transport I will accomodate them once or twice, but if they don't have a car I won't use them as a principal.

3. Treatment - Treat everyone with respect. Non Paid talent are helping you so if they are doing something you don't like be cool about telling them you don't appreciate it, if they continue kindly ask them not too return, or too leave the set immediately. If they are paid... you still have to show some restraint, but now they are in your employ... still everyone deserves respect until they begin to disrespect.

4. Wardrobe - I ask them to provide clothing they didn't care about, or didn't mind getting bloody or dirty. Most people are up for small acting parts and will do this to help you. If you require something specific, ask if they have it, otherwise just provide it for them.
 
DjfunkmasterG said:
From My experiences I can share a few things.


1. Food - I made one mistake of not getting food one night, but i had enough soda, water, and other soft drinks that I thought would be enough... but in essences it wasn't. Luckily Papa Johns provided us with Pizza at a discount, or in some cases Free of Charge for a screen credit.

I later moved up to homecooked meals. Baked Ziti, Garlic Chicken and meatballs for big indoor shoots. It cost me about $100 in materials to make it, plus time, however, everyone enjoyed the meal and had a great time. Pizza is considered the bottom of the barrel on most shoots. So don't make it a habit of providing pizza on every shoot. Also make sure you ask your extras and actors if they are Vegatarians or have food allergies.

2. Transportation - Most people will drive themselves, and I make it a point to announce in casting calls that they make sure they have their own transportation. If a principal needs transport I will accomodate them once or twice, but if they don't have a car I won't use them as a principal.

3. Treatment - Treat everyone with respect. Non Paid talent are helping you so if they are doing something you don't like be cool about telling them you don't appreciate it, if they continue kindly ask them not too return, or too leave the set immediately. If they are paid... you still have to show some restraint, but now they are in your employ... still everyone deserves respect until they begin to disrespect.

4. Wardrobe - I ask them to provide clothing they didn't care about, or didn't mind getting bloody or dirty. Most people are up for small acting parts and will do this to help you. If you require something specific, ask if they have it, otherwise just provide it for them.
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Hey,

The only thing I would add here is you can't really afford to feed extras. Lemonade and cookies - that's it! It may seem like creul treatment but on low budget indies the cash is not there.

I am shooting a feature next summer and I cannot afford to feed extras. I'll need like over 200 of them. It'll be peanut butter cookies and freshy.

What do people think? Is this unrerasonable?
 
imageonepictures said:
Hey,

The only thing I would add here is you can't really afford to feed extras. Lemonade and cookies - that's it! It may seem like creul treatment but on low budget indies the cash is not there.

I am shooting a feature next summer and I cannot afford to feed extras. I'll need like over 200 of them. It'll be peanut butter cookies and freshy.

What do people think? Is this unrerasonable?
Click to expand...

Ack! How long will they be on your shoot? 3 hours? A full shooting day? 12 hours? I'd be a little worried about a walkout.

From my experience, Spaghetti and Lasagna seems to be the cheap staple food for large amounts of extras.
 
Hi.

I've just started work on a non paid project as camera op, and on the first day of tech rehearsal with the all the crew and cast present, we were told that the inside toilet was for the cast, and the outside porta-loo was for the crew. As you can imagine the tone of the set changed from that point on. Like Joshua said earlier, you don't want to create an us and them "crew verses cast mentality", so whatever you do it should really apply to all the people involved, actors and crew, who are giving you their time and energy for free.
 
bare minimum, i always feed everyone real food and give them some cash for gas. everyone is there to help you make your movie, so the least you can do is feed them properly and pay them for gas since it's so expensive these days. on my shoots, cast and crew get the same treatment, same food. that's crazy about cast getting indoor bathrooms and crew using an outdoor porta potty. if i were crew, i'd leave right then.
 
I fed my cast well (about 1/4 of my budget was food) and got a professional costumer for the costumes (another 1/4 of my budget). The actors all were expected to do their own transportation. I will never go back to actors providing their own wardrobes again as I am now spoiled by having a costumer who did EVERYTHING for me and them.
 
Look after them well. They could be the difference from a great film to a poo one.
remember an army marches on its stomach. Treat they how you would like to be treated and you'll be ok.
 
eignacio said:
Ack! How long will they be on your shoot? 3 hours? A full shooting day? 12 hours? I'd be a little worried about a walkout.

From my experience, Spaghetti and Lasagna seems to be the cheap staple food for large amounts of extras.
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Hey,

I think you're wrong here. Who feeds extras?
 
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