Sunday, August 15, 2010

Hit and Run

This post was suggested by my friend Larry, one of the best boom ops in the business. It refers to the unfortunate reality that sooner, or later, someone is going to be hit by the dolly. It's pretty much inevitable. You put several people, all concentrating on their own tasks in combination with a 500 lb machine careening around a small space, sooner or later it's going to happen. In all my years I can list as victims, several DPs, a few Boom Operators, countless extras, and, of course, myself, not necessarily in that order. Still photographers seem to be the most common victims. They're sneaky, they're focused, they're often oblivious to the world around them because they're looking through the eyepiece of a different camera as mine swoops (yes, it swoops) around the room during a scene. Let me say this right off the bat: I have a lot of respect for still photographers. They often have a thankless job. The crew never really quite knows where they fit in. They kind of come and go on their own schedule and are part of the publicity department, so are often seen as somehow not really part of the crew by other crew members. I myself am guilty of this train of thought, even though I know they are part of the camera crew. The best still photographers are like ghosts. You might catch a glimpse of one as you dolly in, but they quickly fade out of view only to appear on the other side of the room as you land. But there are those who just always seem to be in the way. They materialise directly on top of your number two mark as you race toward it, obliviously snapping pictures as you try to silently warn them of impending doom while your 500+ lbs of steel, camera, and operator races toward them. This type drives me nuts. I've got enough things to watch without having to worry about flattening someone who suddenly decides that the perfect shot can only be taken from the exact center of my trajectory as I bear down on them trying to execute a boom and a move while simultaneously watching some actor go through his paces. My rule of thumb is, warn them once. After that, it's every man for himself. As f
ar as actors go, I've only hit two in all my years: Forrest Whitaker and John Heard. Both were warned extensively before the shot where not to step. Both inadvertantly stepped right where they shouldn't have. Forrest was a complete gentleman and apologized profusely even as I apologized to him (though I knew it wasn't my fault). John Heard was a complete dipshit about it, howling in pain (the dumbass was wearing flip flops for off camera dialogue) like I had done it on purpose until the director walked up and told him, "You were warned. You have to look out for yourself at all times." The thing is, it's going to happen sooner or later, so it's best to cover yourself beforehand by warning all parties involved, "I'm pushing in/ moving left/ backing up, so be aware." After that, you can only do what you can do. If you happen to smack someone after duly warning them, it's their own fault and as bad as you may feel, you have to let it go. This feeds right in to the type of surface you choose for a particular shot. You want to avoid actors having to step over track as it is much more hazardous than dance floor. If you have to lead an actor as he/she walks directly in front of camera, offset the track and use a camera offset. If an actor has to walk across your surface, use floor when you can or ask the actor if he or she is ok with stepping over track. Most of the time they are fine with it, but always be aware of how your choices affect others during the shot. I once worked for a DP who didn't allow me to lay dance floor anywhere the actors walked. While noble, this is extremely impractical (and stupid). Needless to say, this adds hours to the day and compromises a lot of your work, trying to figure out how to do this. It's just a little over the top. Anyway, I digress. Just be aware of how your choices affect others and be sure all parties involved in the shot know what is going on. Keep your eyes open for potential disaster, and always CYA. This has been a public service announcement of Dollygrippery.

I have to add a second part to this post. I recieved an email from a reader concerning the correct way to top-mount a camera on a "Straight Shoot'r."  Having not used one in years, I must defer to you guys. Here is the email:

"I'm currently working with a Straight Shoot'r jib on the Fisher10. It came with the camera mount under-slung, and we needed to top-mount it for a shoot the other day. We worked out a way to top mount it that didn't feel 100% right or slide as smooth, but worked well enough for what we needed. I have found pictures online of what it should look like top-mounted and it looks like what we had. I was just wondering if any of you had any experience with this jib and any pointers?"

4 comments:

Dollygrip said...

Even worse is that when you move a crane with 38 weights in the basket with high speed above the heads of a festival crowd and a non video crew member jumps on your stage which was to small anyway, just to take a shortcut... We requested a security officer at our stage but there where any available. Production told me after some complaints that there where about 15 of them sitting down at the crew lunch / dining tent!

The Grip Works said...

Great post D !

I was crouched and poised out of actors eyeline, one hand on the boom knob of the Fisher 10 and the other on the handle, wearing a Comtek, waiting for the correct cue on dialogue to begin a slow creep forward and boom up on an actor. My move was ending a page of emotional dialogue, and I didn't want to screw it up and have the actors do it again because of me. We did camera rehearsals with stand ins, because the actress didn't want to do rehearsals.
Finally, as we rolled camera, sweat beading down my face, I feel a weight on my right shoulder.
It gets heavier, and i realise someone is leaning on me. I dare not move to even look, for fear of loosing my focus. I realise that its the fucking stills photographer resting his forearm on my shoulder to steady his shot !!!
I did the shot anyway, and my push off was not the best, we had to do another anyway for some other reason.
I came back to one, shaking with rage, and ask the guy what on earth he thought he was doing.
He had no idea what I was talking about. He never realised he was resting his arm on me.
Thats how checked out they can be.

I wish I had run him over.

The Grip Works said...

Hey, any grips going to be in Berlin from september end to december 1st week ? would love to meet for a beer. I'll be there working on a movie.

Sanjay Sami
thegripworks@yahoo.com

Danworx said...

Hey Sanjay,
I'm in the last week of my Summer TV- Job
in UK, but after that I'm Back home in Berlin (from the 10. November).
Would love to meet for a Beer or two with a fellow Grip.

Greetz Danworx