Friday, September 13, 2019

Go The Extra Mile

   I ran into a situation on the last show that retaught me a rule I've always tried to work by: Do what you know is right. We were in a room with carpet and the floor underneath was clearly less than perfect. It was a dance floor shot and I called for the pieces I needed for a standard single layer surface. In the back of my head my spider sense was tingling that I was making a mistake but I brushed it aside and laid the floor. I was in a hurry and wanted to get it done and get the camera up so I'd be ready once we were lit. On the first run through all the marks with just me and the operator, it was clear that I had made a mistake. There were bumps on the joints and the floor was a little wavy so the camera was wobbling from side-to-side and it was completely unusable. The DP and the guys were in the middle of lighting so I had plenty of time still. I told the operator I needed to redo some things. I then went to the key grip and told him I needed to relay the floor. Now my key grip on this job was a veteran dolly grip of forty years. Most of you would recognize his name. He had taken the job as key because the DP, a very talented young up and comer, is the son of a camera man he had pushed for for years. So I went to him and said I needed to lay a double floor (two layers of plywood instead of one, and the tops, screwed together to form a solid base to roll on). He said, "I wanted to suggest it but didn't want to get in your rice bowl."  That's the way he is. He's respectful and trusts his dolly grip to know best. I told him that I had known better but took a shortcut and made a mistake. So, in the middle of lighting, I pulled it all out and relayed a double floor. And it worked perfectly.  Somewhere in the 12 years of posts on this site is the instruction, "Double lay floors on carpet." I still remember typing it many years ago. Everything is shot specific, and an experienced dolly grip knows what he or she can get away with. But I knew better and still took the quick and easy way out against my better judgement. I broke my own rule, And it bit me in the ass (well, almost).
  So here is the gist of this post. Go the extra mile. If your experience is telling you to do a little extra to save yourself grief down the line, listen to it. It's the most important tool in your bag. There are a lot of times that I'll have a shot on a wood floor and the key grip will ask if I just want the tops with no plywood. I almost always say no. I would rather do a little extra work and know it's right rather than do the minimum and then fight a bump or wave in the floor and have to fix it with actors and director waiting around. Do yourself a favor. Go the extra mile. Believe me, there are few things worse than rolling toward a bump that you know is there because you half assed it and wondering if it's going to blow the take. Your work will be much stronger if you can concentrate on the move rather than wondering if that little bump halfway through the move is going to show.
  Anyway, there's a thunderstorm rolling in, I've got a nice glass of wine, and another week off coming up. Life is good.
Stay safe out there,
D

49 comments:

  1. I have been pushing Dolly for well over 30 years and could not agree more with you. At the end of the shot, they don't remember it took an extra 10 minutes, they remember the move felt good. No bumps. I can't tell you how many times an insecure key said just lay the skins and I lobbied against that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Smitty. Great to have your input!

    ReplyDelete

  3. Attend The Best Artificial Intelligence course From ExcelR. Practical Best Artificial Intelligence course Sessions With Assured Placement Support From Experienced Faculty. ExcelR Offers The Best Artificial Intelligence course.
    ExcelR Ai training in bangalore

    ReplyDelete
  4. ravali4:41 AM

    I am looking for and I love to post a comment that "The content of your post is awesome" Great work!
    ExcelR data science course in mumbai

    ReplyDelete
  5. ravali11:18 PM

    This is a wonderful article, Given so much info in it, These type of articles keeps the users interest in the website, and keep on sharing more ... good luck.
    data analytics course mumbai

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is a wonderful article, Given so much info in it, Thanks for sharing. CodeGnan offers courses in new technologies and makes sure students understand the flow of work from each and every perspective in a Real-Time environmen python training in vijayawada. , data scince training in vijayawada . , java training in vijayawada. ,

    ReplyDelete
  7. Really Very Infromative Post , Thanks For Sharing The Information With Us.
    Best AWS Training in Hyderabad

    ReplyDelete
  8. So I replied and added the new information to the site. I learned where I was not being clear and rewrote those sections until I no longer received emails asking for clarification.
    PMP Certification in Bangalore

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very interesting blog Thank you for sharing such a nice and interesting blog and really very helpful article.
    Data Science Course in Hyderabad

    ReplyDelete
  10. A good blog always comes-up with new and exciting information and while reading I have feel that this blog is really have all those quality that qualify a blog to be a one
    digital marketing course in Guwahati

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very interesting to read this article.I would like to thank you for the efforts you had made for writing this awesome article. This article inspired me to read more. keep it up.
    Correlation vs Covariance
    Simple linear regression
    data science interview questions

    ReplyDelete
  12. Attend online training from one of the best training institute Data Science Training in Hyderabad

    ReplyDelete
  13. This Was An Amazing ! I Haven't Seen This Type of Blog Ever ! Thankyou For Sharing, data science certification

    ReplyDelete
  14. This Was An Amazing ! I Haven't Seen This Type of Blog Ever ! Thankyou For Sharing, best online data science courses

    ReplyDelete
  15. Easily, the article is actually the best topic on this registry related issue. I fit in with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your next updates.
    data science training in Hyderabad

    ReplyDelete
  16. In data science some analysis is done to discover insights from the data and also predictions can be done with the help of many machine learning algorithms. With the help of data science, the data can be analyzed from different perspectives. data science course in hyderabad

    ReplyDelete
  17. "I feel very grateful that I read this. It is very helpful and very informative and I really learned a lot from it. data science courses
    "

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good Post! Thank you so much for sharing this pretty post, it was so good to read and useful to improve my knowledge as updated one, keep blogging.data scientist courses

    ReplyDelete
  19. You completed certain reliable points there. I did a search on the subject and found nearly all persons will agree with your blog.
    data science course in Hyderabad

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks for posting the best information and the blog is very informative.Data science course in Faridabad

    ReplyDelete
  21. Fantastic blog extremely good well enjoyed with the incredible informative content which surely activates the learners to gain the enough knowledge. Which in turn makes the readers to explore themselves and involve deeply in to the subject. Wish you to dispatch the similar content successively in future as well.
    Data Science Training in Raipur

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks for posting the best information and the blog is very helpful.data science interview questions and answers

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for posting the best information and the blog is very helpful.artificial intelligence course in hyderabad

    ReplyDelete
  24. I visited various websites but the audio feature for audio songs current at this site is really wonderful.|
    data scientist training and placement in hyderabad

    ReplyDelete
  25. Your article increases the curiosity to learn more about this topic. Keep sharing your information regularly for future reference.
    DevOps Training in Hyderabad
    DevOps Course in Hyderabad

    ReplyDelete
  26. Extremely overall quite fascinating post. I was searching for this sort of data and delighted in perusing this one. Continue posting. A debt of gratitude is in order for sharing. data scientist course in delhi

    ReplyDelete
  27. Impressive blog to be honest definitely this post will inspire many more upcoming aspirants. Eventually, this makes the participants to experience and innovate themselves through knowledge wise by visiting this kind of a blog. Once again excellent job keep inspiring with your cool stuff.

    Data Science Training in Bhilai

    ReplyDelete
  28. Nice posting, it very valuable and informative for me. Thanks for sharing these information with all of us. whatsapp mod

    ReplyDelete
  29. I really enjoyed reading this post, big fan. Keep up the good work and please tell me when can you publish more articles or where can I read more on the subject?
    data analytics training in hyderabad

    ReplyDelete
  30. This is really an inspiring and helpful article. I am fully satisfied with your effort .There is no need to meet Kenya embassy specially for to get a valid Kenya online visa.The Government of Kenya grants the evisa online process.

    ReplyDelete
  31. This is a very useful article.. emergency visa application India form (Process within 1 to 3 days) You can easily avail the facility for immediate processing of your Indian Visa by applying through the fast track Indian visa services we provide.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Your site is truly cool and this is an extraordinary moving article. data science training in mysore

    ReplyDelete
  33. Very nice article. I enjoyed reading your post. very nice share. I want to twit this to my followers. Thanks !. data science course in surat

    ReplyDelete
  34. Interesting and attractive information. This blog is really rocking... Yes, the post is very interesting and I enjoy it a lot. Indian Visa Policy Map, You can read Indian visa policy map via India evisa website online.

    ReplyDelete
  35. This is a great article thanks for sharing this informative information. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest post. I will visit your blog regularly for Some latest post. data science course in mysore

    ReplyDelete
  36. I read your post and I found it amazing! thank! data science course in mysore

    ReplyDelete
  37. tools are being effectively used for monitoring social media campaigns. Its growing popularity stems from the fact that automation is easy to use, affordable and has the ability to create strategies that can be long term winners. https://updigital.ca

    ReplyDelete
  38. Thanks for posting the best information and the blog is very good.data analytics course in udaipur

    ReplyDelete
  39. Thanks for posting the best information and the blog is very good.data science training in rajkot

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thanks for posting the best information and the blog is very good.data science training in ranchi

    ReplyDelete
  41. Thanks for posting the best information and the blog is very good.business analytics course in ranchi

    ReplyDelete
  42. I will really appreciate the writer's choice for choosing this excellent article appropriate to my matter. The Turkish government provides electronic Turkey visa USA which is travel authorizations to United States citizens. It is for people who want to travel to Turkey without applying for a visa in advance and is different from a standard visa.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Your article is easy to read and understand. I would like to read more articles like this. Getting an evisa Turkey online is a hassle free process. It saves time and money as well.

    ReplyDelete
  44. 360DigiTMG offers the best Data Science Courses in the market with placement facilities. Get trained by expert teachers from IBM, ISB, and IIM. Enroll now! data analyst training and placement in hyderabad

    ReplyDelete