What's on tonight?

This question was posed to me recently: What am I watching?

I'll admit. I'm one who uses a monitor. I feel in this day and age of high page count and long work hours that anything that can help me go out quicker and less takes - I'm all for it. One can't always get close to the camera when there's two (or more) camera crammed against each other and assistants all over so, one feel a bit removed. The monitor really helps and I feel that I'm more "synergistic" with the operator.

Having the right tool for the job is more than ever important these days. One can't always get by with a little 3" Casio wireless anymore. It's a big decision whether to spend big bucks on something that you may not even get the kit rental on. I purchased last year a Marshall 7" HD monitor. Not top of the line, as I'm not pulling focus from it, but something that has reasonable brightness to see in the outdoors (with the help of a hood).

Are you using a monitor? And if so, what are you using?

Double headed Dragon - Pure Brilliance or Sheer Panic?

This photo is from doing "Double Headed, Hand Held Walk and Talks on "Covert Affairs' season two.

I did a daily on what was called a "webisode" for a already shooting television series. This is more and more common these days. Get in a couple off day actors, spill some crew over from main unit and get the writers to come up with some witty 2 page scenes. Sounds simple. HA! Never is. Add a a bunch of these "scenes". Mix in a few set shifts and you've got the makings of a long day.

These guys had brought in two camera teams, but only one dolly. Invariably the "blockings" of these setups generally had both cameras on top of each other with "A" camera edging "B" camera and ruining choice moments. Panic ensued… "Let's just put "B" on with "A" and that will solve everything!!"

I know that script people get a rate upgrade with more cameras - can that happen for me too?

We got the shot, then out of panic the rest of the day was setup that way - as Double Headed Dragon. I can understand in certain circumstances that it would be helpful, but so many times, one camera wants to go one way when the other camera wants to go the other. Then, due to lack of space, the focus pullers can't ride and now they're crying and tripping over themselves.

Is this the answer? Are locking two cameras together the answer (not including 3D here)? Or is this just panic?

Speaking of 3D, I did have a chance to see "The Avengers" over the weekend. Bloody great movie! To all the grips on the show: you should be very proud! It's been a long time since I was part of an applauding audience in a movie theatre!

Coming back to the "real" world?

Where have a been all this time? I've just finished working on a feature film.

Well, thanks to Non-Disclosure Agreements that I've had to sign I can't really say… and as the NDA is still in play I still can't say anything till the movie is released next summer.

However, I can say that I've been working on the largest project to be shot in Canada. I was working as the "B" Camera dolly grip. Up to four cameras every day. I worked with different operators, depending on the situation. Most of the time on headset with the director. Days with 300 extras. Days of SteadiCam. Days of two telescopic cranes fighting for the same spot. As big as the scope of the movie was, the rigs weren't big. Its seemed we were either on Steadi or crane and the moves weren't complicated. Always 1 to 2. The director was very prepared and knew exactly what he wanted, but at the same time, camera work was figured out on the day. We generally shot the first rehearsal and worked from there.

For me, I was an odd duck on the crew as it wasn't my regular crew, plus the out of town Key Grip was working with a new crew for him. They left me alone to do my job, as I worked with camera operators and the director.

It was a long seven months. Not many long days. Good turn around. Rarely did we go late on a Friday night (the Friday Five Dollar Draw stories is a post unto itself!). It was a paid vacation.

Now, after a couple weeks off, I'll be returning to the meat grinder of television series work. Mondays to Saturdays.

Every year I wish I could make it down to L.A. for the J.L. Fisher open house and CineGear Expo (and the Chapman BBQ?). Please let us know if you're going and what you saw that interests you!

Hello from NOLA!

Hello from New Orleans! Posting has been a little sparse lately. I apologize for this. Between babies and work and travelling, it's hard to find time to post, much less come up with a topic. I am writing to you from my hotel room in the beautiful Riverside Hilton. We are in week three of ten on my current production and it's going well. I have a great operator, who I genuinely like, as well as my regular feature DP whom I haven't seen in three or four years, as he's been in Europe doing two movies back to back. It's such a pleasure to work with people you know well and have a history with. The hardest part of this job is getting back into a feature frame of mind after having been in tv for so long. Quick and dirty is not always required and it's easy to forget that I now have the time and the latitude to do things properly rather than just resorting to the easiest and quickest option.  Where I would have recently just thrown down a piece of plywood for a push-in, I now take the time to lay a rail, and no one questions it. As I've said before though, tv makes good Dolly Grips, and I'm grateful for the time I spent in series world to refine my skills a little. I'm so used to having only a couple of takes to nail the shot that I find myself getting a little bored when we do seven or eight because of performance. I've also been doing B camera for a few months to get away from it a little and I have to admit I'm a little rusty. Things that were once second nature (knowing which side is best to mark etc.), I'm having to relearn. I find myself going back to something GHB said in a guest post about crane work. He said he always marks the side of the camera between him and the actors. I used to do this instinctively, but now, after so long away, I have to think about it. It goes for Dolly work too. If you mark the wrong side of the dolly, you find yourself out of position to do the shot. Either you can't see the mark, or you can't see the actors. If you find yourself having trouble executing a shot, change the side of the dolly your marks are on. Odds are, you've marked the wrong side. I know several of you are working in NOLA. Give me a shout and we'll have a beer. Till next time....
D

PS: I've now  registered "dollygrippery.net" so the site should be available there now. You may still visit "dollygrippery.com" for a good dose of crazy from the woman who inexplicably bought it.

Fisher Open House

  Save May 19th on your calendars. It's the Fisher Open House. It's one day that celebrates the Dolly Grip and his contribution to the art of motion pictures (wow, I'm loaded). Seriously, the guys at Fisher put on a great show. There's beer and barbecue and you'll more than likely run into an old friend or two.  I try to never miss one. Visit jlfisher.com for details.

Handheld

  My last post generated a lot of comments, so obviously it's a subject that merits more attention. Most Dolly Grips will assist in handheld mode by lifting the camera and placing the camera on and off the operator's shoulder. My regular Key Grip has always insisted on this and I've never really had a problem with it. I consider myself "camera support" and am generally happy to do it. To a point. Lifting and placing the camera in handheld is a courtesy, or at least that's always how I've viewed it. I've never seen anything in the Dolly Grip's job description that mandates it. I've always tried to follow the British tradition of "Camera Grip" and be as supportive to the camera department as possible. Generally, I follow the Key Grip's lead. If he expects me to do it, I'll do it. He's (or she's) ultimately the boss and I'll do my best to fulfill his wishes. I'll always start out doing it as if it's expected of me until one of the camera crew gets snotty about it. When a 1st or 2nd assistant starts yelling for me to pick it up, it's over. I will patiently explain that I'm providing a courtesy out of respect, that can end at my discretion. At some point, it just became expected that we carry the camera when it's not on a shoulder, which is nowhere to be found in any union by-laws that I've ever seen. Again, I love my camera brothers and sisters. But don't get cheeky or, as my friend GHB says, you'll find yourself getting very lonely around the camera.
   In recent news, my pilot is almost over. Three weeks of handheld (which I happily carried out of respect for my operator) is almost over. After almost six months without being behind a dolly on "A" camera other than a few second units, I may be ready to jump back in. My regular feature DP has a show in New Orleans and I'm excited, for once, about getting back to it. I was so burned out after my last job that I took a few months to only do "B" camera and second unit jobs, and was perfectly happy with that. I'm looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes.
D

Three Weeks of Monkey Work

Handheld....the bane of the Dolly Grip. I recently signed on to a pilot. Sounds like a good story, A-list cast, average money, and it is a perfect bridge covering three weeks until my next feature. I check out dollies and track with the B camera Dolly Grip, load the truck, and then find out it's all handheld. And I mean ALL handheld. Three weeks of fourteen to sixteen hour days of bench pressing an Alexa. Not much thought or skill involved. Just help keep the operator safe and try and massage my sore shoulders every night. The crew is great and the work moves along fast, but it's hard not to feel at least a little like the victim of a bait and switch. The dollies all look as shiny and new as the day we loaded them and they probably won't even come off the truck. I don't mind a little handheld every now and then. But picking this thing up and putting it down over a hundred times a day is starting to wear on me. I need a drink.

Bite Your Tongue

 This post was suggested by a Dolly Grip buddy of mine from Texas. He had worked with a relatively green operator, who, when he made a suggestion, would disregard it it, and say, "I'm the operator, you're the Dolly Grip." There was a time, in the not-too distant past, when I would have probably not taken something like that sitting down. My reaction to a situation like this, however, is directly proportional to my financial situation. As a new (and old) father with a new mortgage, I find that I'm suddenly much more agreeable and willing to let such comments slide right off me. Although I've never had a situation arise like this with an operator, I have with a DP.  While I'm a firm believer in knowing where you stand in the whole pyramid structure of the film crew, I also am not very good at being treated like a tool rather than a technician (see previous post). There are times when you just have to bite your tongue. Dealing with an inexperienced or attitude challenged camera operator can be trying, and sooner or later you will reach a point of saying, "Enough's enough." One thing I won't be is verbally abused. I may take it for a while, but sooner or later it's going to boil over. A good camera operator knows to rely on his Dolly Grip. The operators I work with regularly know that I can help them if they'll let me. They may not take my suggestions, but they always listen and are usually willing to try them. An operator who casually dismisses his Dolly Grip and has the attitude of Operator> Dolly Grip is unknowingly letting his inexperience show.  Still, if you need the job, taking a deep breath and telling yourself it's only temporary is necessary. The older I get (and more in debt), the less hotheaded I am. So maybe biting your tongue is also a by-product of maturity. I recently watched a short film on Dicky Deats, a legendary Key Grip who recently passed. He said that his favorite part of filmmaking was being part of the process. Being relied on to solve a problem gave him the greatest joy. That's all any of us want, especially as Dolly Grips. Part of that process involves knowing when to bite your tongue.

Monkey Work

  Sooner or later, you're going to do what I call "Monkey Work". This is how I refer to jobs that are basically just for a paycheck. For me, these are usually B camera jobs. On jobs like this, the DP is usually a pretentious jackass who, because you're on B camera and it's a less than blockbuster budget show, just assumes you're an idiot or "monkey" and spends his time treating you like one. That's fine. It's a paycheck, you're there to do a job and you just do it. It can be trying though. I did a show recently in just this situation where I was basically an afterthought to the DP. He questioned everything I did and seemed to believe that the simplest things were beyond my grasp. He would catch me waving a flashlight in front of the camera, trying to check a reflection in a window, and treat me as if I were mentally deficient for using this method. I caught myself muttering under my breath a lot, "I push dolly for two Academy Award winners and I'm too incompetent to check reflections for this hack." But, like I said, it's your job, you don't argue with the boss, and you just get through it. In any case, it can be humbling and sometimes it can be good for you. Grin and bear it.
  I picked up ten weeks in New Orleans in April with my old DP who's been in Europe forever. I'm looking forward to getting back in the groove. Since my series ended, I've been doing pretty much just B camera jobs and second unit TV, which was fine. I was so burned out and exhausted that I lost my taste for it for a while and just needed some time away from the responsibility of A camera work. I was beginning to wonder if I would get my taste for it back, but I'm starting to look forward to it again. GHB is coming to town to do a show and I can hopefully get together with him for a beer. If any of you are down this way, give me a shout.
D

Whew!

  Once again I find myself in a hotel room somewhere midway across the country. My Dad and I are driving my two cars to Atlanta where we will meet my family and all our crap. Then, I start a show the following Monday (B camera again, but it pays and this move is cleaning me out). I turned down a ginormous show because I just couldn't swing it with the move so I'm taking whatever comes and grateful to have it. In other news, a tornado has once again struck my hometown and they are once again digging out. See my thoughts on that here.
   Our friend Sanjay is in LA at Chapman this week and once again I missed him by a day. Every time he shows up I leave. Sorry Sanjay, tell Shafi hi for me. The way Sanjay works, I'm sure he'll end up taking a Hydrascope back to India with him.
   I did some fun TV second unit and fill -in work over the last two weeks on three different shows, including a Hydrascope on a Titan. I truly believe I could make a decent living working four days a week doing second units for television. I just wouldn'y enjoy it much and my heart wouldn't be in it.  That's all I have for this disjointed excuse for a post. I drove for ten hours today and I'm wiped.

dollygrippery.???? and the SOC Awards

  As most of you know, my procrastination caused me to lose my precious domain name to some woman who writes fairly unintelligible articles. I plan to re- register under a .net or maybe a .tv. As it is now, I'm in the middle of a logistical nightmare with moving etc. Until then, please direct anyone you know to be a reader to this address. Posts may be slim for a while unless Azurgrip finds time under his own busy schedule to put up something. I am taking any guest posts you may send me to keep the thing interesting. If you are an experienced dolly grip, or a newcomer with a fresh perspective, please don't be shy about emailing me something. I may punch it up a bit but the credit will be all yours if you wish.  We're not going anywhere, and have big plans for the future. We're just on a little hiatus after almost five years of continuous activity. I've met some great people and colleagues in the creation of our community and I'm grateful to all of you for your support. I can't tell you how great it has been to meet all of you and share our common experiences.

I would like to congratulate a couple of good friends. Two camera operators I work with are up for the SOC Operator of the Year Awards: Simon Jayes, my good friend and co-worker on True Blood, and Will Arnot, whom I did a feature with a couple of years ago.. Simon is a truly gifted camera operator and it has been my pleasure to be his Dolly Grip for many years now on three tv series and more shots than I can count (both kinds). With Simon, it's more fun than work.Will Arnot,  is up in the feature category for The Help. Will is a fantastic operator and a truly great person. I look forward to working with him again. Will makes it look easy. Andy Crawford was his Dolly Grip on the picture and Will would be the first one to give him credit where it's due. Congratulations gentlemen. It has been an honor to work with both of you and call you both friend. Good luck!

Until next time, stay safe and keep it on the track.
D

This and That

  I'm actually low on ideas for technical posts right now. Over the last four years we've covered just about every imaginable topic you could think of in the field of dollygrippery. The well is dry. Please email me or comment with any ideas you may have or topics you would like to see covered.
   One thing about this business that I've always appreciated is the universality of it. By this I mean that yuou bring a crew of hundreds of people together, many of whom have never met, and because of the traditions, training, and work ethic among most of them the whole thing can function like a machine with very few hiccups. Making a movie is an unbelievable logistical nightmare. That a group of strangers can meet, pull it off, and part as mostly friends amazes me every time it happens. This is true now more than ever as the film business finds itself breaking out of the traditional "shot in LA or New York" mold and is cranking  up in places like Shreveport and Detroit.  As I was loading out dollies for the last show in Atlanta, I attempted to strike up a conversation with an out of town dolly grip who was checking in a dolly behind mine. I could tell immediately that he thought of me as "just another local with a Southern accent who thinks he's a dolly grip."  He shrugged me off and went his way and I'm sure did a great job, but the attitude gave me the idea to just say this: there are good techs everywhere, as well as subpar ones. It's a new business and if you're fortunate enough to be a guest in someone else's town, at least be gracious. That's all I'm going to say about that. Jackass.
   I've got a new blogsite up at infrequentwriting.blogspot.com. It's  mainly just a place to practice and polish up my writing a little. It was inspired by a blog called 365 Jobs, as well as Michael Taylor's blog. Both are so well thought out and beautifully written that they made me want to have a place to work on my skills a little and see what else I could write about. Check it out.
   Like I said before, give me some ideas. I haven't been behind an A camera dolly in five months, so I need a little shove to know which way to go. Maybe I'll get in touch with Larry the Boom Guy. He's always got great ideas for posts. I got nothing but time so help me out.
D

New Hybrid Configuration + End of Year What Did We Learn Post

    I learned something interesting on the last show. The A Camera Dolly Grip pushes a Hybrid regularly. He showed me a new way to configure the head that Chapman offers and some of you die hard Hybrid enthusiasts may appreciate if you don't already know about it. It's simply a plate that bolts down in the same place that the regular four-way levelling head does, using the same bolt. The new style Hustler 4 rotating levelling head then attaches to the plate. Rather than an RO on top of the levelling head, giving you five extra inches of height you rarely need, you now can get a little lower than with the old style head. Having not pushed a Hybrid in a while, I hadn't seen it, but it really works great. I will be sure to ask for it next time I use one. I can file this one in my usual end-of- year what did we learn post, which is as follows:

1:You can get by on way less than you think you can.
2: Soft compound tires aren't as bad as I always thought.
3: Take it down a notch.
4: Don't overthink it. (I knew this already. It's actually one of my regular mantras. It bears repeating).
5: You know the front lifting handles built into the Peewee 4? There's a little slice cut out of the inside edge of each side. I know what that's for. (Think old-school low mode).
6: B Camera isn't so bad after all. I got a lot more stuff done.
7:  The replacement value of a short post seat riser is $845.00.
8: THE REPLACEMENT VALUE OF A SHORT POST SEAT RISER IS $845.00! IT'S A POST WITH A HOLE IN IT!
9: You don't really appreciate roundy-round until you don't have it.
10: Let the young guys take the front up the stairs.
11: That thing I said earlier about the new Hybrid config.
12: Being shushed by a  twenty-two year old PA  irritates me a lot more than it used to.

Here's to a great and prosperous New Year! Wishing you all the best. Take care of each other.
D

Tony

We lost one of our own a couple of weeks ago. Tony Bendt, a Dolly Grip I had known only a few years passed away in his bed in New Orleans while on location. I don't know the details of his passing, and at this point it doesn't really matter. The world's supply of good men is down by one. Much of what I would say has already been said, coincidentally, by Michael Taylor in a post he did a few days ago about a fellow worker dying unexpectedly. I had heard about Tony just the day before reading Michael's post and had to read it twice to be sure he wasn't talking about him. I didn't know him as well as I would have liked, so I'll speak my peace with the few facts I did know and be done with it.
  The one thing I know for sure about Tony Bendt was that he had a talent for making friends. Whenever anyone passes on, it's amazing how many people say that everyone loved him and he brought joy into the world etc. etc.  I always wince a little and wonder how this could possibly be true of everyone who meets an untimely end. Well, if I were interviewed tonight about what Tony Bendt was like, I would say that everyone who met him loved him and he certainly brought a lot of joy to those who knew him. And Tony knew everybody. His ability to make friends struck me the first time I met him, at a gathering of dolly grips a few years ago. I met him, liked him, and a few weeks later received a text from him asking how I was. He would always send me pictures out of the blue. A  few of them are to the right in the picture section of this page. I don't think I ever went more than a couple of weeks after that without receiving a text or a picture or a phone call. He honestly was that way. I don't know how he found the time because, as I said, he knew everybody, and I have to assume that they were all getting texts and calls from him as well. He has a Facebook page and on it I have found the first Best Boy I ever worked with, a DP I've worked with, several Dolly Grips, and a whole network of  people I've heard of, but never met. He also loved this business. When you've been at it as long as most of us have, we tend to find ourselves jaded and disillusioned by the whole process. I never knew him to be that way. He honestly enjoyed his job, and the people around him. He was a good man in a business which sometimes seems short of them. He leaves behind a wife and two children. I pray for them. A blog has been set up for him at tonybendt.blogspot.com. If you knew him, go pay your respects. If you didn't, go and let it inspire you to leave as much of a mark on the people who know you as he did.
Safe travels, Tony. The world is a poorer place without you in it. See you on the other side.......


  Now, life, and business must go on. As most of you know, I let my domain registry expire due to a mixture of laziness, stupidity, and forgetfulness. In my defense, I've had a lot on my plate in the last few months and just let it slip through the cracks. Some company immediately bought it and is now holding it for ransom. It will be back. In the meantime, you can find me here at the Blogspot address.

  The show's over, we bought a new house, and I'm in the process of moving. Not a fun task in the best of times. Oh, I also don't have a job for next year yet. It's very exciting. You didn't come here for news on my personal life, you came here for some tasty Dollygrippery, so here's a rundown of the last job:

Steadicam, Steadicam and more Steadicam. I sit on the truck, help the A camera Dolly Grip lay track, sit on truck some more, surf the internet, move carts, get bored and help grips build 12 x's, sit on truck, do establishing shot. That's pretty much how it went for nine weeks. In the meantime, I made some new friends, worked with a great DP, and reconnected with some old friends. That's really all you can ask for. Til next time, stay safe out there.

Update

  Well, it's been a while. I apologize for not checking in for a few weeks, but I've been dealing with real estate stuff, one year old's birthdays, and work. The show is going well and I'm really enjoying B camera and not having to be there every second. I think of myself as Eddie Van Halen's guitar tech. I make sure the rock star has everything set up to put on a show. I can play, but I prefer to remain in the background. I'll have a topical post soon, but right now I can't really think of anything to post on. Ideas anyone?

PS -Because I've been slack lately, my domain name registration may have expired. If the site goes dark, nothing's wrong, I'll be back.

Day 2

 I haven't done really much of anything for two days. I've been going about this all wrong!

Day 1: A camera- Steadicam, B camera- One shot on hi hat. Shoot the breeze with A camera dolly grip. Get wedges for hi hat.

Day 2: A camera- Steadicam most of day. Two dolly shots. Help A camera dolly grip get and lay track. Shoot breeze with A camera dolly grip. B camera- Set up shot on sticks. Don't shoot it.

More to come. That is all.

Oxford, Mississippi- Oct 4

  Hello from Oxford, Mississippi, home of Robert Faulkner, John Grisham, and Ole Miss, or, the University of Mississippi. I have made this my last stop on my four day cross- country drive. Oxford is a quintessential Southern university town. Amidst magnolias, a thriving music scene, and pretty sorority girls are Confederate cemetaries, Greek Revival mansions, and the barely controlled chaos of SEC college football. I arrived here at around 7PM, and after checking in to my hotel  decided to take a look around. After I found myself on the grounds of Ole Miss, I realized I was last here twenty years ago, when I worked on a movie here called The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag, the only movie I was ever fired from (although I prefer the term "replaced"). It's not as scandalous as you might think, I was simply too young and inexperienced to handle the responsibilities of being the main set grip, and the DP noticed. I got rattled, and then I got replaced. I later worked with this same DP about sixteen years later as his Dolly Grip and we had a nice laugh about it. In any case, I find myself here again. I don't remember  much about my time here before. I remember some cool bars, seeing some band called Insane Jane, and picking up a girl for a date in front of a white columned sorority house (apparantly I had a good time while I was here). There's something about the feeling of a Southern college campus that you don't get anywhere else. At least I don't. All these schools: Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Georgia, are connected by a common history and a (usually) friendly rivalry. Notice I didn't include Auburn in this list because they don't count. It's a history of proud tradition, sometimes incredible cruelty, loss,and Southern gentility, and it permeates the air of these little towns built around big schools. I've worked on the grounds of USC, UCLA, even Harvard, but I don't get the same feeling I get here. It was here, during the Civil War, that the medical school building was used as a hospital for the injured from the Battle of Shiloh. The dead were buried in a mass grave near what is now the coliseum. It was also here in 1962, around a hundred years later  that James Meredith, in a show of incredible courage, became the first African- American student to be admitted to the University of Mississippi.  But enough history. I think being here reminds me of my own days at the University of Alabama not too far up the road. Or maybe I'm just happy to be back in the South. In any case, It's a satisfying end to a good trip.
 So tomorrow I'll finish up the last leg of my trip and prep on Thursday and Friday to shoot Monday. I'll try and give regular updates as to what's going on but internet at my house in Georgia is spotty at best. A buddy of mine who is Key Gripping a series in Atlanta is renting my house so he'll have a roommate for a couple of months. Maybe I'll get him to do a guest post or something. Till next time.....
D

The Open Road

  This week I will begin the long drive to Atlanta to start my next show. It's the one I'm doing B Camera on and I'm actually looking forward to not having the responsibility of A camera. I'm also looking forward to the drive. I've made this trip probably half a dozen times over the last ten years and while it may seem like drudgery (and sometimes is), I see it as a little "me" time. I've got four days with nothing but my satellite radio and my cellphone which has GPS and Yelp, so I should never be lost. I'm going to treat it like a mini vacation and stop when I want to, and take a side road now and then if it looks interesting. I'll be taking Interstate 40 from Los Angeles to around Memphis, where I'll drop down into Atlanta. I did this a couple of years ago and enjoyed it a lot. If anyone has any ideas or good restaurants along that route, let me know.

  It's been a good week. I did two second units on two different television series that went really well and then filled in for a friend of mine on A camera on a pretty big movie  for one day and had a blast. I've been enjoying my two and three day a week schedule, but I'm ready for an actual job. It'll be good to get back home and see some familiar faces. I hope all of you are doing well. Drop me a line sometime.

Letting It Go

  I once had a camera operator ask me how many takes before I start to sweat. I honestly have no idea what my answer was. At the time we were both under the thumb of a particularly dictatorial DP (think Captain Bligh, or Humphrey Bogart's character in The Cain Mutiny). This guy just couldn't be pleased and alternated takes between screaming at him, and screaming at me, a peculiarly ineffective leadership style. It does bring up a topic for a post, though: letting go of your mistakes.
  This was always a hard one for me. I tend to beat myself up for mistakes. I will hang on to them way too long if I allow it. It's in these times that the words of a great old DP come back to me, "D, sometimes you just have to say f*#@k  'em."
  In a lot of ways you have to be like a quarterback. Sooner or later, you're going to throw an interception. You may even throw one that results in the other team running it back for a touchdown. But you have to let it go. The next play is a brand new one and you can't be effective with the memory of that spectacularly bad pass weighing you down. This is one of the reasons I always say that TV is the best training ground for a Dolly Grip. It's fast and there's little room for mistakes. If you don't get it by the third take, you don't get it. If you consistently don't get it by the third take (unless it's an extremely technical move of some kind, with a three-axis Lambda, a 360 degree pan and three booms while crawling on the floor to stay out of reflection) they are probably going to start looking for another Dolly Grip. Lucky for me (heh heh) I've been doing mostly TV for the past three years. And I enjoyed it. It was a challenge every day, and it taught me that the previous fifteen years of big fancy features had made me soft. I didn't get three rehearsals and six takes to get a shot in a two page day. I got to lay a dance floor, get the master and most of one side in two or three takes, while mentally working out where and how much floor I would need for the other side as we worked our way through a seven page day. And I learned that if I made a mistake to let it go. Luckily, most of my mistakes were in execution, not in setup, which would have taken a lot longer to correct. Sometimes you'll miss a boom or have a bad sitdown, but it takes a long time to re- lay a floor because you calculated wrong, or forgot which side the eyeline was on and just didn't lay enough. But every now and then that will happen, and when it does you will feel like a complete dumbass. Let it go.
   The truth is, most mistakes are quickly forgiven, unless you're working for a jackass like we were. Usually, you are your own worst enemy. It's easy to let the pressure get to you. Unlike most other departments, you've got at least four people depending on you (focus puller, camera operator, DP, director). Learn to let it go.

Going Out On A School Night

  This post is for all of us who have:

Woke up in our car in crew parking.
Walked out of the bar to a pale blue sky and realized we have to be at work in an hour.
Passed out on the bed, forgotten to set our alarm, gotten a call from the Best Boy asking, "Are you coming to work today?"
Done a sixty foot, balls -out move in the scorching heat with a blinding hangover.

  I'm going to start this topic with my most cringe inducing story. Not too many years ago, I did a movie in Louisiana. The star was Denzel Washington. The whole movie was shot in and around the Shreveport area except for one location: a small town a couple of hours over the Texas line. The company decided to bus the crew there in three private coaches, where they would drop us off at our hotel. As most of you know, any time a film crew gets on any sort of mass transit, be it plane, train, or bus, liquor will flow, and hijinks will follow. As soon as we boarded and staked out our prospective seats, the coolers came open and the crew in general, and the grips and electrics in particular, began to get blitzed. We had Bloody Mary's. We had beer, We had rum. One of the grips had pineapples that he cut in half, added rum and a straw, and passed them out. So we journeyed through the afternoon, blowing off steam and getting ripped. When we got to the hotel, we all got off the bus and began looking for our respective bags. At some point, I noticed Mr. Washington's makeup artist, whom I hadn't yet met. Now this man is just one of those people who carries himself with a lot of class. He's always dressed to the nines. He just exudes dignity. Today, he's chosen an outfit of pure white silk. I, of course, have picked a Bloody Mary as my particular poison and I think you know where this is going. I marched up to this completely unsuspecting man and stuck my hand out to offer a handshake. Bloody Mary, meet white silk. I was mortified. To make a long story short, the next day, after my repeated calls and notes begging forgiveness, he gave me a big hug. To this day when I think about that moment I shudder.
   The film business lends itself to substance abuse like few other careers. You take long nights in crew hotels with a common bar in a strange town for four months, add a group of mostly youngish men and women who have spent the last twelve to fourteen hours on a set, and you've got a recipe for disaster. I've seen marriages end before my eyes. Add per diem into the mix and you can ruin your life and reputation on the company dime. Now I joke around a lot about The Captain, and I do like my liquor drink. Some of my best posts have been with The Captain's guidance. But I learned long ago when to say when. Not because I'm naturally chock full of common sense, but because I've been burned enough times to know not to get loaded and lay down on the stove anymore. So here are some other things I've learned:

Respect the eight hour mark. This is the point where you can go to bed and still get eight hours of sleep before call. Know it ahead of time and adhere to it. Party like there's no tomorrow up to it, then leave.

Know your limits. Listen to the little voice (not the one in your pants).

If you're going on location alone, and you want to stay out of trouble (whatever kind of trouble that may be), take your X Box. It's a lot easier to say no to your friends when you've got twenty more levels of Gears of War waiting on you in your hotel room.

Chasing twentysomething PA's is fun and rewarding when you're under forty. After that it's just creepy.

If they are having the wrap party before shooting is actually completed, DON'T GO. (I have a story for this one involving a DP's lovely daughter, but I won't go into it).

Take a cab. Take a cab. Take a cab.

  I hope this timely Public Service Message comes in handy to those of you not quite old enough to know better.
And now....I believe I'll have a drink.