Spring was, well, the same weather as always, minus a few raindrops from the wettest winter ever in LA history. I had just moved from Santa Cruz so I thought it was normal for rain in California and I didn’t understand why they kept talking about a child – El Nino.
Spring also meant that I finally got to spring onto a film set.
It was for a short film – another UCLA reject that decided to go on anyway. I learned a lot – watching a big crew using a real film camera – 35mm and they even used a cool jig arm crane which moved the camera up. Plus the actors were in movies I had seen! This was exciting.
I soaked up everything and learned all possible.
One of the best lessons had nothing to do with film but how they treated each other. Some of the crew complained that this was a “first time director.” That’s a curse to be called but luckily it only happens once. I also saw how relaxed the producers were and they even played kickball while filming was going on inside.
That was the total opposite of my short film. The director and I weren’t talking anymore, only fighting. He accused me of not being dedicated. Truth was I was putting more energy into writing my Indigo Girls script and networking for that since I didn’t trust him anymore. Yet I still wanted to help, to learn more about filmmaking and protect my writer’s credit.
Around Easter I got an idea to help my Indigo Girls movie. I would go around the country, mostly to Native American reservations, and go to the places where the film would take place. Remember the whole idea came from the Honor the Earth tour where the Indigo Girls go to different reservations and raise funds for Environmental concerns. I called my friend Arnold back in Minnesota and asked if he wanted to join me. He responded "Did you eat too many Easter eggs?" He must've too since he said "yes."
The director nagged me to send out a fundraising letter. So I did, to my family and friends all over the country. I wrote how I was making the short film, then buying a digital camera (SONY XL1000) to make a documentary all summer traveling around reservations, and the next year planned to film the Indigo Girls movie no matter what. Three or four people responded with $20 checks and one woman gave me $100 since her son was going to stay with me and help out in the short film. (Later she cancelled that check). These are important details for what would happen later.
So, I looked for crew and rounded up people I knew for our short. I wrote people all over the world to come be on a movie set. Friends I had made in my world travels now said they would love to break into movies too. A pal came from Canada, a cousin from Canada, a cousin from Virginia who had studied film, and my friend’s son and his pal (who sent the big check). Plus I even got an announcement onto the “Pig” radio station in Santa Cruz and two middle age people with big vans (to lug things around) said they’d come down for the week in June. Things were coming into place.
Now more details had to be prepared and my language ability came into use. My friend who I brought on as another producer helped me walk around the neighborhood of the house where we would be filming. We had to get signatures from all the neighbors so LA would us our film permit. Half of the block spoke Spanish. They were all used to this since that house films a lot and they all said “si”. The house looked like a convent and “foreign” so it enhanced our film with a Middle East look (later they added a loon sound in post production. I don’t think loons are looney enough to live in the desert, they need lakes). I just chucked it up to another sign that this director was clueless and just using people, though I would find out soon, we were all using him.
The best thing I learned from being the “producer” of this short film, is what is everyone’s roll on a crew. And I learned fast that you better get their title right or they got snippy.
I got a list from Director’s Guild of America (DGA) and called asking people who wanted to be directors if they would be our First AD (Assistant Director), 2nd AD (the person under the 1st AD) and 2nd 2nd AD (below everyone but above the Production Assistants (PA) who do the grunt work and might have little to no experience – the true entry level job on a set). Some said yes. The ADs and production assistants help run the set – the 1st AD is the one who actually yells “action” on a big set, calls lunch, makes sure the extras are in the background, etc. It is an excellent way to learn all the ropes of how to control the army of people it takes to make a film. That was the other thing I learned once I was on the sets – I would never look at a movie the same anymore. Now I don’t just see the actors and action on the film, I see the camera and the whole crew standing on the other side – and sometimes you can literally see them in a car reflection on the screen.
At the same time I was still helping on the other short film. I was part of the props department which I think I should have pursued more. I loved finding the “Mexican American” style to decorate the house for their story. I brought in my dollies that women made for me in the Mexican village where I lived. Unfortunately when I left I took one of the owners “American” dollies and never got a chance to return it to them. I guess that’s one of the risks of lending your house to an amateur production. Later I’d see more how to run props the right way – clear labels in ziplock bags for everything.
I also got to be in the wardrobe department which shows how desperate they were because I’m an awful dresser and even had unmatched socks on that day. I was horrified that the clothes weren’t that organized so I couldn’t find a red shirt that the little boy needed in the shot. Everything has to match up to the previous shot so he can’t have red on one moment and blue the next. I was frantic looking for the damn shirt and heard over the walkie talkies “we’re waiting for wardrobe”
Great, I was holding up the whole shoot. I finally found it and sent the little tot on his way. And I got the best gift ever, alone time with the main actress who was in my favorite movie from Mexico - Like Water for Chocolate. I had seen it in Mexico, read the book in Spanish there, then showed the movie (edited) to my Spanish 3 students. Now she was giving me the gossip. It was wonderful.
She said the shoot was so long and they were isolated on a ranch that the bit part actors were going crazy. She and the director, Alfonso Arau (who I so admire) stopped talking but later she married her son. The two main actors really fell in love (happens often) but stayed together (rare). So maybe my fight with the director was normal and soon I’d find out, love would be common on a set.
Yareli, the actress, laughed with me and then went downstairs to act in a sad scene. She was on the verge of tears which made me tear up. I was blown away by her talent.
It was her last scene so the 1st AD said she was “wrapped” and everyone clapped for her. This is the way it’s done, I learned.
Before she left she gave me her contact information on a postcard she made promoting a movie she and her husband wanted to make called “A Day without a Mexican”. I saw the finished product years later and it’s hilarious plus it got a lot of attention when Californian protestors tried to do that in the immigration debates of the 2000s.
No comments:
Post a Comment