Quitting the Film Business

Well the title to this entry is kinda misleading, totally misleading in fact, since as I'm typing this I'm applying for a work experience spot for BBC Film London over the summer. But I have been toying with the idea of retiring from the film game to go on with my first love, which of course was making bookmarks. Admittedly though, this has only been on my mind since I've been haunted by my work on a recent graduation film.

The grads are films made in Year Three, with a few thousand pounds budget, along with a massive amount of equipment hired out for each one. It also tends to bring out ridiculously over complicated shoots, just because 'they can'. So a lot of lighting day for night and blocking night for day. I decided to help out this year as a spark, which is a lighting assistant. Good way to learn without getting too concerned about the film being potentially terrible.

The first few days were simple enough, although we did shoot in an apartment which was sloping in a way that put the bridging skyscraper in Cloverfield to shame. Fitting all the lighting equipment into the van involved some ingenius creativity, which inevitably backfired when the time came to unpacking any of it.

Then we needed to get the generators into action. We went to collect them, discovering they were each about 250kg (for about 5kW, what the fuck!). The only way to get them in the van was to just lift them in, a ramp would've been nice though since they were covered in petrol, presumingly when someone with parkinson's was filling it up. We had four of us so it wasn't too much of a concern, just awkward for the ones at the front (of which I was one). I decided that rather than stepping onto the van after the initial lift, I would just lift the handle above my chest. Seemed kinda awkward, but as I did I noticed one of the guys lifting, puffing away at a cigar.

On cue the generator ignited, and I heroically threw it into the two guys on the other side to me and dived for cover. Hearing a loud bang, I peered out, greeted with a slap from the severed arm of cigar guy. Somewhat irritated, I slid the smoking wreckage and corpses out of the way and got the rest of the camera crew to give me a hand getting the next one in. It went much more smoothly.

I more or less entertained myself during the rest of the night shoot with the budget handwarmers that were handed out. They look like teabags, so I just gave one of the other sparks a couple of tea bags instead and watched him struggle to get any heat of them for several hours. According to him they worked, but not very well.

And that pretty much wraps up the story of my first barbecue, or whatever it was supposed to be about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCCs5AdVwME