Mr. E on Balancing Work and Home

A typical work hour in the film business is 12 hours. That means 12 hours of work, not counting breaks or travel time. And that’s assuming your production is staying productive throughout the day, which doesn’t always happen. Let’s just say that everyone is very familiar with the concept of Overtime. I’ve been on sets that worked for 16 hours and I’ve even heard of shows that went up to a 24 hour work day. It’s very rare to get that high, but it does happen.

Now, this means that on a normal work day, depending on where we are shooting, I could leave the house at 6am and not get home until 8 or 9pm.  Everybody in this business is a little bit crazy, because we all know that this is normal and expected.

These working hours are a huge reason why so many people in the industry are not married, or have been married far too many times. So it’s important that I remain focused and put my family before my business.

Text messaging saves marriages. I’m not saying that you need to have constant text conversations with your spouse, but for me it’s a fast way to tell Mrs. E that I’m thinking of her. I send her little tidbits throughout the day, and by doing so, we are able to have some personal interaction. It’s obviously not as good as being together in person, but when I’m away from home more hours of the day than I am there, I need to do what I can.

Thankfully, Mrs. E and I have taken the time to understand as much as we could about the business before we started. Since we communicate so openly, there aren’t as many snags or pitfalls when the industry makes yet another drastic change. But as long as we keep in contact with one another, being apart isn’t quite so hard.

One of the keys to a good marriage is to give more than is expected. When the two of you are selfless it only serves to strengthen your relationship as a couple.

On Set +1

One of the perks of marrying into the industry is that I get to take a sneak peak at what goes on...without actually being terrified about my job security. Every time I think that Mr. E has an awesome gig I'm reminded that he could get fired over guacamole on his boss's lunch.

So when Mr. E offers to pick me up during work I'm both intrigued and seriously worried for his job. Then again, in his workplace it's common- even expected- to prank, cuss and do your own grocery shopping.

I really detest driving in new places (like a broken record over here) but I'm actually a fairly good passenger/navigator/backseat picture taker, so all in all I'm kind of a toss up on road trips. We drove from the production office in Burbank to set in LA. Now, set is actually divided into multiple locations including base camp and the shooting location, as well as additional smaller satellite locations. Each day a set map/location list is sent out to all of the appropriate parties...and it's about here I think that my small experience as a stage manager would have helped tremendously if I wanted to pursue film. 

Really the call sheet has all of the relevant information for everyone- closest hospital, a small map of the surrounding streets, the locations of all of the pieces and parts to set, the names and numbers for all the people who are on call for the day, etc. Traffic is highly regulated by a single security officer and a network of trailers- no stars on the door but the porta-potty I used was one of the nicest I've ever been in. Mr. E has to tag his car with a "Wish I Was Here" card so he passes scrutiny.

Apparently in LA there are all sorts of yellow signs up on the lightposts- this direct you to a film set! Once you notice them you'll start to see them everywhere. They're semi-coded as initials so Wish I Was Here became WIWH. I spotted another for C6- any ideas??

We stopped by a satellite location to drop off some high-res photographs that the Visual Effects (that's VFX, guys) made for the artist. There were two retaining walls in a residential neighborhood that the city permitted to be spray-painted for the movie. I can only imagine how much that would cost! Seeing as how they were in plain view of the street, I could resist snapping a picture, but seeing as how I'm not looking for any legal attention, we'll keep it a sneak-peak peek.

Really, the city of LA is fascinating- there are truly all walks of life here. All I know about the city is what I've seen from movies (go figure) and it surprised me that it was both similar and so very very different. Don't call me an Angeleno yet!

Pack Pack Pack

This week was busy. Busy. Busy. Busy.The big news? Mr. E has his first job as a college grad! 

I want to do cartwheels and back flips but I'll just settle for raising my cup (of coffee) because I've been packing and cleaning the house in preparation for moving, so my energy is zilch. He's working as an Office Production Assistant on the new Zach Braff movie "Wish I Was Here". Such a good jump for his resume because it's very well-known and looked-forward-to in the industry. Here's the Kickstarter webpage; it has a very well-written concise explanation of exactly what making a movie means, what it costs and how you get all of those kittens herded into the bathtub while rolling it down a street in New Orleans made to look like LA. 

This means that Mr. E left the house before I did this morning- SO. WEIRD. We've been operating within our norm for quite some time now and this has kind of shaken things up. New sleeping schedules, I can't ask him to take food out to thaw for dinner, the dog's at home all day...Very strange.

Missing her morning snuggle buddy

I have two weeks left at my job and after that I'm floating free. Casting my net wide, here, applying to anything and everything I can get my hands on, hoping that the more resumes I send out, the sooner I'll get a bite. As great as it is that Mr. E's working, it's still project-based, meaning that he's working on this project which has a run time of approximately 9 weeks, and after that he's looking again. Which is how you do it apparently- constantly networking and keeping an eye on the date of "un-employment". Ugh. It creates a very stressful working situation, but we are so lucky to have two working adults: it makes things bearable! I can't imagine having to jump into the industry by yourself.

We're still looking for an apartment after a few hits (and misses). It's tough to find our price-range or our size, so we're jumping at every opportunity. Almost signed papers for a two bedroom in Burbank (PERFECT?) but stopped at the last minute because really the kitchen was so. small. And since I don't have a reliable job-lead yet it just seemed a little premature. But those days are ticking away!


Just to keep things interesting, Mr. E and I took a trip to see how the other side lived: visiting friends in their new loft apartment in the fabric district of Los Angeles. It's not just in the movies, people. They've converted a loft apartment into a four bedroom bachelor/bachelorette pad with a STUNNING view of the city. We fell into over-sized off-color couches and scoffed authentic LA Mexican food while watching the sun dip behind the twinkling skyline through giant industrial windows. Not only is it refreshing to catch up, but it's reaffirming to know that there are other people that are going through the exact issues that we are. We're not alone!

So while our energy is sparse and our attention spans are filled with budgets and job applications, we are still SO excited to be moving on. We need to stop fighting the change because come August this will all be over.

LOVED This Weekend

How much did we love this weekend? Let us count the ways...

You know, not everyone's into kids...

Mr. E's movie, Ganas, screened this Saturday. For the last few weeks (and for a month after this) student theses screen on the weekends to present and showcase all of the fantastic short films that have been made this year. Mr. E has worked on or has friends who have worked on films almost every week, so it's been a great free date night.

The key creatives on Ganas. Yeah, that's our Key Viking.

Mr. E and his producer, Ms. Clay- fabulous get-it-done lady!

The outpouring of love and support for my sweet hubs was heartwarming. Family and friends came together to watch his short film both in person and through the live streaming event provided by Chapman. We chowed down on food and puppy love before the screening and spent a restful day at the pool on Sunday. Ain't nothin' like an 15 person Eccles dinner, amirite?

What's Going On, Mr. E?

Here it comes.

The culmination of 6 years of schoolwork, transfers, classes, projects, blood, sweat (lots of that) and tears (of frustration) all comes to a head in one month.

In one month Mr. E screens his thesis film "Ganas". 

And he couldn't be more excited. 

We slogged through the brainstorming. Threw around ideas like confetti, argued through plot points, conceded locations, characters, budgets. 
We skimmed through fundraising. Briefly thought about See's candy, car washes, bake sales. We set aside a hefty portion of our own budget to pay for production: equipment rentals, truck rental, locations, food services, cameras and lenses.
We tackled the weeks leading up to the shoots: 10pm home meetings, afternoon restaurant meetings, between-classes meetings.
We suffered through the two weekend shoots...and loved every minute of it. Mr. E was in his element, carefully coordinating a team of 30+ people into a cohesive unit, fully focused on bringing his creation to life (to screen?).
And finally, once the filming was finished, Mr. E lovingly delegated his footage to his editor, to his sound designer, to someone else! to be tinkered and tampered with. While Mr. E still has a strong voice in the aftermath, his actual directing days are over. For now.

He's still called in for consultation on this or that: the sound, the transitions, the editing. Cutting his beautiful footage (the 3 minute Steadicam shot) into manageable, flowing story-telling. Because, ultimately, that's what a movie is. Visual storytelling. It's not the special effects or the actors or the production design. It's not the writing or the costumes or the marketing. It's a story, made of all of these parts and more. It's the effort of hundreds of people working to tell the story just so.


It seems like more and more schmucks, shoddy writers and two-bit directors are getting their shot at fame, making summer movies. But the movies that really stand out? The ones that make you think, that stay with you long after you've seen them are movies that have a story to tell- and tell it well.


We're still scrambling to support a few other movies wrapping up this year- Mr. E is often on other film sets, always learning and I give a few dollars here or there to fundraisers by his peers. But on the whole...we're almost done. And that sweet LA air is calling us to bigger and better things. 
Here's to change. Here's to progress. Here's to us.

Moving Heaven and Earth...On a Movie Set

The greatest danger, critic and competitor on a movie set is time.

While takes roll, the set is tense, coiled, waiting for their next move. Everyone is riveted on the actors- not because of their performance, but because as soon as a prop fails, an accident occurs, or someone breaks character, the director calls cut (quickly repeated and projected by the AD) and HUSTLE is now the name of the game.  

Shooting in abandoned underground water treatment plants: hazardous for one's health.

With only 12 hours to get multiple takes, multiple angles, multiple shots and sometimes multiple locations, every second counts. Each minute is scrupulously measured as the movie set is ultimately ruled by time: Time to start, time for actors to be there, time for lunch. On a set, everything costs money- paying the actors overtime, paying the rental company for use of the truck, the camera, the equipment, the space. You want to maintain a positive relationship with these people so that you can work with them again- but you're also balancing your vision of the movie. 

     This is why it is SO IMPORTANT to plan your shots ahead of time, to communicate with your key creatives to make sure that everyone knows exactly in which direction to head like a great coordinated school of fish. Each movement is beautifully choreographed and not a single second is wasted telling people to be quiet, to re-take the scene, to move out of the shot, to move into the shot. The people, even despite the fact that it's a student film, are professionals. This is their passion, whether they're doing the job on set they want or not, and each movie is another learning experience. 

Ideally the main creatives (director, DP (director of photography) and the assistant director) should meet to discuss what the focus of the day is, sort of to keep everyone on the same page. Additional people may be added to this meeting (assistants, the producer, even the key grip) but overall you want a few key people to direct the flow and efficiency of the day. The call-sheet is sent out the night before (if everyone's on top of it), letting the crew and talent (cast) know where they need to be. It also includes important information like start times, directions, who's needed when and where, set changes, lunch, breaks and so on and so forth. 

     Even though set may start at a specific time, transportation may take longer to get there (if, say, your set is in LA in the traffic of a weekday morning...or a weekend in the mountains).

Once everyone has started arriving, the first shot of the day is set up. The equipment is unloaded from the truck and organized: cables and lights, sandbags and boxes, dolly tracks, mics, the camera(s) and folding chairs. This can easily take a few hours. While this is going on base camp is also being created- chairs off-set, craft services (aka crafty, aka snacks and food) for those who don't have a specific function between shots. 

When the camera starts rolling, the crew moves like clockwork (if it's a good crew!). The grips handle the equipment, all led by the key grip who is in charge of organizing where things need to be for each take. This is also overseen by the DP who lends a hand, placing his lights just so, fixing cables and framing where the shots will be. On student sets the grips are often a swing shift of sorts- working both grip and electric departments, filling in for whatever needs moving. The gaffer, who is in charge of the electricalities, adjusts the lights, the bounce boards, and the cables...which can run every which way all over the set. 

The electric crew creates the light, the grips create the shadows.

The director is often seen conversing with his actors- a good director can trust his crew to do the things he wants, without actually monitoring them. He has other people who monitor for him, so when he's between takes he focuses on molding the talent, leading them one way or another, encouraging or discouraging as the case may be. Once cameras are rolling you'll find him behind a make-shift TV screen, watching what the camera records. He watches the actors, the blocking, the reactions and the movement of the camera and may or may not have someone watching the scene with him to make sure no equipment is captured accidentally.

The lifeblood of a set- the vein that keeps it all together- is the almighty walkie-talkie. Cell phones sometimes get bad reception (when you're working in cement basements) or aren't loud enough. The regular squawking and white noise allows those not immediately on set to socialize, rehearse, get away from where the shots are being filmed- as long as someone is always within the vicinity of a walkie, you're always on call. 

My favorite part of listening to the dead silence when a walkie goes off? The short-hand and the funny phrases.

"Can we have a C-47 flown in?" Someone needs a clothespin on set

Late Nights Do Not Make Early Mornings

Mr. E is exhausted this morning! That's what happens when you're on set from 4pm to 4am. College kids, amirite?

The good news is that he seems to enjoy being an Assistant Director (AD)- it's most of the same technical things as a Director, you just work more with the crew than with the actors. Which can have it's ups and downs! 

I've never noticed before, but film sets are incredibly complex beasts. There's a lot more to it than just grabbing a camera and acting out scenes...I think that's the actress in me talking.

Things Mr. E has learned:

1. A well fed crew is a good crew. Promise your crew a hearty meal with the option for seconds and they will do a LOT better. This may be because your grips (the movers and shakers) are mostly men.

2. Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.

3. An AD should basically be in the back pocket of the director and/or DP (that's Director of Photography). You're their go-to man, the middle man between the creative process and the technical, the neurons, if you will.

4. Know how (and when) to communicate. If you can't communicate well with someone, find someone who will. 

5. Keep to schedule. This means budgeting your time wisely, knowing when to stop someone before they've gone too far and ensuring the happiness of your crew members (See #1).

6. Know how to manipulate morale. If that means employing cute girls to encourage the grips, then do so! Or, you know, bring your dog.

Upcoming

Mr. E is back on set...and we're a mixed ball of emotions about it.

That's the royal we, ya'll.

Mr. E has been so lucky to be able to attend Chapman University- one of the finest colleges for film-making. He's surrounded by like-minded peers, industry execs and professors who take time from their own projects to teach. 

This last year of school has been a whirlwind of planning and executing, and even though he's done filming his own movie, the process is far from over. As the writer and director of his own movie, there was a lot of pre-production work--that is, work before filming starts. Draft upon draft was written, edited, chopped, reviewed and consolidated. Auditions were had, and call-backs after that. Endless driving for location scouting. Endless meetings with his production crew to organize, schedule and fundraise for the movie. A director's job is never done and Mr. E has thrown his entire heart into movie-making.

It seems to me that good directors are fickle little creatures: fiercely protective of their work but willing to listen to criticism; kick-butt-take-names to get things DONE on set but quick to let go of what has been determined not "their" job. Mr. E is a good director. (Actually, Mr. E is just a good person, but I admit I may be biased). He is at once able to view the big picture of the movie while experimenting with shots, lighting, sound, moods- allowing his crew a full freedom to complete their individual tasks and the whole set-experience to run quickly and smoothly. 

I have never seen my husband so in-charge. 

Each set gives Mr. E a learning opportunity: working with new people, working with new stressed people, using different equipment, shooting at different locations, coordinating schedules and permits. Sometimes he wears different hats--sound designer, grip, producer-- but this weekend? Mr. E is assistant director.

Assistant Director means that you have meetings at all hours of the day and night. 
It means that six days of shooting, 12 hour days, distant locations, shooting times and mandatory lunches and schedules for minors becomes a great spatial puzzle you must solve.
It means sharing the most significant man in your life with four other people...

It's a good thing I've come to like these people.

The director and the AD are like twins: they may look super similar, but there's always the "bad one". The director is primarily in charge of directing the actors, fleshing out how the movie should feel. Scripts are as plain as possible in order to give directors lots of freedom with actors, sets, colors, shots and so on. ADs on the other hand organize the set, keep the shots clean, the crew quiet, the cast on schedule. 

Most importantly for Mr. E, ADs are the last ones to leave set. Which means a 12 hour shoot from 10 to 10 might take as long as 8:30 to midnight after transportation, set-up, take-down, loading the truck and watching dailies (the shots you've taken at the end of the day).

It'll be a long weekend.

Lemon Bars

What do you do when life hands you a bag of lemons you find a bag of free lemons in the break room at work?
You take them home to make lemon bars, of course.

Because clearly I can't get enough butter in my system.
(The great thing about a break room? You can get rid of all those extra fattening things you shouldn't be eating...made cookies? Take 'em to work)

I followed a recipe that is near and dear to my heart: from the Alpha-Bakery Children's Cookbook by Gold Medal flour. This poor little cookbook is so -beat up- well-loved with all of the use it's seen since I started cooking. It made my little heart sing to see my niece with a Alpha-Bakery Cookbook as well- though a few of the recipes had changed.

Lemon bars
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of butter (soft)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup of sugar
2 tsp of grated lemon peel
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt
2 eggs 

     Heat oven to 350. 
     Mix thoroughly flour, butter, powdered sugar in a small bowl. Press evenly with hands in bottom and about 5/8 inch of sides of an ungreased square pan 8x8x2 inches (If dough is sticky, flour fingers). This is the crust. Bake 20 min.
     Beat remaining ingredients ina  medium bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Pour over hot crust.
     Bake just until no indentation remains when touched lightly in center, about 25 minutes. Let stand until cook, then cut into about 1 1/2 inch square (or massive pieces because we like lemon in this house). Makes ~25 squares

Realistically, I made these for Mr. E's set- so I tripled the recipe, added more lemon anyways and baked them in whatever I had handy (which was Pampered Chef stoneware 9x13s). 

I think they went faster than my pancakes.

Film Set Weekend. Take 2.

I could spend this time complaining; talking about how lonely I was this weekend, how much I didn't get done, how guilty I am for not eating very well or working out.

Instead, this weekend rocked. I set out to do a list of things around the house, but instead I planted my butt on the couch, snuggled with my dog and crafted. I decorated my presents with ribbon. I did a load of laundry. I swept the dust bunnies that threatened to eat my 8lb dog.

I watched White Christmas for the first time. I wrestled a twin mattress and boxspring into another room to make way for two armchairs. I eagerly avoided cleaning off Dan's desk.

I eyeballed our Christmas cards lying haphazardly on our coffee table, but there are a few things I share with my mom in that situation. 
1. I can procrastinate with the best of them
2. I am a professional when it comes to guilt from not doing something I know I should do.
3. I cannot wait around for my husband forever (although sometimes I want to)

I realize that Mr. E and I have an unusual relationship. I want to be with the guy all the time. Although, as a disclaimer, I'm not clingy- I encourage him to work, to go to the gym, to play video games with his friends, to go out and be with other people. 

But I also look forward to the time I get to spend with him- cooking together, walking the dog, watching movies. I cherish every minute I spend with him because I fought so hard to be here. 

So, as the honeymoon is clearly over, it becomes (frustrating) to put off doing activities that I would like to do or finish just to wait for a time when he's free. And when all he'd like to do is sit and watch a movie with me, it's hard to see the silver lining. 

It's the time-honored classic: "I want you to WANT to wash the dishes."

I cannot change my husband. And I cannot sit around and wait my whole life to do things with him. 

Sometimes you have to pull up your big girl panties and compromise.

So the Christmas cards? I'll write them, and address them (because I have the better handwriting anyways) and find some time to slip him the cards to sign so we can send them out on time. It may not be what I initially wanted, but after prioritizing (afterall, what did I really want out of this situation?) I knew how to achieve it.

This Thesis is Done

Mr. E keeps telling me he can't believe that he's done with his thesis.

Okay, technically, he's not even really DONE, he's just done shooting. So the part he was most involved in is over.

And he can tell me that all he wants, but I'm of two minds.

Dude. You're DONE. You can be home now and not catering to your other wives' needs (his editor, his producer, his cinematographer). I've had to share my husband's attentions long enough!

And then, a bit more forcefully...

Are you KIDDING? You will never be done with this project. This is your baby, your first and your biggest. You will hover over the editor's back (as he does his own movie, mind you) until YOU may as well edit the damn thing. You'll foley and find a kickin' soundtrack better than when you had to do our wedding. You'll fundraise to send this thing to festivals and you'll brag to all your family about how AWESOME it looks. 'Cuz it does.

It may not have hit you that shooting is done (all two weekends and 66+ hours of it), but I am personally gearing up for another step in the long process of film-making: post-production.

Here's to making it through to the thesis showing in April.

Best Friend

You know that feeling you get when you can be with someone and just let your hair down? You already know how they'll respond to your jokes and your stories so you don't have to impress them anymore and you just tell it like it is? When you feel so free to be YOU and not politically correct you or polite-but-distant you, but YOU to your bones?

This last week felt like that.

We decorated, we cooked, we played at Disneyland, we talked and chatted and gossiped for a full week. And it was awesome.

My best friend moved to the east coast almost exactly one year ago, and while I would like to visit, it just hasn't been in the budget. So when she offered to come out for a full week I had no qualms asking for a couple days off (for family reasons).

I had been sitting on my hands the week after Thanksgiving, itching to put up Christmas decorations. But I told myself it would be more fun to do with my best friend, so I waited. Impatiently. And allowed myself to at least take down my fall decorations. 

She came in on Friday night, and we immediately whisked her off to In n Out like a true Californian. Saturday Dan was on set all day (thankfully with reasonable hours) and Genna and I brought out all six boxes of Christmas decorations (packrat, much?), blasted Christmas carols and sipped apple cider. 

Because that's not enough of a project, I was also slated to cook food for Mr. E's 30 person set. Let's be clear: I cook and bake and I love it. Dinners, desserts, meals; I love feeding people. I don't think I'd make a career out of it, but there's something wholesome and right about serving home-cooked meals. 

However, cooking for 30 people and transporting said food? With a puppy in the car? Not as fun. Stressful, even.

I thought that I would take the easy way out and cook breakfast for dinner: pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs...we made a mess out of the kitchen. However, because I wanted everything to be hot (looking back, I would rather everything had been COOKED then reheated as opposed to hot) I waited until the last minute to cook everything...which resulted in mostly pancakes (easy) and half the bacon and sausage. 

They had barely gotten through half of the line (talent first) when the meat disappeared. Of course, with mostly guys I should have known bacon was a MUST. Thankfully, Mr. E's producer came to the rescue with a few pizzas...lesson learned. 

Sunday we drove to my parents house in Ramona: mountains, horses, more Christmas decorations. I was so happy to be able to decorate with my parents and my siblings (even sans hubby)- it's one of my favorite memories of each year to put the tree together, remembering each ornament and story.

We loaded the car again on Monday and day-tripped around San Diego, hitting Balboa Park and Oldtown. Poor Ripley was awful on her leash all day- too long in the car, then too many new things outside to sniff and tug and see. Genna and I took it in stride, though, take pictures, admiring the Christmas decorations and generally enjoying each others' company.

Riplicus Maximus at her finest.

This puppy has the worst case of camera-shy-ness.

Tuesday, of course, was a time-honored classic. We live only 4 miles away, and Genna said the past year had been the longest time she's ever been away from Disneyland. Poor thing. So we partied it up- Disneyland proper and California Adventure: rides, shows, churros (it was too cold for Dole whip). Fairly sure this was my first time actually riding the Haunted Mansion when it's decorated for the holidays...(blasphemy). 

Eventually I did have to go back to work, but after such a long "vacation" it was nice to be productive again. I was able to wrap presents AND get Genna addicted to Once Upon a Time . Vacation well-spent. We exchanged gifts the night before she left (at 6:30 in the morning: boo LA traffic) and we received this beautiful handmade tree skirt (by her mother, as Genna is not quite that crafty).

Freakin. I love the holidays.