The Orange County Screenwriters Association
Be Inspired, Do Good Work
Front Lines (19)
As a freelancer that lives in Santa Ana and books work in Burbank, I luck out sometimes and get an entire week of days at one particular location that I'll call "The Tower." What this means is that even though I have this horrible, long commute no matter what, I can sometimes buy a Metro Link ten trip pass and ride the train in. It still takes roughly two hours door to door, but I can spend that time reading, watching a movie or even writing.
It's a pretty big challenge to actually write on the train. There aren't many tables and since the train shakes around quite a bit, it can be a challenge just to get the right keys pressed on a keyboard or make recognizable letters in a notebook. However, it is some quality time disconnected from the distractions of the internet; a personal weakness of mine. On the train there is no wifi and I'm way too cheap to buy yet another data service beyond what I already use at Starbucks.
It was foggy standing at the train station this morning so I wanted to watch something light; something fluffy. Something with a cute bunny rabbit.
I watched a five minute short by Pixar called "Presto." Pretty revealing little demonstration of story that follows the "Save the Cat" structure by Blake Snyder, so I had to write a bit about that on the trip up. You can find it in the "Scriptwriting" part of the forums.
Your Worst Enemy Onset . . . The Prima-Donna!!!
Making movies is a complicated and beautiful process. It all begins with an idea that develops into a story. From there money is raised, people are hired, locations are locked, then the next thing you know, your production is on its way. It’s a rewarding process that takes a lot of effort, but all it takes to ruin this grand-charade is the devastation of a single prima-donna.
Prima-donnas are whiney, think they deserve better treatment than everyone else, and to boot, they’re ungrateful know-nothings that don’t belong on any set. They can be cast or crew, male or female, above or below the line. After all of the preparation and collaboration it takes to get a film going, all it takes is one prima-donna on set to tear all of that hard work asunder.
The signs of a prima-donna are clear and easy to tell, but their effects are not always foreseeable until the whole production is in the toilette. At first it starts with a simple demand, but soon devolves into petty grievances and purposeful delays that will put you behind schedule and over budget. All of this seems to go down on set, long after the contracts are signed, mind you.
Perhaps the worst effect of a prima-donna is its self-replication. Its divisiveness doesn’t stop at making crew split, it continues on as more and more crew see the prima-donna taking hold and figure that they too can jump in on the action. Some crew members may not even realize they are being sucked into the void, and begin to have flairs in temper or demands reflecting the example of the prima-donna.
When you spot one, there are at least a few proven cures. The simplest solution, and first step you should always take, is to take the crew member aside and talk them down. Explain the collaborative nature of film, tell them you care but cannot be swayed, and let them know the behavior needs to stop. This should work. At least pray it does. Because in the case of a continued problem, producers can and must be willing to use the ultimate option in their arsenal: the ol’ boot-in-arse ‘you’re fired’ technique. It’s dirty, it’s effective, and at times can be the only way to ensure that one or two members don’t rip your production apart.
No matter the situation, always act quickly, or else the rift will become permanent. Remember, it may seem like one unreasonable demand now, but once that turns into a whole run of problems, you can kiss your movie goodbye.
Victor Phan & Rylie Potter
Torture Chamber Productions / Soph Productions
August 29, 2009
Fastest Way to Get a Heart Attack? Be an Onset Writer!
I’ve worked in entertainment since I was 18 years old. I’m not going to mention how many years ago that was since that’ll just depress me. What I will note, though, is that out of all of my experiences onset, nothing comes close to the stress of being an onset writer.
I am on the set of Jess Meyer’s Tale of a Weekend Suicide for Reel Gem Films and Shae St. Films. I was originally hired onto this film as a co-producer. As production time approached, the other producers decided to have me write revisions of the script. Just like that I became co-producer/writer of the film.
When we came to Big Bear to shoot the film, I thought I was just going to do typical producer duties like manage crew and write checks. If only I were that lucky. We came here with a very aggressive schedule in mind but were unable to get all of the shots that we needed, so the assistant director asked me to do rewrites on the spot.
I had to take off my producer cap and put my writer cap back on. I literally locked myself in the production office and commenced writing onset revisions. Everyday the assistant director would bring me a list of scenes they shot so I could cross them off my list. He would tell me how many pages we were able to shoot with our budget and time constraints; I would then cut the script down and still try to keep the integrity of the original story.
Let me tell you right now, this was a pretty stressful experience. I had to write on a consistent basis against the clock. Then I would have to redo everything I had already done according to what they shot. I persevered and made changes as the schedule tightened. I compromised with the directors and argued with the actors on a daily basis.
I am not bitter about the experience. If I can handle being an onset writer then I should be able to handle everything else Hollywood throws my way – hopefully!
Victor Phan & Rylie Potter
Torture Chamber Productions
August 29, 2009
I’m currently working as Producer on an independent film shoot in Big Bear. The film is a drama called Jess Meyer’s Tale of a Weekend Suicide for Reel Gem Films and Shae St. Films. I am literally locked on this shoot for 8 days straight. Working on this film in the middle of the mountains has made me realize how viable my laptop, mobile phone, and car are as tools for filmmaking. More specifically, my Macbook, Blackberry, and Honda Accord have literally saved me on this project. Trust me, this isn’t product placement. This is just my recounting of how these tools aided my ability to produce low budget films. Maybe this may be helpful to other independent filmmakers out there.
My MacBook is definitely something I would never go to a shoot without. Going to a shoot without it is like going to a gunfight armed with only a knife. It has given me the ability to write thank you letters to the community for their hospitality, send important e-mails, import the dailies directly into Final Cut Pro, and write articles like this one during my downtime, among many other things.
My Blackberry has really proven its worth to me. Thanks to the GPS, I can actually find my way around this mountain region. I’m able to consistently communicate with my crew via calls, text messages, and e-mails. The best part about having both my MacBook and Blackberry on this shoot is the ability to tether the Internet service from my Blackberry. So instead of having to pay for WIFI somewhere, I can get Internet on my laptop by stealing it from my mobile phone. This service has save me more than anything else on this shoot.
Last and not least, I have to mention my Honda Accord. I’ve literally owned this car since 1996 and it’s still running very well. My car is very economical, which has been a huge plus since I’ve been shuttling crew back and forward all over this town. I’ve made trips picking up equipment from Los Angeles, Van Nuys, Burbank, Pasadena, Fullerton, Irvine, and taking it all the way back over to Big Bear. I’ve had to fill up my gas tank every other day, but thank goodness it only costs roughly $26 every time.
Before going to this shoot and being secluded out here, I never really realized how valuable these tools were to my profession. Like some of you who may be reading this article, I am a filmmaker on a tight budget. These cheap solutions have strongly aided my ability to produce a low budget feature film on the fly. Isn’t one of the things filmmakers are supposed to is find are ways to get their films made with the most bang to their buck?
Victor Phan
Torture Chamber Productions
August 23, 2009
This section is basically a blog but it only features people who have production or semi-professional experience.
Some people here are involved in filmmaking, some in other fields or the arts, but all have something to say about their past, present or future experiences trying to do what they love and survive that experience...