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March 8 , 2005 Volume III, Issue 1

Notes from the Field - The Magic of Preproduction

In between giving film seminars and teaching at a local university, I produce films. In fact, I produced and directed an indie feature over the holiday break (which explains why there have been no updated newsletters in the last 4 months). We shot the film in Wichita, Kansas because the true story on which the film is based is set there.

It was, in a word, a disaster.

Practically everything went wrong. Because of the worst ice storm in three decades knocking down trees everywhere, electrical lines were down throughout the city, depriving us of power for nearly a week. In one 48 hour period, the two most crucial members of my production team - my Director of Photography and my First Assistant Director - went down with severe illnesses. Snow and sleet would pound us one day, then disappear the next, playing havoc with continuity. On the night of our most difficult shoot, deep in the woods in seven degree weather (with my DP and 1st AD already in the hospital), the condor we rented failed to work and the helium balloons we rented failed to fly - making lighting the scene virtually impossible. On another night, it was so cold and wet that all of our outdoor cabling froze to the roofs of buildings; it would be a week before the ice thawed enough that we could pull the cabling up. And, at the start of the shoot - despite shipping two cameras and other crucial equipment to Wichita from the east and west coasts - little of it arrived in time because of weather and shipping delays.

There were dozens of other problems, including funding issues, some incompetent personel and food that was practically inedible. And yet, while I know productions that have literally been shut down from any one of the above problems, we never missed a beat. Never got behind schedule. Didn't miss a shooting a single scene.

The secret? Incredible preparation - also known as preproduction -- coordinated mostly by my amazingly competent line producer. Here again are some of the specific problems, and how preproduction stopped the problems from becoming disasters.

1). Problem: Power outages from downed trees. Solution: During pre-production, we made the crucial decision to carry a generator throughout the shoot, to avoid having to tie-in to power at locations (which can always be problematic) and in case of power outtages. If we hadn't had the generator, we would have been dead dead dead. Moreover, if we hadn't decided to carry nearly 100 gallons of extra generator fuel in the tank of the RV we were using as a trailer, we also would have been dead since gas station pumps couldn't function without electricity.

2) Problem: Losing the two most critical members of my production team - my Director of Photography and my First Assistant Director - within one 48 hour period. Solution: When I hired a Gaffer I made sure to hire one who had lots of DP experience. When I hired my Second Assistant Director, I hired one who I was confident would make a great First Assistant Director. When my DP went down, I promoted my Gaffer to DP, and he and the Grips covered the Gaffer duties until we found someone to replace him. When my First AD went down, my Second AD stepped up instantly, seamlessly.

3) Problem: Snow and sleet would pound us one day, then disappear the next, playing havoc with continuity. Solution: First, and obviously, we pushed all the exteriors to the front part of the shoot. As inclement weather struck, we moved to interior locations until it was dry enough outside to resume shooting the exteriors. Moreover, BEFORE THE SHOOT began, we contracted with a snow removal company. One day, when we had to shoot a parking lot that, for continuity purposes, had to be dry as a bone, and it had snowed the previous night, we had the snow blowers and heaters out there 3 hours before call time. By the time we were shooting, we had our dry parking lot and our perfect continuity.

4) Problem: On the night of our most difficult shoot, deep in the woods in seven degree weather (with my DP and 1st AD already in the hospital), the condor we rented failed to work and the helium balloons we rented failed to fly - making lighting the scene virtually impossible. Solution: Weeks before the shoot, we had contemplated "what if" scenarios in case lighting proved to be problematic. These solutions included the use of portable gas camping lanterns and high-powered flashlights. When our condor wouldn't lift to let us hang lights in trees and our helium balloons wouldn't fly, we immediately went to plan "B", and got the footage we needed.

You can't possibly think of every curve ball that will be fired at you during a shoot. But if you prepare for as many of them as possible, the ones that come that you didn't prepare for will be that much more manageable. THE END

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