Getting used to the hard work

I really love working on the crew for movies and music videos, but man, it can be some hard, physical work.

I just got off a two day, or should I say "night", shoot for a music video. It was with a lot of the same crew that I did the Paypa music video with a week or two back. That's actually how I got the gig, so my few connection have already started to pay off.

This time around it was for a Jazzy style artist named Reem and her song "Turn Upside Down". There were two night shoots with crew calls at 4p.m. and supposedly ending 4a.m., but it really ended at around 6a.m. Yea, that's pretty long night, working for just about the whole time. The sun was coming up as I was getting home. But it was all fun, too.

The shoot was again another step up for me, the biggest one I've done yet. It still wasn't a really big budget, but a step none-the-less. I worked as a full grip on this shoot*. On the first day we were at a loft near Marina Del Ray where we got various shots of an actress and actor doing their thing and a few shots with the artist at a piano doing her thing. The second day we went to a roof top in downtown LA and got some really cool shots. The best thing about it was I got to see a crane in action for the first time. We got some swooping shots, high angles and even one where the camera went off the side of the building. It was awesome! The operator was good at his job and made it look really cool. The style of video is going to be a Noir looking, Sin City type of video, where it is all in black and white with accents of red. With the way we set up the lighting, it is going to look classy.

Another first for me was I got to experience catering. We were given a "lunch" with a very welcomed hot meal (it gets cold on a rooftop at night this time of year!). There were also sandwiches and snacks to be eaten whenever there was a rare free moment. I was very grateful for all that food, it definitely kept me going.

One thing that was problematic for this shoot is that it moved along really slow. For some reason it took forever to set up the shots, or at least longer than normal (or at least what I, in my limited professional opinion, consider normal). They ended up looking really slick and artistic but they were shooting as if we had all the time in the world and not only two nights. Another oddity to this music video is that it was shot in small clips as bits and pieces. For all the other videos I have worked there has been several shots where the entire song was played (and got stuck in my head) and the artist performed and there was lots of coverage. But on this shoot I don't think there was one time where I heard the whole song all the way through. I guess the director knew exactly what he wanted for each specific part of the song, but it just didn't seem like he covered the whole thing. Oh well, not my problem.

All in all it was a good experience, even if I did have to work my ass off in the wee hours of the morning.


-What I have learned: More about what it takes to be a grip. There are a lot of odd names for the equipment that we use and there is a lot of equipment to be used. I have come to like setting up the lights as it is definitely a crucial part of the production, although the long hours and back breaking work makes me want to venture other routes. I don't think I can see myself working as a Grip for the rest of my life. In the end, I think I want to try to be a Producer, so I need to figure out how to learn that job, but I think all this experience on-set will eventually benefit me in the long run. Plus, its fun to be there where all the action happens.

-Plans for the future: Land more work? Maybe get more experience? Yes, I think so.





* I want to clarify what a grip does. We are the ones who are in charge of rigging up stands and other parts for the lights. It's the electricians that are in charge of setting up the lights. It's kind of like the electricians are the ones that bring the lights and the grips are the ones that hold them up. So the hierarchy is: Gaffer- decide where lights go; Best Boy Electric (or just Best Boy)- In charge of lights, Gets the lights in position; Electrician- Helps Best Boy; Key Grip- In charge of Grip equipment (stands, ect.) to support the lights, works with Gaffer; Grip- Helps Key Grip in setting up lights and other necessary stuff. The position I have been doing for most of past work has been G&E (Grip and Electric) which is sort of a combo of both.