Hey Gang, just chimin in here. Elliott sorry you had a difficult time on the job. It was not a well run production by any means. Low budget, new start-up prod company, and very little prep time. They are all decent and all well meaning, but it was chaotic for sure. We scouted locations one day, only to be taken to a "NEW" location the day of the shoot since they never had the permission/permits for the locations we scouted. So there was a liberal level of disorganization to be sure. But that's unfotunately, not all that uncommon.
As for flying your rig that long, actually you had two sequences to shoot, a walk-and-talk sequence on a side walk that we shot for about 2 hours with the rig, wide, med and closeup frontal, and the wide and medium profiles. Then we did a company move a hotel in downtoen to the rooftop set where, you waited for about 4 hours until we finished an interior sequence and moved up to the roof. I'm not trying to be mean, but there's more to being an operator (and not just Steadicam, since Steadi ops often operate a B camera on a head as well...) than buying a rig. I'm am a self-admitted "touchy-feely" DP. Electricians go crazy running after me for moving lights around. It's a bad habit, but I can't seem to help myself. I just run around like a maniac. That said, I don't enter into anything lightly. I don't speak about something unless I know about the subject matter. Likewise, I like to know the needs of the departments on set. I came up through camera and had the pleasure to work with many talented Steadicam operators. I never touch a rig without first asking permission. I was tought that years ago and I respect it. The Steadicam is part of your body while you wear it, and there's a lot of inertia going on there that people don't realize.
That being said. I will admit I was somewhat frustrated with the shoot and our communication. Repeatedly I gave notes on the sidewalk about framing and headroom issues that didn't improve. After half of the day I then noticed you had your framelines wrong on your rig and that helped correct the matter somewhat. These are basic, first step protocol issues. What's the format? How shall I set up my rig? When you compose a shot for a DP, you're incontrol of their image. They are helpless, so it is imperative that you deliver what they're looking for, even if it doesn't jibe with your personal tastes. As a union operator for years, I had to sometimes compose counter to my personal tastes to satisfy a director's vision. It's part of the job. Now, I don't think personal compositional tastes were an issue on the Ciara job. I felt we were just struggling to get the image on film, framed and in focus. Many factors play into that. Usually I like to work with shallow focus. It feels more cinematic and is part of my visual style that people respond to in my work. However, I am also pragmatic. I frequently will change filters for a 1st AC to get a better chance on a longer lens. This did happen on the ATL job.
I know that job was not an ideal. There were many inexperienced crewmembers tripping around you and making your path hard. We didn't have street closure (I too was struggling with the lack of lock-up space as I was trying to get an edge light out on the street when we weren't permitted to do so.) The list goes on. However, I will temper all these comments with the fact that 90% of the time, we work in difficult situations and are asked to deliver. It's what makes American crews the best in the world, our tenacity and ability to roll with the punches. So my advice to you is to toughen your skin. Study your craft, get more solid and stable with your rig. Learn how to help the process if your AC isn't a magician on the focus (maintaining a constant distance is always helpful.)
There is always pressures on the set and that pressure goes both up and down the ladder. When you have directors that aren't technical, or communicative, who do you think has to take up the slack to get the project done, and done well? I'm not complaining for the role the DP has to assume and mold from job to job, it's what makes it challenging and constantly interesting.
I will admit by the last scene, when we were getting kicked off of the rooftop location, I may have been a little impatient with framing issues and assisted you to where I needed the camera to be. That isn't standard form on set, and certainly not my normal way to treat my crew. So I apologize for that. I usually try to keep things moving quickly, with high demands and precision, but with a sense of humor. I'm sure that's what George was attesting to. Being a director of photography is just that. I DIRECT the photography. The lighting, sure, but also the focus, the composition as well as the pace at which all those elements happen. If one element throws a monkey wrench into that flow, it can bog the whole system down and then needs to be addressed. Remember, as an operator, you're stuck in a strange limbo of answering to both the director and the DP. You're a collaborator with both of them. You have to gauge and feel out on each job what exactly that role means and how you democratize your place in it. Besides art, there's a shit-ton of politics in our industry. Be careful what battles you pick and what stance you take.
Cheers and happy flyin'
Chris (Never been asked to be called "Boss") Probst
