Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6:
Day 7:
Day 8:
Monday's a prelight day, which means we'll tweak the lighting all day.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Friday Photo Sequence
Here's the rig day by day:
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6:
Day 7:
Day 8:
Monday's a prelight day, which means we'll tweak the lighting all day.
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6:
Day 7:
Day 8:
Monday's a prelight day, which means we'll tweak the lighting all day.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Tra La La.... Wheeee!
Day two of the paint fumes.
I'm pretty sure the set painters aren't supposed to be spraying lacquer while we're working.
It got really bad today - there was a haze of paint all through the stage, and production are dragging ass about buying us respirators, so at lunch I walked over to a nearby paint store and bought my own (hey, my lungs are so worth thirty bucks).
One of the other guys told me I should have made production buy it for me, but god knows when they're going to do that. They certainly didn't have them by the end of the day, and I wouldn't have made it the rest of today without one - one of our guys had to go home early, as did one of the grips.
The really scary thing is that not one of the painters were wearing masks. Not even the shitty paper ones.
I don't know how they do it. After about 15 minutes of breathing those fumes, I see Care Bears (TM) dance the can-can on the tops of the set walls while they sing the theme song from Moulin Rouge.
I'm pretty sure the set painters aren't supposed to be spraying lacquer while we're working.
It got really bad today - there was a haze of paint all through the stage, and production are dragging ass about buying us respirators, so at lunch I walked over to a nearby paint store and bought my own (hey, my lungs are so worth thirty bucks).
One of the other guys told me I should have made production buy it for me, but god knows when they're going to do that. They certainly didn't have them by the end of the day, and I wouldn't have made it the rest of today without one - one of our guys had to go home early, as did one of the grips.
The really scary thing is that not one of the painters were wearing masks. Not even the shitty paper ones.
I don't know how they do it. After about 15 minutes of breathing those fumes, I see Care Bears (TM) dance the can-can on the tops of the set walls while they sing the theme song from Moulin Rouge.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Look at all the pretty colors!
Today was the day the painters started spraying the sets.
The fumes wafted up to the top of the stage, and even though the exhaust fans were running, we all got a contact high.
I hope I didn't kill too many brain cells.
Dammit, I scrubbed myself raw in the shower and I can still smell paint fumes.
The fumes wafted up to the top of the stage, and even though the exhaust fans were running, we all got a contact high.
I hope I didn't kill too many brain cells.
Dammit, I scrubbed myself raw in the shower and I can still smell paint fumes.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
That's Inches, not Centimeters.
Somewhere along the line, someone mismeasured something.
Three camera shows have an audience, who watch the show from bleachers erected in front of the sets.
On this show, the top two rows of the bleachers have a great view - of the back of the lights.
Oops.
Keep in mind that there will be a drape of black fabric behind the lights (a 'teaser') which will hang about a foot below the bottom of the lights.
There was a big discussion about it at lunch. They're either going to have to rebuild the bleachers (not an easy task), or the grips are going to have to raise the greenbeds - that suspended walkway the lights are attached to (also not an easy task).
Either way, someone's going to be pissed off in the morning.
Three camera shows have an audience, who watch the show from bleachers erected in front of the sets.
On this show, the top two rows of the bleachers have a great view - of the back of the lights.
Oops.
Keep in mind that there will be a drape of black fabric behind the lights (a 'teaser') which will hang about a foot below the bottom of the lights.
There was a big discussion about it at lunch. They're either going to have to rebuild the bleachers (not an easy task), or the grips are going to have to raise the greenbeds - that suspended walkway the lights are attached to (also not an easy task).
Either way, someone's going to be pissed off in the morning.
Monday, September 12, 2005
So that's what we were supposed to learn today.
One of our crew got injured on the way into work. He staggered in (right at call time - that's dedication) post accident - with two black eyes and a broken nose - so, less than five minutes into the day, he was off to the hospital and the remaining crew were frantically making calls to everyone we knew in an attempt to find another body for the day.
Everyone any of us knew was working (it's really busy right now), so we got permission from our call steward to 'pull a permit'.
In busy times, non-union workers are allowed to work union shows as 'permits'. Thirty permit days in one year makes one eligible for union membership. Needless to say, there's no shortage of folks who are willing and eager to get permit days. Also needless to say, we found a permit very quickly.
Our permit showed up just before lunch - and within 10 minutes of climbing the ladder into the perms was in an ambulance on his way to the hospital.
Here's what did it:
In order to lift - two at a time - coils of cable that weigh about 90 lbs each 40 feet in the air, we use an electric hoist and a pulley (in this case, a hoist and pulley which clearly saw some action prior to WW2). The pulley is hung from the roof on a reinforced beam called a 'high hang'. The hoist operator pulls the cable up to the perms, where whomever's 'catching' grabs the coiled cable, pulls it onto the walkway, unties the rope and then sends the rope back down for the next coil of cable (or cable cart, distro boxes, case of bottled water, boombox, whatever).
Our permit - while attempting to catch a load of cable - got his hand caught in between the pulley and the rope.
The edges on the pulley are sharp (I'm not sure how well it shows in the photo), and combined with the fact that the rope was holding almost 200 lbs of cable as it squished his hand against the hardened steel, gave him an inch-long gash on the knuckle of his index finger.
He should have a) been wearing leather gloves and b) grabbed for the coiled cable in the center of the coil and not at the rope directly under the pulley.
I understand the desire not to loop one's arm through center of the coiled cable. When you're 40 feet up in the air with the safety rail removed (so the cable can easily be swung over to the walkway), the last thing you want to do is grab onto the very thing that might pull you off the catwalk to your death, but that rope/pulley/hand combination is bad news.
It really is true that you learn something new every day.
Our permit learned how not to catch cable.
We learned not to let a permit catch cable.
The good news is that the cut's not bad. There's no nerve or tendon damage. He's going to hurt tonight, and the guys are now calling him 'Stumpy', but he'll be fine.
He'll also be much, much more cautious in the future.
Everyone any of us knew was working (it's really busy right now), so we got permission from our call steward to 'pull a permit'.
In busy times, non-union workers are allowed to work union shows as 'permits'. Thirty permit days in one year makes one eligible for union membership. Needless to say, there's no shortage of folks who are willing and eager to get permit days. Also needless to say, we found a permit very quickly.
Our permit showed up just before lunch - and within 10 minutes of climbing the ladder into the perms was in an ambulance on his way to the hospital.
Here's what did it:
In order to lift - two at a time - coils of cable that weigh about 90 lbs each 40 feet in the air, we use an electric hoist and a pulley (in this case, a hoist and pulley which clearly saw some action prior to WW2). The pulley is hung from the roof on a reinforced beam called a 'high hang'. The hoist operator pulls the cable up to the perms, where whomever's 'catching' grabs the coiled cable, pulls it onto the walkway, unties the rope and then sends the rope back down for the next coil of cable (or cable cart, distro boxes, case of bottled water, boombox, whatever).
Our permit - while attempting to catch a load of cable - got his hand caught in between the pulley and the rope.
The edges on the pulley are sharp (I'm not sure how well it shows in the photo), and combined with the fact that the rope was holding almost 200 lbs of cable as it squished his hand against the hardened steel, gave him an inch-long gash on the knuckle of his index finger.
He should have a) been wearing leather gloves and b) grabbed for the coiled cable in the center of the coil and not at the rope directly under the pulley.
I understand the desire not to loop one's arm through center of the coiled cable. When you're 40 feet up in the air with the safety rail removed (so the cable can easily be swung over to the walkway), the last thing you want to do is grab onto the very thing that might pull you off the catwalk to your death, but that rope/pulley/hand combination is bad news.
It really is true that you learn something new every day.
Our permit learned how not to catch cable.
We learned not to let a permit catch cable.
The good news is that the cut's not bad. There's no nerve or tendon damage. He's going to hurt tonight, and the guys are now calling him 'Stumpy', but he'll be fine.
He'll also be much, much more cautious in the future.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Friday Photo
Dr. Evil
The lot manager at Hollywood Center is a fat, ill-tempered bald guy with a dent in his head who rides around on a Segway.
The grips have nicknamed him Dr. Evil.
Everything we use has to be safety rated - electrical equipment has to be UL-rated, and grip equipment has to be OSHA approved and given a weight rating (if the chain holds 1100 lbs, but the bolt holding the chain is rated at 300 lbs, then the ENTIRE rig must be weight-rated at 300 lbs. This is to minimize the risk of deaths/injuries from preventable equipment failure. Items which do not have a weight rating may not be used on sets to hang equipment over the heads of innocent people).
When hanging pipe grids, the chains holding up the grids are hung from these things that look like square hooks. They're hardened steel, and they are specially designed to hook over the wooden beams of the perms.
Dr. Evil wanted the grips to just use chain - wrapped around the beam and secured with an "S hook". The grips refused (rightly so, as this is horribly unsafe), and there was a huge fight.
S-hooks aren't OSHA approved, nor are they weight-rated (wrapping chain around the beams isn't really all that safe, either). Dr. Evil wouldn't back down, so the grips had to get their union rep out, who apparently had quite the dust-up with Dr. Evil in the office.
Dr. Evil, in the end, gave in but made the production company buy the proper equipment - which Hollywood Center should have had on hand in the first place.
Today, at lunch, one of the grips told us how Dr. Evil got the dent in his head.
The grip told us that once upon a time, Dr. Evil climbed onto the roof of a stage to turn off a light because he was afraid that if he left it on, it would start a fire.*
Because he was unable to turn the light off by conventional means, he decided to break the light bulb**
Since he broke the light bulb, he had to climb down off the roof in the dark, fell, and dented his head when he landed.
I don't know how true it is, but it's a damn good story.
* Lights generally do not start fires. Most electrical fires are wiring related. In our case, we overamp cable and the connectors burn. While alarming to bystanders, even this is really more funny than dangerous.
Okay, it's dangerous. But still very, very funny.
**I refuse to believe that anyone is that stupid. Even Dr. Evil.
The grips have nicknamed him Dr. Evil.
Everything we use has to be safety rated - electrical equipment has to be UL-rated, and grip equipment has to be OSHA approved and given a weight rating (if the chain holds 1100 lbs, but the bolt holding the chain is rated at 300 lbs, then the ENTIRE rig must be weight-rated at 300 lbs. This is to minimize the risk of deaths/injuries from preventable equipment failure. Items which do not have a weight rating may not be used on sets to hang equipment over the heads of innocent people).
When hanging pipe grids, the chains holding up the grids are hung from these things that look like square hooks. They're hardened steel, and they are specially designed to hook over the wooden beams of the perms.
Dr. Evil wanted the grips to just use chain - wrapped around the beam and secured with an "S hook". The grips refused (rightly so, as this is horribly unsafe), and there was a huge fight.
S-hooks aren't OSHA approved, nor are they weight-rated (wrapping chain around the beams isn't really all that safe, either). Dr. Evil wouldn't back down, so the grips had to get their union rep out, who apparently had quite the dust-up with Dr. Evil in the office.
Dr. Evil, in the end, gave in but made the production company buy the proper equipment - which Hollywood Center should have had on hand in the first place.
Today, at lunch, one of the grips told us how Dr. Evil got the dent in his head.
The grip told us that once upon a time, Dr. Evil climbed onto the roof of a stage to turn off a light because he was afraid that if he left it on, it would start a fire.*
Because he was unable to turn the light off by conventional means, he decided to break the light bulb**
Since he broke the light bulb, he had to climb down off the roof in the dark, fell, and dented his head when he landed.
I don't know how true it is, but it's a damn good story.
* Lights generally do not start fires. Most electrical fires are wiring related. In our case, we overamp cable and the connectors burn. While alarming to bystanders, even this is really more funny than dangerous.
Okay, it's dangerous. But still very, very funny.
**I refuse to believe that anyone is that stupid. Even Dr. Evil.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Rigging
After the 16 hour days of the last two shows, it's nice to get off first unit and put a rig in.
I'm working on an eight day rig and prelight for a three camera show (featuring some guy I've never heard of).
We're working 10 hour days - it's nice to be home while the sun's still out.
I'm on the "up high" team, which means that I'm spending the entire day up in the 'perms' of the stage, running cable.
One of the fun things about Hollywood Center (where we're rigging) is that they don't have a graffiti eradication policy, so there's some cool stuff written up in the perms - where only grip and electric go.
A lot of it's just names and dates, but there are also editorial comments:
Which can extend into conversations:
And last, but not least, the one that actually made me laugh out loud:
I'm working on an eight day rig and prelight for a three camera show (featuring some guy I've never heard of).
We're working 10 hour days - it's nice to be home while the sun's still out.
I'm on the "up high" team, which means that I'm spending the entire day up in the 'perms' of the stage, running cable.
One of the fun things about Hollywood Center (where we're rigging) is that they don't have a graffiti eradication policy, so there's some cool stuff written up in the perms - where only grip and electric go.
A lot of it's just names and dates, but there are also editorial comments:
Which can extend into conversations:
And last, but not least, the one that actually made me laugh out loud:
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Buy A Used Shirt for Hurricane Victims!
UPDATE: No bids. C'mon, folks. It's not really about the shirt, is it?
Due to my intense (and totally justified, thanks) hatred of eBay, I'm going to hold an informal 'auction' here..
This is a promotional T-Shirt with an Arri Lighting logo. The only way to get one of these is to rent (or buy) a shitload of lights from Arri.
It's a black, adult size L (men's size, not 'baby tee' size) Haynes "beefy T".
Despite my joke about a used shirt, it's actually not ever been worn (An adult size L is WAY too big for me).
The logo on the front's been embroidered. Here's a close up:
Here's the back:
Here's how I'm going to work this.
You email (randomblogmail [at] yahoo dot com) me your 'bid' and tell me which charity it'll be going to (I'm suggesting the Red Cross, but if there's one out there that I haven't heard of, tell me about it), and the highest 'bid' between now and 8pm tomorrow night (which is about when I'll be getting home from work) wins the shirt.
You email me proof of your donation, and I'll send ya the shirt.
If I get a decent response from this, I'll do another one.
Due to my intense (and totally justified, thanks) hatred of eBay, I'm going to hold an informal 'auction' here..
This is a promotional T-Shirt with an Arri Lighting logo. The only way to get one of these is to rent (or buy) a shitload of lights from Arri.
It's a black, adult size L (men's size, not 'baby tee' size) Haynes "beefy T".
Despite my joke about a used shirt, it's actually not ever been worn (An adult size L is WAY too big for me).
The logo on the front's been embroidered. Here's a close up:
Here's the back:
Here's how I'm going to work this.
You email (randomblogmail [at] yahoo dot com) me your 'bid' and tell me which charity it'll be going to (I'm suggesting the Red Cross, but if there's one out there that I haven't heard of, tell me about it), and the highest 'bid' between now and 8pm tomorrow night (which is about when I'll be getting home from work) wins the shirt.
You email me proof of your donation, and I'll send ya the shirt.
If I get a decent response from this, I'll do another one.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Well, That's That.
The short film that became a TV pitch-but-is-still-a-short-film-because-I-said-so, dammit has been cut and sent to Slamdance (I skipped Sundance because I don't think they'll 'get it' - they're not known for their sense of satire) for consideration.
I hope we get in.
If you know anyone on the selection committee, let me know if they need clothing (I'm broke, so it's got to be off the sale rack at Target), booze (again, broke - so fortified wine is a good buy for me), or blowjobs...
Just kidding.
No one wants clothing from the sale rack at Target.
I hope we get in.
If you know anyone on the selection committee, let me know if they need clothing (I'm broke, so it's got to be off the sale rack at Target), booze (again, broke - so fortified wine is a good buy for me), or blowjobs...
Just kidding.
No one wants clothing from the sale rack at Target.
Friday, September 02, 2005
ABC Newsroom
I really wanted to sit in the chair and and say "This is Peter Jennings, with an ABC News exclusive on the afterlife".
Damn. This is going to turn out to be one big deathbed regret.
A Zombie Says What?
I know for a fact that 5 1/2 script pages can be shot in 12 hours without hurrying.
Today, it took us 15 hours (making yesterday our third 14+ hour day in a row) to shoot that 5 1/2 pages.
The director of this episode has been pulling a Warren Beatty*, which hasn't been making him any friends - with crews, at some point the money ceases to matter and we just want to go home.
Long days are wearing.. After three of them in a row, the entire crew was punch drunk - bad third grade jokes set off 15 minute long laughing fits, and everyone had that glazed look. I kept remembering that line from Fight Club... "A copy of a copy of a copy".. Conversations seemed tinny and far away, reaction times multiplied as our worn out brains took longer and longer to process information ("Look out, that light's going to fall!" "What?" :crash: "Oh. The light. Whoops.").
A very, very lucky few either found the coveted nap spots in the set or managed to sleep sitting up.
*On Dick Tracy, Warren Beatty was ordered by Disney to do fewer takes (he was doing over 30 takes on every shot) - so what he'd do was this: He'd call take one, then have the actors do the scene over and over and over until the camera's film ran out. That way, he'd get the shot done 30+ times, but would technically only have done 8 takes.
Today, it took us 15 hours (making yesterday our third 14+ hour day in a row) to shoot that 5 1/2 pages.
The director of this episode has been pulling a Warren Beatty*, which hasn't been making him any friends - with crews, at some point the money ceases to matter and we just want to go home.
Long days are wearing.. After three of them in a row, the entire crew was punch drunk - bad third grade jokes set off 15 minute long laughing fits, and everyone had that glazed look. I kept remembering that line from Fight Club... "A copy of a copy of a copy".. Conversations seemed tinny and far away, reaction times multiplied as our worn out brains took longer and longer to process information ("Look out, that light's going to fall!" "What?" :crash: "Oh. The light. Whoops.").
A very, very lucky few either found the coveted nap spots in the set or managed to sleep sitting up.
*On Dick Tracy, Warren Beatty was ordered by Disney to do fewer takes (he was doing over 30 takes on every shot) - so what he'd do was this: He'd call take one, then have the actors do the scene over and over and over until the camera's film ran out. That way, he'd get the shot done 30+ times, but would technically only have done 8 takes.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
I'm too tired to post. Here's a photo.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Back at the VA
Grey's was back shooting at the V.A. in Northridge today- we were outside for the first half of the day - which was unfortunate as, by lunchtime, the temperature was about 105 F (40.5 C).
There was an indie movie shooting right next to us (the VA rents out their unused buildings to movies, and today there were three separate productions shooting there), and they were doing motorcycle stunts today - tres cool.
We'd get our lights set up, and then run over to the other set and watch the stunts - they had built a long wooden ramp, and were racing down it and doing flips off the end.
At some time during the day I got a burn on one of my fingers - it's about the size of a pencil eraser, it's blistered up and I have no idea how or when I got it.
It kind of scares me that I got a second degree burn and didn't even feel it.
There was an indie movie shooting right next to us (the VA rents out their unused buildings to movies, and today there were three separate productions shooting there), and they were doing motorcycle stunts today - tres cool.
We'd get our lights set up, and then run over to the other set and watch the stunts - they had built a long wooden ramp, and were racing down it and doing flips off the end.
At some time during the day I got a burn on one of my fingers - it's about the size of a pencil eraser, it's blistered up and I have no idea how or when I got it.
It kind of scares me that I got a second degree burn and didn't even feel it.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Breaking up is(n't) hard to do.
Mr. Movie Star and I officially called it quits today.
I gave up part of my weekend to help with a rig (an 'eight and skate' hardly feels like a day of work at all anymore), and happened to be on the same lot lot as the movie he's doing, so I swung by to see him, since we've not actually been in the same room at the same time in weeks.
As breakups go, this one was pretty painless. I'd seen it coming for a while now.. the phone calls have been petering off, the coversations getting shorter - out of sight, out of mind.
He says he's not dating anyone else, but just feels like neither one of us have the time to be dating anyone.
This is just what happens, and no, I'm not angry at him. I'm kind of bummed - but not angry.
This is par for the course in the film industry, with it's 12+ hour days and routine 6 day weeks.
Those hours ruin a lot of relationships. Crew members who haven't been divorced at least once are rare, and multiple divorces are common - and that's marriages. I sort of feel like trying to date at all is hopeless, due to the entertainment industry catch-22: if you date someone who's not in the film industry (a 'civilian'), they freak out about the hours and dump you, and if you date someone who is in the industry, you split up because you never see each other.
Okay, I lied. I'm sad and pissed off.
The fact is that I really liked Mr. Movie Star, and had hoped that this would last for a long time.. Now I'm back to being afraid of dying alone because my fucking job eats my life.
I gave up part of my weekend to help with a rig (an 'eight and skate' hardly feels like a day of work at all anymore), and happened to be on the same lot lot as the movie he's doing, so I swung by to see him, since we've not actually been in the same room at the same time in weeks.
As breakups go, this one was pretty painless. I'd seen it coming for a while now.. the phone calls have been petering off, the coversations getting shorter - out of sight, out of mind.
He says he's not dating anyone else, but just feels like neither one of us have the time to be dating anyone.
This is just what happens, and no, I'm not angry at him. I'm kind of bummed - but not angry.
This is par for the course in the film industry, with it's 12+ hour days and routine 6 day weeks.
Those hours ruin a lot of relationships. Crew members who haven't been divorced at least once are rare, and multiple divorces are common - and that's marriages. I sort of feel like trying to date at all is hopeless, due to the entertainment industry catch-22: if you date someone who's not in the film industry (a 'civilian'), they freak out about the hours and dump you, and if you date someone who is in the industry, you split up because you never see each other.
Okay, I lied. I'm sad and pissed off.
The fact is that I really liked Mr. Movie Star, and had hoped that this would last for a long time.. Now I'm back to being afraid of dying alone because my fucking job eats my life.
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