Whats My Role?

When it came to handing out the roles I had my heart set on the one, editor. However, I had to take on a role during production. I felt that editor was such a big role that I was fine with taking on a smaller one during production, letting the rest of the group take on ones with a little more responsibility. I had also taken on the casting role

When we were delegated as follows.

Mick Le Mare – Director
Adam Davies – 1st Assistant Director
Alex Hacking – Director of Photography
Jake Humbles – Camera Operator
Richard Neal – Sound Recordist/Editor

We wanted to be sure we knew and respected the roles of each member of the group on the day so there was no confusion or any clash in responsibilities. This way we could ensure we were at our most professional and most organised.

Director

“In ‘the industry’, the director is the person with the responsibility of managing the making of the production. The duties are many and varied, depending upon the type of video being made. (Video Production: Putting Theory into Practice. Dawkins & Wynd 2010. pg97)

In Video Production, Dawkins and Wynd list all the main roles of video production and their responsibilities. We found this book invaluable during the whole process as it gave us tips on things to do but also highlighted the sort of paperwork we should be doing to save us time later in the process.

After reading through the book I learned that a Directors main roles are…

• Overseeing the project by delegating tasks to other members of the crew
• Deciding what looks good and what works in relation to the ‘look’ of the shot. Often collaborating with a DOP (Director of Photography) to get the best shot.
• Directing Actors
• Ensuring every shot is filmed.

One line I noted that was of importance was “The Director must be obeyed without question by everyone in the crew” this was something we was reminded of a fair bit leading up to the shoot. More so in jest than anything but it was an important one to remember if we was to appear professional.

Some of the skills required to be a good Director are…

• The ability to understand all aspects of the production process
• The ability to lead and inspire others to realise the projects potential (this wasn’t as important on our shoot as we was all fully aware of the potential)
• The ability to solve problems
• The ability to work under pressure

Clearly a job with immense responsibility but we knew Mick was more than capable of taking on this role, whats more he had the respect of every member of the group so direction under pressure was never going to be a problem.

George Lucas "Directing"

The book continues to talk about how students often struggle to work under a director because they feel the process should be democratic. We was aware of the possible pit falls of such naivety and knew that, once we delegated roles, that we would have to follow them through. Again, we wanted to be as professional as possible so we knew that this step was necessary.

Some well known directors to note are, Orson Welles, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese.

Tom Hooper won an Academy Award this year for The Kings Speech

1st Assistant Director or PA

We went with the title of 1st AD for this film as it felt more professional than Production Assistant. However, the title of Production Assistant is probably more apt as it outlines the job clearer. The 1st AD is responsible for supporting the director, their roles are…

• Keeping a log of each shot as it’s being taken.
• Ensuring continuity is observed.
• Keeping production on schedule.
• Acting as the directors assistant and carrying out whatever tasks the director requires.
• Labelling and carefully storing all the recorded media in preparation for the editor.

According to a trusted website “Historically the role of an assistant to the director (not the same as an Assistant director) was a stepping stone to directing work; Alfred Hitchcock was an AD, as was James McTeigue. This transition into film directing is no longer common in feature films, but remains an avenue for television work, particularly in Australia and Britain.”

Some key attributes of a PA are…

• Good time management
• Organisation
• Good communication skills
• Have a great deal of patience

 

Jeffrey Wetzel on the set of The Book of Eli

Adam got the role of 1st AD, not because it was like his name but because over the initial discussion and creative process he had shown great organisation and kept some fairly detailed notes on all our meetings. We was confident in his ability to keep us on schedule.

Director of Photography (DoP) or Cinematographer

This book didn’t supply a list of roles and abilities a DoP should take and have, however there was an interesting passage that summed them up nicely (pg.271)

“The DoP’s role is to work closely with the director to ensure that everything is visually perfect and meets the intended style in terms of light, colour and camera movement both for individual shots and the drama as a whole.”

The DoP is generally in charge of camera and lights, making sure the feel of the shot is right and fits in with the genre of the film.

According to Career QandAs “Cinematographers should be trained in all aspects of camera operation, including setup, angles, lenses, sound, lighting, reflection, coloring, filtering, timing, and many other related topics.

Modern Cinematography equipment may also require Cinematographers to have a comfortable relationship with computers and software.”

In some cases many directors wouldn’t be as memorable if it wasn’t for a talented Cinematographer working behind the scenes. One of the most renowned Cinematographers and one of my personal favourites are below.

Charles Rosher (1885-1974) was the first cinematographer to earn an academy award who worked in the very early stages of film during the silent film era. In 1918, he was one of the founders of the American Society of Cinematographers and served as the group’s first Vice-President. Below is an example of Rosher’s work on Sunrise.

Conrad Hall (1926 – 2003) “Began with films such as Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Hall helped liberate approaches to filming by making, as Sight and Sound puts it, “making virtues of mistakes”. Blemishes such as the sun hitting the lens, dirt getting on the lens, or other seeming distractions which would have necessitated reshoots in the past, but Hall’s approach exemplified the new wave of American cinema and helped set a template for gritty, independent films.”

“He won his first Oscar in 1969 for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and then would have to wait 30 years for his next, for American Beauty. His third Oscar was awarded to him posthumously for Road to Perdition. As well as that, he was nominated a further seven times during his life.”

Condrad Hall is one of my favourite cinematographers, his work on American Beauty really captured my imagination its one of those films that maintains the same sense of pace throughout without much going on and yet regardless of this a lot seems to happen. There are two particular scenes in the film that I feel show exceptional cinematography, the opening scene and the ending scene. The opening scene starts with a long shot of a standard american suburb, this shot reflects the story of Lester, the lead, and how his life is just a series of boring identical days. This is done by the inclusion of a series of boring identical roof tops.

We gave this role to Alex because we felt he’s shown he has a really good eye for lighting and camera movement in his pieces in the Montage of Beautiful things (260mc module) and that he could really add a lot to the filming process with this ability. He also had a good critical mind that would be helpful when spotting things that don’t work.

Wally Pfister won an Academy Award this year for his work on Inception

Camera Operator

Back to our Video Production book now for a nice run down of what is required of a Camera Operator.

Its quite obvious what the job entails here, the camera operator is responsible for setting up and controlling the camera.

• Deciding upon and booking the equipment, then checking that its in working order + has the correct tapes.
• Setting the camera up safely and ensuring its working properly in each location.
• Composing each shot to the requirements of the director.
• Informing the director of any problems.
• Ensuring equipment is all packed away and returned in good working order.

A good camera operator needs to…

• Have a good understanding of how cameras work.
• Be able to see whats going around them while looking down the eye piece.
• Anticipate what the director might ask.
• Be patient as there is a lot of waiting around.

 

Cardiff with Marilyn Monroe on the set of Laurence Olivier's 'The Prince and the Showgirl' (1957)

We chose Jake for this role because in previous projects he had proven himself a more than capable camera operator. He had plenty of experience with the JVC from our countless weekends booking out equipment for either filming or just messing around with leading up to the shoot and we knew that he wouldn’t be afraid to speak up if he didn’t think something felt right. He also had good instinct with regards to light, focus and positioning.

Sound Recordist

Now, my role. The sound recordist. The sound recordist is just that, the one who is responsible to the correct and clear recording of the sound. The main responsibilities are…

• Deciding upon and booking the appropriate equipment and checking that it works.
• Setting up the sound equipment safely and ensuring that its working properly.
• Position microphones accordingly.
• Ensure that clean sound is being recorded by monitoring the sound through headphones while filming is in progress.
• Packing equipment away properly and returning it in working order.

The key attributes needed for a sound recordist are…

• A good understanding of how sound equipment works.
• The ability to use it effectively.
• The ability to really listen and not be distracted by the goings on in a shoot.
• Once again, great patience.

I feel I have more than enough experience with the use of mic’s to undertake this role effectively. I know of how and where to place microphones in order to get the best audio from someone talking. I’m a little unsure about how it all works though so I will be having a good old play around with the equipment before the shoot to get to grips with correct sound levels etc, however, I do understand what to be listening out for after editing on and off for about 6 years and knowing how things simple like cars or planes flying overhead can really kill a good take.

 

Richard King accepting his Oscar this year

Richard King won an Academy Award this year for his work on Inception

Editor

There’s a massive selection of segments in Video Production : Putting Theory into Practice regarding post-production regarding the many different process from logging and the rough cut to online and offline editing.

The role of the editor is essentially to work in collaboration with the director to try and create what they pictured while the filming process was taking place.

Some of the things I will need to consider while editing the film are…

• Does it fit to the brief?
• Is the story coherent and understandable?
• Which parts are boring, entertaining and exciting?
• Is there any material that shouldn’t be there or any that should be there instead?
• Are there any technical issues that need addressing that may require a reshoot?

According to Get me a cool Job some of the key skills to be a decent editor are…

• A Mixture of creative and practical skills
• A good sense of timing and visual awareness
• A high levels of attention to detail
• The ability to work as part of a team
• Willingness to work long hours
• The ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• Patience and Concentration
• Good computer skills.

I think I tick most of the boxes on that list, I’ve been literate on Final Cut for years and my ability to edit has been increasing even more this year thanks to having so many projects on the go. I’m good with pressure and can work to tight deadlines. All in all I feel very confident that I can undertake this role and edit a great film. One reason that I feel confident is that I seem to be able to do things really quickly on the software. I know a lot of shortcuts that can save time as well. I hope the rest of the group shares my confidence.

Angus Wall (left) and Kirk Baxter (right) Discussing editing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter won an Academy Award this year for their work on The Social Network

Sources

http://www.imdb.com
http://oscar.go.com/
http://getmeacooljob.com/Key%20Skills/Film-Video-Editor-Key-Skills.html
http://listverse.com/2009/09/12/top-10-greatest-cinematographers/