Blog 2: The Working Culture of the Film Industry

It is important to have a good working culture during filming.  To work together effectively it is important to have good time management, use your initiative, take responsibility for your job while being flexible as well as coping and understanding the pressures of working on set.

Time Management:

It is important to have good time management as it makes the filming process a lot more effective.

• Plan before you shoot
• Have a good personal time management
• The different departments need to be willing to move on even though something doesn’t exactly match their vision.

From personal experience, we could have managed out time better by sticking to the plan we made prior to filming as well as not filming one scene over and over again for small and unnoticeable aspects of scene. I did not feel much pressure while I was playing Romeo as I had a lot of waiting to do, however when I became director I felt the time pressure as we had very little time to get the last 5 shots filmed.

Using Your Initiative:

Everyone should be proactive regarding their own job/department to make sure the shoot is as efficient as possible.

• Make sure you are able to think fast and resolve issues that occur in your department.
• Voice your opinions when something goes wrong, but respectfully.
• Be decisive and make fast and informed decisions.

Instead of making the actor learn the lines for the last scene (which would take about 10-15 mins) we decided to hold the sheet up for her as she read the lines off the page to be able to keep with time.

Taking Responsibility:

Everyone is responsible for their job/department so give your specific job priority over other things.

• Stick to your job for the most part, because too many conflicting ideas may slow down the production.
• Take responsibility of the things you are required to do.
• Be willing to compromise some aspects of the production in order to get the job done in time.

While playing Romeo, I had to take the responsibility of the characterisation as everyone else was extremely pressured and busy while doing their roles.  However, when I was director I felt responsible for how the final product will look.

Being Flexible:

Things can always go wrong while working on a set, so flexibility will allow you to continue with the production despite facing obstacles.

• Be prepared to make changes once reaching the location.
• Think quickly and don’t be too adamant on sticking to the storyboard if things go wrong even though it is an important aspect of the production.
• Be prepared to spend a lot of time on set or looking for locations and also worker longer than expected.
• Always try to help other departments if they need it even though it is not a part of your job.

Initially, we wanted to film be the water fountain, however since that is a residential area we were not permitted so we all took initiative to find another location and later decided on the auditorium.  We also intended to have three locations, but due to the time constriction we decided on only using two half way through the filming process.

The Pressures of Working on Set:

Everyone is trying to do their job properly so everyone will be on edge as the conditions are very time constricted.

• Do not take things personally as everyone is stressed so the director is likely to shout.
• Always be ready to do your job, even if your taking a break be prepared to jump back onto set when you are needed, otherwise the whole production will be waiting.

During the beginning of the production everyone was feeling less pressured as we assumed 2 hours was more than enough and we had it separated into 10 minutes per shot.  However, when we realised that we were behind schedule the pressure started to get to us and we tried to rush the last few scenes just so we had something to present.

Practical experience of working on set:

We recreated a scene from Romeo and Juliet.

We all worked very well together and really enjoyed the whole process.  We all had similar visions and respected everyones roles within the production.  Everyone did their job very well.  However it was our first time working together we all really wanted to do the best at our job which was a little time consuming.  The shooting process could have been more efficient if we had stuck to the plan that we had, which was 10 minutes per shot.  However, we were all trying really hard to make this the best we could and thus taking too much time up on the first 6 shots.