BLOG 3: Roles & Responsibilities

In this session, we learnt about the different roles and responsibilities within the film industry.

Director

• the driving creative force in a film’s production – visualising and defining the style and structure of the film, then bringing it to life
• controls a film’s artistic and dramatic aspects.
• visualizes the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision.
• has a key role in choosing the cast members, production design, and the creative aspects of filmmaking.

The director acts as the crucial link between the production, technical and creative teams. As the driving artistic force throughout production, the director liaise with the heads of each department (e.g. Director of Photography & Production Designer) to ensure that everyone has a clear idea of the vision they’re going to create.

Actor

• interprets others’ words in order to bring a script to life and to put flesh and blood on characters.

They would communicate primarily with the director, where they will collaborate on how they will bring this character to life. For example, the director would guide the actor on the physicality, facial expressions and motivations so that the actor has  an in-depth understanding of their character and can give the best performance.

Art Director

• realises the Production Designer’s creative vision for all the sets and locations that give productions their look and feel.
• project manages the work of the art department.

The art director would have a close relationship with their head of department: the production designer, who will relay the director’s vision to the art director. The art director will then manage the rest of the department, including the costuming, props, make up and in some cases special effects.

Location Manager

• finds ideal locations for a film shoot.
• negotiates fees, terms and permissions.
• manages the location during the shoot.

The location manager will have a close relationship with the director and the producer. With the director, they will discuss the vision for the scene and then the location manager will scout for the locations which best meet that vision. The location manager and the producer will discuss how much of the production’s budget they can spend on location as well as the health & safety requirements, the practicality (for example, plug sockets for the lighting equipment) and how long the location will be needed for.

Director of Photography

• creates the visual identity, or look, of the film.
• works with the director, camera crew and lighting department to achieve this.
• manages all aspects of filming: from ordering and overseeing equipment to recce to reviewing footage.

The director of photography works closely with the director so that they can discuss the most effective way to portray their vision visually. During pre-production, they would produce a storyboard which would demonstrate all the angles and lighting states that would effectively portray the atmosphere of the scene – they will use this storyboard during production when filming. During production, the director of photography will have a close relationship with the rest of their team: the assisstant camera operator, the gaffer, sparks, clapper loader and the grip.

Editor

• works closely with the Director to craft the finished film.
• works in an edit suite for long hours.
• runs a team of assistants and trainees on big productions.

The director and the editor would collaborate in the post producrion stage, where they would assemble the shots into a coherent sequence. During production, the director & director of photography would make a note of which takes were the most effective or not of each scene – to try to save the editor time during post production.

Producer

• turns story ideas into profitable films.
• gathers a creative and talented cast and crew to collaborate together.
• being aware and an understanding of the legalities involved (i.e. copyright laws and health & safety regulations)
• is responsible for all aspects of a film’s production.

The producers are also in charge of the financial aspect of a production and will ensure that the film’s budget is spent wisely.  They are also responsible for ensuring that the crew are keeping to the production schedule too, so they will have a close relationship with the director. Regarding the production budget, the producer will discuss how it will be spent with location manager, casting director and the production manager.

Scriptwriter

• researches and develops story ideas
• writing screenplays.

Scriptwriters are often freelancers and will therefore try to maintain a strong relationships with producers who they can pitch original ideas to in the hope that they will be optioned or sold. Alternatively, they are commissioned by a producer to create a screenplay from a concept, true story, existing screenwork or a novel, poem, play, comic book or short story. Once the script is greenlit for production, the scriptwriter has very little involvement in any adjustments the director may choose to make.

Film Challenge

The Film Challenge involved us recreating a scene from Baz Luhrmann’s adapatation of Romeo & Juliet. In groups, we took it turns to have a go at each role in a production team – I managed to experience the role of being the director, camera operator and lighting assistant at some point during the shoot.

Initially, I struggled in the role of director because I am generally a reserved and quiet person, so to be put in the shoes of someone who has a stong vision and needs to guide the actors and the rest of the crew was a real challenge for me. Part of this was  due to how we were still getting to know each other as a team, so I was hesitant to be as confident as I should have been. Later on, during the feedback session, I was commended for not exuding stress towards the team which was a relief.

However, I was far more comfortable in the role of camera operator, under Lydia’s directorial debut. In retrospect, I should have been more compromising when it came to “perfecting” the shot, specifically the pan-whip-pan shot, because we spent longer than our allocated time slot on it, which delayed the rest of production.

My final role of the day was as a lighting assistant, since we didn’t have any professional lights at our disposal, we had to improvise using the torches on our smartphones. By the time we were filming the final scenes of the session, we had lost the natural lighting from outside and had to use our phone torches to add sufficent lighting to the shot.

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BLOG 2: The Working Culture of the Film Industry

Yesterday, as a class, we engaged in a 2 hour filming exercise where we recreated the meeting scene between Romeo and Juliet from the 1997 film of the same name. This activity involved us becoming familiar with the different production roles and process of filming and working together as a production team.

The different production roles were:

• Director
• 1st Assistant Director
• Camera Operator
• Sound Recordist
• Clapper
• Actors

Through this exercise, we experienced the working culture of the film industry and key factors which play into a successful or unsuccessful shoot. These aspects are:

• Time Management
• Using Initiative
• Taking Responsibility
• Being Flexible
• The Pressures of Working on Set
• Good Working Practice

Here is what I learnt from this experience:

1. Time Management

• Planning is essential – despite our Assistant Director having allocated 10 minutes per shot, we underestimated the time necessary to set up the shot, rehearse it and then finally shoot the scene. Especially concerning the complex shot, for example, the pan-whip-pan shot and the crash zoom.
• As a group, we ended up focussing too much on a single scene, in order to perfect it – this resulted in us losing track of time which we needed to film other scenes.

2. Using Initiative

• There were moments when we had to improvise and make decisions on the spot. An example of this was when we used our phone torches to light up scenes when the lighting was poor – this resolved our lighting issue without us having to move to a new location when we already had time constraints.
• Being discreet when suggesting ideas, to avoid embarrassing other crew members – always mention it to the Assisstant Director first, who will relay that information onto that department.
• When I was the Camera Operator, I took initiative by asking for a cue when shooting the pan-whip-pan scene, this made shooting the scene smoother.

3. Taking Responsibility

• We each took responsibility for each role we were allocated by ensuring that we stayed focussed and were on top of everything.
• I took on the role of Director, Camera Operator and Sound Recordist Assistant throughout this exercise.

4. Being Flexible

• Concerning location and time management, we had to sacrifice what we ideally wanted for the scene and settle on a location nearer to where we were in order to shoot the final scenes.

5. The Pressures of Working on Set

• The time constraints added pressure.
• It can be a stressful atmosphere.
• Improvised decisions need to be made (e.g. location change) so it is important to not be too attached with your vision.
• Planning is essential.
• There can be pressures for actors too, but the Director can be supportive and provide motivation (e.g. eyeline, cues, feedback)
• Patience is required – being an actor means that there is a lot of waiting around while the crew set up the scene.
• Stay calm.
• Always focus.

Having learnt and experienced the above, we collated a Code of Good Working Practice, which is a set of rules and advice we can refer back to.

Code of Good Working Practice

1. To plan before you shoot.
2. To be prepared to use your initiative.
3. To not be rigid/set on a singular idea.
4. To learn the art of flexibility.
5. To stick to your roles.
6. To be synmpathetic to other people’s roles.
7. To not take criticism personally.
8. To learn to manage your own stress.
9. To understand the ettiquette of working on set.
10. To have good, personal time management.
11. To be prepared to self-manage and take responsibility.

You can find our recreated scene here

Capulets from Framed Film Academy on Vimeo.