Assignment 1: Finding Information A

Assignment Goals:
I want you to learn to FIND information
and
I want the class, and myself, to benefit from the information you find.

Assignment Due:
Post on blog by Sunday, February 1st, 11;59pm.

Assignment Details:
This assignment is worth a possible 10 points. Total possible points for the semester are 100, not including extra credit.

Talk to at least one production professional in a ranking position (PM, POC, AD).
1. On line: find sources for the film professionals in your state
check major cities film offices, film commissions - those sites will lead you to crew lists.
2. Write and/or call 5 or 6 production people – ask if you can interview them.
State up front that you are a student looking for short information.
Tell them you will only take 15 minutes of their time.

3. Interview first to respond – if you haven’t heard back in 2 days, try 5 more. You have VERY LITTLE TIME and you must complete the assignment.

Do not conduct interview via email unless they ask, use the phone.

Ask the following:
1. Can you briefly define your job to me?
2. How did you get started in this business?
3. How do you tell someone over you (your boss) that you can’t accomplish an assigned task?
4. Do you have any advice for a media student who is just starting out?

After 15 minutes is up:
“our time is up, is it okay if I call you again sometime, perhaps this semester, to run a few more questions by you?”

Write up your interview while it is still fresh. You can record the interview as well, just make sure you tell the person you are doing so. Let them know your class has a blog (Producing302@blogspot.com) and you will be posting their interview highlights on the blog. Ask if it is okay to leave their name on it, or if they would rather keep their contact info private. However, you must send me their contact info and name in case I need to verify the interview took place.

Post the interview on our blog. The title is "Assignment 1" followed by your last name.

Send a thank you note. Blind copy me on thank you note, or photocopy it if you are going to mail it. Your thank you note is worth 3 of the possible 10 points.

If you have a lack luster interview, do another one. Write about both to me personally so I know you are working.

Hint: READ ALL THE POSTED INTERVIEWS BEFORE THE MIDTERM EXAM.

Here is an interview that was given all ten possible points:

The interview was conducted over the phone, and was well written up. It covered all the questions and served as a great learning tool for the class. Of course, the student also sent a thank you note to the interviewee!

Example:

AWS - Production Manager
AMP

Q. Can you briefly define your job for me?

A. I'm responsible for keeping all of the elements and different resources of the production together, keeping the people in the lighting area and the sound and camera crew in line and keeping the communications going and dealing with the producer and other people like the d.p. and such. Basically the production manager - when it really comes down to it - they're the ones that really have to keep the people in line. A lot of people think it's the director - I do directing myself, so I know that that's true to an extent - but really when it comes down to it the PM is who's going to get blamed. Not only that, but the pm is also responsible for budgeting type issues. They're even involved at the script level, when they look at the script they're supposed to be able to get a rudimentary estimate of how much something's going to cost to film when you have a scene and take the factors into consideration and make an estimate of how it can be done in the most cost-effective way.

Q. How did you get started in this business?

A. I started with small productions, my reputation got better, other directors started bringing me into the set. Like a lot of people in film, you're going to see that they do a lot of things. People might start out in props and then the next production they might be brought in as an electrical assistant. And then as lighting or even special effects, and different people will keep bringing them back and after 50 years or so a lot people who started out this way are directing. Start out on small projects, doing different things like lighting and maybe even boom operator, just start working your way up eventually to better things like director, production manager, d.p. Someone with photography skills could end up as d.p., and other people, like production managers, could easily slide into director position because they can manage all of the people and processes that are involved in film production.

Q. If a producer or someone in a similar position asked you to do something that just didn't seem feasible for whatever reason, how would you handle the situation?
A. A lot of technical knowledge helps out in that respect, a production manager has to analyze the situation and then come up with a good reason why it actually won't work. For example if they're talking about some major deal that's involving resources they don't have, then basically the p.m. is going to have to point to budgetary concerns and say, "We don't have the budget for this." Or if it's a stunt issue, if they want to see these stunts that insurance just isn't going to cover, the p.m. is going to have to point to that and say it's not going to work. Sometimes a visual concern can be passed along to another person, if it's a matter of certain camera effects, it can be passed along to cinematographer. And then it's their responsibility to come up with a way make it look like how director wants it, but to still keep it within budget.
I stress technical knowledge of a production manager. They have to have knowledge of different areas. They're not sitting in one seat where all they have to do is know how to move a dolly, or how to get the smoothest pan, they have to work with all these different areas, including budgetary areas, to make the film work. The production manager has to be a very knowledgeable person.

Q. So knowledge of other peoples' duties is important for a production manager to have. What other skills or attributes would you say are important for a production manager to have?
A. Dealing with people, diplomacy, knowing how to talk to people, being able to follow orders, if the producer comes to the production manager with something they want done - sometimes the pm is a liaison between the producer and the director. If they're misunderstanding each other or even at odds, the p.m. will come to them and say, "Look, we have to do it this way, we jut have to get it done."

Q. It doesn't seem like someone could enter the position of production manager without any practical experience.
A. I've seen a very few people with a lot of intelligence and a good background, if they sit in on some film sets and see what the production manager does, they can make it work probably starting out on smaller productions and working on to bigger productions. If someone stepped directly into Hollywood and tried to fill that position right off the bat, they'd get fired within, probably about thirty seconds.

Q. What advise do you have for a media student who is just starting out?
A. Someone starting in this business should try to keep their ears open, try to look at all of the areas of the film, don't box yourself in just thinking about exactly what you like about film, try to think about all the areas and be able to understand other peoples' concerns and needs. The director will have his own needs going on inside his head, the producer will be concerned with answering to the executive producer and other people on the business end. Other people on the set will try to make the film as good as it can be. The key grip and the gaffer and the cinematographer are all going to be people that will be be more concerned with the art form. Being able to understand the concerns of all these people is vital. And a lot of it's about pleasing these other people. Ultimately the best film is where everyone is satisfied at the end of the film. To keep the relationships going on the film set can be a difficult thing. At the production I'm working on now, the sound guy walked off the set after the first week because of the poor communications of the director. He was an extremely talented sound guy, everything was great except he unfortunately didn't appreciate the approach of the director. I tried to tell him that we're here to just do the most professional job we can do, but the conflict was too great there. And even though he's off the set, the best you can do is try. If you can't mend the relationships between people, that's all you can do - not burn the bridges and tell them "that's the last time you're going to be working with them" or something like that." Not only that, but the p.m. has to sit down and think really hard about exactly why they're in the business, and why they want to be in the business. For me, I've been in a lot of situations where I've been like, "these people are basically slapping me in the face." You deal with a lot of people with attitudes - why am I in it? Not because I care about every little negative thing that happens on the set, but what comes out of it - the end product - really pushes me. Someone who takes insults really personally is going to have problems, but if you know why you're in it and that's what's driving you then it's the career for you, without question.