William Powell interviews Damien Payne

Well, this is pretty late. I did the interview a while ago, but forgot to post it. Anyway, here it goes:

I interviewed Damien Payne. Damien works freelance as a 1st Assistant Director. Damien spends most of his time in Washington State, but also works in Los Angeles, Portland, and London. He has worked on everything from music videos, to commercials, and feature length films.

1. Can you briefly describe your job?

Damien sums up his job as the foreman of a production. His job is to marry the needs of production to the vision of the director. In preproduction, Damien is in charge of mapping out the job. He will make the production schedule. He will often have to tell the producer that there isn’t enough days for them to do what they want, which either means they need more days or to cut down on the vision. Either way, he has to find a way to make it work. Damien says a good producer will listen to the Assistant Director.

Towards the end of preproduction they will do a tech scout and collect the crew. They will then figure out how to shoot each scene. Finally they map out a full shooting schedule and create a call sheet, so they can find out how to contact anyone if they don’t show up on shoot.

When it comes to the shoot Damien makes sure everyone hit’s the ground running. He makes sure mics are set up, and stuff like that. Damien then makes sure the actors are getting their make-up, although he blocks the scene first on a movie. Damien then makes sure the stand-in’s are ready and know what to do.

Damien says that the sooner you start shooting the more you will accomplish in a day. Damien also has the responsibility of calling roll and action, calling cues for vehicles, and makes a record of out times.

2. How did Damien get started?

Damien started his career in media as a runner (production assistant) in London. He started at a commercial production company. At the time they still used film. After that, Damien started doing freelance work in London and eventually moved to Seattle, Washington. From there Damien worked on commercials, music videos, and even some feature films, like Dancer in the Dark, starring Icelandic musician Bjork.

3. How do you tell your boss you can’t do something.?

Damien says he will typically bring it up jokingly. He says you have to be honest. If something can’t be done, it can’t be done. He says how the producer takes it typically depends on their competence level. An experienced producer won’t fall into fear. Regardless though, the job will always get done, even if it has to be done differently.

4: Damien’s advice for someone starting in media.

Start as a production assistant. It’ll help you get a foot in the door and figure out which direction to go. However, don’t do PA for more than two years. Use that time to find out what you want to do. He says directors come best from an editing background, but also writing and acting. If you can edit well, you know how to concisely tell a story, which helps have a better vision when directing. Television shows are good training grounds for up and coming directors. Damien’s final advice is to get a good pair of tennis shoes, because there is a lot of standing in this business.