Rehearsals without the train went well and the director rolled on a few takes for safety.īut, after a couple rehearsals and three takes, we were still waiting to hear that whistle. The Countdown to ShootĪ producer came back from the main terminal of the train depot to say we would hear a 2 minute warning whistle from any train before arriving at the station.Īt this time of the day, there were no trains nor whistles so we got marks and practiced the camera movement. Meanwhile, myself and the first assistant camera (AC) rushed to ready the camera and mount it on the arm of the jib.ġ5 minutes into the day and we had fulfilled the first part of the Hollywood promise: hurry up. Our small crew raced to construct a jib arm along the road that ran parallel beside two sets of tracks. As the train pulled forth and the characters walked alongside, the camera would swoop down and pan up, landing at eye level of the main character during a minute long dialogue. To get the shot the director truly wanted, he needed to have a train choo-chooing along the tracks. The story we were shooting was entrenched in this atmosphere of “moving on” and so it was appropriate that we found ourselves the next morning standing beside empty train tracks with a looming gloomy sky showing only differing shades of gray. A small town that reached its heyday when rail travel ruled the country, but has since seen those glory days drift away.
The best example of “hurry up and wait” in action happened to me on the set of a short film that was shooting in Brunswick, MD. Everytime you find yourself standing by the camera wondering, “Why aren’t we shooting right now?” it’ll pop into your head. It’s the great nagging words of any below the line crew member.
That phrase is “ hurry up and wait” and streams through the lifeblood of every production - big, small, East Coast, West Coast, digital or film. In some way or another, we all buy into its philosophy, but we have to because it embodies life in the film industry and is the secret to Hollywood productivity. You hear it so many times on set that you grow immune to its truthfulness. The simple four word phrase is all at once a contradiction, a demand and an approach.
THE SECRET OF ZOOM MOVIE MOVIE
There’s an old saying on movie sets that captures the essence of working in Hollywood.
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