Film post-mortem

Well, there still is one more big day of shooting, so it really isn't the post-mortem quite yet. But these past three days were an intimate shoot with less than a dozen people, all in one small house. The next day is a huge outdoor shoot with 75 people. While it can be exciting to work on such a big scale, I like the intimacy of the past three days much better.

I had a blast. It was more fun and much easier than I ever imagined it would be. The crew were so much fun to be around. We laughed so much. We shared a common passion for filmmaking. We brainstormed and problem-solved. We panicked (but only briefly) and rejoiced. It is always an experience to be on a film set, because often I am one of the only women on the crew. Such was the case this time, and I always fall into a sort of sister/brother relationship with the people I work with. It means lots of teasing and laughing and joking, sort of a chance to let your hair down with family you've only just met. It is part of the magic of movie-making, I think, the fact that everyone finds a common rhythm so quickly. When you are spending so many hours in a row in such close proximity (sometimes literally sitting on top of each other, squeezed into a corner trying not to cast a shadow or be seen in a mirror!) you have to form a friendly bond quickly. There is no other way to survive a film shoot. "Hurry up and wait" is the motto of the industry, and considering we spent 21 hours shooting about 4 minutes of final film footage, you can see how people could easily lose their patience if it wasn't for the jovial mood.

And, in light of my worries leading into it, I did fine. Each day that passed I was more and more comfortable in my old, familiar shoes. In the end, I realized that I don't want to completely leave behind the world of film, as I previously have asserted. I don't know that I would want to ever pursue it as a career, or even work full-time for an extended period of time. But I would have no hesitation to accept another AD role in the future, and would, in fact, welcome it. It was nice to remember what I love about filmmaking.