Chaos central...

Anyone who has ever been on a movie set thinks its chaos central. There are people running around all over the place, moving one thing or another.

The make-up artist has to work on the actors one at a time. Costumes and props need to be coordinated with the scenes where they will be needed.

The craft table has to be set up with food and coffee. (Did I mention that starving artists isn't a figurative term. They're really hungry.)

The director of photography and the gaffer will need to get the lights into the weirdest places to bring out the shape of the actors in the scene. It really is sculpting with light.

The grips will move the furniture and props where the art director wants them. Everything is positioned according to what the camera sees, not where you think it might go.

People think you can stand way back with a shotgun mic and get good sound. Its a myth. The sound man needs to get the mic in as close as he can, but still keep the boom and mic out of the shot. Its very physically demanding. The sound man has to be a contortionist with arms of steel to hold the mic steady in just the right spot.

Then the camera man and the director need to decide on which series of shots will convey the emotion or idea needed for the scene.

Its really more like ballet. Everyone is moving in synchronicity until that final moment when the last things are checked. Then everyone takes there final positions, they decide who should be in focus and who isn't in that shot, and the director says....






Action!
Photos by Hannah Gweun.