#that movie has so many raw lines dawg

[tmiquotepage]

Film Crew Appreciation PSA

Respect & love the actors.

But also the directors.

But don’t forget the producers (all of ‘em!)

Don’t forget the Cinematographers & Directors of Photography, and their camera ops who make those dope shots happen!

Don’t forget the 1st AC, who makes those dramatic focus pulls happen.

Don’t forget the 2nd AC, who makes sure those slates are right and shots are logged so they know they don’t lose footage or reeeeeeeally fuck up sync sound!

Don’t forget the sound mixer, who lets the director know whether they got the right sound for that scene before they leave location.

Don’t forget the boom op, who is killing himself offscreen to hold that mic as close as possible without being in your shot so that you get good on-set audio and don’t have to watch potentially disasterous ADR/”dubbing” which draws you out of the movie.

Don’t forget the costumers, who arrive early at set every day to steam out those suits, and who always have back ups, and who make your actors look exactly how they need to for that shot. On that note, don’t forget the make up and hair artists, who work with the director from the beginning and actually put HUGE amounts of thoughts into every look for every shot, every scene. GUYS. NEVER FORGET HAIR AND MAKEUP. This goes for the ridiculously talented people in SFX makeup and practical effects as well!

Don’t forget the script supervisor, who is basically set mom. 

Don’t forget your 1st AD, who is the director’s right hand man. Who makes sure everything gets shot (and works with the script supervisor to make sure you don’t run over time!). Oh, and they’re probably (almost definitely) the one who has placed every single extra in the background to look natural and to walk on screen at the right moment so that you never notice the 100s of people walking down the street behind the lead actors are all people who have been paid to be there and walk behind the lead actors without staring at the big set of film equipment in front of them. 

(Along those lines, thank the extras who come out on set and normally sit around all day doing nothing until they are called for, and then being ready to go when it’s time. Real troopers, and it’s also a fantastic way for people interested in film to check out how things work on sets before they even get to PA level.)

Don’t forget your 2nd AD, or the 2nd 2nd AD, both of whom make sure that set paperwork is in order, everyone is where they need to be, lunch is taken on time, PAs are doing their jobs, and just generally makes sure problems disappear before the 1st even has to hear about them. 

Don’t forget the dolly grip, making sure that tracking shot is smooth and perfect. Likewise, steadicams are heavy and difficult to navigate and learn to use. Give a HUGE shoutout to the steadicam operators in the films you watch (hint: if it’s a major studio production, odds are there are at least one of each!)

Don’t forget the grips, who move alllllllll that shit that needs to be moved on set. Don’t forget the gaffers, who are in charge of lighting and pretty much anything electrical on set.

Don’t forget the DIT who is checking that footage as it comes in. The one who lets you know you’ve got a dead pixel or a corrupt card or a boom in the shot before you spend the rest of the day thinking you got a shot that you simply don’t have. Digital Imaging Techs save movies every day.

DO NOT FORGET THE PAs WHO ARE GETTING YELLED AT AND STANDING FOR 12 HOURS STRAIGHT AND WHO ARE RUNNING FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIMIT AND DO THANKLESS WORK FOR NOT A WHOLE BUNCH OF MONEY (IF THEY ARE ON THE GOOD SETS WHERE THEY ARE GETTING PAID AND NOT THE DOZENS OF OTHERS THEY HAVE TO START OFF ON JUST TO GET EXPERIENCE) AND WHO NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT ANY OF IT AND WILL GLADLY LET YOU USE THEM AS A FOOTREST OR BE YOUR PSYCHOLOGIST/RANT-LISTENER BECAUSE THEY KNOW EVERYONE STARTED SOMEWHERE AND THEY GOTTA EARN BEING IN THIS FUCKING INDUSTRY THE HARD WAY LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

Don’t forget locations, who troubleshoot with location owners and make sure they’re happy and takes care of more on set than you can imagine.

Don’t forget the casting director, who spent hours combing through hundreds of headshots for every little part, even that one waitress with one line in scene 57. 

Don’t forget craft services and catering teams, who keep us fed, but also bring cakes on the last day of filming, who also make sure the first aid kit is well stocked, who remember the sunscreen and the bug spray when you’re in the woods, who make runs to the store when the ice melts, who will always take care of you.

Don’t forget the stunt team, who take the punches and hits and bruises and keep going.

Don’t forget, of all things, the snake wranglers in the woods making sure you don’t get killed by a poisonous snake.

DON’T FORGET ART DEPARTMENT, WHO ARE MACGYVERS AND CAN MAKE ANYTHING OUT OF NOTHING WITHOUT BREAKING A SWEAT. 

Don’t forget set design and dressers, who are responsible for every single thing that is not a person or a prop on that screen. Along those lines, thank the greens team (actual department. Check those credits, dawg.) for working with all the plants you see on screen. And along those lines, thank the animal wranglers and trainers who keep those 40 sheep in the background from getting frisky in your shot.

Don’t forget those teamsters, who make sure those actors & above-the-lines get to and from set safely after a long day filming. 

Don’t forget production coordinators AND UNIT PRODUCTION MANAGERS and all the people in the production office AND ALL THE DEPARTMENTS’ PAs and the crane operators and production designers and please, for the love of GOD, never forget to check out the screenwriter(s) WHO ACTUALLY CREATED THE SCRIPT THIS STORY IS BEING CREATED FROM. 

AND THAT’S ALL JUST PRODUCTION AND PREPRODUCTION. DON’T FORGET POST!

Don’t forget the editing team, even though they are perhaps the most forgotten department people ignore, despite the fact that they are the ones that hold the director’s hand and assure him that his movie is in the footage, and then put it all together and make the story happen from raw sound and footage.

Don’t forget the scores of men and women in the VFX department making sure you question where their graphics end and reality begins.

Post-sound & foley artists, who create the audio world to go with the visual images. The people who make the sound sound effortless are the best. If you don’t notice their work, it usually means they’ve done it right, but go ahead and give them a high-five as well. 

Guys, never forget the MUSIC aspect of films. How much work goes into scoring and creating the soundtrack.

Don’t forget the marketing departments, y’all. The ones who deliver the films, who make those dope ass trailers, who create those posters and viral campagins and taglines. Don’t forget how much work goes into marketing and distribution, because we make make the movie from development through post, but THEY ARE THE ONES THAT MAKE SURE YOU GET TO SEE IT.

I’d say tl:dr;, but the the thing is, you guys should read all of this. There are so many more positions than these, and they all have even more jobs than I was able to list here. And every single one of them does their job because they love it, and every single one of them give 110% to make each individual film a success. Each one of them plays an intergral part in the production of your favorite movies. So please, idolize the actors and directors because yeah, they’re talented and amazing and the most visible. But stay for the credits, too. Check out the IMDb page for the film. See every single person that went into making this film. Google any of the positions you don’t know and learn a bit about what they do on set. You’d be surprised just how much goes into filmmaking. And then, once you’ve done a little research, give those crew members some of the love you have for their creation as well. This has been a friendly PSA from your friendly neighborhood screenwriter/set PA. <3

#filmmaking #psa #signal boost #movies #about me