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Category: Life

Jan112013

3 Things I Learned About Filmmaking from… Skiing

skiingLife is filled with “cross-over” learning! Here are 3 things that I believe overlap between filmmaking and skiing…

1. It’s Never the “Right” Snow
Yup… even when there is snow on the ground, ski hills have their snow makers working. It’s either not enough snow, or not enough powder, or not enough in the right place. Wow, that’s so like a film set! Next time you’re dressing the set with snow, you can rest assured that it’s quite normal… ski hills are grooming theirs!

2. It’s A Short Ride on the Lift Together
A handful of minutes on the ski lift and you’ll never know who you’ll meet, where they’re from, and what brought them to the love of skiing. Some folk are chatty, others prefer silence. Some don’t speak the same language as you… save for the language of skiing. It’s a short time you share together on that lift and, who knows, you may even meet again on the hill or at the base. So too on the crew of a film production… ’tis a short time you spend together, then move on to other productions and career choices. It’s worth getting to know the people around you.

3. A Range of Abilities Ski The Same Hill
Ski any slope – but perhaps on the green runs most of all – and you’ll find quite a range of skiing abilities among your fellow skiiers… yet you’re all on the same hill (just experiencing it from a different perspective). Some folk are expert, some have learned certain abilities but not yet others, some are brand new and barely under control. Newer skiiers take lessons and also learn from watching or interacting with more experienced skiiers, picking up tips here and there. Not dissimilar on a film set! There can easily be a wide range of skill levels among the crew: heads of departments working alongside trainees on the same set. Be nice, be helpful to folk of all levels because you’re bound to cross paths again – both on set or on the skis.

So… enjoy ski season, and learn a bit about filmmaking at the same time!

Cheers & a good shoot to you,
Deb

Nov22012

The Home Office… Treat It Right!

I happened on this term (“home office”) in a French-English dictionary. It translated into: “Ministry of the Interior”! Wow. That’s heavy! Yet, I muse, shouldn’t all freelancers – who therefore have a “home office” – treat their office and themselves with the same professionalism and respect due a ministry office? You are a business after all! So…hat’s off to you and best wishes for the success of your business.

Cheers & a good shoot to you,
Deb

Oct212012

3 More Things I Learned About Filmmaking from… the Opera

1. We Love To See The Same Story Again and Again
We get excited that the opera we saw a couple of years ago comes back to town and off we go to see it again – even though we know the story from previous viewings, and re-read the story before the curtain rises. Operas, fairy tales, myths… we love to see these stories play out over and over again. It is the journey of the familiar tale, the anticipation of the magical moments seen or heard before, and the exciting possibility of new magical moments and insights that bring us back. As filmmakers, what are the magical moments that will give our films a lasting re-viewable quality?

2. It May Take A While To Find the Audience
La Bohème had a weak reception to its first audience… yet it went on to become one of the greatest and most popular operas of all time. Even then, there was great pressure on opening night for a sign of the future (financial and critical) success of an artistic work. Yet a poor reception doesn’t necessarily mean give up on it – opera or film. Just keep trying to find the right audience to make the connection.

3. Education Can Take You Only So Far
In vocal music class, the only acceptable stances for singing were sitting (with your back straight) on the front of your chair, or standing… yet at the opera, characters die in bed for extended periods of time singing arias at full volume from a distinctly – although modified – prone position! There were no beds and couches in vocal music class to lie down on in order to practice this obviously required position for singing in the “real” operatic world. You just have to adapt what you learned to make it work.

Cheers & an operatic shoot to you,
Deb

Aug102012

Dry Ice Campfire

It was the end of the shoot. A partial box of dry ice remained. Not enough to sell to another set. A shame to throw it out. We gathered out back of the studio on a little patch of green. On overturned milk crates, director’s chairs, apple boxes, a few lawn chairs. The bucket of water between us… and the dry ice bubbling out of it and tumbling and rolling onto and across the ground around us. Good company. Easy conversation. The team together. A magical moment after wrap.

Cheers & a good wrap to you,
Deb

Jun12012

Who’s Tweeting IN the Movies?

There are a lot of mundane activities you typically don’t see characters do in the movies: characters never seem to need to go to the bathroom… or actually eat the breakfast they prepare… or… well, the list goes on, and I’m sure you have your favourites. What about tweeting? Checking a Facebook account? Checking email? When was the last time you saw a major character in a movie integrate daily social media into his or her adventure?

Of course, it’s all about filming what’s important to the story, but the final edit can reflect our life back to us in a rather skewed way – entirely removing that which we do so often. Does it diminish the perceived importance our frequent but time consuming social media activities… or does it show us what adventures we can have if we unplug now and then?

Hmmm… interesting thought.

Cheers & a connected shoot to you,
Deb

May182012

3 Things I Learned About Filmmaking from… A Chorus Line

… and I mean the Broadway musical, not only the movie.

1. You “Need” To Work in the Arts
In the song “What I Did For Love” they sing about “we did what we had to do”. For some careers one is called to take them on. For the arts, however, I believe you have to “need” to do it. Working in the arts is very demanding on so many levels, and rewarding in unique and incredible ways. It’s not for the feint of heart… somewhere inside you, you “have to do it” to survive and blossom in it.

2. Exceptional Talent is in Any Department
The musical is about the performers auditioning to be in a chorus line, not to be in starring roles. The chorus line performers are the stars. Each one of them has exceptional talent to be where they are – whether they get the job or not. So too with a film crew – exceptional talent lies in any department and at any level… and it’s a thrill to discover and honour to work alongside such folk.

3. The Story Can Be Experienced in Different Forms
We’ve all seen books filmed that don’t match the book experience and wondered why the movie couldn’t get the story closer to the story in the book. I’ve seen “A Chorus Line” on Broadway, and then later adapted in a dinner theatre, and again later adapted into in the movie. The dinner theatre didn’t have enough space on the stage for the entire chorus line, so they cut a couple of parts and re-assigned certain songs and parts of songs to other chorus line members. Indeed the intimacy of the dinner theatre could not duplicate the grandness of Broadway… so the story was adapted to its environment… and oddly enough it was hard to see where the changes were made (they did it so well). To successfully adapt a story from one medium to another, you have to really understand the two mediums and find how the story will best be experienced.

Cheers & a good shoot to you,
Deb