Close encounters of the Director kind.

A giggle for Christmas:

I have met and worked with literally hundreds of Directors..They come in all sorts of colours, gender, ability and occasionally ..Talent.

An awful lot of them think they are God and tell you thats the way it is..unfortunately it is not borne out by their ability...simply their inflated EGO.

This is an example from a recent assignment..I got a call from a producer who asked me to shoot two episodes of a very popular TV Drama 

series in the UK..Millions of viewers every week and very well established..Format TV really..

On this occasion the Producer said the company wanted to try out a very inexperienced Director..Only three half hour shows to her credit but they wanted to groom her for the major series..so they asked if I could undertake the task... as I had already filmed over two hundred one hour eps of the programme..

Reluctantly and rather foolishly I accepted

UK TV shows are run to a very tight schedule..not a lot of thinking time  Ten days on set for one hour episodes..Thats it.. You have to hit the ground running..everyone has to be up to speed.

Recce day:..I was introduced to the Director  A young woman, very pleasant..we went through the scripts briefly., whistled round the sets..A quck meeting ..then lunch where she informed me that I was not her choice of DoP..The Broadcaster wouldnt let her have the person she wanted to shoot her eps as they considered he didnt have the experience..Their money  their call.

Me: 'Thats fine, I dont get to choose the Directors'

Shoot day one: The opening scene was a wide shot showing the very large set which was a Hospital ward..Lotsa beds.activity, nurses ..trolleys moving etc.At the far end a patient was moved from a trolley onto a bed and was quickly joined by Medical staff who gathered  around and talked the scene through..The Wide shot

'Cut..got it..move on for the Close ups'..

I had some lights to tweak as the camera dolly and crew moved in around the bed.When I got there the Director had re-arranged all the doctors and placed them in different places...Are you still with me...?

Me: You've moved the actors.

Dir: Yes, I didnt like the way they lined up.

Me:  OK..but we have to do the Master shot again.

Dir: Why.?

Me: Well it wont cut.

Dir: Who cares..who will even notice?.

Me: Me...and someone else.

Dir: Who?.

M:The man in charge who will be on the set in the morning with two pieces of paper..torn up.

Dir:( Blank stare) 

Me:Our contracts..we'll be fired.

After calling me old fashioned..  a Fuddy duddy ..Prehistoric..etc, she reluctantly agreed the actors should take up their wide shot positions.

And then it got worse.

We moved on from that scene to another one in his huge set..On the way she said that as Director whatever she wanted she will get..and told me she didnt like my lighting and wanted harsh strong lights to sweep across the entire ..massive..set.

She didnt get them. The set was on the 7th floor of an old office block..It would have meant encasing the entire building in scaffolding and would stop the filming through the windows. The cost and the restrictions on shooting were not what the Production company wanted.  Grunmble..grumble..onto the next scene.

This one comprised of two elements One part was to be filmed in a long hospital corridor and the other around a ward bed. Two set ups in the corridor and three around the bed,The corridor ones showed worried family members dashing to the ward where their sick relative was

The ideas was to shoot the two corridor scenes then move to the bedside for the rest including the family arrival...Oh no..

As we walked through the set the Director said she had been out the previous evening with her old film school mates to celebrate her move up into serious TV and they had discussed this particular scene and how to shoot it. They thought it would be great to make the second visit to the bedside a dark scene..  to be a night scene..are you still with me..amazing..

Out come the scripts for the days shooting..All the component parts were covering a period of about four minutes just after one pm..and she thought it would be great to make the middle one a night scene...She went apeshit when I told her it wasnt going to happen..screaming and shouting...and we were still halfway through the first morning.. it boded well.

Part two soon....

 

 

 It great to see everyone is back from the beach..or wherever they have spent the summer.

Time to get back to the treadmill folks.

We have just about settled into our place in Italy..been unbearably hot this year with an average of mid 30's..no tan ..too dangerous to sit out.

Which brings me nicely round to attempt some more blogs.

I have just completed a  concept for a TV series and now will set about marketing..I got rid of my Literary agent some time ago (Another blog on this soon ) so I will start by looking for a new one.The concept is a goer  and it encompasses a great deal of action...for a 17 yeard old. 

More on that later.

When I have been in a College or film school  talking to Film students I always ask them what they want to do in the industry..almost all of them want to be Directors..when asked why there is usually a slightly stunned silence, it seems most students have never actually proceeded beyond the ambition without really putting any thought in as to what  is needed to achieve this lofty status..apart from the money, the kudos, the good table at a restaurant, the adoring attentionof the runners.

Needless to say that in over five decades of being a DOP  and working with probably hundreds of directors I have only met a few who really warrant the title. 

Most are OK and will probably eke a living in the industry..some should really seek another career..but the really talented ones stand out..Decisive, creative, intuitive, read the script. see the characters, know when a scene is finished..moves on.

Moving on in the industry is vitally important, particularly in TV production..At one time as a DOP I was contracted to finish a one hour screen time production in 15 shooting days, regardlessof content.

Now that has been reduced to 10 days...same script length,, same action sequences.same scene numbers...and it shows.

I am a Judge for BAFTA, plus a Craft Judge.  I am an expert on seeing the gaps, I squirm in my chair sometimes when I see the enforced errors..when the scene just needed another couple of shots, the meaningful glance, the slightly longer pause, the actors thoughtful delivery, the background not left being eggy....there's a lot of that.

Some producers turn up with no experience at all, their only qualification is a degree in some associated subject like Greek Philosophy or  something similar from an obscure Uni., they are all obsessed with one word. COVERAGE.

Baisically coverage gives them an opportunity to make the edit easy, takes away the creativity from the director and it takes studio time away from every other techie.  including me..Which brings me to the next blog..Stay tuned...Gotta make some calls.

Return to Italy

 We will soon be returning to our home in Italy where I will attenmpt to blog more about life in that lovely  country,,We intend to travel a great deal more so look out for updates..

Sad to leave the UK right now but we both find the lifestyle in Italy suits our health and outlook..and we do have a very pleasant home there in the Dolomites.

Three months a year of warmer weather does wonders for excercise and flower growing...plus we love the diet .which is seasonal...cuts down on processed food..We love the very distinctive seasons..Both in the weather and produce.. 

Look forward to writing more  very soon   XX 

 To anyone at all interested:  The following novels, all written as books but are really screenplays, are now on offer for the film rights.

THE STACK...Family saga, set mainly in the UK,  Australia, USA. Begins during the first world war to the present time..By RJ Dodd.

MAGINTY'S QUEST...A young readers story, set in the West Indies and the UK. It involves the adventures of three sea creatures tasked with sabving a family in the UK. A complex adventure that involves Pirates of old and modern day ones..A great romp By RJ Dodd and Mary Lou Clarke..under the pen name of Chelsy Swann.

THE SANDRUNNERS..Adventure story  which follows a young egyptians effort to enter the New Olympics in 1896. There are many forces agianst him and he has to beat them all in order to win the hand of his girlfriend...and he insists on running with hiis best friend and running pal..Suzy..a small camel

Set in the UK, Egypt, Greece. Written by RJ Dodd and Mary Lou Clarke, under the pen name of Chelsy Swann

THE FIDDLER. Set in Italy in 18th century.Against all odds a young farm hand tries to join a major orchestra touring Italy..On his life journey he falls in love, loses that person and has to find another way to live. He has to overcome many obstacles, Kidnapping, attacks, and becomes a criminal, then a surprising thing happens.

By RJ Dodd

LEVERAGE. A contemporary story about a spy who wants to quit the business but his past adventures keep pulling him back in.In order to obtain a new life he has to sort out his past.Sometimes brutally...and he has to kill his own brother. A great story and very cinematic.Set mainly in the UK and USA.   By RJ Dodd

All the books except Leverage are published on amazon.. Leverage is not published yet but a sequel is on the way.

As a Director of Photography who has shot a number of award winning films I have tried to be fast paced, slick dialogue is a feature and totally cinematic.

If interested please contact r.jdodd@outlook.com

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Wriiten 

Judge

 PS:  I am a judge for BAFTA..ploughing through a lot of movies...deeply unimpressed thus far..I will write on this when the voting process is over..Seems like a lot of money has been spent on some unwatchable material....must have been the Pandemic...

Busy

 Hi...just to let you know I have been a little busy lately..We had to spend some time in Italy..now back in the UK ..Chichester..

I am moving along with the sequel to my fifth Novel.'.Leverage'.and I am working with two writers. One of them has a stage play and the other one..a direct descendant of a famous Eenglish poet and writer..has a screenplay based on his family  Both effoerts are looking good and there is some industry interest.

I hope to find some time for a few more anecdotes..I have been offered some lecture dates where I can tell a lot more stories to film buffs...more on that in 2024. And I have been offered a movie in Morrocco which should be interesting

  Have a great New Year everyone  X    DD

Details. My e-mail is r.jdodd@outlook.com......Tel: 07860 555 794... Chelsy Swann is a pen name. I am about to publish my fifth novel...under my own name as RJ Dodd.