We are used to hearing quite the opposite. “Lights, Camera, Action”
Those famous iconic words that signal to all concerned that a Take is about to begin. On the film set.
To the uninitiated that’s how it seems to take place, some magic formula has been swirled through the studio doors and everything just seems to happen… and in three exotic words it all unfolds.
Sorry folks. it aint like that at all.
Before we get to the Action bit let us just backtrack and delve into the mysterious world of the people who are concerned about the Lights part.
I will skip a number of the technical bits and probably leap over the hours spent in discussion with the Heads of the various departments who are concerned or involved in the shooting of this particular scene.
Let us move to the involvement of the person at the top of the Lighting Department
The Director of Photography.
This revered person is also known by several other names, they fall into two categories. The ones that are used within his/her earshot and those that are not.
The ones that are used within earshot are usually smarmy and nauseating but are music to the ears of the D.O.P..eg Boss….Guvnor….Sir….God….I want to have your babies and how many sugars in your coffee…
The others consist of some of the more rude versions of lack of parenthood or the child of some feral animal..or…well you get the picture….Just be careful you use the right ones in the right place.
Ok, So what does this person do?.
If a stranger walks onto a film set and is asked which of the many jobs he/she would like to do they will usually point to two people…the Director and the person next to him/her…the D.O.P.
Why? Because they are usually sitting down in comfy chairs with their own monitors, drinking copious amounts of beverage and waited on hand and foot..they never seem to do anything, except perhaps whisper into a walkie talkie and have their feet massaged by some unpaid slavering intern..
Fooled ya..
Like the Director most of the D.O.P’s work will have been done beforehand, reading the script, discussing it at length with the Director, talking to the Costume department, the Make up department, the Design department, gauging the look of the scene from reading the script and the input from the other departments.
He/she will have talked to the actors concerned and listened to their wish list about how they want to be portrayed.
He/she will have walked around the stage/set…If it is a studio he/she will have noted height and width…what scene is playing before this one, are they interconnected…and what scene follows..will it be a continuation….if it is an outside location he/she will already know where the sun rises and where it sets and at what time…he/she will have contingency plans if the weather is a little capricious.etc
Then he /she has to dive into the underworld and talk to the sub-humans..the Sparks..AKA the Electricians.
I have the fondest regard for this tribe of aliens, They all look like extras from MAD MAX …but they are all up to speed on what is required and will deliver something wonderful within minutes of their predicted time.
The leader of this ragtag band of scallywags is known as the Gaffer…never cross swords with the Gaffer..
The Gaffer is the physical enabler of the D.O.P’s vision…The right hand person….priceless.
So how does the D.O.P. get to this exalted position.
There really is no shortcut. .some are lucky at film school and produce great showreels that enables them to get an agent and away they go…some are destined to flog their way through the usual dross of TV and low budget ads..etc.
IF BEING A D.O.P IS WHERE YOU WANT TO BE THEN JUST GET STUCK IN AND WORK AT IT..WATCH AND LEARN.
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