Question 2
Select from one of the readings from week 5, 6 or 7 and describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you.
It is recommended to read all of the readings.
Reading – Developing a crew. In Rabiger, M. Directing : film techniques and aesthetics, (p. 385-400). 3rd ed. Boston : Focal Press, 2003.
Two points takes from the reading – “No crew functions well unless roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and a chain of command is established.” and ” the four danger signs with producers of all defers of experience”.
Problems have shown up in our participation of the short film assignment and I have found some the most common things we should’ve be aware of in this reading. The two points I have noted have somehow explained why the cooperation have been having troubles. Reflecting on how we worked together, the biggest mistake we made from the start is that we didn’t make a clear statement in the roles and responsibilities everyone takes until the last minute, which was when we were preparing the submission of our folio.
When roles and responsibilities are not clarified, chaos will be caused as everyone could be trying to do everything, or no one is doing their job, or someone could be taking too much power and cause a serious unbalance in the production. Although roles and responsibilities can vary according to different sizes of the crew, type of film/tv or what the work is for (commercial, academic, etc), there ground roles remains the same. The production process should be kept formal, such as cast have to be chosen through auditions properly advertised, use of music cannot be down without getting a copyright, locations cannot be used without a permit, etc. A small mistake can cause continuity issues and even screw the whole production.
In a film/TV production, the person who pays everyone, whom we call the producer is seen as the big boss of the whole crew. However, when power and pressure comes together the producer is very likely to tend to control everything. He wants the production goes exactly the way he wants, or, his lack of trust in his crew makes him keep his ears shut but over rapidly delivers his own ideas. The producer may oversee the production as a whole or from his position, but as for his crew, each persons role makes everyone sees it from different angles. A perfect production is a ball – that we find things all smooth with no mistakes or anything makes us feel uncomfortable, although is literally impossible to have a production perfectly done, it is because each every different roles see it from different angles and all these different points of view work together that makes a production perfect. When communication is unbalance, as in the producer taking too much power, intend to personally control everything and refuses to learn from others, or even the director does not do his job and point out what has gone wrong, the production will be found terribly struggling and the result can be very poor.
At the end, I don’t deny that a good producer can be someone that’s once upon a time an excellent actor, but a good actor certainly doesn’t equal to a good producer. The actor only listens to the crew and acts, but the crew certainly understand everyone’s responsibilities and work together. No one can be the boss by one high jump from the role from the bottom.