"I Was Too Young to be Scared."
The Film School has a frustrating habit of scheduling things for us to do at the last minute. I've given up making plans with anyone ever, because usually I have to cancel and I sound like a flake.
Anyway, we learned on Tuesday that we were..."comissioned" for a project that would span the rest of the week.
The Set-Up:
As I may or may not have mentioned, Burt Reynolds was brought in recently to teach an Acting for the Camera class in conjunction with the Film School and the School of Theatre, which meant theatre kids and MFAs. We (2nd year BFAs) got to attend an incredible lecture Burt gave last week, but other than that, we really hadn't had any other interaction with him.
And then came the shoot.
Basically, Burt decided that he wanted to film the scenes that he was working on with the Acting class before leaving Sunday. If there's one thing film school kids are good for, it's manual labor. We were now drafted into crewing and shooting these scenes. For Burt Reynolds.
(I know I have a slight cynical tone, but I really was/am excited about all this. This is such a rare opportunity for people in our position. This is why I fucking love Florida State Film School.)
So, we don't get to D.P. or cam op (director of photography, camera operator) in order to minimize the chances of a missed take and wasting time. Our cinematography teacher, Rexford Metz, ASC, would operate camera and our directing teacher, Chip Chalmers, would 1st A.D. (assitant director) while Burt directed. We got to 1st and 2nd A.C. (assistant cameraman), sound mix and boom op, and basically form a G&E (grip and electric) army.
First set, we're lit and ready, I meekly volunteer to sound mix, thinking nothing of it, really.
Burt shows up around 3, and after talking with Chip and the dean for a little bit, comes to me at my sound cart and extends his hand.
"Hi."
"Hello, Mr. Reynolds, it's great to meet you."
"Call me Burt." (Naturally, I always call him "Mr. Reynolds" or "sir". Mostly "sir".)
"Yes, sir. My name's Kareem, I'll be your sound mixer today."
"If we're giving you any problems, just let me know."
"Yes, sir."
He leaves to talk with the actors. Dean Patterson comes up to me.
"See how important sound is to him?" (He was totally messing with me. Not that it made feel any less nervous.)
We rehearse, and rehearse, and rehearse, and shoot, and shoot a little more. I do my job well, not that it's particularly difficult (we were doing an easy scene to begin with.)
Along the way, I pick up little pearls of wisdom from Burt (these are all paraphrased, I am so tired right now):
--Stallone is still ripped. And still "on the juice".
--"It takes brass balls to do live television. I was on a set once, and I was supposed to be hacking through the jungle, and I've got this thing and I'm cutting through leaves with everything I've got and all of a sudden I find myself on 42nd Street... Nowadays, I would've been like, 'What the fuck are you doing?' [this bit was directed at me, which was flattering yet mortifying] I was too young to be scared back then."
--Burt: "Have you seen that commercial with the two old ladies going [Here Burt does a noise as a highly distressed, high-pitched pig squeal. It's awesome.]?
Actor: "No."
Burt: "Oh. Well, fuck you, then."
--Burt took me aside a second time and once again reiterated that if he or the actors messed up the sound, to simply go "hey, burt, stop messing up the sound". I replied affirmatively, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Burt Reynolds is addressing me as a co-worker/colleague.
--Burt addressed both actors as "sweetheart". They were, of course, both guys. It sounded less like a creepy thing and more like an outdated social thing, but it was still a little...odd.
--Basically, he's the best storyteller ever, and I cannot do him justice.
We didn't shoot today, but we'll shooting tomorrow (7:30am-1:30pm) and Saturday (7:30am-1:30pm again, I think...I 1st AC that day, which is the last day, and also the day we play Clemson at Doak Campbell, which is where the film school and soundstages are located. It's going to be a long day that day.). Hopefully, I'll have even more awesome stories (maybe even pictures?) to share on Sunday.
Time to get some sleep. I hate early call.
Anyway, we learned on Tuesday that we were..."comissioned" for a project that would span the rest of the week.
The Set-Up:
As I may or may not have mentioned, Burt Reynolds was brought in recently to teach an Acting for the Camera class in conjunction with the Film School and the School of Theatre, which meant theatre kids and MFAs. We (2nd year BFAs) got to attend an incredible lecture Burt gave last week, but other than that, we really hadn't had any other interaction with him.
And then came the shoot.
Basically, Burt decided that he wanted to film the scenes that he was working on with the Acting class before leaving Sunday. If there's one thing film school kids are good for, it's manual labor. We were now drafted into crewing and shooting these scenes. For Burt Reynolds.
(I know I have a slight cynical tone, but I really was/am excited about all this. This is such a rare opportunity for people in our position. This is why I fucking love Florida State Film School.)
So, we don't get to D.P. or cam op (director of photography, camera operator) in order to minimize the chances of a missed take and wasting time. Our cinematography teacher, Rexford Metz, ASC, would operate camera and our directing teacher, Chip Chalmers, would 1st A.D. (assitant director) while Burt directed. We got to 1st and 2nd A.C. (assistant cameraman), sound mix and boom op, and basically form a G&E (grip and electric) army.
First set, we're lit and ready, I meekly volunteer to sound mix, thinking nothing of it, really.
Burt shows up around 3, and after talking with Chip and the dean for a little bit, comes to me at my sound cart and extends his hand.
"Hi."
"Hello, Mr. Reynolds, it's great to meet you."
"Call me Burt." (Naturally, I always call him "Mr. Reynolds" or "sir". Mostly "sir".)
"Yes, sir. My name's Kareem, I'll be your sound mixer today."
"If we're giving you any problems, just let me know."
"Yes, sir."
He leaves to talk with the actors. Dean Patterson comes up to me.
"See how important sound is to him?" (He was totally messing with me. Not that it made feel any less nervous.)
We rehearse, and rehearse, and rehearse, and shoot, and shoot a little more. I do my job well, not that it's particularly difficult (we were doing an easy scene to begin with.)
Along the way, I pick up little pearls of wisdom from Burt (these are all paraphrased, I am so tired right now):
--Stallone is still ripped. And still "on the juice".
--"It takes brass balls to do live television. I was on a set once, and I was supposed to be hacking through the jungle, and I've got this thing and I'm cutting through leaves with everything I've got and all of a sudden I find myself on 42nd Street... Nowadays, I would've been like, 'What the fuck are you doing?' [this bit was directed at me, which was flattering yet mortifying] I was too young to be scared back then."
--Burt: "Have you seen that commercial with the two old ladies going [Here Burt does a noise as a highly distressed, high-pitched pig squeal. It's awesome.]?
Actor: "No."
Burt: "Oh. Well, fuck you, then."
--Burt took me aside a second time and once again reiterated that if he or the actors messed up the sound, to simply go "hey, burt, stop messing up the sound". I replied affirmatively, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Burt Reynolds is addressing me as a co-worker/colleague.
--Burt addressed both actors as "sweetheart". They were, of course, both guys. It sounded less like a creepy thing and more like an outdated social thing, but it was still a little...odd.
--Basically, he's the best storyteller ever, and I cannot do him justice.
We didn't shoot today, but we'll shooting tomorrow (7:30am-1:30pm) and Saturday (7:30am-1:30pm again, I think...I 1st AC that day, which is the last day, and also the day we play Clemson at Doak Campbell, which is where the film school and soundstages are located. It's going to be a long day that day.). Hopefully, I'll have even more awesome stories (maybe even pictures?) to share on Sunday.
Time to get some sleep. I hate early call.