The Week in Coffee

This crew drinks a lot a Java, man.
My day starts with two cups of Equal Exchange Organic Colombian. French Pressed of course. One with the morning news one for the road in my very spiffy FlatBlack(very nice local spot that we were actually banned from by production. It was the fancy danishes that did us in.) travel mug. I hop in the car with Mark, we pick up Justin and we head to Starbucks in Beverly, minutes from the stage we've been spending most of our time at lately. At coffee break we head to The Daily Harvest for some of their fine Atomic Cafe. This is my favorite coffee of the day as this is the time we get to read the paper and discuss the news of the day. This place is great. We sometimes call it the Milf Cafe. After lunch there is coffee. If were on set this is the time for the espressos and cappuccinos. you're pretty much on you're own for the afternoon coffee. Sometimes I pass on that one. Lately I've been grabbing a grande latte for the ride home. Roger was shocked to learn about the extra Starbucks. He acted like a jilted lover. On top of that, it was "corporate coffee". He threw his gloves down in disgusted. I felt dirty.

Tomorrow were back on set in lovely Manchester by the sea. On set with the shooters. That's definitely going to mess with my coffee. But trust me, we'll find a way to get to The Kitchen Witch. Best coffee(and loveliest ladies) in Manchester.

The Week In Review

Another good week on the job. The only minor complaint is about the early starts. 6am tomorrow which means up at 4, out of the house at 4:30. Got a lot of sleep this weekend so at least Monday shouldn't be so bad.

We're just about halfway through shooting. Just about time to start worrying about the next job. Everyone is predicting a little slowdown after this round of films. We'll see.

The panel turned out to be not so bad. Got treated like kind of a celebrity for a few hours. Got lots of cool shwag and fantasized about being there with my first film, which was cool. The discussion was fairly interesting if not very in depth. I'm not sure I did a great job describing the job, but it didn't really seem to matter as people were much more interested in talking to the other three panelist, and AC, a production designer and the union rep. The truth is that I'm an grunt. My job isn't really that sexy to the outside world. Thats OK, I like it

Friday

another week is coming to an end. The weekend might be interesting. The very cool Boston Independent Film festival is in town and I'm going to be participating in a panel discussion about breaking into the film business around here. Thats going be hard. Besides the public speaking thing, I feel if I'm really honest, it will just bum everybody out. More on this later.

Day at the Beach

We started early yesterday, but we ended early as well. If I told you how early, I'd have to kill you.
what happens in rigging, stays in rigging. That's the rule.

The male lead of this film is kind of a jerk. My boss Roger and I were waiting to use the expresso maker. The two leads of the film were chatting about god knows what in front of the machine. This is not unusual. It seems the people who are not pressed for time(non-technicians) are the ones who spend the most time chatting and thus blocking access to crafty for people in a hurry, which Roger and I were not. But you get the point. After waiting for more than a few minutes while they ignored us and chatted, Roger decided to use the expresso maker. There was an empty cup in the machine, so Roger used it. After a few minutes the star is in a rage...

"Who stole my fuckin coffee?"

The star sees Roger enjoying his cappucino and angrily accuses.

"You fucker, you stole my coffee"

Roger calmly explains that we had been waiting for a bit to use the machine and when we did there was just an empty cup there meaning that the machine was probably not turned on when the star wanted to use it. The star looks kinda confused.

"That fuckin coffee machine sucks!"

Then he stomps off. Wow! I think that young man has anger issues.

Electric Dreams

where you been?

It has been a while, hasn't it. I was torn for a while as to whether I had anything to write about or not. The mega-movie certainly was an adventure unlike any I've ever encountered in this business. The moderate, big budget romantic comedy has turned out to be the best job I've ever had. Its not all shits and giggles, but it is a job that works on a lot of levels.

1) We care about Coffee. We never miss a coffee break. We talk about coffee. We strive for the best coffee available. So much so that we've been banned from several fine coffeehouses that were deemed " too expensive" by production. Seriously man, some days we've spent more on coffee break than lunch. Yesterday afternoon we had ice cream instead of coffee. Most of us grabbed a coffee from craft service when we got back to set.

2) I feel pretty confident that I'm going to get home alive and with all my fingers and toes every day. That was an issue on the mega-movie. I wonder if they've settled down at all. Except for the fact that I suck at basic household wiring, and I'm due for a big shock at some point. This gig is pretty smooth sailing.

3) Books, books, books. The story or whatever involves a publisher. There were thousands of unwanted books at the end of the shoot. I helped myself to a hundred or so. Love the perks of this business. I think at a brief point I became addicted to the books on that set. I wanted to read every ridiculous book they had.

4) The beauty. We are filming primarily on the North Shore. We are taking some of the most beautiful little seaport towns and turning them into Alaska(seriously). The views are breathtaking.

I really like being an electrician in the movies. I just gotta get a lot better at a couple of things. But I definitely feel better at the end of the day. unfortunately, my day is just starting and I gotta go.

Hi Nancy!

Is there a heaven for a grip?

I could get used to this.

The first day as a rigging electric on the big budget romantic comedy with the A-list starlet. We showed up at the stage, waited an hour for a truck to show up. Then we went to breakfast. Came back to the stage. No truck. We wait another hour, build some shelves and then went to lunch. Its probably become apparent that food is important to me, so I like the direction we're going in. After lunch, Mark and I, having been left to wait for a truck were not sure really exist are told it will not arrive until the end of the day. We decided to go to the mall. Its a little known fact that a lot of technicians are shop-aholics, and Mark and I are no exception. I purchased a spiffy new pair of hikers. If your going to do this job, your going to spend a lot of time on your feet. The shoes are important. Mark went off the deep end and bought the new macbook pro he's had his eye on for a while. Nice. The truck finally arrived at 5pm. we put in 2 solid hours of work and called it a day. Electrics work at a different pace than grips and we try to avoid carrying heavy stuff. I'm much more philosophically aligned with this way of doing things. I'm not totally trying to avoid hard work. But I'm not trying to kill myself either. I'm really looking forward to being an everyday electric for the next 9 weeks as well as going forward. I'm not totally ready to declare myself retired from gripping like Mark is. You never know what the future holds. But this is they way I see my career going, and I hope it continues.

I do forsee a "grip problem". The rigging grips on the shows are my boys. Guys I've worked with a lot. They are all awesome guys, but they are going to ride me hard. To them I am the greatest disappointment. A legitimate grip turned "maggot" (popular grip term for electrics, because they cluster to cable like a ...). Seriously, theres a lot of love between me and those guys. But practical jokes are very popular on a film set and I'd be wise to watch my back at all times.

The Week In Review

Last day on the Mega-Movie. Starting the new job on Tuesday. Wish I had at least one day off in-between jobs, but that's the way it goes in the freelance world. 3 days off in a row certainly will help ease the pain. I am a little bit torn about leaving the big show, for a somewhat less big show. But its important for me to remember the days when working on movies that people actually saw in theaters seemed so far away. Its also important to remember why I'm taking the other job. Hopefully it will serve as the foundation for spending the rest(bulk) of my career as an electric. I love my grip brothers, and I have total respect for the many facets that make up the grip world. But in my heart of hearts, I know this is the way to go. Sometimes when I'm working as an electric, I feel like a rock star. Sometimes when I'm working as a grip, I feel like a punching bag.

I fear jinxing myself before the last day on the mega-movie. But its probably the best time to look at the things I'll miss and won't miss.

THINGS I'LL MISS:

The big adventure - I got into this business to work on the biggest movies with the directors and DPs that inspired me. This is that. Maybe because I have already worked on a feature for this director(one of the direct reasons that I love movies and that I am here), it makes the decision a little bit easier. I hate to admit this, but I'll also miss the big death-defying stuff we pull off(most of the time) on this movie. I'm not sure I'll miss doing it, but I think I'll miss surviving it. Maybe there is a little cowboy in me.

The core crew - The core, permanent crew here is awesome. Scott, Andrew, Tom and Billy are true pros of the big show. Every day so far on this show they face adversity with a smile and class. They are great guys and I'll miss being on the team. I can only imagine what I'd learn from them over the run of the show. Hopefully Tobias will slide into the spot I'm leaving and it will continue to be all good. Fight on Brothers!

The Money - Brotha was gettin' paid on the big show. All the overtime, the forced calls and the meal penalties really paid off. This past week I took home more money in the film business than ever before. Next week should be even better. The next job should pay like a normal rigging job. Good, but not like this.

The food - The food on this movie is off the hook. The meals(when allowed) are fantastic, restaurant quality and served by the nicest people. The craft service is a delight too. Great snacks and Kashi Bars! I personally believe for the crew experience, these things are vitally important. it can really help you get through the day. The catering and craft service on this movie are 4 star, top of the line. The standard has been set.

The cute PAs - Look, I have a girlfriend, I'm very happy and I'd like to keep it that way. But DAMN. Like craft service, it can really make your day a little better.

The mole - I never did catch that spy. I couldn't get anyone to take me seriously either. I'll catch you yet.

THE THINGS I WON'T MISS:

The feeling that I might die or be seriously hurt - I just couldn't escape it. The rigging grip department on this movie is into some big dangerous stuff. And I did every single thing that was asked of me. The condors, the death sails, which we have not seen the last of, and the death cube. You can definitely get hurt messing with this stuff. I might miss the challenge of doing things not everyone would do, but I definitely won't miss the risk or the consequence. I've already survived one nasty accident doing this stuff. I just don't think I'm that lucky.

The long hours and the missed meals - A new grip came on the job the other day and asked another grip who had been on the job a couple of weeks for the skinny on the gig. When the grip described the crazy hours, the forced calls and the meal penalties. The new grip, a veteran in the local, was in disbelief. " In rigging?" he said while picking his jaw up off the ground. The reason you want to rig after doing this for a while is the stability. You usually work a fixed amount of hours, rarely miss meals, and can usually tell your loved ones with reasonable certainty when you'll be home. You make a little less money, and your not the hero like the guys on the shooting crew. But if quality of life is important to you than rigging is your best shot. This film has been very different in that way.

The "off-market rigger" problem - As mentioned in previous posts, the crew got a lot bigger after a week or so. For the most part this has been a good thing. We have added some veteran film people, a couple of young, hungry ones, as well as some longtime rock and roll stagehand guys whose experience with rigging truss, especially up in the air has proven invaluable. But there is one disturbing side effect to the recent boom in big budget feature film making, the "off-market dudes". These are guys with zero experience who get hired simply because there are more jobs right now than trained locals to fill them. This to me seems like an excellent opportunity to get into a largely respectable field that pays pretty well, without the pain of paying your dues on the $100 a day circuit for the same kind of backbreaking work and even more soulcrushing hours. What do these clowns do. Nothing. Literally. They don't get it, won't get it, and probably still wouldn't get it if it fell on them like a death sail that failed because of one of their bullshit knots. There 4 of these clowns on the crew.
THE TOOL-LESS WONDER: ok, so get a chance to work on a movie and its something you seem to want to do and the first day or two you get your ass kicked by all the things you have to learn to make it in this business. Happens to everyone. What do you do? You watch what the pros do, go home and tool up. The gear matters and if you buy a couple of basic tools and try make up for what you don't know in hustle and awareness, you'll likely be alright. Not this fool. He's on for a week, no tools. Gets fired. comes back a week later, because its so busy out there and STILL HAS NO TOOLS! What? The sad part is, I like the kid. But GET SOME DAMN TOOLS!
MR. NO-KNOTS: This coconut also has a tool issue as well but his problem is considerably more dangerous. He seemingly refuses to or is truly incapable of learning the 3 or 4 basic knots that are essential for safe gripping. There is a lot of nepotism in this thing and he's here because he rents a place from someone who knows someone. Whatever. But for the love of god man take the time to learn the knots that may save you or some other grip a lot of pain. I wont miss the snarling, hopelessly tangled clumps of rope that passed for knots from this numbnuts. I can only imagine this will continue until someone teaches him the noose. Seriously, its a safety issue.
JOEY PENGUIN: I've mentioned the penguin before when he wasn't there for me when the death sail was about to drag me into the drink. And thats what he specializes in. Not being there for you. The other day I was pushing a very heavy cart up a hill on a gravel road when the penguin walked right by me.
"hey brother, can you give me a hand"
"waaah, I gotta go to da head, waaaah"(I think thats what he said)
So much for that whole fraternal order thing. It turned out someone from another department saw I was in trouble and helped me out. It was embarrassing. The penguin also has a horrible bawston accent and tells stories about getting blow jobs from hookers. Gross!
The tool thief - This dude is the lowest. Yeah, he went home and tooled up. WITH YOUR STUFF. This punk stole my $25 dollar gloves and the kept trying to steal them after I checked him on it. Unbelievable. When I finally pried them out of his thievin little mitts, I discovered they were all ripped up. Not even an apology. No Class!
I love this job and it is a time honored craft. It rubs me the wrong way when people come into this thing without paying dues and don't appreciate and respect the hard work of others before us and don't respect the great fortune of doing a job that can entertain and enlighten millions. Were lucky to do it. Respect it and protect it.

Ear infections - Riggers rarely wear walkies. they are usually unnecessary and unwanted. To wear an earpiece takes an act of congress. Of course, because of "Marty time", you have to rock both 24/7. I can't seem to keep mine clean enough and I always get ear infections. Yuch!



Warm hugs and firm sincere handshakes to peanut 80, joke, ncgirl, lighthouse and ladylipstick. Knowing that people are actually interested in this side of it is really having a positive affect on the way I view my job. Thanks.

The Joggers are the best rock band in America, really.

NCAA Tournament
East regional results:

UNC-113
Mount St. Mary's-74

UNC-108
Arkansas-77

Charlotte is not one of my favorite cities, but that could definitely change next weekend.

Have a great week.