8:39 p.m. - 2005-06-16
exhausted
it's been so long since i did film, i'd kinda forgotten what it was like to be "on" for 10 or 12 or 14 hours straight, to always be listening to multiple levels of command issuing conflicting directives, and to have to just know which one to follow. this isn't exactly a complaint - as far as jobs go, this one is pretty great - but i'd let myself forget just how tiring it is, even when the days are only ten hours long.
this week started poorly; it was day 5 of 9, and although i'd had freddy on all last week as an assistant, i started fresh this week with jason.
(sidetrack... yes, mark is all sorry for bailing at the last minute, especially when it's so busy... no, he can't recommend anyone to assist... many frantic phonecalls... ricco says i can have freddy for the first week, and someone else gives me jason's number with the advice "good assist, but not a propsmaster"... which brings me to this week)
first day of shooting, our child actors are all in terrible and/or bratty and/or distracted moods, and it's 5 pm before we get a decent shot, which in the end turns out to be useless anyway. the couch people are in a lousy mood.
(couch people: the client/agency who pay for and create the ads. it's their products/ideas that we're selling. we come in early and work our asses off, they stroll in late, with lattes and magazines, and snooze on the couches until lunch. after lunch they often take a more active role in the proceedings, like telling us everything that they hated about the morning's shots, which we'll now have to redo. sometimes they make things up in the middle of the shoot. the most memorable instance was the dairy commercial where we had a cow on the set, and halfway through it all some bright young thing decided that a cow in a car with it's head hanging out the window like a dog would really sell their assorted milk products. anyone who knows anything about the relative sizes of cows and cars will immediately understand the nature of the couch people.)
so. the couch people are in a pissy mood, the rest of us aren't too much happier, the child wrangler is almost in tears. i spent all day on the set, with my assistant prepping madly in the garage, whereas usually i'd have swapped out at least once for a little break. the morning of day two i'm told that it will be better if my assistant stays offset, as they want to keep someone they know and trust handy, and he's a bit sketchy that way. yeah. i've already figured that out. he's fine with assigned tasks, but not one for taking initiative.
yesterday and today we got a lot done, and tomorrow's looking downright encouraging, but i'm a little bitter about having someone on who's only an assistant. i mean sure, he's my props assistant, but i've spent so long working with pros in either role that it's a little bit of a shock to suddenly step down to an assist who's only that. he's a good guy, follows directions well, and he's really easy to get along with. i'm trying to figure out how to explain to him why i'm frustrated without making it come off as a complaint, because he's doing a fine job, just not as good as i think he could be doing.
my feet hurt and i'm hungry. there's no one here to rub my feet and my fridge is empty. *sigh* things could be so very much worse.
