All in the Life of an AD

A dear friend remarked that being an assistant director basically means I'm a coffee runner. That's actually the production assistant's job, or maybe the director's assistant's job (which is completely different from an assistant director), but not mine. The assistant director, or AD, is the director's second in command. All the departments, like grip and electric, sound, and wardrobe, filter up to me. I answer their questions rather than everyone bugging the director. As Zack (the director of In His Steps) said earlier, I'm here to protect his sanity. 

I also take care of most of the paperwork. All the departments give me their logs and lists that they've made during the day's filming. I have to make sure everything is filed and organized properly in our football, which is not actually a football. It's a big red filing case. That's just what filing cases are called in film. Besides keeping track of the rest of the miscellaneous forms, I also have my own paperwork to do. I make sure the crew cast have signed the various forms needed for filming, and I make the daily call sheets and sides. The call sheets let the cast and crew know what time they need to report for filming. The sides are tiny scripts containing only what we're filming that day. 

On set, my job is to keep things moving. We only have so much prep time, which means it's crucial that  we stay on time and get everything ready to go. Because of this, some (or maybe most) assistant directors get the reputation of being mean. Apparently I'm one of the nicer ADs! I also wrangle the actors, making sure they have costumes on and makeup done. When the director is ready to call action, they better be where they need to be!

All in all, I love being an AD. It's hard work with lots of late hours, but it's incredibly rewarding... and also a ton of fun! 

(Credit for above photo: Natalie Lawrence)

The Adventure Begins!

Just a disclaimer, I'm not much of a blogger. In fact, I don't even read that many blogs, but I figured I'd give this a try since it's easier than keeping a journal. Pardon the poor grammar I'm sure it'll contain. The only time I'll have for writing will probably be when I'm most tired!

So, just as background information, I'm in Colorado working on a production called In His Steps. Basically, it tells the story of several townspeople "whose lives are radically changed when they pledge to model their lives after Jesus." (Synopsis from the Facebook page.) It's a great project, and I'm really excited about it! The best way to see what I'm working is to watch the prequel that was shot last year. It's actually more of a pilot since we're shooting in a episodic format, but it sets up the the premise of the story. You can find it on the link here!

Shameless promotion aside, I flew here yesterday, and in Denver, I met up with my friend, Korey. We flew to Montrose together, and got to hang out for a bit at the airport. We did what all bored filmmakers do: pulled out our cameras and took pictures!

We could see the snow-covered Rockies in the distance, which were absolutely gorgeous!  If I never come back, it's because I decided to live by the Rockies for the rest of my life. I have a photo of the view by the airport, but it won't upload for some reason.

Once we arrived at the church where we'll be staying, we spent the afternoon settling in and unpacking all the equipment for filming. There is so much gear involved in filmmaking, it's crazy. And of course, most of it weighs a ton.

A couple hours after we arrived, the set dresser and two of the actresses also arrived. Today, the gaffer arrived, and our art director should arriving soon. Everyone is so nice, and I already feel incredibly blessed to be working with such great people.

The only not-so positive thing that's happened is learning the hard way not to assume that Montrose is at a lower elevation. After feeling rather icky for a couple hours, I'm now keeping a water bottle with me at all times. I don't need to deal with altitude sickness during filming!

Speaking of filming, it starts tomorrow, and I'm happy to say that I feel completely at peace and prepared for it. I spent this afternoon acclimating myself to my assistant director duties, and I got everything done for tomorrow. That's when the fun truly begins!