What’s the stupidest thing you’ve done on set?
For me, it was spraying canned air inside the ear of the director of photography. It was, to be frank, really dumb. And the reason I did it is because I was a newbie on set — I didn’t know any better.
Yet even with my humble beginnings, I still get irritated at the stupid things those new to the film industry do. Sometimes they’re cocky, or naive, or shy, or late. Most of the time it’s unintentional.
But intention doesn’t make the mistakes any less dumb, nor the consequences any less serious.
So if you’re looking to join the ranks of a Hollywood crew someday, do your best to avoid these 7 idiotic mistakes that are — unfortunately — common among first-timers.
Dumb Mistake #1: Thinking You Should Be Directing
Let’s face it: everyone wants to be a director at some point. Even if it’s only a tiny urge for one scene of one day in their entire career, I guarantee every crew member in the film industry has thought about what it would be like to run the show.Many came into the industry with that dream. Heck, I wanted to be a director. Who dreams about being the guy schlepping cable or the PA wrangling extras?
But here’s the harsh truth: you’re not the director. And if you truly deserved to be the director, you’d be the one calling the shots, not the other guy. Instead, they’re the one with the power.
Maybe you deserve to be a director, someday, but that doesn’t grant you license to start running this set, today.
And if that bothers you too much — to have to help fulfill someone else’s vision — then by all means, walk away from the gig and start directing. There’s no shame in admitting you can’t crew well. Some people really do have a knack for leadership and can’t put themselves in any other position.
But it’s stupid, silly, and ignorant to both not be directing while proclaiming you deserve to be. That’s the kind of attitude that will make no one want to help you achieve that dream.
Further, this attitude often leads to you taking the creative high ground on individuals who do deserve to be the heads of their department. And the last thing any of those crew members who have paid their dues want to hear is a young buck telling them how to light, how to compose a shot, how to direct their actors.
Even if you’re right, you don’t deserve to be shoving that in their face.
If you want to direct, direct, but do it on your own set — and don’t mistake the ability to direct as unearned opportunity to do so.
Find #2 through #7 at http://www.theblackandblue.com/2012/06/13/dumbest-mistakes/
