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The previous posts dated from August 15th to August 31st of 2005. This was the first month of working as a background actor. This brings up something worth saying because I was only 15 days old as a background actor, and had worked only nine shows by the 31st. As I read these bits, I am trying to correct anything at is "wrong". My intent will be to make sure that I am factually correct, though I am going to try to do so in a way that doesn't mess with the articles too much. I wrote what I wrote, sometimes from ignorance, and I will try to preserve said goofs while making corrections.
You will note in later blogs that I had the opportunity to work several shows more than once. West Wing was one of my favorites, I had high hopes for Night Stalker, and Arrested Development was a blast. While I repeated my visits to West Wing and AD, Night Stalker didn't last long, and I didn't get to make that a regular gig.
I will continue to put up the old adventures, and when I have caught up with reality, I will begin blogging about current experiences. In the meantime, I will put intermissions into the timeline with comments about each of the months as they pass by.
Showing posts with label Nightstalker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nightstalker. Show all posts
Friday, November 7, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Nightstalker 2
August 24, 2005
Episode: Malum
Location - L.A.
You gotta love this job. I get up and go to work, and the first thing I do when I get there, before I clock in, is eat. They feed me. Hot breakfast, cold cereal, fruit, pastry, the works. Today I had an omelet cooked fresh with my choice of ingredients. Nice way to start the day.
After we ate, the call to set was almost immediate. We went upstairs to the set and took our places. I have a desk that is "mine". It is where I am seen the most, so that is were I get to sit most of the time. Today was the beginning of a new episode, and so the logical place to start were scenes 21, 32, 33, 25, and 28 in that order. There really is logic at play here, because all these scenes take place in the News Room of the Los Angeles Beacon. Even though more than one day passes in context of the show, we shoot them in one day, so change in costumes are needed so it does not look as though we never get to go home and always work in the same clothes.
Once on the set, the crew began shooting establishing shots. No sound is needed, so the set was noisy and both cameras were working different areas at the same time. I didn't end up in any of the establishing shots, but I think I'll show up in background on two other possible shots.
The director is the closest thing to god on the set, and as such is often only heard from on high. Unlike the movies you see where the director is right next to the camera, most of them work in an area with blinds that block their view of the scene (though more than once I've seen them in different rooms altogether). They do come out and give direction to the actors, and sometimes to make changes to the way something looks on the set, but otherwise, their major view of the action is on a small monitor in a dark space. From this space you'll here the distant cry of "Camera", "Action", and "Cut". This is the director. Each of these orders are repeated throughout the set so that it often sounds like an echo canyon. "Camera" yells the Director, "Camera" yells the DA, "Camera" yells two or three more voices off set, just in case you don't hear it the first two or three times. "Action" only gets repeated once, and again the echo begins with "Cut". The word that gets repeated the most is "Wrap". "It's a Wrap" is joyously chorused by better than half the cast and crew, because these words set you free, at the end of a long day.
Next time you see a cozy little chat going on between two people at a desk in a small space, you might reflect on what really happens to film that shot. In a space roughly 10' x 10', Kolchak and Gabrielle (actors Stuart Townsend and Perri Reed) talk about their latest adventure in hushed tones, to exclude prying ears. Also in that 10' x 10' space are two cameras on dollies each with an operator and the guy that moves the dolly, the sound man, lighting people and others whose job remains a mystery to me, totaling 11 people, the props, set pieces and equipment. That's 22 ears. That's no way to keep a secret.
Episode: Malum
Location - L.A.
You gotta love this job. I get up and go to work, and the first thing I do when I get there, before I clock in, is eat. They feed me. Hot breakfast, cold cereal, fruit, pastry, the works. Today I had an omelet cooked fresh with my choice of ingredients. Nice way to start the day.
After we ate, the call to set was almost immediate. We went upstairs to the set and took our places. I have a desk that is "mine". It is where I am seen the most, so that is were I get to sit most of the time. Today was the beginning of a new episode, and so the logical place to start were scenes 21, 32, 33, 25, and 28 in that order. There really is logic at play here, because all these scenes take place in the News Room of the Los Angeles Beacon. Even though more than one day passes in context of the show, we shoot them in one day, so change in costumes are needed so it does not look as though we never get to go home and always work in the same clothes.
Once on the set, the crew began shooting establishing shots. No sound is needed, so the set was noisy and both cameras were working different areas at the same time. I didn't end up in any of the establishing shots, but I think I'll show up in background on two other possible shots.
The director is the closest thing to god on the set, and as such is often only heard from on high. Unlike the movies you see where the director is right next to the camera, most of them work in an area with blinds that block their view of the scene (though more than once I've seen them in different rooms altogether). They do come out and give direction to the actors, and sometimes to make changes to the way something looks on the set, but otherwise, their major view of the action is on a small monitor in a dark space. From this space you'll here the distant cry of "Camera", "Action", and "Cut". This is the director. Each of these orders are repeated throughout the set so that it often sounds like an echo canyon. "Camera" yells the Director, "Camera" yells the DA, "Camera" yells two or three more voices off set, just in case you don't hear it the first two or three times. "Action" only gets repeated once, and again the echo begins with "Cut". The word that gets repeated the most is "Wrap". "It's a Wrap" is joyously chorused by better than half the cast and crew, because these words set you free, at the end of a long day.
Next time you see a cozy little chat going on between two people at a desk in a small space, you might reflect on what really happens to film that shot. In a space roughly 10' x 10', Kolchak and Gabrielle (actors Stuart Townsend and Perri Reed) talk about their latest adventure in hushed tones, to exclude prying ears. Also in that 10' x 10' space are two cameras on dollies each with an operator and the guy that moves the dolly, the sound man, lighting people and others whose job remains a mystery to me, totaling 11 people, the props, set pieces and equipment. That's 22 ears. That's no way to keep a secret.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Nightstalker
August 23, 2005
Episode: The Five People You Meet in Hell
Location - L.A.
Another long day. I clocked in at 11:00 am and clocked out at 1:12 am, next morning. The office set of the Los Angeles paper that Kolchack works for is on the 16th floor of a Downtown L.A. building, and base for the Background is on the 15th floor, so today meant a lot of elevator rides up and down. It also meant that when I was not on set, I was in an air conditioned office space with a view of the L.A. downtown. Being as I have issues with heights, I didn't make much use of the view, but one could not ignore it given there were more windows than extras on this set.
Today (and tomorrow) I am a staff writer for the Los Angeles Beacon, and as such, I got to sit at a desks and pretend to be busy. As a background artist, I am expected to remember what I did, so that each time the cameras shift location to film the scene from somewhere else, I will repeat the actions the same way in each shot. This allows the editor to cut the scenes together while having some level of continuity. In one long scene, I wrote out my actions as I did them.
Paper, Phone, Write, Hang-up, Book, Phone, Write, (Long wait).
I picked up a paper, examined it, picked up the phone, spoke to the person on the other end (i.e. talked to myself (without talking)), wrote down information, hung-up, picked up a book, again picked up the phone and wrote down more information. The last action was longer as the scene was long. This was easy enough, because before each call of "Action" by the director, is the call for "Background", which is our cue to start doing whatever we're to do. By the way, the director relies on the production assistants, or director's assistant (2nd 2nd) to place and direct the Background. He may call for more movement or bodies, but what they do is not his concern (unless it takes away from his scene).
By 12:30 am, things were getting harder. All I had to do on the "Background" call was walk from off camera, into the scene and away out the door at the far end of the office. The only problem was that the guy who yells "Background" was not given his cue and so neither were the Background artists. For quite a few takes, we background folk were relying on telepathy to know when to go. This was the last scene, and the last camera angle, so everyone was rather beat.
During one scene, the director was upset because a simple 3 line scene was taking too long to set up. He hollered that if things didn't get moving he'd shoot himself. Then he added that he would take a few others with him first. Crew pointed out that they did not have budget for bullets, so he was out of luck.
By wrap, several of the Background artists had to be nudged to get them going, as they had fallen asleep. A good thing, as many of us will be back on the set by 11:00 am next day. Less than 8 hours of sleep away.
Episode: The Five People You Meet in Hell
Location - L.A.
Another long day. I clocked in at 11:00 am and clocked out at 1:12 am, next morning. The office set of the Los Angeles paper that Kolchack works for is on the 16th floor of a Downtown L.A. building, and base for the Background is on the 15th floor, so today meant a lot of elevator rides up and down. It also meant that when I was not on set, I was in an air conditioned office space with a view of the L.A. downtown. Being as I have issues with heights, I didn't make much use of the view, but one could not ignore it given there were more windows than extras on this set.
Today (and tomorrow) I am a staff writer for the Los Angeles Beacon, and as such, I got to sit at a desks and pretend to be busy. As a background artist, I am expected to remember what I did, so that each time the cameras shift location to film the scene from somewhere else, I will repeat the actions the same way in each shot. This allows the editor to cut the scenes together while having some level of continuity. In one long scene, I wrote out my actions as I did them.
Paper, Phone, Write, Hang-up, Book, Phone, Write, (Long wait).
I picked up a paper, examined it, picked up the phone, spoke to the person on the other end (i.e. talked to myself (without talking)), wrote down information, hung-up, picked up a book, again picked up the phone and wrote down more information. The last action was longer as the scene was long. This was easy enough, because before each call of "Action" by the director, is the call for "Background", which is our cue to start doing whatever we're to do. By the way, the director relies on the production assistants, or director's assistant (2nd 2nd) to place and direct the Background. He may call for more movement or bodies, but what they do is not his concern (unless it takes away from his scene).By 12:30 am, things were getting harder. All I had to do on the "Background" call was walk from off camera, into the scene and away out the door at the far end of the office. The only problem was that the guy who yells "Background" was not given his cue and so neither were the Background artists. For quite a few takes, we background folk were relying on telepathy to know when to go. This was the last scene, and the last camera angle, so everyone was rather beat.
During one scene, the director was upset because a simple 3 line scene was taking too long to set up. He hollered that if things didn't get moving he'd shoot himself. Then he added that he would take a few others with him first. Crew pointed out that they did not have budget for bullets, so he was out of luck.
By wrap, several of the Background artists had to be nudged to get them going, as they had fallen asleep. A good thing, as many of us will be back on the set by 11:00 am next day. Less than 8 hours of sleep away.
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