2021-09-10 01:17
There’s a particular mindset held by endurance athletes, to help them get through long races.
Don’t think about the entire event at once, just concentrate on the next few ste… Read More
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Totally Unauthorized | A Side Of The Film Industry Blog
filmhacks.wordpress.com
A side of the film industry most people never see.
2021-02-24 01:32
People, for whatever reason, sometimes feel the need to take a stand.
Most of the time this isn’t about anything really critical – a parking space, which way the toilet paper… Read More
2019-10-26 01:27
I have, for the entirety of my career, managed to largely avoid corporate America and all the office-related shenanigans, but sometimes worlds collide.
This show is on a lot, which is owned… Read More
2019-04-16 18:09
I was very lucky to be able to visit Notre Dame during the off season when there weren’t so many people there. It was cold and drizzly, but there was no wait and enough space to take s… Read More
2019-01-04 01:06
Due to a contract change, I got a retroactive pay raise on some shows, which is great, but as of now, I have eight checks, all around $20, mostly from the same show – I guess it was a… Read More
2018-08-17 05:09
On most stages, the air conditioning is set to arctic tundra, and the red ‘rolling’ light, when activated, cuts off the air, as blowing air makes noise and sound people hat… Read More
2018-04-11 01:58
In theory, Spring is the short season between winter and summer – where the temperature gradually warms up, stuff blooms, birds and bees do… things (or so I’m led to belie… Read More
2017-12-07 02:50
Yesterday, I lost a day of work due to some schedule changes. This is unfortunate, but does happen sometimes.
The city is surrounded by fires, so the drive home was eerie and didn’t he… Read More
2017-10-18 01:35
Although I was light on the work last week, this week is busy.
I got Monday, Thursday and Friday on some cable show I’ve never heard of (as long as the check clears), and then got a la… Read More
2017-10-11 01:30
It’s been extremely busy, which is always good.
This year has been odd – there was no work at all for almost three months and my expenses are currently on the high side (for me)… Read More
2017-09-12 21:49
The producers of this show figured out they could save money by not having much at craft service. It’s usually just coffee with that wierd powdered milk, some fruit fly infested banana… Read More
2017-08-22 01:10
After a half-weekend (wrap at 6 am Saturday), I wasn’t really upset about having today off. It’s nice to have one zombie day, and one day to do things while one’s bra… Read More
2017-06-26 20:57
Sometimes you can look at a set and figure out right away if it’s going to be easy to light or not. Generally, the smaller the set, the worse things go for everyone. Like cramming 10 p… Read More
2017-04-03 23:46
Work is slow right now. Very, very slow. Part of it is just the time of year. The episodics are on hiatus, the pilots are over and nothing will really start happening for another month… Read More
2017-03-10 03:15
Normally, the heat comes slowly – getting slightly warmer and slightly warmer every single day, like the frog in the pot of water.
But it’s gotten very warm in about 72 hour… Read More
2017-01-12 03:18
I haven’t worked in a shit-covered alley in quite some time. Not because people aren’t shitting in alleyways nowadays, but because Los Angeles has gentrified the shit out of most… Read More
2016-12-13 21:13
Night work is never ideal for me, the ultimate morning person. One night is usually a pain, but doable – I just take a short nap, power through the rest of my day, go t… Read More
2016-11-17 04:31
Pigeons love old sound stages.
I don’t know why, but there’s almost always one or two lurking up in the perms, crapping on our cable and doing whatever it is pigeons do when they… Read More
2016-10-28 03:16
Sometimes one is just not prepared for the day one gets.
It was supposed to be a fairly light day, work-wise, which was just what I needed because tomorrow I know I’m going to get the… Read More
2016-10-14 23:23
I don’t usually repost things, but this is still relevant. Just change the name from Jian Ghomeshi to Donald Trump, and ‘BDSM’ to ‘vanilla flavored sex… Read More
2016-10-04 01:39
Back before modern technology, the gaffer used hand signals to direct the lighting techs, which meant that said techs had to stay on set and pay attention.
Now, with the advent of comm… Read More
2016-08-28 23:29
Once upon a time, I bought a dress.
I was working for a now defunct prime-time celebrity gossip show who were known for throwing a lavish Emmy (TM) party, to which they invited the entire cr… Read More
2016-08-05 02:03
The past I don’t know how long has consisted of 12 hour rigging days, which leave me so exhausted I can’t do anything other than shower and limp to bed (yup. Getting old), so tod… Read More
2016-07-02 01:47
A shaft of light Filed under: Uncategorized Read More
2016-06-28 17:58
There are two months of the year where work is usually scarce for me – January and June. I always know it’s coming and prepare for it as best I can, but near the end of the month… Read More
2016-05-26 05:13
Normally, the gaffer is the head of the lighting department, but on shows with anything more than a passing resemblance to theater (operas, concerts, ice shows, ballroom dancing), there will… Read More
2016-05-06 23:26
Back side of the Fox lot facades under a cloudy sky. Lucky for us we beat the rain and drove home dry.Filed under: hazardous, Photos, studio lots, Work Read More
2016-04-19 03:44
Pilot season – when, unsurprisingly, the pilots for next season’s new TV shows are shot – is officially over.
Since I didn’t get a spot on a crew, I bounced… Read More
2016-03-23 03:31
Wait. It’s Tuesday, right? I had to check.
After getting home about 9 last night (90 minutes to get to work, just under 60 to get home), today I got to work a set on a nice air-co… Read More
2016-03-22 03:21
Friday, I got a call from the hall* to work on a rig (or a wrap, I wasn’t sure) in Orange County. Mind you, not super deep behind the orange curtain, but enough that I stressed ab… Read More
2016-03-16 03:58
Ten days ago, I worked a micro budget favor job for a friend of mine who is trying to move up the food chain (which, of course, necessitates moving down the food chain first) and shoot.
I d… Read More
2016-03-03 03:09
One of the occasional perks of my job is wardrobe and prop sales.
Most of the really nice (read: expensive) stuff is rented, but the cheaper stuff is usually purchased, in multiples, and kep… Read More
2016-02-21 23:50
Condors, although they’re manufactured to the same specifications, have wildly divergent handling characteristics.
Some of them have really flexy arms so the operator shiftin… Read More
2016-02-19 04:35
Since I don’t have an employment agency, I get most of my work from people who work with me and like me and, hopefully, hire me.
So personal relationships are very important and it&rsq&hell…Read More
2016-02-04 18:04
January (and the first part of February), have, predictably, been slow for work. This year, during the slow time, I read a book about tidying up. The approach of the book is a bit different… Read More
2016-01-14 07:07
Over the course of the holiday season, I’ve had a little over three weeks of no work – which is to be expected, because holidays.
Many of the TV shows didn’t come back unti… Read More
2016-01-02 01:19
2015 was a hard one for me. Work was busy, which was good, but I had some serious setbacks in my personal life – which is a big part of the reason I’ve been neglecting the blog… Read More
2015-11-15 03:36
Work’s been busy – more so than in the past five (ish) years.
Which is a very good thing, but it’s been so dry for so long that all of us are working ourselves to a shell o… Read More
2015-10-14 03:31
It’s still 100 degrees in Los Angeles.
I’ve already worked three days this week, and two of those days, of course, have been day exterior.
Today, we were in a canyon park near th… Read More
2015-09-30 03:34
For the past few weeks, it’s been extremely hot and humid here in Los Angeles.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s always hot this time of year, but the wonderful thing about living i… Read More
2015-09-17 00:50
Today, we were shooting a promo about something exercise-related.
I know this since it took place in a gym and all the extras were very, very fit.
Actually, extras is a bit of a loose term h… Read More
2015-08-18 23:38
I’m not an actor, nor have I ever had any actorish aspirations.
But yesterday on one of the swim groups, someone posted a casting call that I just couldn’t pass up.
A femal… Read More
2015-08-11 01:32
These were taken at the Firestone tire factory in South Gate. Built in 1922, it’s now awaiting the wrecking ball to make way for the only thing we seem to build in Los Angeles these da… Read More
2015-07-31 18:09
I had to take a little break to deal with some problems personal enough to not be shared on the internet (I know, right? Weird), but I here I am again and thankfully, work seems to be pickin… Read More
2015-07-01 04:31
After working on a show that I absolutely cannot write about (super-secret paparazzi bait) – and working 14 hour days so there was no way to do anything worth writing about besides wor… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
During the rare but not unheard of Sunday rigging call, we were in a very expensive boutique hotel on the Sunset Strip, which, given the only reason the hoi polloi shell out to stay there ar… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
I had a fairly easy day at work today – all on stage, and all in a confined set that one can’t get to crazy lighting. I’m back tomorrow, and it’s with a group of guys… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Stunt days are usually slow for us. We light the shot, and then read the newspaper while the stunt guys do… stunt stuff. Especially in light of recent train track events, stunt people… Read More
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