Maskerade: the Movie

Roles - by David Sander

Okay - here goes. I'm keeping this simple and for some blindlingly obvious, but for all for those who feel they might currently have no clue but would still like to be involved somewhere, I'm trying to cover it all in a way to help understanding:

The director should both feel confident in the screenplay, and confident in guiding its realization to the screen.

In addition to the screenplay, it helps enormously if there is a storyboard. A storyboard resembles a cartoon strip, and brings the film's story to be more than words on a page. It also helps communicate the visual elements between the director and the DP (see below). There doesn't have to be a panel for every single shot, but for some scenes it helps if there is a visual reference as well as a written one. Either The Moth can create these if he feels up to it, or any number of talented artistic afpers can sit down with the script, discussing it with The Moth as they go, and drawing scenes based on those discussions. These drawings should happen after at least some preliminary drawings from the Production Designer (see below).

The film needs a producer - someone who feels capable of co-ordinating all the different elements of production - someone who can not only organize to get everyone to a shoot; but also wrangle deals to get it a music soundtrack; networks with contacts in order to get the best deals on costume bits, props, supplies, equipment, or anything else necessary; organizes copies of the finished film to distribute to everyone who is going to see it, etc etc. The producer is like gaffer tape - they have a light side, they have a dark side, but they bind the whole production together.

A production manager is essential - they work with the director and producer, and make things happen. They are the ultimate shit-kicker. PMs are responsible for ensuring that call sheets are co-ordinated and distributed (a call sheet has a list of names, where those names along with their owners are supposed to turn up, at what time they are supposed to turn up, the best way to get to where they are supposed to turn up, what to bring, what to wear, and how long they should be expected to be there for - the call sheets are put together by the PM and sometimes even the director and producer as well), everyone and everything is where it is supposed to be, when it is supposed to be. The PM also organizes permission to use locations where such a requirement exists. Given the potential scale of this project, it is possible that this job can be amalgamated with the producer's role, though whoever assumes the mantle of producer/production manager needs to be someone who is excellent at not only being organized, but getting everyone else organized.

I would like to think that somewhere along the line we could have a Production Designer - someone who draws what the architecture looks like, the streets, the costumes, the uniforms, characters (based around who is cast, rather than some generic I think Vimes should look like this), props etc. If Paul Kidby, Stephen Briggs, Josh Kirby or even Pterry want to dive in, then by all means, but someone has to define what where we're going looks like. Depending on how much can be built, locations are found to suit, costumes are made to suit, and props are manufactured as best as can be done within our doubtless very finite budgetary resources.

In this sort of project, the person who operates the camera is also the person who frames the shots and designs the lighting. The industry term for this role is Director of Photography or DP. The DP does not do the lighting as such, but makes recommendations based on what they see through the camera to the lighting designer, who tends to argue with the DP a lot. The DP operates the camera, panning, tilting, riding on a small carriage platform called a dolly ^[1], constructing the framing and action for shots, and directing anyone required to assist with operation of the camera (such as the focus operator or the individuals responsible for propelling the dolly). The DP may also be responsible for slating the shot - holding up a card which has written on it the scene number, take number, and any other pertinent information required. Lastly, the DP may also fulfil the role of clapper loader - the person responsible for managing, labelling and keeping track of the most precious items on a shoot - the camera tapes (for video) or film spools (for film).

I would recommend having a lighting person - someone whose responibilities are to set up and operate lighting equipment, be that a bank of 1000W floods, or a simple reflector board. The lighting person also attaches to the front barn doors of the lights lighting gels - sheets of coloured film that look like cellophane but (unlike cellophane) are resistant to the extreme temperatures encountered right in front of high-powered lighting. This will help colour a shot, or colour a light - for instance, a light can be balanced using gels to simulate actual sunlight, or indirect daylight. A diffuser (called spun) can also be placed in front of the light to soften shadows. This is all the lighting person's job. Note: lighting gel is never to be placed in front of the camera lens to attempt to alter the colour of a shot that way - it is optically poor and will waste everyone's time.

I would also strongly recommend a sound technician - a role that can be as simple as organising the right microphone in the right location on a set, or operating a boom microphone - a mic on a long pole that is dangled above the head of a speaker, but kept high enough to be out of shot. The hard part of a sound tech's job is ensuring the highest quality audio is recorded - and that the levels recorded are within certain limits (to prevent distortion, for instance). The sound technician can record the sound onto a separate recording system to the video camera's sound if they feel there is better quality to be had. If this is the case, then you will require the slate mentioned above to have a clapper, so that sound can be synchronised properly in post-production. The slate is then called a clapper board. A separate individual can be responsible for writing in the figures called for on the slate and clapping the clapper. This role is called clapper.

Other roles for crew include makeup, costume, set dressing, prop makers, scene shifters, catering (very important), grip (people who typically assist the lighting person, but also tend to scale scaffolding to attach wires, lights, remote microphones or other paraphenalia to other various bits of scaffolding, or sometimes nearby architecture), best boy (assistant to the grip), and delegates for the producer/production manager to better spread the ~~misery~~ fun.

Post production is a whole other job in itself, and tends to be not only more time consuming, but more skill-based, time consuming, expensive and time consuming.

The roles for post include:

Production Manager: often the same person as on the shoot, this person's role is now one of logging all the tapes, and with the director, recommending which take of which scene is the best one to use. The tapes are logged based on timecode - on domestic VCRs, this usually takes the form of the tape counter. On pro equipment, it takes the form of time measured in hours:minutes:seconds:frames, and is called timecode - time data actually stored on part of the tape. It helps locate a shot on the tape for the editor to use. Pro audio equipment, like DAT also uses timecode, which makes it just as easy to log as videotape.

Editor: a person or people who cut the film to its final length, omitting all the mistakes, fluffed lines, falling lighting stands, sneezes, people bursting out laughing for no readily apparent reason, and anything else you tend to see on those bloopers TV shows some TV executives feel as entertaining television content. The editor is responsible for the timing in a film - a good film can easily be wrecked by poor editing.

Sound: a person or persons who edit the sound, synchronizing the audio recorded on set with its vision, as well as laying down extra audio tracks, which may include background sounds, sound effects not recorded on set, augmented sound recorded on set, dubbed voices to substitute for poorly recorded audio, foley (live recorded audio to synchronize with vision that was recorded silent or poorly (e.g. footsteps)) and music. The sound person also balances the levels of each sound, e.g. making sure that one sound is the right level and doesn't drown out another sound, and that all sounds can be properly heard above and with the music, as well as tweaking stereo effects.

Special Effects (SPFX, SFX): a person or persons who modify existing footage and/or invents new footage to give a scene and potentially the film its uniqueness. SPFX enables a film to appear grander than can ordinarily be managed. For instance, SPFX enables a scene to be shot with - say - a small number of houses - so that a large number of houses can consequently be added around it by CGI (computer graphics imagery) to create the illusion of a city instead of a village, but saving the location scout from having a nervous breakdown in trying to find a city's worth of village-style houses. SPFX also enables the visualization of characters who cannot otherwise be created in real life on set; the augmentation of various elements within a scene (adding architecture, haze, smoke, fog, sunlight, even fire); the altering of fundamental elements within a scene (darkening a scene to represent night is not as simple as turning down the lights), grading a scene (grading means to colour-balance - to give the shot a specific colour tint, and to provide a colour consistency across the scene or indeed the whole film); and removal of unwanted elements (wires holding up flying items or people, struts holding up props, TV aerials, power lines, aircraft, scaffolding or cables accidentally left in shot).

Music: essential for any film, the person responsible for music either writes it and has it performed, or locates suitable music available for use and acquires it (including legal clearance). That person then edits it to suit the film, or if it is music written for the film, liases with the sound person and has it mixed into the audio track.

Someone should also take care of packaging - a nice video cover, CD cover if the soundtrack is original for the film, and even a poster. I'm not suggesting something along the lines of Blown Away, but it's great to have a bit of a souvenir outside the film itself.

So, you still want to make a film? Yes? Excellent - don't be daunted by the above. Films can be a lot of fun - especially those done by volunteers who know they might not be getting paid, but they are making a movie! Remember, even on a big budget project, the chief driving force in a production is compromise, and the thing everyone has except you is time. Film making is long hours of standing around followed by short minutes of extreme action, followed by long hours of standing around. But it's still fun!

[1] shaddup! That's what it's called!