Next Step on the Production Ladder: We're All on the Same Show Here

A bit of flack is thrown at production staff in the film and television industry. Not understanding crew needs, being first in line for pay or being out of touch with issues on set are some common gripes. Another perception is that all producers are ‘creaming it’ despite this often not being the case at all. NZTECHO caught up with a few production people for their take.

Don’t see the production office as the enemy – you’re all on the same production. Everyone is in the same boat working under stressful conditions and tight deadlines. Try and understand why decisions are made or why someone might be at the end of their leash and snapping at you. The crew might be on location, up to their knees in mud and heavy rain, while the production office will be frantically trying to find alternative weather cover and produce multiple call sheets. Information from the 1st AD onset can often only be gathered in snippets during breaks or maybe the AD is out of range. Remember, while crew are fighting the elements, the production office is getting heat from up the line, on delivery schedules or budgets from producers, studio, accountants and completion guarantors. None of them want to hear about weather problems.

Understanding the parameters both are working with. Crew can complain about getting call sheets late but production could be waiting on a whole magnitude of information. For example, you have a wet cover day and the production office needs to publish a second and often very different call sheet, which may require different cast, additional crew and different locations. Something changes after all of this, after it has been printed. When you need something from the production office and it’s not urgent then best to not approach on the lead up to callsheet publication. It could be likened to being in the middle of a take after three hours of lighting set up and a piercing drill then starts up down the road. If it can wait, check in with them after wrap or the next day. The production office might complain about lost equipment but often crew are packing up late at night, in poor light. No one deliberately loses gear.

Getting contracts done is a major. Productions are obliged to get them signed. Crew often demand their contracts but don’t return them. Sign your contract or if there is an issue, go to your HOD. If it is unsigned then you have no recall. By accepting your first pay, whether you a have signed or not, you have in fact accepted the terms of your contract. Although you put everything in contracts, the goal posts change all the time – acts of god, all sorts. Remember very often, production doesn’t get paid overtime – they work very long hours but they only get their daily rate. Often they could be doing 16- to 18-hour pre-production days but only getting paid for 10. They are there before call and after wrap.

The crew needs a crew rep, a ‘go to’ person for on set issues. A good crew rep can solve so much. People can fester on set and production has no idea what the problem is or that there even is a problem. There is a clear line of communication – the crew rep approaches the production manager in the first instance who in turn, will speak with either the line producer or producer. Problems should initially go through the HOD or if the problem is the HOD, then talk to the crew rep, they might be able to deal with the issue onset. Pushing limits with broken turn around especially driving heavy vehicles is a common issue – putting health, safety and licenses at risk. The production can ask to break the rules (excluding driving and safety rules) but crew can say no. A crew rep can be the support for unreasonable requests. Lunch should be delivered within five hours of call time but sometimes, due to unforeseen circumstances, it can be a lot longer before everyone gets fed. With a reasonable approach this can often be fine, but not when it happens regularly. Crew reps seem to be diminishing. Fewer productions are insisting on this role now. It is the younger crew members, who often fall through the cracks. Being young and starting out in the industry, it’s not unusual for them to accept their lot, even though they could be working 14- or 15-hour days, then driving, often carrying actors or crew. A good crew rep should generally be a senior member of crew, a Guild member and should understand the Blue Book, the Safety Code of Practice and have a good knowledge of other rules and regulation such as_ OSH_. Ideally they are a good moderate person, a good negotiator and not a pitball.

There are some really unrealistic budgets especially when it comes to overtime and weather cover. If crew members are asked to do ridiculous deals on their gear and rates, let that be the red flag that the budget is probably fairly tight, so be prepared. Bad weather re-scheduling might bite into an already small contingency and blow other areas of the budget. The producer is responsible for creating the budget, it is then past over to the line producer and/or the production manager, who run the budget. Often a departmental budget is given to the HODs to break down as they are the experts in their area, it is then basically the responsibility for the HOD to make it work.

No training budget is an issue. Productions are not allowing any extra money for HODs to bring trainees or junior crew onset. Apart from some ongoing larger budget productions there is not a lot of vision for the future. People get pulled from above ranks to cover shortfalls. If there is no budget for an additional assistant to lug and carry lights and grip gear then no one knows anything about the gear in the truck. HODs need a chance to see if a person is worth investing their time in. Generally no one is going to take a person outside of the onset experience unless they feel they have the right attitude or skills but it’s catch-22 because you need to see how people operate onset.

Payment terms for crew should be better. Payment terms of 20th of the month following invoice means work done in the end of February (for a week ending beginning of March) isn’t paid until April 20th. Crew get a call sheet, turn up, work an entire day and it’s on good will – on an unspoken gentleman’s agreement that crew will be paid on 20th month following. But this is not set in stone. There is always that fear that if you complain, the production will black list you. Some companies are shocking even when invoices are all in order whereas others will pay within two weeks. Speak with your producer to set your terms of payment before the job begins. If your job straddles over two months make sure you know what the payment arrangements are in advance.

**Producers should ‘really’ listen more often **– they say “we can’t afford to” and it is sometimes a ‘knee jerk’ reaction. If they listened better and really heard the problem then often the solution is not too far away and may not even require money. There is common perception by crew that producers are creaming it. Generally the producer doesn’t get paid until the production is completed. If the production contingency has been used up then the next pool of money is the producer’s fee i.e. their wages. Taking on a production is a huge risk. The producer might have worked on a project for three or four years before it actually starts, using their own money. Not all productions are development funded. Depending on the size of the budget, they might get $100,000 but take this over four years and it’s not a lot. Remember crew come in, work hard, get paid and walk away to start their next project. Often the producer still has a year in post production.