Justus Page on the Director/DP relationship

Justus Page

My DP career began 6 years ago. What was my understanding of the Director/DP relationship back then? I was there to do what I was told. And yet inside I was angry because a part of me felt like that wasn’t right. I should have a say. But I felt too self-conscious in my abilities to be able to speak up. We existed with different expectations of each other.

This can be a very common experience for young DP’s and directors who are finding their footing. You might’ve been lucky to find someone you clicked with right at the beginning, but most are not so lucky. What is supposed to happen is an evolution of your working process. But let’s be honest; Is that what’s happening for YOU?

I think many people running in the independent/no budget circuit innocently never learned about this evolution. Nobody told them. Certainly, nobody told me. It was years of trial and error. But I found that in those roles, that evolution is a big part of your upward mobility in the industry.

Directors: Who is your cinematographer to you? Is it someone you hired to make your film look pretty? Naively, but understandably, this is often where our headspace can be, right? What’s your expectation of them? Are they there to hear your ideas and nod? Are they there to do what you tell them to? Do you want them to just show up and take command of the visuals entirely?

Image courtesy of the author

DP’s: What are you looking for in a director? Are you looking for someone to hand-hold you? Or someone completely hands-off who leaves you alone to do what you know best? You are the professional after all. A director who vomits meaning into every angle? Or a director who couldn’t care less, as long as it looks fine.

Let’s diverge from all of these entirely, and consider another possibility. Your DP/Director is your co-collaborator​. Some seasoned DP’s and Directors might scoff when they read this part because many of them understand this is how it’s supposed to be, ​duh​. But it’s not a given.

The first time I mustered up the courage and gave honest feedback on a script I was offered and the Director went “Oh, that’s a great insight! Let’s make that change,” my whole career evolved. I realized that I could insist on reading a script first, insist on giving feedback, and have an open dialogue with my prospective director. I realized I didn’t want to work with Directors who wouldn’t give me that consideration. But also, those that did showed me their ego was left at the door. They cared most about telling the best story, whatever form that took. It no longer mattered to me whether my director wanted to plan all the shots themselves, or whether they left all of that to me; My expertise was respected, my opinion was welcomed, and that created the type of working environment most conducive to doing our best work.

Image courtesy of the author

Shooting a pivotal moment in the film, the director could say, “Let’s do the shot like this,” and I could feel comfortable saying, “Actually, based on the discussions we’ve had about what we’re trying to say about this character, I think we might be better served doing this.” And guess what? The director can say “I disagree. Let’s do it my way,” and I am absolutely fine with that. That given respect is mutual. Oftentimes, conversations like the one above are avoided on the day, because I do extensive prep and planning with my directors involving look books, breakdowns, discussing character motivations, doing boards, writing shot lists, and religiously reading the script. This gets us all on the same page long before we walk on set.

Who are we as DP’s? We are the guardians of our Director’s vision. We are meant to champion their creative integrity and protect them however we can. We do this by doing everything in our power to understand them, ask 8 million questions until we’re sure we know what the expectations are and what they’re trying to achieve. We stand up for them if someone calls into question that integrity. We go the extra mile to be involved wherever we can, just to gain even an extra ounce of understanding of the vision.

As a Director, doesn’t having someone who champions these things sound exciting? Does it not sound like a weight off your shoulders? Can you sleep better knowing your vision won’t be compromised? Doesn’t it ease your tensions to know you can confide in your DP and ask them for their help? This is the world we’re all trying to live in. And it’s possible. But it takes vulnerability to open yourself up to this dynamic. You as a Director have to be open to ideas and to accept that help. You have to be open to being wrong, but also be comfortable being right, and knowing that standing your ground won’t ruffle any feathers because you’ve fostered this relationship. As DP’s we have to be open to considering ourselves as storytellers in our own right and respect ourselves enough to accept that our jobs are so closely tied to telling a story. Even if, at the end of the day, the Director gets the final word, we can allow ourselves to express our ideas to them openly, and ego-free.

In this day and age, it isn’t too hard to find someone who will make your film look good. But what about someone who makes your story better? Someone who’s invested in its success? Someone who wants to throw the full weight of their craft behind enhancing what’s on the page, and finding ways to make it even better than it was?

The key to being better storytellers for us all is collaboration. Don’t take my word for it. Go discover it for yourself! You’ll never go back to the way things were. And that, I can promise.

Feel free to reach out and open a dialogue! I’m always happy to chat!

Justus Page

https://justuspage.myportfolio.com/

 

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and—especially where guest posts are concerned—do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the Utah Filmmakers™ Association, its officers and/or associates. Utah Filmmaker(s)™ and UFA™ are trademarks registered with the Utah Department of Commerce Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, Registration Numbers 10706542-0190 , 11025542-0190 and 10502093-0190 respectively.

There is no such thing as a “half day”

From the "Excursus" movie poster

As I write this, it’s the day after Labeled Fest, where our short film, “Excursus,” was screened in the same theater in which it premiered in 2014. Reflecting on the single day of production that it had under the August sun on top of the “giant reflector”—Mario DeAngelis’ hilarious and accurate description—that is the Bonneville Salt Flats, I’m reminded of a point toward the end of the day when a few clouds were making some unscheduled appearances in the sky, blocking the sun from time to time. At one point, our 1st AC, Jonathan Judeen, looked toward one cloud in particular and said, “That cloud’s going to block the sun in about seventeen seconds.” His tone was matter-of-fact, showing no hint of sarcasm.

I’ll admit, there was a part of me that wanted to roll my eyes or offer some sort of incredulous response to his statement. Probably within the first second following Jonathan’s estimate, I thought, “Seventeen seconds? How the hell did he come up with that number? Why so specific? How could he possibly know?” But instead of saying anything, I started counting seconds to myself, “two, three, four… sixteen, seventeen,” and by that point, the cloud had completely covered our view of the sun. Jonathan called it… to the second. I was impressed.

That same year, I had worked on the pilot for Wesley Austin’s series, “The IP Section,” as a boom operator and witnessed something similar. Almost every time that cinematographer Wes Johnson and his team were working to set up a new shot, the 1st AD would ask for a time estimate for when they would be ready to shoot. As I recall, the response was rarely in minutes—even if multiple minutes were required. It was almost always stated in seconds, “One hundred five seconds,” “98 seconds,” etc. This was an experienced crew that knew what they were doing and knew the capabilities and limitations of the equipment they were working with so well that they could estimate how long it would take them to set-up a shot to within a few seconds.

Productions such as those are a joy to work on. A professional and efficient set—though not without it’s moments of work-related stress—is an atmosphere that instills confidence in all its participants and inspires the best work.

When I was hired for that pilot, I was told, “It’s only $***/day.” A more experienced boom operator may have accepted the role with some reluctance but I was happy for the opportunity, since all of the projects that I was working on that year were going to fund “Excursus” and the bulk of the compensation for my services would turn into paychecks for my crew.

When breaking down a polished screenplay for production, estimating the time it will take to shoot a particular scene or sequence is as much an art form as it is a skill and it requires experience to get any good at it. When I first broke down the screenplay for “Excursus” into a shooting script, I handed it to Mario and Jack Diamond—director and 1st AD, respectively—and said, “This isn’t written in stone. It’s just how I kinda pictured it in my head. Use what you like and what’s practical but if you have a better way of shooting it, then by all means, go with what you think will work best. This breakdown is just a suggestion.”

My breakdown was very much appreciated. On the day of the shoot, I did my best to let go of my role as Producer and focussed on my job as actor but I could definitely see where their decisions deviated from mine and how they worked better to accommodate the resources of the production. When we wrapped the location, Mario said to me, “You had a good shooting script but if we had shot it the way that it was written, it would have taken us three days instead of just one.”

Three seems like a magic number to me. Whenever I’m speaking with novice filmmakers on the subject of estimating the amount of time it takes to shoot something, based on my personal experience, I always tell them, “Take that first time estimate that you came up with and triple it. Because you never know what’s going to happen on the day of the shoot that’s going to cause a delay and there’s always something that’s going to cause a delay.”

I suppose it’s evocative of the exchange between Captain Kirk and Mr. Scott in Star Trek III, when Kirks asks his Chief Engineer, “How much refit time before we can take her out again?”
“Eight weeks, sir,” said Scotty, “but ye don't have eight weeks, so I'll do it for ye in two.”
“Mr. Scott. Have you always multiplied your repair estimates by a factor of four?”
“Certainly, sir. How else can I keep my reputation as a miracle worker?”

From time-to-time, I see job posts in our Facebook group that make statements like, “We’ll only need you for a couple” or “a few hours.” If an hourly rate is being offered for such work, that’s fine by me.

However, there are also times when I see posts that call for a specific job to be filled and the posters ask, “What’s your half-day rate?”

HMUA Heather Shelton
transforming the author
into a zombie

I can appreciate being mindful of budget limitations and needing to accommodate them but claiming that a job is “only” going to be a half-day commitment, suggests that the contractor would be free to fill the other half-day with a different half-day gig so they can get a full-day’s rate—which is within the realm of possibility but very unlikely. To suggest that there’s so much work out there that someone could make a living working two half-day gigs a day, for any period of time seriously overestimates the demands of the local industry not to mention ignoring important factors like crew meals and commute times.

No one ever really works for just “half a day.” The preparation time is going to vary from gig-to-gig depending on the demands of the production and for roles and positions beyond those of background actors and Production Assistants, rates are not determined by an hourly minimum but by the nature of the work that’s needed and the talent and experience that a contractor brings to the table. A “half-day” doesn’t necessarily translate into half the work. For specialties like hair and makeup artistry, the amount of work and resources required for it may be no different for a “half-day” shoot than a full day. It’s more likely to amount to the same amount of work but only with an earlier wrap-time. Since it’s unlikely that there will be another “half-day” gig waiting for that one person afterward—for which their energy and supplies can be significantly drained—they should just be paid their standard day-rate and kit-fee. There are other places in a production budget where a producer can be frugal without interfering with someone’s paycheck and—by extension—their livelihood.

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Utah Filmmaker(s)™ and UFA™ are trademarks registered with the Utah Department of Commerce Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, Registration Numbers 10706542-0190 , 11025542-0190 and 10502093-0190 respectively.