January 28th, 2010

FILMING ON ROADS  IN SPAIN- PART TWO.

  • BRIEFING CREW & RADIO PROCEDURE . SAFETY FIRST.

In my first post I  listed 5 points to check when on the technical recce and when about to do the first rehearsal, there are a few more worth mentioning .

6).WALK THE COURSE WITH YOUR ROAD SAFETY CREW.

Once you know the sections of road you will be using then load your road-safety crew into a minibus & show them where to put safety signs & all the blocking points and potential danger-spots.

It is highly likely that for lighting reasons the director will want to use some sections of road in the morning and others later in  the day or skip backwards & forwards.

Once he has the required shots on the first section you will need to rapidly  move your roadblocks to the next section.

If you have to go out and show your crew where they are- this can easily take  valuable shooting time out of your day.(and you will highly unpopular ).

7). TIME THE DURATION  OF YOUR BLOCKS.

Always be aware of how long you have had traffic stopped. By law its max 5 min´s  and 10 min´s are only permitted in the event of an emergency.

In the long run it pays to be precise with stopping times. If you are going to be on the same road for a couple  of days you  will get much more co-operation from the general public if you do not abuse this. Traffic police tend to check on this too.

Also the longer you have traffic stopped, the more vehicles build up and it then takes more time for them to go through when you release them.

8). BRIEF THE ROAD SAFETY CREW .

When traffic is released blockers should always know how many cars are coming through and the model  make & colour of the last car.

It  may seem like a useless detail but is invaluable when the controller does not have both blocking points in view .If the tally of cars is not correct when they pass the other roadblock then you will have to send through a safety-car (more on this later).

9). CORRECT RADIO PROCEDURE.

Once you have given out the radios and established safety channel, camera/direction channel and vehicle channel, then test it all thoroughly. Check everyone has a charged spare battery. There should be no chatting and crew need to keep messages short, clear and always confirm receiving messages, if driving then they can “double-click”the mike to confirm.

The most important  rule when controlling a road-shoot is ONE VOICE-this means that everyone  follows the controllers instructions-no exceptions, otherwise the results are potentially fatal.

The subjects of the next posts will be more on safety cars, secret cars, low-loaders and positioning and layout of the base-camp.Safe shooting!

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January 22nd, 2010

FILMING ON ROADS  IN SPAIN- PART ONE

  • PRE-SHOOT & PREPPING THE ROAD. SAFETY FIRST.

There are a number of  very important  details to remember when preparing to cut off a section of public road for filming in Spain whether it be from car to car, camera in car or camera on road. When doing the technical  recce before the shoot lookout for the following things, time spent on details now will save delays and set-backs later. Normally the first assistant director  will handle this, however if they are required to be by the camera to relay the directors requests -then on shoot-day road safety is down to the location-manager.

1). Safe stopping points for the road-blocks.

The road-blocks  should have a perfectly clear view of at least 200m behind the block so that cars approaching can slow down safely and stop without rear-ending the cars in front. It helps a great deal to space-out  your  traffic-signs warning oncoming vehicles well in advance. If  vision is limited then place another traffic control  person further on in order to warn  approaching vehicles.

2).  Good Radio Communication.

It is imperative that road-blocks should have good clear radio signals between them and the command-point. Make sure to test this before filming commences. If the signal is bad and communication is unreliable you will have to put someone experienced & competent  in  a relay point so the radio messages can be forwarded to the roadblocks. If there is no high point or line of sight with the roadblocks then put the relay point on a position  with line of sight  across the valley .

3).Turning Points.

Check that there are sufficient safe turn around points for hero and  or  tracking vehicle within the section of road you are shooting on.( Sending the shoot cars 2 km beyond the stretch they are shooting in order to turn around wastes a great deal of time over the day & creates unecessary tension).

The turning point should be wide enough  to make a 3 point turn and the edge of the road level with the tarmac to avoid bumping spoilers and shaking camera & lights, especially if using a low-loader.

4). Camera positions on road or roadside.

When the section to be shot has been selected, walk it with the director, find out  where he wants to put the camera on the road. Is there sufficient space for  cars to  drive around the camera and crew when the road is opened to let the public past?

Ensure everyone of your crew on the road is wearing a fluorescent safety jacket and can be seen easily.No-one else should be on the road unless essential for the shoot.

5).Gates ,paths, tracks etc , leading onto your road.

As you walk the course , check for side-roads, tracks, paths and any routes accessing the roadside.When the time comes to turn-over you will need to put a runner with a radio on every last  one of these.The last thing you need is someone pulling out onto your road in a tractor when hero & camera-car are speeding along  occupying both lanes !

In the next post I will broach the subjects of-safety cars, controlling traffic and a few more details which are often forgotten in the heat of the moment-

Safe Shooting!

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Professional location scout or local with knowledge of area?

January 14th, 2010

Why not use a local with a good knowledge of the area rather than a professional location scout?

This question is often asked, especially when trying to trim the budget before a production. The fact is it’s a false economy to send someone cheaper but inexperienced out to scout. The reasons why are many:

  • A novice location scout will waste time (and money) by going to areas where they think the location might be but are not actually sure, then take photos of locations that are too expensive, too complex or don’t work from a light point of view
  • They don’t know how to research a location before actually wheeling up there; things like how to contact the relevant office to be able to get in and take photos, how to take GPS readings and sun charts; how to shoot the reverse of each picture so the director knows what’s behind him…
  • They have no network of peers and contacts to keep them up to date on what is happening with permits, who is now “managing this location”, or why the location is no longer available

The difference with a professional:

A professional location scout knows what will work and what won’t, and can get the camera to where you need it.

He will make sure the location is locked off properly and will pass important information back to production; information like new contacts, the location fee, whether the location has changed physically recently, who owns the parking, whether the access road been levelled recently, and so on.

There are many more seemingly minor details which he will check in order to ensure that when the unit rolls up on shoot day, they can get the job done without a hitch.

The cheaper option? More often than not it turns out to be a false economy.

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local fixer or service production company

January 4th, 2010

Are you considering your next shoot in Spain?

In order to try and save money -many foreign producers consider  opting  for a “local-fixer”

This is a  single person who is supposed to be your liaison for everything you require for your shoot in a foreign country.Working as an individual they charge a daily-rate.This means every time you request something more than that which was originally agreed….Another days fee is tacked on to the total bill.Naturally you will inquire beforehand how long the process will take and normally get an accurate answer-

So you budget for this and a bit more-

The problem is that as we all know…… film production is not an exact science.

Permits may  take a bit longer than anticipated, land owners need to be tracked down, holidays  slow the process down, there are infinite things that can happen.Essentially what this means is you will have to pay extra  for everything!

Another detail which takes up a great deal of  pre and post-production time is the need to pay all the suppliers individually yourself. The local fixer cannot do this .On a small shoot or ” doco” with no major requirements, this may work, but on anything that needs to be done in a short time or that is more complex …..you can find yourself (and your project)  bogged down very fast.

Then on the other hand you have a Service Production Company.

a local fixer cannot  provide you with the kind of back-up that a Service Production Company can..

What am I referring to?

Well for example, a service company will have several experienced professionals  stood by with a long list of contacts & support to call on if required. These people are  normally freelancers who work constantly in the industry and are up-to-date with the latest trends, equipment and production needs.

Another  example…….. nowadays you  may need good quality location pictures immediately ,

A service company should be able to have reference pix on you desktop in minutes.

They  have  to maintain and constantly update their photographic database so that if a request comes in they can send images at once.This costs a great deal of time and money and is not something that can be provided by an individual (unless he dedicates himself only to this) , Otherwise it’s a full-time job.

Initially a  Service Production Company seems more expensive, but like a good insurance –the cover is better- WHY? They can get better deals on equipment rental, accommodation, transport and even crew rates because this is what they do all the time. The suppliers know this and adjust their rates accordingly.  It’s a question of “cutting your cloth to the price of your suit”There are many good professionals out there your final choice depends on your needs.

If you should decide to go the Service Production Company route in Spain  –then contact  us …

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