Well, day one of a two day location shoot at lovely Sandia labs in Livermore. We are documenting a training simulation exercise, trying to "tell the story" of why simulation is good for training, and the vision of what the system could be. The original director pulled out at the last minute so I was thrust into the role, then unthrust, then thrust back today. Trick is that there are a number of smart, experienced, and opinionated people on set as "producers". So lots of cooks wanting to season the broth. And all with slightly different vision as to what this thing will look like and what we need.
So the crew sets up and we've got the "talent" (computer scientists/engineers along with professional incident command trainers) sitting around. We finally start to shoot and it is a bit of a mess. But I knew this going in. While I don't have a ton of commercial experience, I've been through a number of "guerilla" shoots, and also have done all aspects of production in one form or another. Plus I'm a smart guy, love to solve problems, think quickly, and perhaps most importantly, understand the system (and underlying science) as well as the production, so I can serve as a bridge.
Anyway the crew (one of which is serving as the set director) doesn't really want to take much direction. They are amenable, but certain things (like changing a particular camer angle) isn't coming easily. The other producers all have ideas and they are throwing them out in various ways to various people. It turns into a bit of a chaotic scene, but luckily I just spent the weekend on the cushion at Shambhala. And so into warrior mode I went. Not to be combative, but rather to just gently listen to everyone, sort through the issues, then let things move forward and get done with a light touch.
And so we broke for lunch, I listened some more, gave a short pep talk to the talent with some soft suggestions. Then we set up for the afternoon. And it went better. We got the shots, although not perfect. Never is. I wasn't expecting it to be. I was expecting chaos and mistakes. But I was calm and people did their job. And it worked. There was a camera angle that I had to have, and I ended up operating the camera so we could get it. Then I did boom op duties. Then I blocked some shots that didn't work at all. We'll reshoot those tomorrow :-p
And that's ok too. After striking we headed out for dinner and got attitude from an overworked waitress. But eventually we all got drinks and food, and she comped one meal (too much sauce) and 4 drinks (that came late). So it's all good. Of course it isn't yet 9pm and it feels like midnight. But that's ok. Sometimes warriors get tired. Because it takes a lot of energy sometimes to be gentle and have a light touch. But it makes all the difference...
