Hollywood North
Nov. 6th, 2009 08:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gilanaI happened to be near Park Street last night, and there was a crowd around a Dunkin Donuts there, where Ben Affleck was inside filming The Town. There were crowds of people trying to see inside to spot the stars, but I wandered over to the side and watched the crew and started looking at all the equipment, trying to see if I could learn anything new. I had a nice chat with a wardrobe woman -- there were extras in the scene just walking past the window outside the shot, but since the movie is set in the summer, they kept having to take their coats off and try not to shiver too badly as they walked past.
I started looking at some boxes of lighting equipment, and when a gaffer came by I got to ask him about the drawer marked "magic gadgets". (Turns out it's a company that makes dimmers.) I got points with him for correctly identifying (and pronouncing) a Fresnell lamp, so after that he made a point of telling me what the other lamps he was working on were. And he showed me the "C-47"s he used to hold a gel on a lamp, very technical devices that I've always known as clothespins. Had a nice long chat with a grip who was local to here, and with a very friendly cameraman from LA, who's worked with the DP (Robert Elswit, who just won an Oscar for There Will Be Blood), on many films now. He was really great about telling me about cameras and showing me some of the functions on his.
I spent a while looking at a table full of cases that I inferred contained film; they were marked by length in feet, and I wondered why you would want different lengths, instead of always using the longest possible. But when I asked someone wandering by, he explained that if you're doing a shot in a car and space is limited, you're using a different camera and you want to use the 200' reel to keep things small. If you're using a steadycam, you might choose the 400' reel, so it's not too heavy. And the 1000' reel is only 10 minutes worth, although I don't think you see a lot of shots that long in a movie. Still, I never realized how many reels they must go through! I assumed you'd do many shots on one reel of film.
I stayed until the wrapped the shot, and watched as they went into what is usually a real Dunkin' Donuts and started tearing it apart -- changing out the posters on the wall, but mostly taking down ceiling panels and taking out the huge cables and electrical equipment they had hidden up there to keep it out of the shots. When I had first arrived at the location, I noticed how many cables there were in the streets, and followed them around the block to a portable generator -- I can't even imagine how much electricity everything used, especially the ginormous lights they had set up on lifts out across the street shining in to the Dunkin Donuts.
Anyway. Very nifty night, and if you come across them filming anywhere, as long as you stay out of the way and are respectful, are are clearly not star-hunting, most of the crew seems happy to answer questions. I highly recommend poking around a bit, there's a lot to learn!
Oh, and Ben Affleck was there inside the Dunkie's, but I did not see him. I could have -- plenty of people walked past and peeked in between shots, or stood in just the right spot across the street to get a peek -- and I briefly thought about it, but decided I just didn't care that much. I already know what he looks like, what's the point? And keeping the respect of the crew was much more important to me. Not that there aren't celebs I would go out of my way to catch a glimpse of, but Ben just didn't seem to be one last night.
I started looking at some boxes of lighting equipment, and when a gaffer came by I got to ask him about the drawer marked "magic gadgets". (Turns out it's a company that makes dimmers.) I got points with him for correctly identifying (and pronouncing) a Fresnell lamp, so after that he made a point of telling me what the other lamps he was working on were. And he showed me the "C-47"s he used to hold a gel on a lamp, very technical devices that I've always known as clothespins. Had a nice long chat with a grip who was local to here, and with a very friendly cameraman from LA, who's worked with the DP (Robert Elswit, who just won an Oscar for There Will Be Blood), on many films now. He was really great about telling me about cameras and showing me some of the functions on his.
I spent a while looking at a table full of cases that I inferred contained film; they were marked by length in feet, and I wondered why you would want different lengths, instead of always using the longest possible. But when I asked someone wandering by, he explained that if you're doing a shot in a car and space is limited, you're using a different camera and you want to use the 200' reel to keep things small. If you're using a steadycam, you might choose the 400' reel, so it's not too heavy. And the 1000' reel is only 10 minutes worth, although I don't think you see a lot of shots that long in a movie. Still, I never realized how many reels they must go through! I assumed you'd do many shots on one reel of film.
I stayed until the wrapped the shot, and watched as they went into what is usually a real Dunkin' Donuts and started tearing it apart -- changing out the posters on the wall, but mostly taking down ceiling panels and taking out the huge cables and electrical equipment they had hidden up there to keep it out of the shots. When I had first arrived at the location, I noticed how many cables there were in the streets, and followed them around the block to a portable generator -- I can't even imagine how much electricity everything used, especially the ginormous lights they had set up on lifts out across the street shining in to the Dunkin Donuts.
Anyway. Very nifty night, and if you come across them filming anywhere, as long as you stay out of the way and are respectful, are are clearly not star-hunting, most of the crew seems happy to answer questions. I highly recommend poking around a bit, there's a lot to learn!
Oh, and Ben Affleck was there inside the Dunkie's, but I did not see him. I could have -- plenty of people walked past and peeked in between shots, or stood in just the right spot across the street to get a peek -- and I briefly thought about it, but decided I just didn't care that much. I already know what he looks like, what's the point? And keeping the respect of the crew was much more important to me. Not that there aren't celebs I would go out of my way to catch a glimpse of, but Ben just didn't seem to be one last night.
