Princess Superstar, Knuckles, Fraction

Things I Learned Shooting This Time
(in no particular order)

1. Set up the next shot before lunch.
That post-lunch lethargy just vanishes. It's great. Why didn't I think of this sooner? Because I am dumb.

2. First set-up-- fast and over.
This was stolen from Sidney Lumet, because he's right.

3. Previs. and Prepro are really, really important.
Seriously. Take the half-day to go over it all with everyone and figure out what camera and dolly physics are and aren't possible.

4. If you ask the Client for feedback, they're going to give you feedback.
Tony Kaye always shot client-requested adjustments out of focus so they'd be unusable. Tony Kaye is also batshit poopers.

5. Lots of water.
Three shoots in a row now, and guess what we ran out of first?

6. Don't break for any non-shoot stuff.
I took a break to take a conference call with another client midday, and felt like I missed all the good stuff when I got back.

7. Cell Phones off.
Especially if someone's ringtone is Hokey Pokey, because that fucker will be stuck in your head all day.

8. Have a John Baker.
He'll tell you where the thing is, how the thing works, and remember everything else that everyone but him forgot.

9. One person calling the shots. One person. ONE.
While the call-and-answer technique of running things is charming, it is also stupid, and frustrating.

10. Do what Rick says.
When Rick tells you that Ben's going to call "Magic!" instead of "Action!" and you shouldn't worry about it, don't worry about it. Because Rick told you not to. Smile, nod, and get back to work.

11. Kids like nicknames, even though they pretend that they don't, they're all little liars-- really, they love nicknames and want you to call them by those nicknames all the time even when they say they don't and they hate it.
I called mine "Knuckles" and "Princess Superstar."