The Big Picture / Q & A / 5-12-09

As an Assistant Director, you're the guy who actually runs the movie set. What's that like?

Sometimes I think my job is like running the floor of a pyrotechnic factory. I deal with a number of unions and their complicated regulations, as well as the highly technical requirements of film production and the sometimes explosive and powerful personalities that come with big money and big name artists. I not only manage the day-to-day operations of the film, but also schedule it, stage the background, and supervise an eighty-man crew. I am a field general of sorts, and every day is completely different. It's a very fluid challenge.

Is filmmaking as glamorous as everyone thinks?

It can be. Shooting in Paris on Sabrina or in Sicily on Mighty Aphrodite was certainly fun. Filming in 125-degree heat in a house in Florida with 25,000 black flies and gallons of putrid cow blood to keep them on set is not. Garbage dumps, and prisons are also low on the glamour list. There is a balance, but more often than not it seems we shoot nights in ten-degree temperatures, as I did with Robert De Niro and James Franco in City By The Sea, or we're trapped in a subway tunnel or on a decaying pier on the waterfront. It's certainly not all autographs and sunglasses.

Where is the toughest location you've ever filmed?

Shooting in a morgue may not be tough logistically but it certainly isn't pleasant. I'd have to say the Florida Everglades. On the Sean Connery film Just Cause we spent several weeks in a swamp with hundreds of alligators, snakes, and 105-degree heat. We faced very complicated logistics, had to bring in dozens of vehicles, tons of equipment, and a large crew. You have to be extremely well prepared and very disciplined to film safely and effectively in these conditions.

Why does it cost so much to make a feature film? Where does the money go?

The average studio film costs about fifty million dollars to produce. A camera package can run about $25,000 per week to rent. A 1000-foot film magazine (ten minutes worth) costs over $600, so film stock alone costs over $100,000 for an average movie. A crew is comprised of about 100 union workers, and a film often has fifty or more speaking parts and employs hundreds of extras; so payrolls run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per week. Then there are the lead actors, who often command millions of dollars. When you add in construction costs and travel and housing, the budget swells even more. Coffee alone can run $40,000. If you're shooting on location, costs run even higher. I often equate producing a film shot "out of town" to taking 100 of your friends on a four-month, first class vacation. No matter how much money you have, it seems that it's never enough. It may be show business, but it's still business.

How does a production company decide whether to build a set or film on location?

One variable is availability. If you want to film in the Sistine Chapel or a space station you can't, so you must build. Other "builds" are determined by time and script requirements. You might rent a restaurant for a day or two, but if you need it for a month, it is more practical to build. Also, by building, the company can move faster. Sets are pre-lit, diverse camera set-ups can be done more easily, and you have total control of your environment - meaning over ambient light and sound. On Sabrina, with Harrison Ford, we built a beach set at a studio in Queens, yet on Barbra Streisand's The Prince of Tides we shot at a practical beach location in South Carolina because the scenes needed to be wider in scope. Both art and money always play into the equation.

Is there a different approach to filming comedy than say drama, or an action film?

I worked on eighteen films with Woody Allen, most of which were comedies. What I learned is that by using single, moving master shots he was able to get fresh, spontaneous performances with reactions in frame simultaneously. There was room for the actors to ad lib, step on each other's lines, and so forth; so every take was different and therefore full of energy. It's a great way to film comedy. Drama, on the other hand, is often filmed with a lot of camera set-ups - reverse angles, over-the-shoulders, and close-ups. It is a style that is time consuming and meticulous, and repetitive by nature. Action films generally utilize lots of coverage and quick cuts. Director John McTiernan equated directing them to engineering, often needing shots of just six or twelve frames - fractions of a second. Each style is valid and effective if utilized properly.

Why aren't films shot in chronological order?

Primarily due to logistics and expense. We tend to do what we call "block shooting." This means if we have eight scenes at one location - say a law office - we film them all in one block of time, even if the scenes are scattered throughout the script. It would waste too much time and money to move from an apartment to a bakery to a street and them back to the apartment again. We also shoot all of our exterior day and night work in blocks whenever we can. The goal is to finish all the exteriors early in the schedule so that bad weather won't affect the final days and weeks of filming. Actor availability can also have an impact if a certain cast member is only available contractually for a certain period of time. So unless you're filming a play or a piece that has few locations, financial and time factors almost always dictate the smartest and most efficient shooting schedule.

How much impact do cinematographers have on a film compared to the director?

It is not uncommon for cameramen to have fifty or more films under their belt, while directors may have only a handful of credits and, since they often come from a writing background, they have far less practical knowledge. As a result, they often rely on the DP to do the lighting, create shots, and suggest lenses and coverage. Because films are moving pictures, and the technical aspects of the process revolve around light and photography, more often than not a director will express what he wants, and the DP will show him how to get it. Since DP's learn their craft rising through the ranks, they have been camera assistants and operators for many years and hence are highly experienced - so the contributions are huge.

How does somebody get into the film business?

First, you have to specialize and learn a craft. Films result from the collaboration of lots of artists, technicians and laborers, so the path to becoming a wardrobe designer is different from the path to becoming a sound mixer or an editor. The best way is to get in touch with the union that handles the job you're interested in and find out the requirements.

What is it like to film with animals?

Stressful. Shooting days run over a hundred thousand dollars apiece and it's tough enough to get a great performance out of a human being let alone a potbelly pig. On Someone Like You we did a scene that required putting three cows in a bridal shop window in Soho in Manhattan - and cows don't walk up stairs or ride on elevators. They also bolt when they are scared, weigh 800 pounds, and don't especially like wearing hula skirts, straw hats or Hawaiian leis - as ours had to. We shot the sequence in July with Ashley Judd and Marisa Tomei, and since it was winter in our film, we had to make it snow as well. Lots of meetings and scouts led us to a plan that included ramps to cover the stairs, reinforced steel railings in front of the plate glass windows, and tethers to hold the cows in place. Several very large shovels also came in handy.

Praise for The Big Picture

“This book is full of wisdom, insight, and practical filmmaking experience. It’s really what goes on day to day in the trenches. Where was this book when I was starting out?”
—WOODY ALLEN
“Every page is packed with such practical tips and insider information...this is a book that could well become a bible and standard reference text for aspiring filmmakers.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A veteran of over 40 films, Reilly earned his chops on the set and here delivers sage advice with the patient tone of a mentor. He uses real movies and contexts to exemplify real solutions to real problems; this could also be viewed as a primer in applied analytical thinking. This should be considered a valuable supplement to textbook instruction. Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal
“This is the best book on the nuts and bolts—and art— of filmmaking I’ve read. Tom Reilly is a consummate pro. His insightful practical instruction and explanation will rivet anyone who cares about movies and wants to know how sometimes mundane but often astonishingly difficult work on the set ends up as magic on the screen. Reilly’s vivid behind-the-camera descriptions of great directors and cinematographers at work will enlighten and entertain you. If this were a movie, I’d say to see it twice.”
—ERIC LAX
Woody Allen Biographer