Fox Movie Channel

The Diplomat by Michael Callahan

2009 has come and gone, and with it the recent Copenhagen Summit on climate change.  With the specter of the summit behind us, I felt it an opportune time to talk about my first experience as an Assistant Director.

In the scope of a twelve-hour production day, about twenty minutes may be spent actually filming anything.  (Roughly two of those minutes - hopefully - end up in the final product.)  Another forty minutes may be spent doing 'blocking rehearsals,' or rehearsals performed so that the crew knows where the action is taking place in the next scene.  

During these 60 minutes - spread out in patches and spurts throughout the day - the director runs the set.  He (or she) calls 'Action!'  He calls 'Cut!'

The other eleven hours?  They belong to the Assistant Director.

Put simply, the Assistant Director (otherwise known as the 1st AD, or simply 'AD') is responsible for scheduling each production day and 'running' the set to make sure the film is finished on time.  The AD is often one of the first crewmembers to be hired, and rightly so - they are largely responsible for deciding when scenes are shot, and in what order, to make the most of a production's time.  The AD schedules - in cooperation with the director and department heads - shot sequence, crew and actor arrival times, and anything else that may affect the speed of the production.  

It's a crucial job, because on a film set, time equals money.  A good Assistant Director is an invaluable and sought-after resource.  It's also why, when a film is behind schedule - no matter what the actual reasons may be - the Assistant Director is the first to be fired.

A professional AD came and spoke to our class during my first semester at USC.  With confidence and authority, our imposing guest speaker bellowed:

"If an AD is doing his job right, he's the most hated person on set."

The classic Assistant Director stereotype supports this assertion.  The image of the AD as screaming, squinting drill sergeant persists in popular culture, and its what I came to believe as truth in my first couple semesters at USC.  It's also why the position held no appeal to me.  I'm a lover, not a fighter, after all.

But as I spent more time on film sets, my views on Assistant Directing started to change.  Sure - the hollering, high-tension AD does exist, but the effectiveness of such dictatorial behavior comes at a price.  The crew follows orders, but reluctantly.  A twisted, gnarled tree of resentment grows from the poisonous seeds of disrespect.

The saying goes that you attract more flies with honey than vinegar, and no clearer example may be seen than on a film set.  Productions, by their very nature, are high-pressure environments.  On a student film set - and most professional ones, too - there is never enough time, resources, or money to get everything you want.

The main difference between a student film and a professional film?  Payment.   

Most crewmembers on a student film are there not for money, but experience, or the simple love of filmmaking.  Without the carrot of a paycheck, an Assistant Director has fewer opportunities to use the stick.  An excited and energetic crew will work much faster than a belabored and put-upon one.

And now, to return full-circle to that seemingly irrelevant Copenhagen opener:

In my opinion, a great Assistant Director is like a diplomat, at a summit between nations that share a common goal.

This past summer, I Assistant Directed a USC thesis film.  It was a huge production, a period piece.  It was my first time as an AD.  

Ever.  

It was only then that I learned that each department on a film set - camera, costume, makeup, etc. - is a nation unto itself.  Each has its own culture, traditions, and language.

That thesis film production was our international summit.  It was nine days long.  Each nation understood the goal that needed to be reached by summit's end.

But each nation - however benevolent in its intentions - had an agenda.  Each had its own tactics, strategies and methods of achieving that agreed-upon goal.

I was the lone diplomat whose job it was to negotiate between these nations.

And this was my first summit.

To be continued...