A(n on going) List of Set Positions

You've always seen it on the credits, but what exactly is a best boy grip (and other positions)?

(to be filled in later)

-- Director
The Director is the person who directs the efforts that go into making the film. From the scrip (sometimes), lighting, and performances. Depending on the project he or she can be highly or not at all involved in almost every aspect of the film making process.

-- Producer
There are many types of producers, but in this case we will concentrate on the one who does all the behind the scenes work. From creating a budget breakdown, bringing together talented people the director wants and needs, and taking care of all the myriad pre-production, shooting, and post issues that arise.

-- Director of Photography (DP)
The Director of Photography works with the director to come up with the "look" of the film. From camera angles, lens, lighting, and movement.

-- Key Grip
The Key grip along with the Gaffer works with the Director of Photography to execute the aesthetic design of the film. The Key grip is the head of the grip team and is also in charge of safety on set.

-- Best Boy Grip BBG
The Best Boy Grip is the Key Grip's right hand person. They are in charge of the inventory, repairs, ordering, and overall management of all the gripology as well as hiring and maintaing the crew needs for the day. They are also in charge of the paperwork and is the liaison to the producers for grip side.

-- Grips
The Grip team in the American lighting system is in charge of everything lighting that does not plug in. That could be reflectors, bounces, diffusions frames, and can also be rigging, flagging, adjusting color with gels the light units. They also work camera support with dolly, and safety.

-- Gaffer
The Gaffer along with the Key grip works with the DP to execute the aesthetic design of the film. The Gaffer is the head of the electric team.

-- Best Boy Electric
The Best Boy Electric is the Gaffer's right hand person. They are in charge of the inventory, repairs, ordering, and overall management of the lighting unit and peripheral equipment as well as hiring and maintaing the crew needs for the day. They are also in charge of the paperwork and is the liaison to the producers for electric side. The BBE is also generally in charge of the power set up from the generator to the individual units; balancing the amperage of each "leg" over hundreds and even thousands of feet of cable to make sure that each unit get the appropriate amount of power.

-- Electricians or Electricss
Electricians in the American Lighting System are in charge of all the units (and their appropriate power), to "light" the set as well as any lighting effects that involve electronic units.

An anecdote to explain the difference between the two teams is that the electrics put up the lights, and the grips put up the shadows.

-- Scripty is shorthand for the Script Supervisor. They are in charge of the continuity, and making sure that the lines are correct (or that what is important in the lines are covered).

If anyone reading this works in a particular area on set and would like to submit a definition of their department or perhaps a more accurate definition than what is already listed, please post in the comments or e-mail us.

It's Official! An Endgame is a non-profit!

The Wilkins Parkinson's Foundation has brought us under their 501(c)3 charter to make our short film a non-profit project. All donations to our budget will now be fully tax deductible (we'll have donation links up on our page as soon as our account info is set up).

Bill Wilkins, the Executive Director and Co-founder of the WPF is the man Katie Peabody at the Michael J Fox Foundation introduced me to (see our development post). He is also one of the eight original members of the MJFF's Patient Council.

Here is his bio from the Wilkins Parkinson's Foundation site.

"Bill Wilkins (WPF Executive Director & Co-Founder): Bill’s background in out-of-home media began in 1960 in Los Angeles. He held key management and executive positions in Las Vegas & Chicago, and in 1980 became the first President of the Institute of Outdoor Advertising (New York City) to come from within the industry itself. He founded Wilkins Media Company in Atlanta in 1987. WMC has since become the oldest, largest independent out-of-home media specialist in the country."

During that early brainstorming session with Katie, I told her that I was looking for someone who would be willing to host our project, would also be supportive for the story we are trying to tell by giving us autonomy to make the creative decisions, and at the same time be willing let us donate any money gained by the completed short towards Parkinson's Disease research though the Michael J. Fox Foundation. A pretty tall and specific order. It's no wonder to me now that it took Katie about five seconds to think of Mr. Wilkins and put me in touch with him.

Since our first conversation a few months ago, I have found Mr. Wilkins to be a gentleman who’s word is always good, a man willing to share his deep reservoir of experience, and he’s funny. What more could you ask for in a benefactor?

Mr. Wilkins has been nothing but incredibly supportive for the artistic and philanthropic goals for our project. He did not shy away from and is even behind our unyielding portrayal of Parkinson's disease in An Endgame. With his knowledge of advertising and passion for fighting Parkinson's Disease in creative and educationally expansive ways, he is an ideal match to be the patron of our project.   

I couldn't be happier or more excited to be working along the Wilkins Parkinson Foundation and Mr. Wilkins to make this short film. 

Cory Line

August 12th, 2013 

* * *

If you are in the Atlanta area, the WPF has two big fundraisers coming up soon.

Polo for Parkinsons on September 29, 2013
This year the WPF is partnering with the Emory University’s Movement Disorder Center.

And the 10th Annual Countrified Rock for Research on October 4, 2013.

Take a second to check them out!

Cory Line - Director

Bio:

Cory Line was born in South Korea and adopted by parents Mary and Robin and siblings Chris and Julie in Atlanta, Ga USA. Always interested in film, he attended the University of Virginia where he double majored in Filmic Studies in Critical Analysis and Production (a program he created) and English Language and Literature. As the sole student in the Filmic Studies program, he thought he was a sure thing thing for Valedictorian, but was instead last in his class.

After a too short but enjoyable two years in Paris earning a culinary degree in cuisine and patisserie and working in a one-star Michelin restaurant off the Champs-Élysées, he was offered a full-time position at said restaurant. However, Cory decided that if he really wanted to work in film, he better do it before he started making serious money in another field. He still cooks though. Don't worry.

Soon, he was in Los Angeles where he met his muse, Amanda Thomas, and started working in feature film lighting under the tutelage and eventual friendship of David Tayar. The two filmmakers then decided to make some movies of their own, and Cory thought that in order to do so, he better write a biography first. "And [he] has and this is it."

Director's Statement:

That bio was definitely not written by me by the way, and Amanda certainly did not ask "Hey what about me, your muse?" when I first read it to her.

An Endgame will be my first directed project since college, and I'm very excited about it. I've spent the last few years working in the lighting industry, which is admittedly where my filmic education thus far had been most lacking. In college we moved around the two lights we had and would sometimes use "that red plastic" on the light. Working on set as a best boy grip, which is where all the art in lighting happens (don't tell the electrics), has obviously expanded my knowledge of lighting and many other colored plastics, but it has more importantly taught me how a good set operates and how a good director conducts the set.

That being said, this project would not be nearly as successful without David Tayar as my Director of Photography and Mayon Denton as my Producer.

Now, if you're interested in a lengthy and mostly theoretical director's statement here it is: 

Right now, at this point at the start of my career, I think that movies are meant firstly to be enjoyed. That doesn't mean they don't challenge the audience, and they don't have to be liked by everyone (though that would be nice). I don't agree with the crop of movies gaining traction that are seemingly designed to alienate the audience. There are better ways, more complex emotions, and deeper connections I'd like to have with my audience than making them feel resentful of the time they've given me. 

I want my movies to be beautiful and look beautiful; in that order (any good DP would agree). 

I lament the trend of independent cinema starting to have the same aesthetic as television. I supposed with (potentially) less people going to the theater and being content to watch movies at home, that the visual style would gravitate to that of TV (and this is a general comment obviously). A lot of that comes from some directors being laser focused on their monitor and not seeing it beyond a television sized canvas. It's difficult for a huge wide shot to pay off on something the size of a TV screen. The Searchers doesn't look or even feel like the same movie on a TV versus a theater screen. While I don't think the trend of home viewership can or should be ignored, there is something about having the huge wide shot slap you in the face in the theater, or to see the nuances of an actor's entire body that may not be as impressive or apparent on the small screen. 

I strongly believe in filmmaking as a collaborative effort. That doesn't mean I'll be asking the caterer how to compose shots (something my mother though would happen if I was the caterer*), but I think that once you think that your way is the only way or even the best way (unless you're Mr. Welles, M. Jeunet, or Sig. Fellini) that you've started to lose your way. 

I also tend to be on the side of a the script as a loose guide. I can write something that I think is amazing, but if it doesn't work then it doesn't work. I remember watching the special features of Gosford Park, and seeing Mr. Altman with the actors (not glued to a monitor) and after the take asking the scripty if they hit all the important points. I really like that idea. It's the actors' (gender neutral) performances that carry a movie, and if you've done the leg work and talked through the aesthetic design and camera moves with the DP, then you can concentrate on the performances. Letting the actors be the characters you've hired them to be seems like a no brainer to me. Unless of course I'm adapting a Mr. Gaiman work, then the actors need to just say the f-ing lines. 

I think it's naive to ignore the economics of filmmaking i.e. not wasting money, people's time, or making movies that no one wants to see (or at least movies that are more expensive than the audience who is willing to see it is large). Does that mean that movies can't be everything I've listed above because I'm not ignoring the economics of filmmaking? Hell, no. Look at Kubrick. He was the master of knowing his audience, of making movies that were sensational, looked amazing, and that always made their money back. 

This statement is embarrassingly open, and I don't mind. I don't think creativity in general is something to be hoarded or hidden (unlike ideas in their gestative state). I think it calls into light the ideas of responsibility and openness. I don't want someone to feel like they've wasted their time and money in making or experiencing my works. I want to stay true to these tenants, and I also think that anyone supporting me at this stage deserves to know how the mind that is spending their money works and thinks.

Finally, I don't think that the movies I want to make are the only ones that should be made. I love movies, going to the movies, and watching movies with my muse (that time was me... well, they both were but...). I gain inspiration from all types of movies, books, TV, and often from the most random and oddest places.

But mostly, of course, from my muse.

Cory Line

August 3, 2013

* My mother would like me to clarify that this is humorous exaggeration and that she is not in fact, in her words "an idiot."

David Tayar - Director of Photography

The Director of Photography (or DP) is another name for the cinematographer. Here is our DP's bio as released by the Israeli Government:

INFORMATION REDACTED codename “David Tayar” was born on August 2, INFO in the small village of REDACTED, Israeli. Recruited for an elite branch of the Israeli Special Forces in the REDACTED Division at the age of 17, he was trained by INFO REDACTED and was active from 2003-INFO completing successful missions in INFORMATION, REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED, and Nashville, Tennessee USA. It was on the Nashville mission “Music City” where contact with Tayar went dark and he was presumed REDACTED. Tayar popped back on the grid in the year INFO in Los Angeles, California working as a lighting technician, and recent intelligence places him as a highly sought after DP. Efforts to require Tayar have resulted in the loss of several highly trained assets and future efforts have been suspended indefinitely. He is currently working for INFO REDACTED INFO, a globally broadcast children’s programming network.

David's IMDB Page

Umm...anyway...

As I posted earlier, I met David through a chance set of circumstances. He was replacing the Key Grip on a show I was on. As much as I liked his work sensibilities, personality, and filmmaking philosophy, I was really impressed with his eye and natural abilities to catch the important things going on in any given shot. David and I tend to have common preferences for camera movement, lighting style, and overall aesthetic.

When I first started making movies in college, I could never understand Directors that hand the camera over to someone else. So much can go wrong. They might miss a great moment because they aren't thinking about the shot, performance, or story like you are. They might have their own agenda in making sure the movie looks good without a care of if it is any good. With David, I feel like I'm handing the camera over to a much more dangerous, heavily Israeli accented version of myself (there is not a word in that bio that isn't true by the way).

Much like Mayon, David is also of the craftsman work sensibilities. As much as he cares deeply for the visual presentation of the film, he is more concerned with the whole quality of the film. One of David's many mantras is that no one will give a crap about what the movie looks like if it's no good.

At the same time, it still needs to look good, and with David, I know it will.

Mayon Denton - Producer

Bio:

 As a student at UCLA, Mayon started his own production company, DRG Films. He has produced music videos, commercials, documentaries, TV pilots, and feature films. Over the last five years, Mayon has written, directed, and produced numerous projects. One of Mayon’s noteworthy projects is a feature-length documentary entitled “A Love Supreme: U-N-I & Ro Blvd.," a story that focuses on the evolution of Los Angeles' hip-hop culture. The project featured on of L.A.’s most recently successful hip-hop groups, “U-N-I.” It was screened at the MGM Towers in Los Angeles, inside the International Creative Management Theater (ICM). “A Love Supreme” received distribution and was sold in Target and Best Buy.

Mayon produced the feature film, “Fingerprints”(2013); the television pilot, “How to Succeed at Birth” (2012); an award winning short film, “Lil Tokyo Reporter”(2012); and the award winning feature film “Against the Grain.” “Against the Grain” premiered at the Hollywood Black Film Festival winning both the the Audience Award and the Honorable Mention for Best Feature Film. At the Pan African Film Festival, the film won the Audience Favorite Narrative Award. At the Gasparilla International Film Festival it received the Grand Jury Award for Filmmaking.

Mayon is currently developing and producing four other feature films, “Spin,” which is about the birth of the hip-hop culture in Los Angeles; “Wait a Minute Mr. Postman,” which is the story of the early writers and legends of Motown Records;"Primal/Ethereal," a coming of age story; and a thriller currently titled “Fallout Shelter.”

These projects have allowed Mayon to gain the knowledge to become the passionate filmmaker he has always envisioned himself to be. Mayon explains, “Filmmaking is my passion, my love, and my life. Every aspect of filmmaking fascinates me from the initial idea, which leads to the creative process, to the business side of filmmaking (the investment/money-making side). I am intrigued by the way in which a few words can metamorphasize into a screenplay, and finally . . . The completion of something great, that STORY, which can be watched, felt, and embedded into the hearts and minds of its viewers. The storytelling process is truly amazing!”
Mayon's IMDB Page

Cory on Mayon:

It may seem ridiculous now, but I was extremely anxious before my first meeting with Mayon (something I don’t think I ever told him). I first met Mayon in mid February of this year, and I was worried that he would be this smooth-talking moneyman, who might not like or “get” the project or want to change it to something different entirely. It was my first time meeting with a "Producer" in the role of director presenting my own project. My previous dealings with Producers as the Best Boy Grip were very straightforward in terms of ordering grip and electric equipment, reporting the Lost and Damaged (L&D), and doing payroll. Even though he was a friend of David's and had worked with many of my friends, I had never met him before and honestly still didn't know what to expect.

That was all laid to rest almost immediately. David and I met with Mayon at Muse on 8th, an ok vegan friendly coffee shop (I was conducting a month long vegan experiment at the time, so Mayon was probably more wary of me), and it became readily apparent that Mayon is exactly the type of person I like working with -- hard working with little ego (hence little drama), natural teacher, problem solver --  what i like to call the craftsman work ethic. He's also at the point in his career where he can pick and chose the projects he actually wants to involve himself with without having to chase any paycheck that comes along (very reassuring for a first time director). Mayon also has a unique sense empathy that allows him to be incredibly supportive for the vision of the directors and content makers he works with.

So, quite simply, I really couldn’t be more pleased to have Mayon as the producer on An Endgame and our many more projects to come.

On becoming a Non-Profit venture (soonish)

Just signed and sent in the agreement form with the Parkinson's non-profit foundation, and when we get a copy back, we'll officially be a non-profit and can accept donations to the budget! Very excited!