lennycarpenter's blog

Working as a 2nd camera assistant on the film Big Finn Hall was a great experience. The shoot ran for nine days from June 24-July 1, with two days off in between.

For the next two weeks, I will be crewing on my first professional film shoot.

I’ll be the 2nd camera assistant – or the clapper-loader, as it’s also known.

The role of the 2nd cam asst was discussed in a mini-documentary we watched in the film program about the production team of the TV show “Lost.”

One of the show’s producers said the 2nd camera assistant is usually a “beginner” job for those looking to get into camera work. The 2nd camera assistant is responsible for loading the film and then unloading it after it’s been used, careful not to expose it to the light or else ruin it – and totally undo the day’s work since the film is the final product of everyone’s work.

Then the producer remarked the irony of putting the most inexperienced member do what is “essentially the most important job” of the shoot.

The fact that a mistake in either loading or unloading the film can cost the production thousands of dollars for reshoots makes me a bit nervous.

Another task of the 2nd cam asst. is to fill out the camera report and label the film cans after unloading. Error in these tasks can also ruin film.

I have had experience as a camera assistant in student films – which included the tasks of loading and unloading the film – and the films turned out OK, so I know I can do the task.

Still, the idea of doing it several times a day is unnerving. I guess all I can do is prepare myself and do the job as best I can.

Being the “clapper” is another one of the 2nd camera assistant’s duties.

I’m a video gamer. I hesitate to call myself a serious gamer, since it might imply that’s all I do in my spare time, but I am definitely more than a casual gamer.

As someone who has other hobbies (guitar, photography, reading, writing), video gaming is a bit of a detriment to those hobbies because it is time-consuming, non-productive activity. Where I can write, take photos or play music and be able to share those with others, a six-hour gaming session will yield nothing save sore thumbs and achievements that exist only within the game’s virtual world.

So why do I play? Well, there are a variety of reasons that makes video gaming compelling to me.

Gameplay

The initial appeal of gaming of course is the game play. Like most guys, I like FPS' (First-Person Shooters), where I can look down the sights and shoot AI (Artificially Intelligent) characters or other players within the virtual world. The Call of Duty and Medal of Honor series are some favourites of mine.

Another favourite of mine is stealth-action games like the Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell series, where the object is to sneak and hide from enemies in a variety of settings (jungle, military base, urban street, etc.).
I love the strategic elements to these games.

I also like a couple of survivor-horror games, such as the Silent Hill series, where the character wanders through creepy environments and encountering various creatures and creepy characters.
There’s a variety of gameplay and genre types, such as RPG’s (Role-Playing Games), where you go on quests and upgrade your custom-designed character’s skillsets. And there’s the popular music games (Guitar Hero, Rockband) that are great for parties and get-togethers.

Story

Couchiching First Nation sets up a toll booth on a highway. First Nation communities and organizations protest the implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax.

These actions have drawn criticism and anger from some non-native people – at times inciting what some would describe as racist attitudes. What these people overlook or ignore are the reasons and history behind the protests and generalize

These ignorant attitudes reminded me of Indigenous Voices & Vision class last semester.

The course, which is essentially Native studies, was mandatory in our program. There were 40 students in this class, with six of us being Native. Of the 34 non-Native students, half were either from southern Ontario (14) or outside the province (3). The rest were from Thunder Bay (14) or another part of northern Ontario.

When polled, only a handful had even heard of residential school, the high suicide rates among Aboriginal youth, and many of the socio-economic issues that affect First Nations. Only a few had taken a course in high school that taught Native history and issues.

When we had class discussions, some opinions or thoughts had no consideration of historical context or background on any of the issues. One student opined that if all Canadians REALLY were equal, then First Nations would “pay taxes” and have the same fishing and hunting limitations “as the rest of us.”

For several students, this mindset persisted throughout the first month of the course.

This lack of understanding surprised me. While I knew there are a lot of non-Natives who are ignorant and uninformed of Native issues, the lack of information or amount of disinformation was disturbing.

I was watching the NHL playoffs last Sunday and decided to get a snack during an intermission.

On my way to the store, I turned at an intersection and saw a guy approaching. He was short, a bit stocky, and looked about my age if not younger. I continued to listen to my music and look straight ahead as we were about to pass when he stopped. I could hear him slightly over my music, so I stopped and removed my headphones.

“Hey, man, what’s your name?” he asked. His was obviously intoxicated, but his demeanour was friendly.

Instead of answering his question, I asked him “Why? What’s yours?”

I suppose I sounded defensive, because next he said, “Hey, I don’t mean anything. I wouldn’t mess around with you, big guy.” Then he moved in closer, still friendly. He put his arm around me and started to pat my back. It was awkward, but since he was drunk, I just let him be friendly. I didn’t want to insult him.

However, after a couple of friendly pats, they became forceful slaps, so I blocked his arm, stepped back and said, “Don’t touch me.”

His demeanour changed immediately. He shoved me, took an aggressive stance and said, “You wanna go?! Come on, then! Come on!”

I clenched my fists, ready to defend myself. He maintained his stance, still calling me on, waiting for me to make the first move.

After a grueling second semester that included proposal, concept, treatment and script-writing; nine 12-hour film shoots; hours upon hours in the editing lab; and meeting consecutive deadlines, I completed my first year in film production.

It was a big challenge for me to get all the work done.Any of my past teachers or employers knew about my horrendous procrastinating habits.
For most of my school life, I rarely handed in an assignment that was either fully complete or that I felt satisfied with. So many times have I put off homework until the last minute, causing me to stay up late to complete whatever I can.

Whenever I got an assignment, my first thoughts were “OK, I can do a great job on this. I’ll get an A.” Then I would put it off, and day-by-day, my initial goal of an A would slowly decline to a B, then a C. And as I worked feverishly on the assignment the night before it’s due, I would be satisfied to simply get a passing grade.

This cycle carried over to work. I put off assignments until days before they were due, but by then they had built up and I couldn’t finish them all in time. This happened consistently and virtually cost me a job.

Afterwards, when I was unemployed, I thought long and hard on why I procrastinate. And I concluded that there are two main reasons:

First, I’m a perfectionist. Once I consider a project, I set high standards for myself and think “Yep, it’s gonna be very good.” Then I’ll spend so much time on getting some finer details “perfect” on a small part of project that I don’t look forward to finishing the rest.
Or once I reach an obstacle or I get off to a slow start, I put it off because I’m afraid of not being able to reach the high-standards I set for myself.

My second semester in the film production program is chugging along steadily. I was told by a second-year that this semester would be “intense,” and I get what he’s saying because so far, there is little room to slack off and put off projects.

Our main film this semester is a 4-6 minute sound film. Last semester, our two films did not have sound, so the addition of it will create a different on-set environment then what we’re used to. Not only do we have to worry about whether the sound levels are good and eliminating background noise, but the addition of a sound department means more co-ordination is involved. So our shoots will rely a lot on assistant directors and/or production managers, whose job is to plan and ensure each department (lighting, camera, sound) is on top of their tasks.

The assistant director does this task so the director can work with the actors, since the addition of sound means there’s spoken lines – and the delivery of those lines largely influence the feel of the scene.

We’re also using a different camera (Arri SRII) this semester, so this first month we’ve been practicing with the camera and sound equipment and working to become qualified to work in those departments.

This weekend we will be putting our acquired skills to the test in a film noir project. We have been split into three crews and will work on separate film shoots. The directors for each film are graduates of the program, while the second-year students will serve as mentors for each department.

I applied for a camera position and got it, so I’m pretty excited about that. The director of my group is going to stream the shoot on his website, so you can see the filmmaking process in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwQMgb4bJlY

[Note: the audio was disabled by Youtube because I used a Led Zeppelin song in the opening sequence (it was "The Rain Song") - which is too bad because the songs set the mood, plus I had natural sounds for the hockey part]

This semester in the film production program, there are smaller film projects that require the use of a video camera.

Before we can sign out the camera to use for our assignments, we have to produce a short video that demonstrates our knowledge of the camera’s features. This is called our DVX proficiency.

So last Thursday, I took out the camera and asked my friend to be the subject.

Initially, I only intended to shoot a hockey sequence at an outdoor rink, with my friend taking slapshots and such. I also wanted to shoot him lacing up his skates.

My instructor had given us a list of “challenges” to showcase in our proficiency video. It listed things like spotlight, backlight, white balance, shutter speed and close-ups.

After my friend came to my place to prepare for the shoot, I looked over the list and wondered how I can incorporate those challenges into my video. Then I thought I should have a little sequence where he decides to go out and picks up his stick and skates.

I had to think “Okay, so what’s he doing before he goes out? How do we see him ‘decide’ to go?

I came up with the shots and camera angles on the spot, directing my friend on what to do. I kept editing in mind, thinking “Okay, so he gets up and heads to the skates, then I’ll cut to a close-up on the skates with his hands entering the frame to pick them up, then continue the picking up in a wide shot, where he’ll then walk toward the camera to end the sequence.”

So the first week of the SEVEN Fitness Challenge is coming to a close.

Those who really pushed themselves at any point this week surely felt it the next day. Ha! I learned from past experiences not to push myself too hard after a lengthy layoff from intense physical activity.

One time, after a three-month layoff, I did three heavy sets of squats in my first workout back. My quads and glutes paid me back for the next five days. I looked like an old man whenever I wanted to stand: I would grab the chair or a ledge and slowly ease myself up.
So this week, I kept it light.

The fitness assessment was a workout in itself. I felt it in my abs, chest, triceps and quads the next day. So I did those same exercises for my next two workouts.

What I like about this fitness challenge is that it encompasses all aspects of fitness. People have varying definitions of what it means to be fit. Young males (including myself, when I was younger) tend to think of having muscle mass as being fit or “in shape.”

However, the assessment incorporates movements that include all aspects of fitness, which are strength (curl ups, push ups), cardiovascular (step test), endurance (curl ups, push ups, step test, wall sit), and flexibility (stretch test).

My results:
Push ups – 7
Curl ups – 20
Wall sit – 64 seconds
Stretch test – -22cm
Step test – Resting: 72 bpm After test: 136 bpm

As I mentioned in my previous post, I haven’t been really active for the past three years, so I wasn’t surprised at my push-up and curl-up results.

I was active as a kid. I regularly played hockey, baseball, and soccer, both with friends and in organized leagues. I was rarely the “best” athlete out there, nor would I consider myself “fit”, but I was active and expending loads of energy.

This changed when I entered high school, where I was only active in gym class or on a winter activity day.

When I was about 19, I wanted to move from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active one (and to gain muscle, as scrawny young men are prone to desire), so I joined a gym.

I had never lifted weights before, so going into my first session, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I asked the gym employee to show me some moves. I learned about the basics in lifting weights, such as the main movements, sets and repetitions. I read up on it more when I wasn’t working out, learning about other moves, diet, and the science behind all of it.

I worked out consistently for about 1.5 years, putting on the muscle and strength. And people noticed, which felt awesome.

Then, for financial and work-related reasons, I stopped going. Attempts to go back were thwarted by these reasons and others, including a couple of injuries (lower back sprain, minor rotator-cuff sprain).

I lost the muscle and gained unwanted weight. For the past three years, intense activity has been sporadic at best. In the fall of 2007, I played in a ball hockey league for two months, and in the summer of 2008, I went treeplanting (where I happily lost 25 pounds).