Whenever people ask me what I do at work, I tell them I help out with making films. And whenever I say that, they’re intrigued: films? how glamorous!
Except…not really.
The reason the word film is so frequently associated with glamour is because most people are exposed exclusively to the final product. What they don’t see is all the mishaps, errors and edits that went into creating that glamourous product. What they don’t see is that everything that can possibly go wrong usually does.
And the sad part is, I’m not even being dramatic.
Take today, for example. I had the tripod set up. I had the camera mounted, the battery in, the SD card in. I even managed to plug the furry little mic into the correct jack (hey, when you’re a student, it’s the small victories that count…) I had a beautiful frame set up, my subject looked great and the light was co-operating. For once, everything was falling into place.
So I went ahead and pressed the record button.
One stimulating interview and exactly sixty minutes later, I felt great. The shoot went extremely well, we finished on schedule and I had some great sound bytes. I couldn’t wait to get started on the edit.
And so the pack-up process began. I ejected the battery and the CF card, took the camera off the tripod. Folded it up. Unplugged the mic, opened it up to take out the – oh, wait. There was no battery.
I stared wordlessly at the space where the battery should have been. Putting in a battery is probably the most elementary part of this whole process. There was no reason not to do it. I now have an hour of footage of my subject awkwardly moving his lips as no sound comes out and gesturing excitedly with no context.
I’ve been on the Dean’s List at BU for three straight years, but I don’t know that I have to put in a battery.
Now if you were in my place at this point in time, you would have two logical options:
a) Cry.
b) Cry.
But both of those options render themselves useless when you ask yourself the dreaded question: now what?
And then face the dreaded answer: Nothing.The footage is absolutely useless.
While my complete lack of grey matter may make it seem like the moral of the story is don’t be an idiot, it really is simpler than that – be prepared. Make sure all your equipment is ready to work, and don’t rush the setup. Go in with a checklist and include even the most basic steps, down to the pack-up.
It’s when you mess up the basics that you mess with the final product. It’s when you compromise on things like batteries and cards that you taint the perfection that people associate with your craft. I, for one, am not ready for my friends and family to think that my job is anything but clappers, bright lights and Matt Damon. And if all it takes to maintain that perception is being attentive and being prepared…then failure is not an option.
