tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2578728360904637566.post7889302814328194537..comments2024-01-11T03:09:43.960-08:00Comments on The Hills Are Burning: "That's Not My Job."A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06280771470428710391noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2578728360904637566.post-74185402148390952162009-08-19T23:58:16.300-07:002009-08-19T23:58:16.300-07:00D - That's a good response. I usually go with ...D - That's a good response. I usually go with "I'm doing my job. Someone else needs to be doing theirs." Or "The budget may be low, but we can still act like professionals."A.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06280771470428710391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2578728360904637566.post-71854052358994291242009-08-19T11:31:28.700-07:002009-08-19T11:31:28.700-07:00Stick to your guns. Back in the day, my response w...Stick to your guns. Back in the day, my response was," if you want me to do my job and yours, i'll need more money." Nowadays it's,"the budget might be low, but the work's the same."<br />DDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466991423411721535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2578728360904637566.post-80750560314653630722009-08-18T17:38:46.625-07:002009-08-18T17:38:46.625-07:00Nathan - You make a good point. If you're goin...Nathan - You make a good point. If you're going to be moving or borrowing stuff from another department, at least make sure that the appropriate people know about it. <br /><br />Michael - I too, was eager to help anybody and everybody on my first few jobs, but that got old fast. It's one thing to lend a hand when a hand's really needed, but it's another to lend a hand because of some very poor planning on someone else's part. In situations like that, I feel like I'm just enabling them to do it again.<br /><br />Sound guys and I usually get along like peanut butter and jelly, but yeah, this one was a jerk. Unfortunately, I'm too nice of a person to tell him where he could shove his microphone. I did, however, "politely" remind him that he's the one with the word "sound" in his job title, not me. Then I hopped off the truck, told them to finish packing their own damn stuff and went home.<br /><br />Douglas - Playing well with others is so important, especially since every department relies on another. So why someone would purposely act like such an entitled ass is beyond my comprehension. And for the record, I know not all sound guys are like that. Sound is often one of the nicest departments I meet on set, but now that I know you're just being nice to get something from us juicers.... hm... <br />:)A.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06280771470428710391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2578728360904637566.post-67668687361114116742009-08-18T12:21:20.880-07:002009-08-18T12:21:20.880-07:00As a sound guy, I'm sorry you ran into an ass....As a sound guy, I'm sorry you ran into an ass.<br /><br />Some of us are jerks. Most of us understand that nice is good, because sound is often the first thing to be compromised on, especially if the director has discovered the 'magic' of ADR. We often need odd things from other departments, so 'plays-well-with-others' is one of the more important parts of the job.<br /><br />The person in wardrobe? Yeah, I will come bearing coffee, snacks, or even flowers, because I might need snap tabs sewn into clothing for my lavs, and I really, really don't want that dupioni silk used, as it will kill dialog all day. Juicers? I will do anything I can to make your lives easier, because I'm gonna need some large, noisy HMI ballast moved at some point, and it won't be fun for either of us. And unblimped generators? Sure, it was cheaper, but running all that cable to get it far enough from set? Yeah...sucks.<br /><br />Most of us are good...But the bad apples stick out.Douglashttp://www.burnettecreative.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2578728360904637566.post-52092969499806902362009-08-18T10:46:00.839-07:002009-08-18T10:46:00.839-07:00The lack of professionalism you describe is one of...The lack of professionalism you describe is one of the worst aspects of the low budget/indie world. Once you start helping the other departments (in effect, doing their jobs) there's no end to it -- you'll be run ragged doing everything but your own job. That's no way to learn anything useful, nor will it favorably impress those in a position to hire you on the next job.<br /><br />Being too eager to please, I fell prey to this on my first few jobs, but that experience taught me the importance of ignoring all other distractions to focus on my own work first -- which was the first step on the road to becomming a professional. <br /><br />There are a lot of negatives in working union jobs, but one good thing is that when necessary, we all help the other departments -- but only as long as that help is requested or required. Otherwise, we leave it alone. Each department is run by pros, and they can handle it. <br /><br />Some of the nicest, smartest people I've met on sets have been in the sound department, but every now and then one will turn out to be an arrogant, sarcastic jerk. If sounds like you ran into one of those -- and I really hope you told him to shove his precious fucking microphone where the sun don't shine.Michael Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02569781786039595929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2578728360904637566.post-11458714013977283312009-08-17T10:56:16.618-07:002009-08-17T10:56:16.618-07:00Another problem is that if something is seen as &q...Another problem is that if something is seen as "anyobody's" or "everybody's" job, it's really nobody's job. That's how shit falls through the cracks...because everyone will walk right by a problem and assume that someone else will deal with it.<br /><br />And, no...I don't want any other department handling my stuff either. As long as my department is the only one messing with our stuff, we know where it is. And if I'm borrowing sandbags or stingers from G/E, you can be damned sure the best boy knows exactly what I've got and you can be sure that at the end of the day, he's going to acknowledge that I just returned "5 of this and 7 of that". We both like it a lot better that way.Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00648438549121320566noreply@blogger.com