Well, I've been dragged through hell on the new film over the past couple of days, so wanted to both vent and give an example to both director/producers and crew on how NOT to conduct yourself.
I am the primary Executive Producer. Of a $4000 budget, $3000 is mine. I do have one other Executive Producer, who is also my sound recordist. He was the sound recordist on my last film as well. Between that film and this one he went out got a nice Rode Shotgun, boom pole, a really nice Korg field recorder etc... So, by taking money from him as an investor I got him as a free sound recordist, ready to roll with his own gear. He is also heading up my set construction which involves dressing a cinder block wall mini storage unit with a couple of false walls to look like a bomb/fallout shelter.
Ok, the stage is set.
So yesterday morning he calls me, and tells me to buy two locks because he has rented the mini storage units. One for the set, one for makeup/dressing room/craft services, etc...
Wait I say, We're not shooting for 6 weeks, we were going to get them about 10 days before the shoot which is plenty of time for construction, and allows us to only pay 1 month rent.
Well, he says, I made an executive decision that we needed to get them now because the ones I think are the best fit might not have units available then. Oh by the way, not only do we now have to pay two months rent, but instead of $60 a month the units are $100 a month.
Hold on I say, you just TRIPLED the location budget, and you didn't consult me or the producer?
I made an executive decision. Oh, by the way they aren't in the complex we had talked about. They are in another complex in the middle of nowhere, which will be good for sound, but will require a 15 minute round trip car ride to use the bathroom.
WHOA! I say, that won't work. We have a tight shooting schedule. Shutting down for 25 minutes because the lead actress has to pee is going to be a MAJOR problem. You need to try and go get out of it right now.
He says I can't get out of it. Money has changed hands, contracts signed.
Ok, let's pause for me to say IF he was not an investor, AND a free sound man, he's fired, right there, on the spot, and not reimbursed for the storage rental, but he is.
12 hours of on and off arguing ensues, and last night I finally convince him he made a mistake, the biggest one being making a decision like that without consulting me or the producer. He says he will call this morning, and try to cancel the contract.
I get a call from him this morning, and he is back to "These are exactly what we need, you'll see, I'm not going to cancel it".
So, at this point I am forced to go with it just because the cost of hiring a soundman outweighs the costs associated with this location we have never scouted, and that not a single person associated with the film has ever even seen.
What he doesn't seem to understand is that this location COULD be perfect, and he could run sound on this film worthy of an Oscar, and I would never, ever, ever, even for a second ever consider working with him again on any level. I wouldn't hire him to run sound for me while I filmed my dog getting groomed. At this point all I can do is put on my happy face, let it go, and mentally mark him off my list of anyone I would every even consider hiring or letting invest in the future.
So, there you go, as I said, a cautionary tale about what can happen when other people invest money in your film (they think they have the authority to make decisions), and how NOT to handle yourself when you are part of a production team (going rogue).
I am the primary Executive Producer. Of a $4000 budget, $3000 is mine. I do have one other Executive Producer, who is also my sound recordist. He was the sound recordist on my last film as well. Between that film and this one he went out got a nice Rode Shotgun, boom pole, a really nice Korg field recorder etc... So, by taking money from him as an investor I got him as a free sound recordist, ready to roll with his own gear. He is also heading up my set construction which involves dressing a cinder block wall mini storage unit with a couple of false walls to look like a bomb/fallout shelter.
Ok, the stage is set.
So yesterday morning he calls me, and tells me to buy two locks because he has rented the mini storage units. One for the set, one for makeup/dressing room/craft services, etc...
Wait I say, We're not shooting for 6 weeks, we were going to get them about 10 days before the shoot which is plenty of time for construction, and allows us to only pay 1 month rent.
Well, he says, I made an executive decision that we needed to get them now because the ones I think are the best fit might not have units available then. Oh by the way, not only do we now have to pay two months rent, but instead of $60 a month the units are $100 a month.
Hold on I say, you just TRIPLED the location budget, and you didn't consult me or the producer?
I made an executive decision. Oh, by the way they aren't in the complex we had talked about. They are in another complex in the middle of nowhere, which will be good for sound, but will require a 15 minute round trip car ride to use the bathroom.
WHOA! I say, that won't work. We have a tight shooting schedule. Shutting down for 25 minutes because the lead actress has to pee is going to be a MAJOR problem. You need to try and go get out of it right now.
He says I can't get out of it. Money has changed hands, contracts signed.
Ok, let's pause for me to say IF he was not an investor, AND a free sound man, he's fired, right there, on the spot, and not reimbursed for the storage rental, but he is.
12 hours of on and off arguing ensues, and last night I finally convince him he made a mistake, the biggest one being making a decision like that without consulting me or the producer. He says he will call this morning, and try to cancel the contract.
I get a call from him this morning, and he is back to "These are exactly what we need, you'll see, I'm not going to cancel it".
So, at this point I am forced to go with it just because the cost of hiring a soundman outweighs the costs associated with this location we have never scouted, and that not a single person associated with the film has ever even seen.
What he doesn't seem to understand is that this location COULD be perfect, and he could run sound on this film worthy of an Oscar, and I would never, ever, ever, even for a second ever consider working with him again on any level. I wouldn't hire him to run sound for me while I filmed my dog getting groomed. At this point all I can do is put on my happy face, let it go, and mentally mark him off my list of anyone I would every even consider hiring or letting invest in the future.
So, there you go, as I said, a cautionary tale about what can happen when other people invest money in your film (they think they have the authority to make decisions), and how NOT to handle yourself when you are part of a production team (going rogue).
