What do you guys do when you have to shoot and you've had no sleep? I have to be a PA in 2 hours and I only got 2 hours of sleep... thats at least 12 hours of volunteer work with no sleep... im considering ditching 
What do you do when you've gotten no sleep and you have a shoot?
- Thread starter RealJasonBourne
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What do you guys do when you have to shoot and you've had no sleep? I have to be a PA in 2 hours and I only got 2 hours of sleep... thats at least 12 hours of volunteer work with no sleep... im considering ditching
There's not a lot to do, in that kind of situation, aside from making sure you don't wind up in those kind of situations again. If you're tired enough (and with no sleep) to be a danger on set, they don't need you there.
Also, remember that your filmmaking circles are out there. Grats on earning that first "don't rely on this guy" point, in your local area. Since you're supposed to be on set in two hours, that ain't a lot of advance notice to your team. Suck it up and notify them now, regardless. Two hours notice (and awareness) is better than none.
Maybe sleep for the next two hours too?? It's not often that I've found myself with less than four hours sleep, especially if I know something is the next day..
- Man up, (unless you're >60yo, then I'll cut you some slack. You're @ss had better not be 20-something and whining about 2hrs of sleep.)
- Power naps when you can (those fun little two to five minute jobbies!)
- Lotsa Monster.
- Pseudoephedrine HCL (Sudafed) 12hr extended release tablets - your gateway drug to speed!
- Plan ahead better.
- Sleep later.
And don't tell/whine to everyone on the set "Wah, wah, wah. I got no sleep." That just p!sses people off because of your poor planning - unless you have a pretty d@mn good REASON.
(Excuse. Reason. NEVER EVER confuse one with the other.)
Make the director/Producer and the one other guy you directly gotta work with aware of your situation - Then STFU!
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alright fine im going, but if i end up going crazy and do this to the director during the shoot, im blaming you guys
I struggle to sleep the night before the first day of shooting on each film I DP. I start mulling over lighting plans and stressing about how I'm going to do it and if it's going to be good enough etc. etc.
Bottom line - I grab a Red Bull on the way to set and just suck it up. I've had to AC on many occasions with only a few hours sleep, and I've even been the victim of a forced call, where we've wrapped at 4am (hour drive home) to have a call time of 10am the next day (hour and a half drive there in peak hour).
You almost get used to it - well, you don't get used to it you just learn to live with it and make sure you sleep heaps when you get a chance.
The worst I've had was tearing down a set after wrap until 6:30am, having to drive home to pick up extra equipment, then drive back to a different set and be there by 8:30am. I didn't get home to sleep until 9 oclock that night, after having been up for about 36 hours.
Suck it up and do the best you can. I've had ACs push through 12 hours of crippling hayfever and crippling hangovers to deliver for me. For some reason, it tends to be a part of the job - not to mention the winter months when one sick crew member spreads the disease to just about everyone on set...
I've often times just taken a couple of weeks off towards the end of the year just to rejuvenate and sleep a little.
Bottom line - I grab a Red Bull on the way to set and just suck it up. I've had to AC on many occasions with only a few hours sleep, and I've even been the victim of a forced call, where we've wrapped at 4am (hour drive home) to have a call time of 10am the next day (hour and a half drive there in peak hour).
You almost get used to it - well, you don't get used to it you just learn to live with it and make sure you sleep heaps when you get a chance.
The worst I've had was tearing down a set after wrap until 6:30am, having to drive home to pick up extra equipment, then drive back to a different set and be there by 8:30am. I didn't get home to sleep until 9 oclock that night, after having been up for about 36 hours.
Suck it up and do the best you can. I've had ACs push through 12 hours of crippling hayfever and crippling hangovers to deliver for me. For some reason, it tends to be a part of the job - not to mention the winter months when one sick crew member spreads the disease to just about everyone on set...
I've often times just taken a couple of weeks off towards the end of the year just to rejuvenate and sleep a little.
During a shoot I consider 5 hours luxurious. 2 hours is rough, but that's why they make coffee, red bull, and pep pills.
Yeah, if an AC of mine called two hours before the shoot to tell me he wasn't coming in, especially because he was 'too tired', there's no way I'd call him in again.
If you really thought ditching was okay, you wouldn't be asking us what to do. So by posting at all, you sort of answered your own question. 12 hours won't last forever--actually by the time you read this it will probably be over.
Also, it helps to look at volunteer work as an exercise in reputation-building instead of free labor--at least, that's what gets me through some of the tough ones.
Also, it helps to look at volunteer work as an exercise in reputation-building instead of free labor--at least, that's what gets me through some of the tough ones.
With two hours I wouldn't even bother sleeping, I find I'm just more groggy afterwards if I don't get at least 4 hours. But I've done plenty of work on little or no sleep - I definitely wouldn't consider not showing up unless there was a real emergency involved. As everyone else said you made the commitment, you'll need to follow through. Coffee and/or Red Bull should get you through - I tend to rely on coffee until it stops working before I switch to Red Bull, but that'll depend on how each affects you personally. If you really need to be on your game there's always modafinil, but since you can't pick that up at 7-11 yet it's probably out of the question for this particular job.
that was brutal. 2 hours into the job I stopped talking to my supervisor (art director) and just stood behind the real directors watching the monitor listening to what they were saying. I was sick of having to walk up to her every 10 minutes and ask her what I should do instead of her telling me what to do. after 7 hours I could barely stand so I just sat down in a booth watching the rest of the time. I stayed there for a total of 10 hours but they said that it was going to end up being a 24 hour shoot and I could leave if I wanted to so I booked it. I dont need that job, i aint tryna go into the moving furniture business im tryna make some MOVIES!!!!!