Reaction to suggestions

[dlevanchuk]

How do you react when a crew member or a cast member gives you a suggestion, wether you re directing, or operating the camera?

For me its sort of a little inner battle.. if the suggestion came from a person that I never worked with, I typically say something along the lines of "we ll try it, depending on the schedule". If its somebody who I worked with before, I'll try it out, but ifim directing, I really try not to do it, so I don't loose control with the actor..

What about you? Are you worried about loosing control on the set? Any horror stories?

 

[David.rhsc]

On the other hand, bigger budget productions allow you to hire experts more skilled than you -- these guys, sure you want their input. Still, you would need a gatekeeper during production to keep the distractions at bay. Correct?

Not necessarily. If you are hiring crew that is experienced (and worth their rate) then they've more than likely developed an instinct when it comes to suggests, as well as learned the general etiquette that surrounds it. Folks that are always just blurting stuff out or always rushing up to the director the DP with ideas usually don't last long.

Gonzo touched on it. Ideas go up the food chain. For example, as a 1st AC when a slight blocking change saves the shot and prevents a relight and reposition, I quietly mention it to the DP. It's their call to bring it up to the director and the talent. When a grip sees a lighting opportunity that cranks the shot to 11, they bring it to their boss (maybe with parts of said solution in hand) who then decides either to nix it, incorporate it, ask to have it standing by while they check higher up the food chain.

Long story less long; experienced folks are more likely to be judicious with their suggestions - keeping them mostly related to direct problem solving or in-department suggestions. What I am trying to say is that *Good* crew tend to be their own "gatekeepers" as you call them.

 

[MrDirector]

I'm not qualified to say, but your question reminded me of two interviews I've seen on Youtube.


Kevin Smith - Great Filmmaking Advice. The germane part comes in the first half-ish of the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL-PRLEM3To



The Social Network - David Fincher Interview Part 1. The germane part starts at about (03:46).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqU4lEkNokk

Dear God, these are brilliant. Please post up more if you have them!




I think it depends on how much time you have. In general, listen to them. Then respond with a bit of kindness (not false hope) in your voice and they will get the idea of what you're trying to communicate. If someone makes a decent idea but you dont have time for it, you don't yell "NO!" It's just like outside of directing, when a friend or even a stranger gives you some advice and you politely, using sub-communication and tonality, express that the idea is cool, but you're probably not going to end up taking it. Also if they are taking a lot of time to get to their idea, and you just don't have the production time working in your favor, (in explaining their idea, there's lots of long stories in destination to the actual idea) you have to just keep them on task and guide the conversation. Step in and politely guide the conversation "Ah, so you got the idea while having coffee this morning. Ah cool so you wanted to try this type of shot?" Basically taking something they mentioned when they first came up to you, then mentioning it to remind them where they were going with this, and that progresses the convo. I only do this if they are taking a HUGE time to explain on very tight tight schedule. Most of the time when people come up to you, they have a strong idea in their head, which was probably found through some sort of inspiration that happened about earlier or on set. So they tend to tell you all about the inspiration, taking an unnecessary amount of time to get to the idea.

If I have a good while of time, I try to listen to everyone. Has anyone had a case where someone on set was such a good talker, were very vocal, and had so many ideas that people could agree with, that people on set looked at them as wanting to take their suggestion like an assistant director? Or the opposite: Has anyone had someone on set where they just talked so much and had many bad ideas that the crew really didn't agree with, and they looked to you so that you'd deal with this person and their ideas?

 

[jmoschner]

The thing to try and do is if you are not going to follow a suggestion, have a solid reason other than "Its my freaking movie and I want it my way." Open, honest, thoughtful dialogue is key to a good working environment. Letting people know why you do or don't do something goes a long way in building trust and letting the crew know your thought process.

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

"Open, honest, thoughtful dialogue is key to a good working environment."

Indeed, but MOST of that dialogue needs to happen in the pre-production process. Also, everyone needs to have the clear knowledge that a film set is not a democracy. It is a dictatorship. I will listen to your suggestion, especially if it involves your area of technical expertise, but I'm not going to spend 15 minutes justifying why I did or did not take your advice when the money clock is running.

 

[finderskeepers]

+1 Very well put and so true!

"Open, honest, thoughtful dialogue is key to a good working environment."

Indeed, but MOST of that dialogue needs to happen in the pre-production process. Also, everyone needs to have the clear knowledge that a film set is not a democracy. It is a dictatorship. I will listen to your suggestion, especially if it involves your area of technical expertise, but I'm not going to spend 15 minutes justifying why I did or did not take your advice when the money clock is running.

 

[_Rok_]

I make the following announcement to the crew:

"I have an open door policy. If you have a good idea, and you think we have time to do it, please TAKE ME ASIDE and I will listen. In exchange, you must understand that I may choose to reject your idea without further discussion. I will say 'thank you', and we will move on, together. That's the relationship. "

This is an important point: They should not just walk up and call out their ideas. This causes confusion for the talent and the crew. The person needs to make a further commitment by requesting a quick side-bar with me. As a result, they think through their ideas before approaching me. Most of the weaker ideas aren't brought forward, at all.

Everybody who really wants to, can pitch me an idea, but I can take it or leave it and there's no lengthy debate about it.

 

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

I don't mind people making suggestions, as along as they are ONLY suggestions. What gets under my skin is people making demands like the production rises and falls with only them. They never make it back to another production. And, they may not even get through a current production if they are too demanding. When an actress told me I could use a couple of PAs to help, since we had a small crew, I told her she is absolutely right. If we didnMt have to waste so much time recasting every week, I would have had time to look for PA. And, we would have had a better preproduction where our props would have been better prepared. But, those are the breaks in small productions.