Shoots are high-pressure environments.
A lot of money’s being spent and the clock’s ticking. The minute you drift off schedule the atmosphere changes.
And the bigger the shoot the worse it is.
So if you spot something isn’t working it’s easy to keep your mouth shut. No-one wants to be the one creating a problem.
But what’s even worse, is the sick feeling in your stomach the next day when you realise it’s now too late to change anything.
Especially if other people point out the error when looking at the finished work.
It’s always better to bite the bullet and speak up.
On the first big shoot I did, filming in South Africa with a crew of 70-odd people including dogs, stunt-men, puppeteers, various special effects and a very tight, late-running schedule there was a shot that wasn’t working and wasn’t going to work.
My writer and me looked at each other behind the monitor knowing that if we said anything nerves would get fraught. I remember standing up, walking over to the director and producer in the middle of the set, feeling the entire crew, puppets and dog turn to look at me.
I’ve no doubt in that moment, I was fairly hated by a few of them. But I’ll take that every time if it means getting to the right output.
The feeling doesn’t last long, especially if you make sure you’re part of the solution.
Some people will drop the bomb, walk off and leave others to fix it.
That’s when people are justified in feeling some hate for you.
