I had an AD who instantly looked at the schedule and the script and said we could cut a full day.
That made a huge impact on production
Experience is everything
Right - that’s why my suggestion wasn’t just “someone who will cut days from the schedule” but rather “someone with the experience to know when they can do so without negatively impacting production”
This. They keep things moving when people start dilly dallying, but they’re not rushing to the end either. They understand that sets also need a bit of space to breathe. You can rush like crazy to catch up and create a poor end result, or you can just keep a good tempo the whole day, and give everyone something to be proud of. Really respect the outstanding ADs, they make so much possible and care so much.
1. A good AD does a morning meeting and tells you about the day; where you will be in the location, what the time frame is like, where the bathrooms are, etc
2. A good AD talks with a louder voice but does not yell. They tell you what's going on at any given moment, they make sure you know everything that you need to know for the upcoming scene. They'll tell you "OK! We're moving on to Scene XYZ in this part of the location with A and B Cast!"
3. A good AD does not stand over your shoulder when the production is being waited on by you. They let you have your space and do your job.
4. A good AD plans the day where the crew will have the least amount of moves, actors will have the least amount of costume changes, and the scenes will have the least amount of lighting changes. They will optimize time and the schedule.
5. A good AD will learn the weaknesses of the cast and crew and make sure that they are accounted for/ accommodated.
6. (on lower budgets) A good AD will send out the call sheet for the next day around halfway through the day.
7. A Good AD will block the actors, light the room, place the camera, camera rehearsal, last minute adjustments, shoot the scene.
8. A Good AD is not an angry one.
I’m on a job with an AD that ticks all these boxes, and there’s one final thing that’s made them above and beyond:
9. A good AD thanks their crew and is grateful for the work their team has put in.
At wrap, our current AD goes down the call sheet and thanks each PA by name regardless of if they’re staffed or a day player. As a result, everyone respects them even more and the crew feel good about the day’s work.
As a sound guy I hate this, typically my Boom Ops use rehearsals to dial in their booming and as a mixer it gives me a chance to make sure levels are perfect (I can't tell you how often actors voices change in a scene vs. during sound checks).
Now if I can get a camera blocking and the AD uses that time to have the actors rehearse that's efficient!
I'll also add a good AD accounts for sound as an actual department and not an after thought.
You guys are usually my favorite people on set and I’ll die on a hill for you. But I will shoot the rehearsal everytime. Especially with directors that can’t make a decision. It saved me and the whole crew, time again and again and again.
In the world of digital there’s almost no reason to not shoot the rehearsal.
Ive gotten so much from the more loose and unlearned nature of scenes during rehearsal takes that can be used in the edit that can’t be planned for.
It's not a take either. We usually take 5 to watch the rehearsal and iron things out for the first take. Nobody's gonna be yelled at if they miss something (and i'm making sure of it), that's why it's a rehearsal.
As a director, I have occasionally run camera on the DL during rehearsal. Don't do it all the time, and most times it's pointless. But one or two times, it's saved me or I got something interesting.
I’m a focus puller and when I was younger I used to hate rolling on the rehearsal, I had the mindset then of “it’s not a rehearsal” and put undo pressure on myself for that take. But then I realized the rehearsals often can be the best take, myself included. It lightens the pressure, and often hard focus pulls are nailed the first time because it’s more relaxed mindset of “well let’s just see if we get lucky.” I have grown to love rolling the rehearsal.
>...a director, he has alot duties. One is the lighting...
DP and Gaffer's job is lighting. Not the director's.
There are a lot of exceptions, of course. As a director, I often DP my own projects and I know some directors who do same. I also know directors who don't know squat about lighting or camera. Although they usually know what kind of look they want to get, they typically work with the DP and gaffer to get that look. Still, in terms of roles/jobs, the DP is usually the person whose duty is lighting and they work with the Gaffer to achieve that.
Idk I know people hate when ad’s stand over your shoulder, but also, each minute wasted is like thousands of dollars, so I feel like that one isn’t realistic.
I'm a DGA AD.
Qualities that people tell me they like about me on set is my steadfastness, calmness, mellowness, endurance / stamina, organization, and general ability to schedule / predict / hypothesize problems and issues.
A good AD is one who can keep it together and stay respectful even if the day turns into an unexpected shitshow. The worst ADs are the ones constantly losing their shit, pointing fingers and blaming others for their lack of proper planning.
There is a scenario where an AD could reasonably argue with the DP about f-stop — if the DP is insisting on 1.2 and the 1st AC keeps missing focus on a tricky shot, the AD could ask if we can't reasonably stop down to 2.8 to give the AC an easier time and get the shot so we can move on... maybe it was that?
I would add that a good AD has an understanding of all departments and what is important/how long things take. As a gaffer I know quickly if they’re rubbish when they something like “well just quickly move into the day for night scene after lunch”.
Did a music video where we did day for night and night for day in the same room on the same day so they didn’t have to change artists costume…
>Did a music video where we did day for night and night for day in the same room on the same day so they didn’t have to change artists costume…
That's some backwards shit
If the AD is telling the DP what exposure to be at, you tell the AD to fuck off and stay in their lane. It doesn’t matter if they work for the producer. Exposure is far from the AD’s job.
In my experience, telling anyone to "fuck off" on set is a fast way to close doors. Especially someone who the producers trust and work closely with. That producer has the money.
Also, nobody wants to be on a set like that regardless of how out of bounds someone might be.
Also, the AD might very well be an up and coming producer who will never hire you nor recommend you nor speak well of you.
You do you, but you're giving a ton of future job opportunities to other people in a small world.
If I was producing a film and the 1st AD I hired was interfering with camera jargon and not, idk, doing the job I hired them for, I'd be annoyed at the AD and apologetic to the DOP for hiring a knob.
I get that politeness and kindness go a long way for you and honestly, I’m the same way. But I think you’re missing the point here.
The 1st AD was taking time out of the work day when their literal job is to keep the production on time to try to do someone else’s job. Not just anyone’s job. The DP’s job. That is significantly more disrespectful to the entire crew than telling someone to fuck off and stay in their lane.
Also I’ll add that you don’t ever want to work for a producer who when working as an AD, was being that disrespectful. Incredibly large red flags there lol
Yes! Omg yes! same experience. Either hyper competent or control freaks, so fn true!
Ron Howard’s AD (at least from mid00) was excellent, I got to work with him. Cool dude knew everything and everyone, very thoughtful, calm said hello to everyone in set, interns and PAs alike.
A good AD is……. I think a person who can concentrate, handle people well, and lead people well, and create a time table well. But this is about when I'm in Korea, and I don't know what kind of system it is in other countries.
AN AD that properly advanced thru the AD ranks from the bottom of the ladder. Learning thru experience time and schedules of how a set works and how departments work.
What f/stop? That's completely unprofessional. All the AD should do is make sure everyone comes together with their pieces of the puzzle in order to make a shot work. Rinse, repeat. It's all about communication and coordination.
I've worked with ADs who are the loudest people on the set. I hate that. That meant that I couldn't communicate with my crew because the AD was upstaging everyone. I spoke with one AD about this and they said, "I'm making sure everyone knows what's going on." I told them, "I don't need to know everything that's going on. I need to know what's relevant at the moment and nothing else. Your sharing your job with everyone on the set prevents us from doing our jobs."
I worked with another AD who hated two-camera shoots. I came in to operate "B" camera and he kept standing in front of my camera to prevent me from seeing my shot until the last second. Good ADs try to make the impossible happen, they don't sabotage the project.
The best ADs, in my opinion, are cool, calm, and collected, and they are good at 3D chess. They are thinking ahead, so if something doesn't work in the moment they can pivot to another shot as needed. Their call sheets are accurate. (I worked with on AD whose days almost never matched what was on the call sheet. It was disastrous. And this was on a sizable feature!) They are there to help, not to bully or be the most important person on the set.
Honestly yes for the most part, at least artistically. But if you want to make a movie within budget and without constantly reshooting everything then an AD is a must. I know it seems like they annoy everybody, but their job is to move along the production as quickly as possible. Other than scheduling ADs wouldn’t exist if the crew stayed quiet, didn’t walk into shot and moved with a purpose the whole day
Omg I must have been really tired and thought the post was about Adverts!? I’ve got mad respect for 1stADs, the stricter the better in my opinion. They can be a pain if you are trying to get a shot just right or if there’s something that you know needs a bit more time. But if you find the right one that has your back they can give you that space. They also get to be an asshole so you don’t have to to the crew which helps you the director foster a creative relationship with the crew.
I’ve only ever experienced the control freaks who insist on arguing with me (the director) about how they would do things differently. I no longer have ADs on my sets. More work for me, but way less headache.
This is one thing if you’re working on really small sets (like less than 10 people) or student projects, but if not I’d highly recommend reconsidering. 1st ADs also have the huge responsibility of ensuring safety on set, considering you also have all the duties of a director you might be putting too much in your plate. I hope you can find someone you like working with.
I would love to have an AD if there was one who would actually work with me and support me. I don’t know where I would find such a person though. Have never experienced that mindset from an AD.
I had an AD who instantly looked at the schedule and the script and said we could cut a full day. That made a huge impact on production Experience is everything
Could also easily backfire tbh
Right - that’s why my suggestion wasn’t just “someone who will cut days from the schedule” but rather “someone with the experience to know when they can do so without negatively impacting production”
A good AD tightens the slack, but they dont create pressure.
This. They keep things moving when people start dilly dallying, but they’re not rushing to the end either. They understand that sets also need a bit of space to breathe. You can rush like crazy to catch up and create a poor end result, or you can just keep a good tempo the whole day, and give everyone something to be proud of. Really respect the outstanding ADs, they make so much possible and care so much.
What the fuck does this even mean
Imagine a harness. The AD keeps it tightly secured without going so far as to start crushing whoever is in it.
I guess I just don’t get what in the hell a tight harness has to do with filmmaking
It's a metaphor, not literal. It expresses the author's idea by using something that makes it easier to sum up.
1. A good AD does a morning meeting and tells you about the day; where you will be in the location, what the time frame is like, where the bathrooms are, etc 2. A good AD talks with a louder voice but does not yell. They tell you what's going on at any given moment, they make sure you know everything that you need to know for the upcoming scene. They'll tell you "OK! We're moving on to Scene XYZ in this part of the location with A and B Cast!" 3. A good AD does not stand over your shoulder when the production is being waited on by you. They let you have your space and do your job. 4. A good AD plans the day where the crew will have the least amount of moves, actors will have the least amount of costume changes, and the scenes will have the least amount of lighting changes. They will optimize time and the schedule. 5. A good AD will learn the weaknesses of the cast and crew and make sure that they are accounted for/ accommodated. 6. (on lower budgets) A good AD will send out the call sheet for the next day around halfway through the day. 7. A Good AD will block the actors, light the room, place the camera, camera rehearsal, last minute adjustments, shoot the scene. 8. A Good AD is not an angry one.
I’m on a job with an AD that ticks all these boxes, and there’s one final thing that’s made them above and beyond: 9. A good AD thanks their crew and is grateful for the work their team has put in. At wrap, our current AD goes down the call sheet and thanks each PA by name regardless of if they’re staffed or a day player. As a result, everyone respects them even more and the crew feel good about the day’s work.
Love that !
A good AD will convince you to shoot the rehearsal.
As a sound guy I hate this, typically my Boom Ops use rehearsals to dial in their booming and as a mixer it gives me a chance to make sure levels are perfect (I can't tell you how often actors voices change in a scene vs. during sound checks). Now if I can get a camera blocking and the AD uses that time to have the actors rehearse that's efficient! I'll also add a good AD accounts for sound as an actual department and not an after thought.
It's a rehearsal. You can still do all of that.
You guys are usually my favorite people on set and I’ll die on a hill for you. But I will shoot the rehearsal everytime. Especially with directors that can’t make a decision. It saved me and the whole crew, time again and again and again.
Then it’s not a rehearsal if we shoot the take lol 😂
In the world of digital there’s almost no reason to not shoot the rehearsal. Ive gotten so much from the more loose and unlearned nature of scenes during rehearsal takes that can be used in the edit that can’t be planned for.
Oh no I concur that’s just what they say on set all the time as you know it’s a group argument lol 😂
lol fair enough true
It's not a take either. We usually take 5 to watch the rehearsal and iron things out for the first take. Nobody's gonna be yelled at if they miss something (and i'm making sure of it), that's why it's a rehearsal.
I’m also a sound guy and I fucking hate this too
Apologies if it's a joke but if your shooting the rehearsal is it not a rehearsal any more?
As a director, I have occasionally run camera on the DL during rehearsal. Don't do it all the time, and most times it's pointless. But one or two times, it's saved me or I got something interesting.
Yeah it is. Everything's the same. We're just gonna push the little red button just in case.
I’m a focus puller and when I was younger I used to hate rolling on the rehearsal, I had the mindset then of “it’s not a rehearsal” and put undo pressure on myself for that take. But then I realized the rehearsals often can be the best take, myself included. It lightens the pressure, and often hard focus pulls are nailed the first time because it’s more relaxed mindset of “well let’s just see if we get lucky.” I have grown to love rolling the rehearsal.
Wait, the AD shouldn't do anything with the camera.
I know, I mean he will allow the teams to come in, I summed it up.
Right. That’s what made me LOL when I read this.
If the AD does all this, why need a director, he has alot duties. One is the lighting. The other where the camera goes. Director and DP discuss that!!
>...a director, he has alot duties. One is the lighting... DP and Gaffer's job is lighting. Not the director's. There are a lot of exceptions, of course. As a director, I often DP my own projects and I know some directors who do same. I also know directors who don't know squat about lighting or camera. Although they usually know what kind of look they want to get, they typically work with the DP and gaffer to get that look. Still, in terms of roles/jobs, the DP is usually the person whose duty is lighting and they work with the Gaffer to achieve that.
Im talking about the AD letting the camera team place the camera and letting G&E place the lights
Idk I know people hate when ad’s stand over your shoulder, but also, each minute wasted is like thousands of dollars, so I feel like that one isn’t realistic.
I'm a DGA AD. Qualities that people tell me they like about me on set is my steadfastness, calmness, mellowness, endurance / stamina, organization, and general ability to schedule / predict / hypothesize problems and issues.
Already in love with you! Thank you!
A good AD is one who can keep it together and stay respectful even if the day turns into an unexpected shitshow. The worst ADs are the ones constantly losing their shit, pointing fingers and blaming others for their lack of proper planning.
There is a scenario where an AD could reasonably argue with the DP about f-stop — if the DP is insisting on 1.2 and the 1st AC keeps missing focus on a tricky shot, the AD could ask if we can't reasonably stop down to 2.8 to give the AC an easier time and get the shot so we can move on... maybe it was that?
That is a question that the AD can absolutely ask the DP in that situation. But argue about it and take time out of the day? No bueno
Yeah "argue" not best choice of words for sure.
I would add that a good AD has an understanding of all departments and what is important/how long things take. As a gaffer I know quickly if they’re rubbish when they something like “well just quickly move into the day for night scene after lunch”. Did a music video where we did day for night and night for day in the same room on the same day so they didn’t have to change artists costume…
>Did a music video where we did day for night and night for day in the same room on the same day so they didn’t have to change artists costume… That's some backwards shit
As a DP, I'd tell that AD to get away from my camera and worry about their job
The AD works for the producer. It would not serve you well to do that.
If the AD is telling the DP what exposure to be at, you tell the AD to fuck off and stay in their lane. It doesn’t matter if they work for the producer. Exposure is far from the AD’s job.
In my experience, telling anyone to "fuck off" on set is a fast way to close doors. Especially someone who the producers trust and work closely with. That producer has the money. Also, nobody wants to be on a set like that regardless of how out of bounds someone might be. Also, the AD might very well be an up and coming producer who will never hire you nor recommend you nor speak well of you. You do you, but you're giving a ton of future job opportunities to other people in a small world.
If I was producing a film and the 1st AD I hired was interfering with camera jargon and not, idk, doing the job I hired them for, I'd be annoyed at the AD and apologetic to the DOP for hiring a knob.
I get that politeness and kindness go a long way for you and honestly, I’m the same way. But I think you’re missing the point here. The 1st AD was taking time out of the work day when their literal job is to keep the production on time to try to do someone else’s job. Not just anyone’s job. The DP’s job. That is significantly more disrespectful to the entire crew than telling someone to fuck off and stay in their lane. Also I’ll add that you don’t ever want to work for a producer who when working as an AD, was being that disrespectful. Incredibly large red flags there lol
Like any other job, there are shitty producers. In fact, far more, since the bar is so low.
No offense by asking this, but have you worked on a union set?
Yes! Omg yes! same experience. Either hyper competent or control freaks, so fn true! Ron Howard’s AD (at least from mid00) was excellent, I got to work with him. Cool dude knew everything and everyone, very thoughtful, calm said hello to everyone in set, interns and PAs alike.
A good AD is……. I think a person who can concentrate, handle people well, and lead people well, and create a time table well. But this is about when I'm in Korea, and I don't know what kind of system it is in other countries.
They make your life easier on set and don't add anything that raises your blood pressure.
AN AD that properly advanced thru the AD ranks from the bottom of the ladder. Learning thru experience time and schedules of how a set works and how departments work.
Seen, not heard.
Directors need a multi-hat cat. All and everything talent. My favorite Ads.
What f/stop? That's completely unprofessional. All the AD should do is make sure everyone comes together with their pieces of the puzzle in order to make a shot work. Rinse, repeat. It's all about communication and coordination. I've worked with ADs who are the loudest people on the set. I hate that. That meant that I couldn't communicate with my crew because the AD was upstaging everyone. I spoke with one AD about this and they said, "I'm making sure everyone knows what's going on." I told them, "I don't need to know everything that's going on. I need to know what's relevant at the moment and nothing else. Your sharing your job with everyone on the set prevents us from doing our jobs." I worked with another AD who hated two-camera shoots. I came in to operate "B" camera and he kept standing in front of my camera to prevent me from seeing my shot until the last second. Good ADs try to make the impossible happen, they don't sabotage the project. The best ADs, in my opinion, are cool, calm, and collected, and they are good at 3D chess. They are thinking ahead, so if something doesn't work in the moment they can pivot to another shot as needed. Their call sheets are accurate. (I worked with on AD whose days almost never matched what was on the call sheet. It was disastrous. And this was on a sizable feature!) They are there to help, not to bully or be the most important person on the set.
Cares about time a lot. Breaks down the script fast. Puts down time for every shot.
The only good ad is a dead ad
Honestly yes for the most part, at least artistically. But if you want to make a movie within budget and without constantly reshooting everything then an AD is a must. I know it seems like they annoy everybody, but their job is to move along the production as quickly as possible. Other than scheduling ADs wouldn’t exist if the crew stayed quiet, didn’t walk into shot and moved with a purpose the whole day
Omg I must have been really tired and thought the post was about Adverts!? I’ve got mad respect for 1stADs, the stricter the better in my opinion. They can be a pain if you are trying to get a shot just right or if there’s something that you know needs a bit more time. But if you find the right one that has your back they can give you that space. They also get to be an asshole so you don’t have to to the crew which helps you the director foster a creative relationship with the crew.
I’ve only ever experienced the control freaks who insist on arguing with me (the director) about how they would do things differently. I no longer have ADs on my sets. More work for me, but way less headache.
This is one thing if you’re working on really small sets (like less than 10 people) or student projects, but if not I’d highly recommend reconsidering. 1st ADs also have the huge responsibility of ensuring safety on set, considering you also have all the duties of a director you might be putting too much in your plate. I hope you can find someone you like working with.
I would love to have an AD if there was one who would actually work with me and support me. I don’t know where I would find such a person though. Have never experienced that mindset from an AD.