Jump to content

View From The Office:


Philip Perkins

Recommended Posts

For 10 days, my office was the HMCS Athabaskan.

Along with a director, cameraman, production coordinator and 3 other ships, we crossed the Atlantic from Halifax, Canada to Glasgow, Scotland for naval exercises. The shoot got complicated very fast. 6 hours after leaving Halifax, over relatively calm seas, the cameraman threw his lunch and got sent to sick bay. The director became the cameraman, with just a little bit more shooting experience than I have (I have none), and just as much shooting experience as I have using the Sony 900. The next day, without ever putting his eye to the viewfinder, our cameraman got sick again, clearly showing the crackers he'd just eaten, which usually stabilize the stomach. This time, doctor's orders were more severe; he was transferred to another ship heading back to Halifax. We had 9 shooting days left and no cameraman. I've never collaborated so much on framing and lighting as I did on this shoot, with very average results. I know what a great picture looks like, and I've worked with some great documentary DP's over the past 20+ years, but I still have no idea how to make one.

Murphy's law kicked in and the sea got nasty.

Redimensionnement+de+22+sept+-+7+oct+2009+015.jpg

5-6 meter waves with peaks at 8. The Athabaskan wasn't built for comfort so we rocked; bow to stern, port to starboard, all at once. This was furniture moving, dishes breaking seas. Even the Sea King helicopter, which was booked to take us up 3 times (sunrise, sunset, and refueling aerial shots) got damaged, grounding it for the duration.

Still, we managed to shoot a short scene; the captain's end of day briefing with his principle officers in his quarters. Except that near the end, the director looked at me with panic filled eyes, pointed at the camera, and disappeared. He got as far as the captain's private kitchen before spewing over the wall and floor.

It wasn't just us; the sea took out a good part of the ship's crew. I hadn't been to such a puke fest since my high school grad. Although I probably turned a lovely shade of olive green more than once, I'm proud to say that I kept all my cookies. Not much happened on the ship for 2 days

Finally, mother nature eased back and the shoot continued. We had a day aboard another ship, which meant using a ladder to get off ours;

Redimensionnement+de+22+sept+-+7+oct+2009+031.jpg

In the middle of the Atlantic...

(on the horizon, the 3 ships accompanying us)

Athabaskan+3.jpg

Athabaskan+4.jpg

...and a cage to get aboard the other.

Redimensionnement+de+22+sept+-+7+oct+2009+043.jpg

Before leaving for this adventure, I asked production for a cabin overlooking the pool. Instead, I got the top bunk;

Redimensionnement+de+22+sept+-+7+oct+2009+080.jpg

16" between the mattress and the pipe, in a room with 52 other guys. Luckily, we were just above the engine room. Combine that with all the other ship's noises, and I could barely hear the snoring.

Finally, day 10; the reward;

Athabaskan+7.jpg

Glasgow on a Friday night. It was a memorable pub crawl.

Another great adventure. Another reason to love my job.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great pictures, Andre! What an adventure. I wish I still had the energy to do those sorts of jobs. It is so true that so many of us have had life experiences that we would never have been able to have if it were not for the work that we do. Thanks again for posting here.

-  Jeff Wexler

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One more;

Redimensionnement+de+22+sept+-+7+oct+2009+005.jpg

And that was taken before the sea got nasty.

Ken, it wasn't just for a beer. There was also haggis in the deal.

Jeff, my sentiments exactly. When I got back, I started catching up on posts I'd missed and saw Robert Sharman's great Georgian National Ballet video. It got me thinking about the places I've been and the incredible experiences I've had. I certainly wouldn't be the same person today if I'd had a real office all these years.

Philip, thanks for starting this. It's always fun to see other people's offices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi all

for www.going-south.tv i'm seeing al these cool places and here ketchua dialect that i cant make anything off

cheers

martijn

we shot on hpx500 and used the macbook to merge my 744t audio files with the p2 video while on the job :)

the 5 slot cartreader with the magma pcie ex34 cart works like magic same speed as with a macpro ! about 3 to 4 times real time !

post-1966-13081508277_thumb.jpg

post-1966-130815082775_thumb.jpg

post-1966-130815082779_thumb.jpg

post-1966-130815082784_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 years ago I got the chance to work on a low budget HD movie with a great crew and director/producer that I had worked with before.

It was low budget and there wasnt a budget for a boom op..but I decided to take the job.Mainly because

at the time my mom and stepdad lived in Playa Del Carmen,Mexico. So it was a great chance for me to see them and go out and make a movie.I figured It was the only chance I would ever get to work with my parents on a movie in Mexico.

my folks had never been on set before but they got hired and became part of the crew as well. Mom did crafts services and my stepdad did transpo/pa. They loved being part of it but decided that they never wanted to work in the movies again. Well I cant blame them, this was low budget, long hours,etc..But We all had a great time. We all worked hard and the conditions were against us most of the time (rain season) but I think we came out with a pretty good movie.We had a screening at the Egyptian theater,and My parents flew out for it and attended.My mom loves the red carpet!

It was a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

I didnt take a camera. I usually dont take pics on set.Usually to busy.My mom took some pics though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love this thread

I did the best that I could to provide them with good sound.

At the time,I only had a 442 mixer and boom and some wireless.I sent the mix to an HD cam.

Now I have a 744T,and I would have used it as a backup/iso recorder,regardless of the rate.

I did have some pics from "my Office" but they were to Hi Res. JW is there any chance that we could upload pics with higher res?

At one time I thought I had lost a wireless mic for good when a big wave came splashing on the boat and soaking the actress during a scene.

On hindsight I should have taken some waterproof lavs/tx.

perhaps countrymen and waterproof lectro tx.

Boy Scouts Motto - "Always be prepared"

Matt

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are a few photos.

The tanks cannot fire blanks, so I was very fortunate to have visited the base during prep, as seen in the earlier photo, to really feel and hear how powerful the guns are.

My boom operator, Richard Bullock, was booming the actor in the turret.  One of two lines recorded that day.

post-485-130815082822_thumb.jpg

post-485-130815082828_thumb.jpg

post-485-130815082834_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My view from "the office" last week...

IMG_0149.jpg

We were shooting at "Lady Musgrave", a sandy coral island at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. The island is completely surrounded by coral and creates a natural blue lagoon, almost like a swimming pool in the middle of the ocean. I saw several sea turtles, manta rays, a pod of dolphins and plenty of fish! As a lot of the filming was underwater, I took the opportunity to jump in the ocean and snorkel...

For a nice aerial view: http://images.google.com.au/images?q=Lady+Musgrave&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=4rbSSpGYFILasQPntpmyCA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CBkQsAQwAw

Cheers!

Jase

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Views here are Stalin Square in Gori, Georgia.  The statue was supposed to be taken down a few months ago, after years of debate, but our production asked it be postponed until after the shoot.  Gori is Stalin's birthplace.

The other photo was my view yesterday from the President of Georgia's Executive Secretary's office.  This was adjacent to the president's office, where we were shooting Andy Garcia as president Saakashvili.  Oddly enough, we shot this yesterday and the photos are on the Reuter's website today.

post-485-130815082847_thumb.jpg

post-485-130815082852_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1017091815-00.jpg

1017091813-01.jpg

Malibu Canyon, Overlooking the Ocean.  (Apparently lots of RAP music videos filmed here). The shoot was inside a mansion, but I elected to work outside (not drag 200lbs up to the second floor), going 100% wireless, no monitors (thank god for good boom ops).  Watched the sunset, instead of monitors.. awesome.

-Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...