Quentin Tarantino on set Cell Phone Ban

[Jesse Watts]

http://youtu.be/EkmhWcfCn9I

 

Just stumbled across this. It made me like Quentin even more. Wish most sets would implement this.

[Martin Kittappa]

But would he make an exception for the sound mixer if he's using the Lectro RM and Freq Finder Apps on his iPhone?

[Mirror]

He is the funnest guy I've worked with on a show.  He makes you love working on movies again.

[old school]

Make sense to me.

CrewC

[Alexander Burstein]

Wish more productions would implement this.

[Jesse Watts]

Wish more productions would implement this.

They could call it the Tarantino Act of 2013

[MattinSTL]

I couldn't possibly agree more with this... while I enjoy my iPhone, I sometimes think smart phones are dawning a de-evolution of society... a fork in the road where technology continues up and the maturity of people is going down.

 

Everybody is turning into needy children that require CONSTANT stroking by their co-dependent friends.

 

I worked on a reality based show recently with a lot of shots where we only had one go at it... and one way or another somebody's phone affected our quality... either forgetting to turn it off... setting on vibrate and I'm hearing the buzz... or somebody who's there to help the shoot ignoring a problem while they're lost in a texting conversation.

 

It's amazing how thoughtless people are in movie theaters now... it doesn't even matter if they're kids, adults, or old people... regardless of sex, race, etc. I hardly ever go to a theater to see a movie anymore because I can't stand paying $10-12 to see a movie and have smart phones lighting up in various parts of the theater during the show.

[Toy Robot]

But would he make an exception for the sound mixer if he's using the Lectro RM and Freq Finder Apps on his iPhone?

 

This. I agree with the sentiment entirely, except that my iDevices are legitimate tools of the trade now.

[studiomprd]

"to see a movie and have smart phones lighting up in various parts of the theater during the show. "

even the less smart phones!

 

Jim Cameron had a pretty stiff phone on set policy, even many years back. and supposedly before he nailed up the first offending cell phone* of any project, it quickly sank in!

 

* maybe just a prop ??

Edited March 27, 2013 by studiomprd

[John Blankenship]

Cameron has claimed that the legend is not true but has admitted to threatening to do so.

[Whit Norris]

On the last film there was a "no cell phones on set" policy that worked well. You could have your phone on you but could not use it on the set. Producers, actors and crew would have to step off, or around the corner to use their phones. It worked great. Everyone was more focused and interacted with each other. I thought it was a great policy.

 

Whit

[VASI]

On the last film there was a "no cell phones on set" policy that worked well. You could have your phone on you but could not use it on the set. Producers, actors and crew would have to step off, or around the corner to use their phones. It worked great. Everyone was more focused and interacted with each other. I thought it was a great policy.

 

Whit

[atheisticmystic]

First thing I've ever heard him say that doesn't make me want to chew my tongue off.

Nice!

[Marc Wielage]

I worked on a set a few weeks ago where the only phone that went off during takes was the director's phone. Usually there would be a collective sigh from the crew when that happened.

 

I heard from one of the video assist people on Avatar that the "Cell Phone Wall of Shame" story about Jim Cameron was true. But for all we knew, maybe it was just a prop they rolled out, with a dozen phones smashed and hammered into a plywood board. I think it's a great idea.

 

Note that Tarantino is such a traditionalist, he's shown in the Django documentaries using a vintage Chapman crane with seats for the director and DP, which I haven't seen in years. Quentin also eschews timecode slates, preferring old-fashioned wooden slates!

[Jesse Watts]

I worked on a set a few weeks ago where the only phone that went off during takes was the director's phone. Usually there would be a collective sigh from the crew when that happened.

 

I heard from one of the video assist people on Avatar that the "Cell Phone Wall of Shame" story about Jim Cameron was true. But for all we knew, maybe it was just a prop they rolled out, with a dozen phones smashed and hammered into a plywood board. I think it's a great idea.

 

Note that Tarantino is such a traditionalist, he's shown in the Django documentaries using a vintage Chapman crane with seats for the director and DP, which I haven't seen in years. Quentin also eschews timecode slates, preferring old-fashioned wooden slates!

 

Here is some of his on set classic slate shenanigans.

 

http://youtu.be/195DIZY-C3Y

[Cloud Wang]

ah love the slates ! thanks for posting,man 

[Philip Perkins]

My daughter is a theatre director.  Before each show she has come out and asked the audience NOT to text.  The phone lights up the texter's face in the darkness of the theatre, it is INCREDIBLY offputting for the actors on stage.

 

philp

[atheisticmystic]

Here is some of his on set classic slate shenanigans.

 

I hate to be such a Killjoy, but I wish people didn't know about this. Slate protocol is about clear, swift post navigation, and using one of the recognized phonetics makes it easier for a wider range of people with various speaking styles and accents, etc. The slate shenanigans have convinced an entire generation of filmmakers that clapping the slate is a time to make a joke or be clever.

 

I imagine if you're being paid QT type wages on a QT film, who gives a shit, it's all the same team and they're used to it. But I want to hear a recognizable phonetic so I can get on with my job.

Best

[mikefilosa]

Note that Tarantino is such a traditionalist, he's shown in the Django documentaries using a vintage Chapman crane with seats for the director and DP, which I haven't seen in years. Quentin also eschews timecode slates, preferring old-fashioned wooden slates!

 

 

 

Howzabout a good old-fashioned Nagra !  I'd kill ( figureatively ) for just one more film project on my trusty 4.2s ...

 

 

I hate to be such a Killjoy, but I wish people didn't know about this. Slate protocol is about clear, swift post navigation, and using one of the recognized phonetics makes it easier for a wider range of people with various speaking styles and accents, etc. The slate shenanigans have convinced an entire generation of filmmakers that clapping the slate is a time to make a joke or be clever.

 

I've got to agree with you on this one....  I never understood, from this video, why that was tolerated or condoned, unless it was encouraged in some way....  the caliber of most actors I've been around wouldn't be able to handle the "jarring" of their readiness and preparation for what was about to transpire once interrupted by stupid jokes...  not very business like, but hey, if they've got film to burn through, well .......

 

It's been very difficult for me to get ACs to call out anything but "marker" -  once asked, it seems like a tremendous imposition to the increasingly younger department.  If there is any benefit to the silliness presented here, perhaps it would be the realization that they are supposed to say, at least, something about the scene and take...

 

MF

[Martin Kittappa]

Slate jokes seem to mostly happen on small indie films where the bulk of the crew are recent film crew graduates. I have a friend who worked on Django and he says that Tarantino likes to keep his set a fun environment. The sound mixer plays music during 2nd team  set ups from a playlist that Tarantino himself provides. In his words he said that  'It was like shooting a film school thesis film only with a budget'.

[Marc Wielage]

The phone lights up the texter's face in the darkness of the theatre, it is INCREDIBLY offputting for the actors on stage.

 

Easily on my top 10 list of "most annoying things in modern-day life." I get that people have crises, children at home with a sitter, or maybe a relative with health problems, but take the friggin' phone outside the theater if you have to text or talk! I'm stunned that people continue to treat the theatrical experience as if it were their living room. 

 

 

atheisticmystic commented:

I hate to be such a Killjoy, but I wish people didn't know about this. Slate protocol is about clear, swift post navigation, and using one of the recognized phonetics makes it easier for a wider range of people with various speaking styles and accents, etc.

 

Speaking only from a post perspective, I don't mind as long as it's obvious what the scene name and take number are. If they want to have fun, it doesn't kill the editor or the assistant editor -- who are really the only people who deal with the slates (and maybe an on-set dailies colorist these days). On the long list of things that drive me crazy on set, this is mighty low on the list. No slates or Tail Sticks are far more annoying. 

[John Blankenship]

A wild guess here that QT may like it because it adds to the energy on set.  You can see some of that happening in the video.

[old school]

Nothing wrong with having fun IMO. It ain't rocket surgery after all. I'm all for smart phones, just walk well off the set to use them when time permits.

CrewC

[macruth]

On a recent show of mine several of the top cast were pretty insistent on having their smartphones in their costume pocket at all times "on silent", ..key word "insistent"

my experience was that on more than a few occasions the phones wreaked havoc on their radio mic transmitters, as they often ended up in the same pocket,

I also acoustically heard the vibrate of a phone ringing on the boom regularly,

I graciously protested on occasion and was offered in return a sheepish "sorry" smile, nothing more,

These were obviously intelligent experienced people, but at this point the immediate contact provided by a smartphone is a priority for them,

I think in the future I'm going to lobby the on-set costumers to make it a part of their final checks to offer to hold the talent's phone for the entirety of the setup,

I don't want to come across as the set smartphone-nazi, but hopefully Tarantino's policy may offer a precedent in this arena, 

[Martin Kittappa]

One thing that I have found works for talent is that I've sometimes offered to charge up their phones on my sound cart whilst they are doing the scene. I can then check their phones to see if they are off without coming across as the cell phone nazi. The other advantage is that they have to come back to the cart to retrieve their phones and I can intercept them to de-mic before they rip off my $400 mic themselves.