CLT Role

CLT Role: Start to Finish

Get a Call

Most of the work that you will receive will be in two ways.

• Response to a cold call/email. Especially in the beginning, cold calls/emails are a way to get yourself out there since your network isn't that big. Responding to wanted adds and following other leads. Write a cover letter along with a resume of experience and hope for the best. Just make sure to tailor your cover article to the specific job you are applying for. You want the potential employer to think, 'Wow, this person can solve all my problems' not why this job is good for YOU.
• Through referral. 99% of the work you will get will be this way. Someone has recommended you for the job and the employer reaches out to you to see if you are interested and available. Develop your network and meet as many people as you can. Working for free on passion projects or student films is a common way to build your network. Social events that are industry-related is another way to build your network.
• Once you get a call there will be questions that you should ask and get answers to before you sign on to a project
  • When is the job
  • What is the rate?
  • 8, 10, or 12-hour minimum
  • Where is the job located
  • Invoice or time card
  • anticipated crew size
  • Who is the Director of Photography
  • if it was a referral, ask who referred you. Follow up with that person with a thank you or a small gift of appreciation. Develop that relationship in the hopes that it will continue to be fruitful. Refer a job to that person when applicable.
  • There is always room for negotiation. If certain terms that you require haven't been met, candidly with respect ask for those needs.
  • if the gig seems like a good fit, sign on to the project

Receive Creative Information

Once you have signed on to the project its time to get you up to speed on the details.

• Script
• Story Boards
• Reference Images
• Mood Boards

These items help communicate the look and feel of a project. As a department head, it is really important to review and get familiar with these documents. It will help a lot when on the tech scout and production meeting as you develop your lighting plan and make the dreams and wishes of the Director and DP a reality.

Techical Scout

Tech Scout for short is when you along with other department heads visit and discuss the creative, technical, and logistical aspects of each location.

• Rough understanding of the blocking
• General understanding of camera angle and movement
• Make note of the sun (Sun Surveyor app)
• Come up with a lighting plan for each scene
• Parking/staging: Trucks, generators, condor, and gear
• Access to special locations for lighting
• Find the breaker box

Production Meeting

Production meetings can be held through teleconferencing or before Mid March 2020, they were held often in person. If the schedule of the project permits, it is best if the production meeting is a few days after the tech scout. Time between the tech scout and the meeting helps solve problems that come up during the tech scout and answers can be given during the production meeting. Usually, meetings are long and tedious but are crucial on keeping the department heads on the same page. Other important information is released during the production meeting

• Shot list - each scene in the script is broken down into shots. Storyboards are revised and are a visual reference to the project
• Shooting schedule - For efficiency, movies are not shot in order. Shooting schedule breaks down each day and which scenes will be filmed.

The Production meeting is a good time to check in about special notes - special access, permits for specialty gear, etc.

Lighting Tests

Depending on the complexity of the lighting design, lighting tests might need to be necessary. You do not want to leave it to chance and hope that everything works on the day, it rarely ever does. The lighting test is a time to test...

• A specific lighting design
• Build lighting console programs, if applicable
• Color Tests
• Flicker Tests

Valuable information should be gained after the tests if they were successful or not and strategize on how to do things differently if it doesn't seem to be working out. See if it is possible to have the DP there with the camera you'll be shooting the project on. Seeing your ideas through the lens will really help tell you if things are working or not, especially in flicker and color tests. This is ideal and doesn't always happen if it can't happen there is still valuable information gained on doing tests or test building rigs or custom lighting fixtures that you make.

Prep Day

Spend the day at the rental house going over the gear list

• Make sure everything is there that you asked for
• Make sure that the gear you need is approved by production
• Test fixtures to make sure they are working properly
• Organize the gear on carts, shelving in the truck, and where carts will go in the truck in which order in the truck
• Lighting test/programming, if you have time or multiple prep days you can continue testing and building custom fixtures/rigs
• Tie up loose ends with other department heads/production

Pre Light

Usually is the day before the official first shoot day. It can be multiple days depending on the complexity of the lighting design and how much crew you have to execute the plan. Also can have a shoot day that has X amount of hours for pre lighting and begin shooting later in the day

• Load gear into location
• Establish your departments gear staging area
• Run power
• Light the first shot of the first scene of the next day
• Light any other sets as needed

Principal Photography

• Block - Department heads watch the scene play out on the set. Next is a marking rehearsal Where key points for the actor are marked by camera department. These are marks that are like key frames in animation where you want to really make sure the lighting is working for the movie.
• Light - Do the majority of the lighting work, referencing the marks. do not get too deep into the details of the lighting, hopefully there will be time for that in the tweak phase.
• Rehearse - Talent returns to the set ready to rehearse in camera. Make sure you are at the monitor for these rehearsals so you find small mistakes or tweaks that will need to be made.
• Tweak - hopefully they will not take long to make adjustments to perfect the lighting of the scene.
• Shoot - Actually roll on a take. Try not to make too many adjustments between takes as sometimes editors use parts of one take with another. if adjustments are too drastic it can throw the whole scene off in the edit.
• Repeat - ideally this order of operations will happen for every set up. once a production deviates from this waste will accumulate.

Lost and Damaged

• Good practice to notify production of any lost or damaged gear as soon as it happens
• Mistakes happen, do not try and hide it.
• Make sure your best electric is handling it properly.

Wrap Day

On larger or longer shows you can negotiate for a wrap day.

• Spend the day at the rental house
• help count in gear and help the rental house account for all the gear
• Reestablish any customizations to the truck or gear that have been made for the shoot
• help clean the gear, removing tape is a very common one, reestablish gear back to how you received it.
• If needed, travel to location where lost gear might be. Communicate with production before you do so to make sure its there and you have access to the location.

Pick Ups and Reshoots

It is a good practice to take good notes of your lighting set ups incase you need to do pick ups or reshoots of any scenes.