Stuff That I Have Noticed #39: Watching Movies/Making Movies

Since 1960 when I had my first film job as an actor I have been fascinated with the process of making movies. Even then, and throughout my acting years, between setups I usually found myself talking to crew members about what they did and their gear.

As of February 2021 my curiosity has prevailed for sixty years most of which have been spent in actually making films. It is truly a fascinating, ever changing and unpredictable activity. The irony in the previous sentence is that the bulk of this time, working as a producer and especially as a 1st assistant director and director – primarily shooting on location – much of my job was exactly that: scheduling and managing the unpredictable. (Sound stage shoots are much more predictable, ergo boring.)

I have worked in the movie biz as an actor, a sound recordist, a grip, a camera assistant, a camera operator, a producer, a production manager, a first assistant director, an editor and a director. Having hands-on experience in so many of the disciplines of this craft have made me much better at the “executive” jobs.

The point here is that I have an intimate knowledge of how movies are made. Which brings me to the subject of this essay.

I often drive my wife Elizabeth nuts when we watch movies and TV shows together.

If a show is truly excellent and I become engaged in the plot and characters I’m just as wrapped up as anyone and am completely in thrall. And yet there is that production section of my brain that simply refuses to be ignored. My mind’s eye sees the crew, the rigging, the dolly grips executing a flawless camera move and wonder how many takes were needed to reach that perfection. I see the crowd of technicians in their down parkas on the side of a mountain where a character is freezing to death alone. I especially envision the wardrobe person standing just outside of the frame holding a blanket, gloves and a long fur-lined coat waiting to enwrap the actor as soon as she hears, “Cut!”.

Okay, fine. “What’s the problem?”, you might well ask.

The problem is that (no surprise) I don’t seem to be able to keep my mouth shut.

The sort of specialized movie stuff in the larger paragraph above seems to be impossible for me to leave unmentioned.

”That shot reminds me of a February day when I was shooting on the Brooklyn Bridge and it was nine degrees. Our actor nearly froze to death.” Or “We did a car shot like that at Watkins Glen race track and (Key Grip) Bill Lowry fixed a high-tech car mount with a whittled twig.”

Elizabeth gives me the look. I shrink in my chair.

On the other hand, she becomes somewhat freaked out by on-screen brutality of every kind. When that happens I mention that those are stunt actors who are not really getting hurt and are making good money – anything to ease her upset. She gives me the look again but in these cases that’s okay because it also distracts her from the upset.

Strangely, this bifurcated attention not only fails to “take me out of” the drama being portrayed but enhances my enjoyment. Awareness of what goes into getting a shot and/or a scene makes me more involved than the normal viewer.

Then there’s the editing!

Until the late 1980s all I knew about editing film and video was that someone did it. Once the film I was involved in went to the laboratory I was done. Sometimes I got to watch the dailies (unedited raw footage that had been shot the day before) but that in no way informed me about what the film editor did.

This I began to learn when I started directing videos, mainly of Elizabeth’s concerts. I went to Primalux Video* and met Joel Watts who became our editor for all the early video I directed of her shows. I watched and learned. And I was coached by my Montreal video-meister friend Denis Robert. Without going into too much detail, between 1988 and 2000 I learned a ton about that craft, acquired a rudimentary video editing system and taught myself the necessary techniques. Then in 2000 I got my first professional, full featured digital (computer based) editing system; Apple’s Final Cut Pro, and my real editing career began in earnest.

So now when we’re watching movies I not only distract my long-suffering wife with remarks about production but I also critique the editing. “I would have stayed on that shot longer.” Or “Nice cut.” Or “Instead of that close-up I’d have gone to the two-shot”. Like that.

Here’s a fun piece I shot and edited sixteen years ago.

And the remarkable thing is that all this movie making knowledge actually enhances, rather than dilutes, my enjoyment of the art form. I’m sorry it’s so distracting for Elizabeth (except for the violent scenes).

My book, Waiting for Elizabeth, wherein I detail my learning process as a director may be found here.

* NOTE: Translated from Latin, “I see first light”. Is that a great name for an editing company or what!?