Message from the Assistant Director

By Ian Dickinson assistant director

Hey everybody! It’s your friendly local Assistant Director Ian Dickinson! Some of you may be wondering just what the heck an Assistant Director does round these parts, and I hope I might shed a little light on the subject!

Let me just state right now that I do a lot of work. And because I span that awkward divide between Production management and Crew, that work provides me a unique view behind the scenes on all aspects of filmmaking. For instance, on the typical day, my first activity is waking up and sending out the call sheets. I eat my daily bowl of grape nuts while tying up the next day’s call sheets, and then I make call after call to make sure everyone has directions and rides to the location. Once that is settled, I shower, take care of other personal tasks, and drive myself and the boom operator (assuming I don’t have any extra tasks like picking up a prop) to Brad’s house to pick up crew members. And this is all in the hour before I start work!

Once on location I constantly check that everyone is working as hard as they can. I organize the shoot so we can go faster. I help the grips set up, I make sure the actors are in position and I pass out the walkies. On top of that I have to make sure everyone constantly knows the time. From the moment I arrive on set I can’t afford to relax except for a few minutes during lunch and then at the end of my shift. Stress is a daily part of my life, because the clock is always ticking. I sometimes have visions of myself as a giant walking stopwatch that goes around and pokes people just to annoy them and tell them the time.

So on and on it goes until the end of the day when I help the grips break down the set and find a dumpster to take care of all of our trash. During this part of the morning, because it is usually 7 am, I wonder if I could apply to be on the Worlds Dirtiest Jobs.

So yes, I work almost every hour of the day (and then have anxiety dreams at night), but I still find myself invigorated by the cornucopia of new activities in which I am fully engaged. Here is a list of things I have tried or experienced for the first time on this shoot:

Bought a bisexual porno film
Bought a banana hammock
Welded a piece of metal
Driven an El Camino
Driven a 67 Mustang
Have a big-time actor constantly deride me for my politeness
Get more than 15 phone calls in a 6 hour period
Talked in Italian
Hooked up a trailer to a hitch and then drive backwards with it
Used a longboard as a really useful transportation device
Driven a fifteen foot high truck
Watched a black widow fight a white spider
So overall it has been a pretty great experience. Again, the work is hard, but honestly, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. The people are great, the actors are funny (notice how I don’t lump them in with “people”), and the finished product is something I will be proud of for the rest of my life. So while some days I might grit my teeth and pull my hair (see: everyday), I know that in the end all of this is worth it.