The Value of Diversity

The Value of Diversity - it's not just a politically correct sentiment.  It's actually a useful concept, especially in film-making.  Allow me to explain:

I had to replace our original DP, who shall, for the moment, remain nameless.  Regular readers (all two or three of you) will know who he is/was 'cause I bragged on him back when I thought it was a done deal.  I bragged pretty fiercely. Very talented fellow, who liked the script and believed in the project.

Then, he had a prior commitment (a paying one) extend the shoot into overlapping with our Kanashimi schedule, which, unfortunately for his participation, was quite inflexible.  So I released him of his obligation, no hard feelings. I scrubbed the old posts referring to him, mainly to avoid embarrassing either of us professionally.  He's a good guy, and we may work together in the future.

As I told him, though, I had a contingency.  I always have a contingency.  I'd made up my mind to put a friend of mine on the short list as a replacement, and her name I shall tell you: the lovely, the talented Lisa Sherman.  She and I have known each other off and on for about 30+ years.  We went to school together.  As teens back in Florida we made silly little horror movies and dreamed of Hollywood.  She actually went; I didn't. A USC Film School graduate, she now owns a company in Portland, Oregon called Media FX.

So I talked her and her business partner Erik Mayne into joining the team, serving as the Camera Department.

Here's where the "diversity" part comes in.  No, not her gender; I couldn't care less about that.  I'm talking about her training and her vision. While I have worked in TV and directed a few short films to order, I'd never been to film school.  Nor had I ever originated a film from the ground up (outside of the aforementioned teen-aged cinematic extravaganzas we'd shot on Super-8 and VHS).  I was always a hired gun, with someone else to handle the fine details (like craft services).

Lisa, on the other hand, knows the "right" way to do things.  She like, went to school for it. This created an interesting dynamic between my sort of theoretical, self-taught approach and her more grounded world view.   She knew when I was off on a losing tangent, even when I didn't, and would reel me back in. Sometimes gently; more often, not so.  The first couple of days, I was so sure I'd planned everything pretty well, and she was so sure I had not.  Guess who was right?  Yep.  Score one for Lisa.

Fortunately (and perhaps miraculously), my ego stood down long enough to listen to her guidance, and - by the third day - we were humming along like a well-oiled machine, with proper preparations and even (gasp!) short production meetings every morning.  My prior experience, as it turned out, did help, because it taught me to listen to people who know more than I.  Directing a scene on the floor and working with actors is something very much in my comfort zone, but worrying about what people were eating and how to make sure the crew stayed on the same page throughout the day?  Well, that had always been someone else's department.  Now I have a fair clue about that part of the process, too.

Beyond that, though, was the fact that I'd almost always DP'd my own work.  With few exceptions, I used to set my own lights, operate the camera, and get what I wanted by just doing it. The people who used to hire me loved that.  This time I had my hands full as a first-time Executive Producer, Location Manager, and Chief Assistant Cook and Bottle Washer as well.  All that and photograph it, too?  Are you KIDDING?!

So it was that, this time, I actually sat back and watched someone else light the set.  Frequently, her ideas were utterly different from my original conception.  I would start to say something, then let the words die in my throat and just take it in.  Most of the time, I just let her do her thing, even though it's not what I had in mind, because - God help me - I found it inspiring to see someone else's take on the same material I'd been living with for almost a year, now, in the form of script drafts and storyboards and concept art. The similarities in our visions were instructive, but more so the differences, which forced me to look at the script, the set, and the performances through new eyes.

In other words - and this is very important for you aspiring film-makers to soak in - the diversity of our artistic visions led to some awesome solutions that, alone, I would never have seen.  When she got through lighting the office scene, for example (which I had envisioned as flat, pasty, and dull), it looked dark and menacing - like the undocumented 8th level of hell.  This spurred me to compose a shot that was never in the storyboards, which led to an inspiration that literally saved the days' shooting schedule when one of the actors could not show up.  Her lighting played no small part in getting me to think about the scene in a different way and solve the problem of the missing character by framing a master shot completely different from my original concept.  That and some excellent improv by lead actor Thurman Kellogg.

So, whatever your political leanings, don't dismiss the concept of "diversity" as empty Liberal happy talk, or embrace it for the wrong reasons (as a quota process).  Actually use it to try and view the project through other peoples' eyes.  You'll be amazed and delighted at what you see.