Meet More Crew Members! On any film production there are hundreds of people working very hard behind the scenes, and Jackie wanted you to meet the crew of The Spy Next Door. It was Jackie's idea to take the photos and find out a little bit about what each crew member does. Here is Part Two of our introductions to the film crew:
Bill Coss
“A” Camera Technician
Bill is in charge of focusing, reloading, and servicing one of the cameras used for this film. He must deal with any issues that arise during filming and he also assists the Director of Photography, Dean Cundey.
According to Bill: “Working with Jackie is awesome…he’s a great guy. And doing all the stunts like that; I’ve never seen that before. It’s wonderful.”
Jackie and Bill
Diana Weng
Dialogue Coach
“Hello, I’m Diana and I am Jackie’s dialogue coach. I basically help Jackie memorize his lines for the film and if that doesn’t work, I hold onto “cheat sheets” next to the camera to help him get through his dialogue. Sometimes if Jackie has to learn to sing for a role, then I have to learn to sing too!
Jackie’s a great guy to work for; extremely generous, very open. He always shares his experiences with the cast and crew. He never goes into his trailer and keeps people away. He likes to stay close to people; he likes to know what they’re doing on the set. He likes to observe people and hear their stories. As a result, the cast and crew feel like he welcomes them into his life and they become part of his family. Every single day at least 10 crew members come up to me and say such wonderful things about Jackie; that he’s such a pleasure to work with. It’s the truth and that’s why I’ve been working with “Big Brother” for almost eleven years.”
Jackie and Diana
George Parra
First Assistant Director
The First Assistant Director's job is to help the director get the movie made. He has a lot of responsibility on the set: maintaining order, rehearsing actors, calling out direction, arranging schedules, and a million other things. George is a veteran AD who has worked on Terminator 2, The Mask of Zorro, About Schmidt, and dozens of others.
George and Jackie
Dean Cundey
Director of Photography
On a movie set, the DP oversees the operation of the cameras and the lighting, working closely with the director to choose angles, lenses, and filters in order to achieve the director's desired effect. Dean Cundey has been in the business for over thirty years and has worked on movies such as Back to the Future, Apollo 13, and Romancing the Stone.
Jackie and Dean
Jan Rudolph
Script Supervisor
“I’m the script supervisor and I keep a record of what we shoot, a record of takes and camera angles, and since everything is shot in pieces, I keep a record for the editor so it’s easier for him to find the pieces and where they fit into the scene.
During this production, I’ve noticed that Jackie works differently from the usual way that American filmmakers do. Typically in American productions, directors will shoot big masters; they’ll shoot all the action and shoot several pieces of coverage. What this means is shooting the action and then going in for a tighter shot and then an even tighter shot…that’s considered coverage. Everything is thoroughly covered - there are a lot of different shots for the same scene. What I notice Jackie doing is more action with less coverage. It’s not that he has less shots; it’s just that there isn’t as much coverage. For example, if there’s a scene with two people and one guy whacks at the other guy, who then ducks down, Jackie will just do one angle on one guy and one angle on the other person. The normal American style is to shoot maybe three angles in each direction. It’s a much longer process. So Jackie’s philosophy is more action, less coverage; fewer angles on the same business. Most directors shoot the whole thing in the same way many times so they get a lot less action than Jackie does.
It’s been great working with Jackie. He’s an icon and he’s considered the best at what he does. It’s been really cool to see what a great guy he is; how nice he is and how accommodating. When you ask him something, he answers; he has time for everybody. He’s also very sweet. I think he likes tall blonde women, which is good. (Laughing) Seriously, I’ve been taken by how nice a man his is, and I mean that. When someone is like that, you just want to help them make the best film ever; you want to help them work in their way. Normally I have to adapt to so many situations in how people work, but with Jackie…because he’s such a good guy, and he’s so concerned about the quality of his work, it’s been really fun for me to accommodate that the best I can.”
Jackie and Jan
Mike Orefice
Gaffer
It is thought that the term gaffer originated in the early days of film when a long pole called a gaffe was used to control the light which entered the studio from panels in the ceiling. Nowadays it is the term used for the chief electrician on a film set. The gaffer is responsible for the design and execution of the lighting for a film. Mike has over thirty years of experience in both the television and film industries and has worked on dozens of movies including Dante's Peak, Collateral Damage, and The Ring.
Jackie and Mike
Charlie Newberry
Camera Assistant
The camera assistant's job is to care for and maintain the camera and generally assist the camera operator. He is also in charge of loading and displaying the clapper at the start of each scene.
Charlie and Jackie
Shani Orona
Assistant Locations Manager
When a movie is shot on location (i.e. not in a studio), it is the Locations Manager's job to get permission for filming and coordinate the various aspects of the shoot. The Assistant Locations Manager is the person who is at the location to manage all the details and handle any problems which may arise.
Jackie and Shani
Dustin Bernard
Unit Production Manager
The Unit Production Manager is an executive who works with the producers of a film to handle the administration and finances of a production.
Jackie and Dustin
Sandy Williams
Key Grip
On a film production, a grip is a person responsible for the setup, adjustment, and maintenance of production equipment on a set. This involves setting up and moving cameras, lighting, and other essential equipment. The Key Grip is the chief grip and works closely with the director of photography.
If you're wondering where the term "grip" comes from, Wikipedia has this explanation:
The term 'grip' dates back to the early era of the circus. From there it was used in vaudeville and then in today's film sound stages and sets. Some have suggested the name comes from the 1930s-40s slang term for a tool bag or "grip" that these technicians use to carry their tools to work. Another popular theory states that in the days of hand-cranked cameras, it would be necessary for a few burly men to hang on to the tripod legs to stop excessive movement of the camera. These men became known as the 'good grips'- as they were constantly being instructed to 'keep a good grip on the tripod'.
Jackie and Sandy
Brian Levant
Director
The director is responsible for overseeing the creative and artistic aspects of a film. After reading the script, a director will create a vision for a film and then set out to fulfill that vision. He approves most aspects of the filming itself including camera angles, set decorations, lighting, and even cast selection. The director also works closely with the actors and crew to shape the film and then works with the editors in post-production to bring the film to its conclusion.
Among the movies Brian Levant has directed are The Flintstones, Beethoven, and most recently Are We There Yet?
Brian and Jackie
Jessica Ramos
"B" Camera Second Assistant
The 2nd assistant's job is to help out the 1st camera assistant in maintaining the cameras. This includes such important tasks as changing reels when film runs out, carefully labeling each roll as it is used, placing marks for actors on the sets, and a host of other duties.
Jackie and Jessica
Tyler Fletcher
Video
It's the video technician's job to feed the playback of a scene to a monitor so the director and other crew can instantly see what a scene looks like immediately after it's filmed. The importance of the video assist can't be underestimated as it gives the director the ability to instantly analyze a take to see if it's been acted, framed, and lit correctly.
Jackie and Tyler.
Driver
Walt Russell
Walt is the man whose job it is to drive Jackie wherever he needs to go for the duration of the filming. He picks Jackie and his assistants up in the mornings and drives them to the location, then brings them home at the end of the shooting day. Walt is also responsible for providing transportation during the day should Jackie require it. As well as doing the driving, Walt provides a steady stream of country music for Jackie to listen to during the ride and occasionally shares interesting stories about local history and attractions.
Walt and Jackie
Ira Shuman
Executive Producer
An executive producer is one of the people responsible for the production of a film. Duties vary, and can include such things as business and legal issues. Ira has worked for many years in the film industry as an assistant director, unit production manager, and producer. Recently, he was executive producer on the smash hit Night at the Museum.
Jackie and Ira
Will Emery
Camera Assistant
Camera assistants have a variety of responsibilities, which may include loading the film, overseeing the negative's transfer to the lab, maintaining logs and important data regarding the shoot, marking actors, and operating the clapperboard at the start of each take.
Will and Jackie
Location Production Assistant
Santino Jimenez
Locations assistants are responsible for helping to coordinate many of the day to day aspects of a film crew working on location.
Jackie and Santino
Utility Sound
John Willingham
The utility sound technician is an assistant to the sound mixer and the boom (microphone) operator on a film set. Sound technicians assemble, operate, and maintain sound equipment for a film.
John and Jackie
Screenplay
Greg Porier
Greg is one of the scriptwriters for The Spy Next Door.
Greg and Jackie
Special Effects (SPFX) Coordinator
Randy Moore
The SPFX Coordinator supervises the team which produces the artificial effects used on a movie set to create an illusion. Special effects on a film set include such things as the creation of fog or snow, breakaway doors or windows, "green screen" shots, using scale models, and a hundred other "tricks of photography."
Randy has worked as a special effects coordinator in television and film for over twenty years.
Jackie and Randy
Set Electrician
Mark "Cowboy" Lewis
Set electricians are the skilled tradesmen who have the very important job of installing, monitoring, and maintaining all the electrical equipment on a film set.
Jackie and Cowboy
Production Assistant
Keith Jackson
On a film set, the production assistant has an incredibly vast and varied number of responsibilities including such things as directing traffic, running errands, "locking down" a set (making sure nothing interferes with filming), distributing radios and call sheets, and coordinating extras. They are in constant radio communication with the assistant director and fellow production assistants and are often the first to arrive on a set and the last to leave.
Jackie and Keith
Animal Wrangler
Trevor Fowler
Wranglers are the professional animal handlers on a film set. They supply and manage the animals used in a production. Trevor Fowler is a former child actor who turned his love of animals into a full time job and is now the Director of Animal Talent at The Animal Agency, a company which supplies animals for film, television, and commercials. While working on The Spy Next Door, Trevor was impressed with Jackie's confidence and skill at handling a very nervous cat.
Trevor and Jackie
Craft Services ("Crafty")
Don Draper and Perry Coomaws
Craft Services on a film set refers to the department that provides the snacks, drinks, and other services to the craftspeople (i.e. cameramen, actors, etc.).
Don and Perry work hard to keep the cast and crew supplied with drinks and food throughout the entire filming. If you've read Jackie's diary, you know that he finds it hard to resist the tasty treats that "Crafty" supplies for the hungry cast and crew. Don and Perry take pride in offering a wide variety of delicious snacks, which they bring right to the set and hand out on trays during the day.
Perry, Jackie, and Don
Special Effects Fabricator
Mike Prawitz
Mike works with the Special Effects team to create illusions on the film set.
Jackie and Mike
Set Decoration
David, David, David, David, David, David, and Colin
Set decorators and set dressers are the people who are in charge of decorating the sets; placing items such as furniture, pictures, lamps, etc. They work with the set designer to purchase and arrange all of the things that you see, for example, in a scene filmed inside a character's apartment.
Incredibly, there are six men named David on the Set Decoration team for The Spy Next Door: David Curry, David Shirey, David Servoss, David Thompson, David McQuade, and David Holyoke. There is also a set dresser named Colin Zaug. Since the set decorators are often one step ahead of the filming crew, they are not often seen on the set. However, we did catch a photo of four of the six Davids (although we were able to get only one last name....sorry):
David Servoss (left) with David, David, and David.
We hope you've enjoyed meeting some more of the crew of The Spy Next Door. We'll continue to introduce you to more people as time goes by.
Part One of our crew introductions.
Text and photos Copyright 2008 The JC Group/ Katharine Schroeder
All Rights Reserved