“Welcome To The Jungle Now”

I finally decided to volunteer on a film set. One of our Production instructors  posts gigs ever so often on a Facebook page. I saw a request for volunteer PA’s (production assistants)  and decided to give it a try. I immediately gave him a ring and he said that someone would contact me within a hour.

I was contacted in less than an hour from one of the producers of the video shoot and he sent a call sheet with time and location of the shoot along with contact information of the crew members and talent. The shoot would begin 8am the next morning and run until about 8pm.

I was unfamiliar with the location and wasn’t sure how to get there, but I put in the address in google maps and came up with two options; a subway route as well as a route via a Streetcar. The subway route was faster but I had questions on when to switch trains. So I asked a friend to check it out for me and she told me that she would get back with details. I also called a friend from film school (Tagie) who explained it to me. So, with a clearer picture in my head I retired to bed early as I had to be on set before our call time of 8am the next morning.

TTC route

I awoke at 5:30am the next morning (November 23rd) and went through my backpack to ensure that I had all the necessities (a multi-purpose tool, pen, notepad, working gloves as well as gloves to stay warm, band-aids, and a few snacks as well as my canteen of tea).

I left home just before 7am and arrived at Queens Station at about 7:10am only to discover that the subway was closed until 9am on Sundays. I was could not believe this, but was quick to recover…  I did not want to be late on my first time as PA (production assistant) on a set. I asked the guards at the station for some help and was told that I would have to catch two Streetcars to get to my destination.

on location

I rushed outside and caught the first one that took me to North Bloor. The driver gave me instructions on where to catch the second one that would take me to West Dundas, and then I had about an eight minute walk to the location.

Red Camera

While waiting for the second Streetcar, my Production instructor texted to ask where I was, it was 7:30 am. I told him that I was on my way via a Streetcar. He said, “You know I’m gonna make you say it” (meaning that if I was late he would make me repeat this mantra to the entire cast and crew, ‘Early is on time, on time is late and late in unacceptable’. I had no intentions of being late and told him so, “I’m not going to be late”.

My ‘limo’ (the bus/streetcar) arrived soon after :). I got on and confirmed with the driver that it was headed in the direction of the shoot location, he said yes. I sat down next to two elderly gentlemen and asked the one to my left how long to West Dundas.. the reply “about 15 more stops”. I swore under my breath. I was praying that we would bypass most of the stops. As it was Sunday, we bypassed quite a few.  The gentleman next to me told me that my destination was 2 stops away. It was now 7:45am. On arriving, I ran the remaining  8 minutes and arrived at the location at 7:55am.

I was greeted by the producer who had contacted me the evening before and was told to ‘hang tight for a few minutes’. I went to quickly say hello to Jason (Production instructor from school) and he made a few quick introductions. Soon after that I was put to work. My duties were ‘anything that needed doing’ (from making coffee, to hanging lights, moving c-stands around, cleaning up on the set to moving items around. Finally, I was given a sheet of paper with the bands’ song, “Bulalay”, to mark the time start of each line and given the task of “playback”. I was shown to one of the Macs on the table and this task kept me busy for a few minutes. I soon discovered that some of the lyrics on the paper didn’t match up. I got a friend of the band to help me ‘transcribe’ and rewrite it and soon became good friends with him and the rest of the band (The Posterz).

Sitting with two members of The Posterz

Assistant Director (Jason) and 1st A.C.

Finally I was called out to take charge of the playback on set. My first set-up was on an iPod that connected to a ‘Boom box’. While I was quite familiar with Mac computers, and becoming more familiar with several types of cameras, I had never owned or operated an iPod. I asked another of the PA’s to show me how to work it and he did. So after a few fumbles, I had it down. Later, iPod would be connected to speakers powered by a  generator. In between my assigned duty of ‘playback’ I would also return to my duties of ‘anything that needed doing’. 

We got an early lunch break (excellent food on this set and even greater company).

The Posterz

After lunch we would work up until 8pm. The day was long and working outdoors was cold, but as the sun went down and lighting was set up – 2k, 1K and Kino Flo, the warmth came. The evening was coming to an end and we were on the last take, at this point I had moved my set-up around quite a bit and we changed location quite a bit. We were on the last take and the AD called “playback” and ‘nothing’. I checked all my settings.. and after a few ‘choice words’ Jason came over… we checked and rechecked the connections, only after checking one of the AC connections we discovered the problem. Then, it was ‘a wrap’!

One of the props on set..

It was a great experience. The crew was so professional; I was truly impressed, from Director, Assistant Director, DP (Director of Photography), Producers, 1st and 2nd A. C.s (camera operators) as well as a Drone operator, right down to the Production Assistants. We worked hard and I’m excited to see the finished product.

The chorus from the song ‘Bulalay’ stays with me, “Welcome to the Jungle now…. bulalay, bulalay…” The entire experience is one I’d repeat in a heartbeat.

Follow The Posterz on facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thepost3rz

P.S. We got a pleasant surprise from a random passerby who ended up as part of the shoot 🙂

The random passerby (left).. and Red (right) part of The Posterz crew.