Company Move
Reader Andrew writes in: There’s a line on the latest [glossary]one-liner[/glossary] that says “company move.” Why would this be in the schedule? Wouldn’t moving the production offices take all day? Why is it happening in the middle of a shoot day? Ah, the company move. Not quite as terrible as “EXT. NIGHT,” but in its […]
Not Getting Overtime
An anonymous reader writes in: I’ve just been told my show doesn’t have the budget to pay for OT, even though I’ve already had an hour and a half of it. The producer claims that no one gets OT. Even worse, my call time was 7:00 am to load gear and such from the rental […]
Coming Soon – The TAPA Podcast!
If you missed TAPAholics Anonymous meeting, you don’t know what was in the envelope I left. First, there was a bunch of name tags that read, “Hello, my name is T.A.P.A.” Along with the names tags was a stack of business cards featuring my logo, which hilariously led to anyone in a pair of glasses […]
The Day After
“So, I have a bunch of business cards. Now what?” -Fictional Reader I Just Made Up The TAPAlooza{{1}} Festival went swimmingly. The place was packed when I arrived, and there were still a few small groups of people when I left a couple hours later. A good time was had by all, and many business […]
Notes for Sunday’s Get Together
Holy crap, you guys! Somewhere between a hundred and two hundred are going to the TAPA readers’ convention{{1}} on Sunday! The official start time is 2:00pm, but I see no reason everyone should arrive right on time. I mean, seriously, you won’t even fit through the door if 200 people show up at the same […]
Post-Graduate Degrees & Another Kickstarter Movie
Jaelin writes in: What is your opinion of the PhD in regards to Film, Cinema, Production, and the like? I know I do not need one for my personal career aspirations but I have always wanted one because one of my family members I look up to since childhood has one but I am frightened […]
Not Just For Golf, Anymore
Driving around the studio in a golf cart is way more fun than it has any right to be. I drive to work at 70 miles per hour. Or possibly 5mph, depending on traffic. In any case, I have air conditioning, a stereo, comfortable seats. Basically, my car is a superior vehicle in every way. Yet […]
TAPA Gets a Plug from The New York Times!
I thought being interviewed on KCRW was cool, but The New York fucking Times??? Holy shit balls! Granted, they refer to me as “Hollywood’s version of [a] Roman galley slave,” but still, THE NEW YORK TIMES! I’m too excited to write a real blog post today.
Change of Venue
I am just overwhelmed by the response to my networking event. I genuinely wasn’t sure if anyone would want to show up, but over a hundred people have RSVPed on Facebook. Turns out, this is too many customers for the Federal.{{1}} So, I had to move the location down the road to Maeve’s Residuals: 11042 […]
First Contact
Cara writes in: What are your thoughts on business cards, especially for a young person just starting out and looking to make contacts? I am planning on coming to your meet-up next Sunday. Are business cards appropriate there? What about just in general? Is having (and giving out) business cards standard, or will it make me […]
Sympathy for the Departments
Every morning, the office receives a [glossary]production report[/glossary] in [glossary]the football[/glossary]. And every morning, the production report is wrong. A PR, for those who don’t know, is a bizarro call sheet. Instead of telling you what you’re going to do tomorrow, it tells you what you actually did yesterday. It lists the scenes that were shot, in […]
Which Schedule?
I’m often surprised at the number of people who don’t know that ADs create more than one kind of schedule. Frequently, experienced crew members will come into the office and ask for “the” schedule, only to be baffled when I ask, “which one?” So, here’s a quick primer on what’s what: The most common schedule […]