This picture was taken by yours truly while I was hiding behind a couch. Why was I hiding? Because I was told to by the first assistant director (1st AD) of the shoot. One faithful night I participated as a production assistant for a music video. Sounds SO cool, right?
Nah. Not when it's a night shoot, the 2nd AD is a total boob and you're told to run playback the entire night. While sitting on a hard wood floor behind a couch. Picture this, me, wedged between a couch and a concrete wall with a giant speaker next to me, blaring a pop song over and over. For 8 hours.
The conversation went as follows. Ahem:
1st AD: Hey Howie, just to make sure you aren't seen on camera, we need to you run playback behind that couch on the platform over there.
(He points)
Howie: (Looks up to platform) Sure, no problem...
1st AD: And could you turn it up as loud as it goes?
Which is very loud by the way. The 1st AD had to use a bull horn to yell, "CUT!!" so I could hear when to stop playing the music. It was loudness on top of noise from 6pm to 5am.
I've never been so happy to leave a job. Bright and early at 5 in the f*cking morning, because LA production is like NYC on a casual Tuesday, relatively tame but it still never stops moving. And handling production is 20% fun and 80% 'why.'
After initially taking this job I told my roommate, "I don't want to do a night shoot..." To which she responded, "Then why are you doing that job..." (She does not work in production)
"Because," I said. "How can you honestly say you hate something unless you've tried it and confirmed you actually hated it." I hear it all the time. People proclaiming their hatred toward a thing they've never experienced. Total poppycock if you ask me.
I knew I was going to hate that night shoot. But I wanted to actually experience a night shoot so I could back up my opinion. An opinion which I've so kindly bestowed upon you. And I'll sprinkle in a bit of advice; hate night shoots.
Hate them. And never look back.
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