As I continue blogging my thoughts on filmmaking and movies, I want to do my best to provide insight into my career and what’s been happening. Sharing these experiences is fun for me to spout off about and (hopefully) beneficial for other new filmmakers to take note of and learn from.
Now, I’ve experienced a new step in my filmmaking career that was massively educational. My first time on a set crew was in a low-budget horror film with great independent creatives, and I’m delighted to share it. Finding crew opportunities as a fresh-faced college grad (in the middle of the COVID-19 epidemic, no less) has not been the most straightforward task. But through sheer luck and decent networking skills, this opportunity allowed me to pick other top-notch filmmakers’ brains while serving a great project.
When Opportunity Comes A-Knocking
I guess my first piece of advice would be never to doubt the power of chance encounters. However you may feel about striking up a chat with randoms, my experience at a random bar on a random Tuesday should prove that you never know who you’ll meet out there.
As we played darts and slung back shots, I didn’t think I’d bump into local freelance producer and actor Adam Torkel. A fellow Brooklyn College alumnus from the Film Program, Torkel was more than happy to exchange contact info, telling me he’ll keep me in mind for crew jobs and prospects like that while also giving me some great tips on navigating the industry.
Fast-forward a month later, I see that Adam has shared an Instagram story from a director, Brandon Bassham, who’s looking for extras for his low-budget film shoot, Disco Inferno, next week. Naturally, I emailed right away while also messaging Adam to see if he had any involvement in the project. Adam tells me that he’s also helping out and has already vouched for me with Brandon (his exact words were that I’m “good shit,” meant with love). He told me this is a great place to meet other filmmakers and that the low-budget film crowd is one to stick around with. These guys all stick together and want to make fun, cool movies with people they consider friends.
Brandon gets back to me a few days later, offering to have me on the crew. He gave me a little rundown of what would be happening and what would be needed. The shoot would start at the Lucky 13 Saloon at 8 AM, where we have to dress the set, film the scenes, and take everything down before the bar opens at 2 PM. There was no better way to spend my Saturday morning; I was ecstatic to be a part of it! I quickly called out of work that morning and did some quick research into the project itself.
Welcome to Tromaville!
So Disco Inferno is the first short in what will be Bring on the Damned! Vol. 1, a horror/comedy anthology feature. The project’s Kickstarter campaign gave this description:
BRING ON THE DAMNED! VOL. 1 - A Horror/Comedy Anthology Featuring 5 Tales of Shocking Violence & Questionable Humor! Our tales include the Brian De Palma meets Saturday Night Fever disco/slasher 'Disco Inferno,' the French New-Wave, serial killer homage 'Johnny Lee and Sam,' the documentary-style exorcism short 'Diagnosis: Satan,' the sci-fi/noir 'Bad Day in Mars Town,' and the David Fincher/Hanna-Barbera mashup 'Tara & The Tiger Babes.'
I also looked at the film’s Instagram page and found that the production company, Troma, had an attachment to the project. That was a familiar name!
I’ve run across the work of Troma before. I’ve heard of their flagship movie, The Toxic Avenger, and I’ve seen the founder Lloyd Kaufman in his cameos in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad. Their low-budget horror and cult films are well known throughout the independent circuit; they gave many famous stars and filmmakers (Gunn, Samuel L. Jackson, Trey Parker & Matt Stone, Marisa Tomei) their start before going Hollywood.
I did some research into Brandon, too (sorry, buddy; I don’t think you can blame me for doing some homework!). He’s written and directed a handful of features and plenty of short films. My excitement to watch this filmmaker do his work and help out grew exponentially. To save me any embarrassment, I looked into production assistant duties and what grips do from some trusty YouTubers, seeing as it was, in Brandon’s words, “all hands on deck.”
Today's the Day!
At 6 in the morning, I’m trying to compare which black shirt looks better than the other; more professional. Eat a quick breakfast, race for my train put on my best game face…
When I get there, Brandon and a few others are waiting outside for someone from the bar to open her up. There were other guys he reached out to for assistance, big fans of the Troma brand and community. Another crew member, Andrew, was also about to graduate from film school and looking to get some set experience too. He had made a horror short for his thesis project, and we exchanged socials.
The car carrying all the equipment pulled up around 9. Mike Doyle, the DP, and Stevie Lewis, the grip/everyman of the set, put us to work right away. We’re unloading so many C-stands, crates of cables and clamps, and light boxes that I was surprised it all fit in two cars. It was crazy how quickly we just got to doing something. Andrew and I grabbed a ladder and started hanging up the red drapes covering the inside of the horror-themed bar.
Of course, I made a bit of a mistake right away. I wasn’t sure how to drape these red cloths, so I just started using gaffing tape and sticking it straight to the above-high shelf. I didn’t think anything of it until Mike pointed out that it probably wasn’t the best method, given that the stand was piled with horror merchandise, and we didn’t want to muddle it with tape. Clamps were the more robust option to hold the curtains longer; people might tug and pull, which would be a disaster.
He did this very nicely, might I add. I was new meat in the production machine; I had said so to everyone there. But no one mocked us newbies and trusted us to make the proper judgment in aid of the shoot. Stevie helped us by jerry-rigging some tape and one final clamp to get the final drape over the bathroom. It was honestly amazing watching him work on the set-up and everything.
He wasn’t just putting down sandbags and putting up reflectors to bounce the disco lights in the corner. This guy was on top of everything. It was supposed to be nighttime, right? But this glimmer was still seeping through the skylight, which would be noticeable on camera. The trouble is, there’s a giant coffin in the way, and we can’t take it down. What does this maniac do? Looking like Atlas holding up the sky on his shoulders, Stevie gets on one ladder to hold it up while another guy tapes up a black cloth to cover the light. It was surprisingly heavy, he told us; it wouldn’t surprise us if it had a body inside—a sight to behold.
Surprisingly, we got everything set up in time before all the extras, and the actors arrived. Light stands, external monitors, and all the cables were laid out in record time, thanks to all the hands available. I had to change my shirt from how much I was sweating; I was as drenched as I was in the restaurant kitchen I work on a hot summer day. But hard work never felt so good because I knew I played a part in getting the shoot done. Brandon, Stevie, and the others took the time to make it known that we were doing good, even while focused on their task of directing and more technical facets of the shoot.
Places, People!
The filming of Disco Inferno was underway!
When the extras and the main actors came in around 10 o’clock, Andrew, some of the other helping hands, and I blended into the background. Brandon briefly directed the extras on acting like a disco party crowd, bopping to non-existent music and murmuring in conversation. Some of us were to stare at the lead actress as she walked into the club, turning our heads to the newly arrived object of everyone’s attention.
It was fun being in the background and watching the whole thing go down. I talked to some other background people who were fans of TROMA and wanted to help out. Some were also filmmaker friends of Brandon’s. We shuffled around during scene changes, people in the front were put in the back, etc., to give the illusion of different days taking place. At some point, I’m in the center of the bar, turning and nodding at the actor as he strides on in.
Watching Mike repeatedly perform the smooth Steadicam shot for each character’s entrance was very informative. You have one guy guiding him from behind, so he doesn’t stumble while another guy is watching on the monitor and controlling the follow focus. Brandon was pleased with everything that was going on; the shots were coming out terrifically on his end.
I managed to get behind his little director area during the shuffle and observe the goings-on of directing a busy set on a low budget. Just from the brief script I could glimpse at, Brandon managed to get at least ten shots done in about 2 hours for three or four scenes. All because the crew cares about his vision for the project and movie-making in general.
Tear It Down!
We started breaking everything down by about one, which went by much quicker than putting the equipment together. But I think it’s strange how nothing seems to fit the same way in cases and bags when you take them apart than when we set it all up. I mean, how come the cloths take up more space now than when we took them out of the car?
After breaking it all down, we hung out and exchanged more numbers and socials. I did more networking there than I had in 4 years of college. Stevie told me that gigs like these are perfect for making connections and gaining experience. Despite having never really been into the low-budget horror scene, I felt welcomed and wanted to engross myself more in these types of films. I was given a pat on the back and went home, happy that my first-ever PA gig went swimmingly.
Lessons Learned
What can you, the reader, take away from this?
Don’t be afraid to get drawn into conversation. Strangers are strangers, but you never know who will drop an opportunity in your lap. If I hadn’t bumped into Adam Torkel on a random night out at a bar, I would never have heard about Brandon’s search for extras and crew. I would never have gotten a glowing recommendation (being “good shit” is forever going on my resume) and been part of a TROMA project.
Know when to admit that you need help or don’t understand a direction. Would you look like an amateur, asking for help? No, it’s better to get it right than to look foolish doing it wrong. Not that the world ended when I used gaffing tape when clamps would’ve been better, but the lesson applies. I think, at least on the low-budget crew circuit, people aren’t going to admonish you for asking for help.
Take what comes your way! I took off work to help out on the shoot and still had to race home afterward and do the night shift because I wanted the experience. If you can sacrifice time, do it! Even if it’s just carrying boxes or setting up light stands without actually working any equipment, it’s an opportunity to get the credit. Then, when you want to carry boxes and climb ladders in another film, you can say that you’re experienced at doing so from the other project.
Well, that’s the end of my story!
OR IS IT?!?
That’s right; I was asked to help out on the filming of another segment, Tara & The Tiger Babes! That was a much more involved experience in helping the production of Bring on the Damned! Vol. 1, I got to go to the TROMA offices; such an incredible experience.
I want to thank Brandon, Adam, Stevie, Mike, the rest of the crew for making this freshman film worker feel less apprehensive and including me in the project. I can’t wait to share the next storytime blog post with you guys, so STAY TUNED!
