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This weekend, I spent over 24 hours on a set as an AD (that’s Assistant Director). Everybody likes to joke that film school is easy, (which it kind of is, the classes at least). But this is not the first and surely not the last weekend I’ll lose because I’m “busy shooting”. Voluntarily. But I love it. A lot.

When I started studying film, I had barely any prior experience on sets. I knew there were cameras and sound and lights and a director, but that’s about it. As soon as I arrived, I knew it was something I wanted to do. It’s a high-energy, high-stress atmosphere that benefits the person who never sits down. Half the time, I want to pull my hair out, and I don’t think I could be happier anywhere else. (I mean that in a good way!)

But yeah, part of the gig is saying things differently than one would usually communicate. For example, “eyes on slate” is just another way of saying “does anyone see the slate anywhere?,” (“slate” being the piece of whiteboard that they hold in front of the camera and makes the clapping noise). Another, “hold for gaf” means “everyone wait to start because the gaffer is adjusting one of the lights.” Do all of them save that many words that its crucial enough for everyone to know this weird lingo? No! But it’s fun and it makes everyone who says it feel more professional and accomplished, so we’ll do it anyway.

It’s worth noting that there are some people who don’t like it. I’ve encountered a few who think the more niche ones just aren’t necessary, and I sympathize with their sentiment. However, I think there’s real, tangible effects to them besides the efficiency part:

1. It sets the right atmosphere for a set. There’s a definite difference between my 423 Short Film Production Class and your friends who are making a YouTube video (no offense), and that difference is professionalism. Shouting these quick, snappy phrases to your crew and them coming back with an equally snappy response makes everyone feel just a little bit more like they know what the heck is going on, which in turn makes us all more professional.
2. It shows experience. When you know and use the vernacular properly, people respect you more on set. That’s something I’ve seen in practice many a times. And especially in my (usual) job, AD, you need people to listen to you and follow up quickly.

So yes, I will keep using my fancy-shmancy code speech on set, and yes I will make fun of it and yes I love it.

Jonah J. Sobczak

-jonahso

P.S.: (The footage was taken during a shoot in a studio at the Walgreen Center. Super interesting set with a super amazing crew, the project is entitled Emotional Creature and it’s about genuine female experiences. Here’s the link to the YouTube Livestream airing at 8:00 this Friday!)

 

For today’s post, I wanted to talk about an amazing public art piece in the Ann-Arbor/Ypsilanti area! Prospect Park is a DIY skate park that was painted entirely by the community of people that skates there. Visiting Prospect is like stepping into an immersive world of color and movement. The varying height of the ramps makes the art feel alive, and the sheer amount of it is all-consuming. Adding roller skaters and skateboarders into the mix creates a whole new dimension of life within the art. Many of the skaters are clad with bright-colored outfits and statement pieces, bringing their own unique style into the mismatch of striking art around them. Prospect Park is just that: a jigsaw of personal expression, an explosion of color, and an epicenter of life. To see more images of Prospect Park and to read statements from athletes that skate there, you can follow this link to a copy of my book, Unsponsored?: A Feminist, Queer Skate Story. I had the amazing opportunity to photograph female and gender non-conforming skaters within and outside of the Ann Arbor area. Many of them are artists; one roller skater I talked to has a business selling hand-made rugs in the shape of roller skates. Another is a fifteen-year-old photographer that is just starting out, but produces portraits that make it look like she’s been taking pictures for years. One skateboarder is going to a school across the country to study design this coming fall. Another is a non-binary fashion influencer. Listening to their stories was like talking to Prospect personified; art was all around me.

 

“Mile-Long Mixtapes”: Ep. #7

Guess I’m Grown Now

by Kellie M. Beck

 

Stephen Day has quietly been writing R&B-inspired acoustic tunes since 2016, with his debut EP, Undergrad Romance and the Moses in Me. He’s come a long way since then, recently releasing a live album and a new EP in 2021, but his only full length album, Guess I’m Grown Now, in my opinion, is his finest work. With one leg in acoustic singer-songwriter folk, and the other in bedroom pop, Day shows listeners the future of pop-writing techniques, borrowing from a variety of genres to create a sound uniquely his. 

 

Guess I’m Grown Now is my favorite kind of album– it explores a single concept, with great dexterity, texture, and tone. What can I say? I’m a sucker for musicians who use their albums to ask specific questions about their lives. Catharsis and reflection, for me, create importance. 

 

With a mixture of love songs and songs that self-reflect on Day’s “twenty-two years and some change”, the album creates a multi=layered view of what feels like a hot summer week in New York City, where the night gives in, and we all take a breath of relief as the humidity is lifted off our shoulders, if only for a moment. 

 

Day gives listeners a brief intro track that I’ve always appreciated– the title song of his album. But after, it jumps into a song with easy guitar grooves and a beat made for strutting down the sidewalk. From this track, entitled For Life (Take You Out, Treat You Right), Day detours into a series of songs that seems to tell the story of a relationship from different points of perspective and time. The next four songs have the same groove, relying on funky background guitar riffs, and melodies that stray a little left of center– in the best kind of way. Whatever you do, DON’T MISS OUT ON Dancing in the Street. God, what a good song. 

 

If John Mayer had a cooler, more interesting, and less problematic brother, it would be Stephen Day. He has that sweet crooning voice we all love from Mayer, and a similar style, but Day elevates his work with more production and layers of instrumentation, and a stronger build toward his musical climaxes. 

 

After our foiree into relationships, Day brings the spotlight back to him. Twenty Two and Some Change, as well as Back to Georgia, address what it means to find your own voice, and how lonely, yet empowering it can be. Day drops down the production for the last two tracks on the album, that are sentimental, bittersweet, and lush. 

 

There is also an acoustic version of the album– a great counterpart to the fully produced album and a reminder that Day knows what he’s doing when it comes to songwriting.