BPS 380: Watch This to Survive on a Film Set with Christine Chen

There's no reason to get coverage from a reader that's used to reading temp pole movies when your movie's gonna be done for one hundred thousand dollars. And we wanted to focus on that. At Bulletproof script Coverage, our readers have worked with Marvel Studios, CIA, WME, NBC, HBO, Disney, Scott Free, Warner Brothers, The Blacklist, and many many more. So if you need your screenplay or TV script covered

by professional readers, head on over to covermiscreenplay dot com. Now, guys, this is one episode I wish existed when I was first starting out in the film industry. We are going to be talking about how to survive on a film set. The film set is this magical place with a lot of different languages and words and things that the normies out there would never understand, like what's a stinger, what's

an apple box, what's a martini shot? And so many other things, And today's guests down and wrote a book to explain it in the most beautiful and easy way I've ever seen. Her name is Christine Chen and she is a veteran of the film set, to say the least.

And this episode we talk about a lot of those words, how to act on set, what some of these words mean so you don't look like a new beyond set and even if you've been on set a ton, this episode might remind you of those few things into other departments that you might not know about and might help you not look like, oh god, this this person has no idea what they're talking about on set. It's a really, really valuable episode. So without any further ado, please enjoy

my conversation with Christine Chen. I like to welcome to the show, Christine Chen. How you doing, Christine, I'm good.

a film set. So you guys decided to write a book called get Yeah, Listen, which, by the way, it is as simple beautifully you know, it's not like it's as you could if you guys can see, it's all pretty pictures and everything, so it's real like it's to the point, and it's as a book that I wish I would have had when I started out. I'm sure you feel.

that was. No clue, and nobody tells you this. You just get thrown into the wolves and a film set is super high paced, and you're already stressed out that you want to make a good impression because you finally got onto a film set and someone's like, get a singer. I'm like, I don't know what the f that is, And so the only option at that point is to hopefully snag a crew member that has the time and

patience to explain it to you. But then you then you have the fear of sounding just showing that you don't know what you're doing. I mean, not that you know, you going around set is not enough to show that you don't know what you're doing, but like to just add insult to that, to be that obvious that you don't even know how people talk on set is even worse.

pushed the dolly. That's as simple as that. But No, when I first got started out, I was thrown into the wolves, and I was going to a technical film school that actually taught you some of these things. So I went to Full Sale in Orlando, where is it very technical film school at least it was when I was there, and I knew what a stinger was. But there's still this Carni language of you know, an apple box and and you know a honey wagon and crafty and all of these things that you just don't know.

And you and I take it for granted, because we've been on set up a ton of times over the years. But when you're first on set, your you're nervous as hell. And the thing is anyone listening who gets on set for the first time, they just have to understand that most people, most people on the crew, depending on who you get on them, what type of the day you get, understand that you know nothing. And if you're a PA, it's expected you know nothing unless you're like the forty

five year old pa. And that's another conversation. Yes, so yeah, because I've met those guys, I'm.

you'll get off. Maybe maybe not one day. Maybe you give you like two or three days, and you if you feel the ish, then you just know. I was in documentary filmmaking. Actually before I went on set, I had been a one man band for a while. In undergrad you have to be a well rounded person, so they say, you know, you have to do a credit in an art class, and so I fell into filmmaking at that point. I chose an intro to documentary filmmaking

course Rice University and loved it. I loved the editing part, I loved the telling the story part. Everything, and that was I mean, that was all I knew. And I thought, okay, cool, that was fun hobby. You know, it's and I'll never deal with filmmaking again. And I but I should have known that things were going to change after that, because the proportion of time that I spent on that class.

The intro class was probably like seventy percent of my time and then like the rest of my ten classes was like the last ten percent maybe add like partying and all the other stuff to it. And so but my culture, I'm a first generation in Taiwanese American. You don't pursue stuff like filmmaking or art of any sort. You're a doctor, an engineer, something practical, you know that will give you a study nine to five job. And it took me doing one of those jobs that was

a IT consultant. After I graduated that I realized I didn't want to do that, and I was searching for myself as to what I was going to do, and for some reason landed on being a lawyer. And so you have to take the LSATs to be able to even qualify, and to do that, there's prep courses and stuff, and I'm terrible taking tests. So I took one of those courses, and you know, the universe has a way

of laughing at you. My Elsat teacher was a filmmaker and he was it was in Houston at that time, and he, I guess, had a group that was doing the forty eight hour film festival thing. He was like, hey, you want to be a PA. No clue what that was, because there's art pas and intro to documentary film at all. You are one person, you do everything yourself.

had a light bulb moment. I just felt like a belonged and that this crazy world was something that I really just loved. And it really just took that one set. I just I just remember being fascinated with everyone's job, which is not common for me usually, like you know, my dad's an engineering. I'll ask one sentence he tells me, like fine sentences, and I like tune out after two words. You know. But on this film set, every single job was fascinating to me. You know, I just I've never

seen a follow focus before. I just you know, stared at that for a very long time. And then you know, grab water for like the grip, and I was like watching them build stuff and never seen that before, and looking at the makeup, you know, and just everything was cool. Now I looked out because the set that I got on, they actually knew what they were doing. I could have been on a ship show, but it was it was not and I forgot I'm allowed to customer.

So I've been on those sets. And then I've been and then when you walk on a professional set working on a studio project or network project, and you just see these grizzled veterans who work like a well oiled machine. And what's fascinating is that a lot of times you'll go on the first day and everyone's on there for

the first thing. Yeah, there might be a few people who know each other, but generally speaking, everyone's new on the on that set to each other, and they still run like a well oiled machine because they all understand their part in the machine. And it only only problems I overceely on set is when people overstep their their lane. They want to do this, or the DP wants to be the director, the director wants to be the live I think the guy department, yes exactly, or or like

it's all about the dress No, it's not. It's all about the it's all about the curtains in the back. No it's not, dude, we need five hours for the for the curtains. No, no, five hours for the curtains. You got five minutes. So let's move along. So, so you've been on set so many times and obviously continues to work on sets. What is the biggest, like new be mistake you see that that pas make on day one or or on set interns too. This this kind of goes for both.

And sure to a certain extent, But like I think people forgetting that all the people that are on set started off and worked their way up to where they are and earned the right to be there and I and I think you be a mistake is thinking that things are below them, like oh, I don't need to get water for people or take the trash. It's like that's labor that's below me, you know. And and I think, no matter how veteran you are on set, there's you

will realize. I feel like it's if you are a good crew member, you will always there will never be a job that is below you at any point in your career, you know, because you understand the value that each position, each job entails, and how that affects the overall success of the film. And that's the biggest thing I see for new Starry Eyed pas is that they come in thinking, oh, I went to college and I shouldn't need to go run Errand's and pick up dog

poop and all this other which that happens. And that's the problem. And the thing is that we veterans can smell that and see that instantly, you know. Yeah, I mean, like you said, within two to it's so funny now being on the other side, when you're brand new, You're like, oh, nobody can tell I'm brand new. I could just like pretend that, No, we can tell within like like you said, two to three minutes, now we can also tell within two three minutes if you're good or not. And it's attitude.

It doesn't have to do with skill, because getting water is not a skill. I mean, it's not like a thing that you have to learn. Everybody can do it. But there's like an attitude that comes with it for people who are good and who are not, and you can pick it out like within you know, you probably the same way. Within five minutes, I'm like, all right, I can count on these four pas out of these twenty, you know, like it's like yeah.

you know, that we could talk to each other. And they'll put you through the grinder until you prove yourself that you belong to Yeah, and and they're going to beat you up and and in a in a almost almost right of passage kind of way, not in a physical way, not in a hopefully not in a derogatory way, though I think I've had that happen to me on set as well. I think sets have changed a little bit, hopefully since since my day. But it's because it's so

tough being on set. I mean, I mean when I worked on set as a PA, I figured out really quickly, probably after a year of interning and being on stages, and you know, I went I was working at Universal Studios, I was working at Disney behind the scenes and productions

and things like that. And like you said, when i wake up at three o'clock in the morning and I'm going out there somewhere sitting in the mud while it's raining, while I'm trying to wave people into where they're parking, and I'm like, this sucks.

this is where I want to be. But things that I learned along the way was that at a certain point in my career, I felt the ego felt that it was above doing some menial stuff and the crew picks it up. As a director, the crew picks it up. So now anytime I'm ever on set, and for the last ten, probably ten f plus years, I'm picking up garbage at the end of the day, I don't care, you know, I'll I'll grab stuff, I'll pick stuff up, and then other like some of the older what are you doing, sir, sir?

in the world. Sure, yes, very we're blessed. We're very blessed, there's no question, but it is still not what everyone expects it to be. So it's really fascinating that way. Now. The one thing I always love and I love. What you wrote about in your book was walkie talkie etiquette? Now, I I I think when I was coming up there, Yeah, of course there was walkie talkies and I knew a little bit of it because I used to work on some some shows for Nickelodeon. So I was never the keypa.

I was. I was always you know, office PA, or or on set PA. But I was in the kep a because again, not where I wanted to go, So I never went out that road. But can you talk a little bit about that is a completely secret language, And even to this day, I understand some of it, but as a director, it's not something you understand completely. So can you express and explain to people what walkie talkie advoctate is?

and you're like, what is this thing? At first it's cool, and then at the end of the day you're like, please throw this in the trash because you have this person you have several people constantly talking in your head, and for people who don't know, the walkie talkies are a way for things to be moving behind the scenes while set things are being shot, and you do it very quietly because everybody has an ear piece in the

ear and they can't hear. You know, it's not open WALKI hopefully, and you can't hear things are happening because it's all this in your head over the walkie and so there's just a specific way that you answer respond and it's very military. Honestly, I've heard it is it's I believe that's where it really came from. But a

lot of it is. The way I can describe it is like if you were blind, Like, how would you know somebody heard your message, understood your message, and is working on your message right because and you're delivering this to you know, however big your crew is, because everybody is on the walkie, you know, and certain departments on

their own channels and whatever. Most for the most part, people are on channel one for production, and so you just have to get really good at being specific and to keep the traffic on the walkie talkie as minimal as possible as well, so being specific concise, and so you're just it's a way of efficient communication and these shorthand ways of talking. This etiquette for this efficiency of

talking on the radio. So uh, And it's hard. It's a lot harder said than done, because there will be something that happens, you know, I don't know, the honeywagon is stuck, you know, and in the middle of the set or something, and you've got a new PA who's like freaking out about it because it's his or her responsibility to get this honey wagon out of the middle of the scene, and everybody's yelling at them because it's, you know, taking out precious time from shooting, and they're

describing this over the walkie and nobody and somebody who is nowhere near this set is like, what the f is going on? You know, and you're just like take it to too, take it to two, you know, put go, go on a different channel. But like you just don't until you've gone through the ringer and you've experienced that or you've you've been on the receiving end to have perspective. That's me you realize why this etiquette is so important.

But it's things like when you have when you're asking for a department for something, you know, wardrobe, can you insert what you need Christine for, you know, and then the other receiving end having to say like copy so they know that I heard the message, you know type thing. It's just it's like playing telephone because you can't see anybody. That's the problem, you know. Sometimes you we're all in different parts of the set. I think that's the that's

to give context. We are all in different parts of the set that they This could be within driving distance, far away, this could be deep in the boonies. And because let's say you're doing a big wide shot and you can't see people on set in the scene, so they're all hiding like far far away, or somebody who's in a truck who who has no clue is inefficible, has no clue what's going on, and said, you have to communicate to all of these people in an efficient

way something important or not, you know. So so there's just a lot of shorthand for that, and it is extremely jarring when you have never had a walkie talkie and you get on set and you just want to like, I don't know, just talk on it like a regular person, you know, but like a telephone but it's not. Yeah, so uh so yeah, I have specific you know, lingo that's on there. And as long as you can you know, kind of get used to that, you should be able to survive being on walking by.

and that's the same thing. But yeah, like I heard taco cart. You know that was another thing. Oh you can grab the taco cart. But I think that's the Texas thing. You know.

a little creep. Uh. They know it's mean, but these are the things you're just like, wow, man, like, how look I heard like give me a Mickey Rooney there and then the grip the key grips pushing the dollar and and the dps like, give me a Mickey Rooney. I'm like, I'm sorry, what's a Mickey Rooney is like a little creep. We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor and now back to the show. I'm like, wow, okay, so it's just this Carney prisonly military that is brutal.

was the culture. It was the culture, and it is look, you know, to be honest, it is sometimes a toxic culture. There's no question on set a toxic culture. And for females even worse, there's no question. Like I mean, I remember I was on I was on a production I was directing, and I saw a female grip for the first time ever, and she was wonderful by the way she busted her ass and she was great. And I'm like, what does she have to put up with from the

grip department to hang with the grips? YEA nine in two thousand and one? Can you want me? Do you know what I'm saying? Tough? So it's but it's it's it is. You know, there's a lot of male testosterone running on set generally much. Yes, it has changed a bit, and I think it is changing for the better. Yes, But you know, I've talked to female dps. I hadn't seen I honestly didn't see a female DP until maybe like eight nine years ago. Like on set, it was

just not a thing that you saw very often. But now it's becoming more prevalent, and females are becoming you know, and people of color and all this stuff are all coming on set, which is great, but it can be a toxic environment and you, as a as a young PA or young intern coming in, have to be aware of that. But understand that there is there's a little you got to get a little bit of a thick skin. Yeah, in our business, would you agree.

can be extremely frustrating. But you also have to realize that in order for change to happen, you have to educate. So it's a lot of taking that. It is harder to take the time to teach. It's easier to keep the same doing the same thing, or yell at somebody or or or whatever. But it's harder to stop someone and say you shouldn't say that, or like I don't like you know, that's not right to do. So it's

it's it's a slow changing process, but it is. It is changing, and it's unfortunately a lot of this is top down you know, and and until there's enough time of cycling to get new people up to the top to trickle down with new ways of thinking and stuff like that, you're going to run into that kind of thinking. You know. It's just it's it's it's not I wouldn't say it's right. It's just a it's a product of the environment in the time period, you know.

like oh my god, and throw it at him. Ok here, put this on the camera and throw it right at him in front of everybody, and oh my god, and you just see this guy's face just white, just drained, like the blood drein and hot, and he falls and it cracks. And then he would play it up. He's like, how could you drop? You've cracked my lens. That's a fifty thousand dollars lens.

oh God, what happened. She's like, what happened? What happened? She's like, you know, if they would have done double double drop frame, it would have been better. So it would have just really started up the image quality of so you need double double drop frame timecode. And she's like okay. So she went on the next day to set and she just ripped every Why aren't we shooting double double. I want my image to be. She was like, and everyone was just like, did you talk to Henry?

Because everyone knew everyone knew Henry did it? Because they're all like, yeah, She's like, Henry got in trouble, but he didn't care. He had job security. But these are the kind of things that you know, they're so high strung pas and interns sometimes that you got to kind of loosen them up a little bit because it's just like and also, by the way, when you're that high strung, that's when accidents happen, and that's when mistakes happen, and you got to loose them up, loosen them up just

a bit, just just a little bit. Now you've been on set a while, Now, what was the worst day on set for you? And how did you overcome it?

the producer's call. Still, and every crew member gave me an article of clothing because we were outside and it was really really cold and uh there was snow and it was blizzarding and everything, and like we didn't have enough people. We were moving trucks and it was icy and everything, and luckily it got called late.

from top down. I kind of did a little hint hint like if you want to leave, I am not going to stop you type thing, you know, but I your safety is portant. I think it's important, and you know, please do what you think is the most important type thing. But I am under this is what's happening from top down type thing. And to be put in that situation really sucked because it's people safety and when you have no power, I have no power to ensure I can say I walk, you know, but like that also is

not good for the crew either, you know. I'm then they don't have the one person that's vouching for them, you know.

Someone gave me, you know, a jacket, a jacket that was happened to be in their car. Someone gat I looked like this big ass like marshmallow, with like fifty layers of clothing because we were outside and the snow was blowing at us and we were not prepared. We were not none of us. Yeah, none of us were prepared.

And then then to have later on the director who doesn't understand you know that we were doing our best to to to make it happen like essentially blame you for a snowstorm and that everything was a chit show.

But to then to have crew be like to stand behind you and say, yeah, it is a shit show because nobody that should have been called, you know, was like nice to have that support, but like that, it's just that was a terrible situation to be And when when when people's safety isn't being taken into concern and your whole job as an ad is to ensure the livelihood and safety of your crew and you're powerless to do so. I think that that is a terrible, terrible place to be in.

also just moral. When people are angry and just you known to each other. Yeah, I think those are pretty big indicators as well. Or when you have locations or people who are separate from the production show up randomly and they're not happy, that's usually not a good indicator either, because that means something wasn't cleared somehow and things are about to go crazy.

that out there, as simple as that. All Right, So when you have that situation, what are signs that you don't have a good leader on the set. What are things that you've seen, because I'm assuming you've seen one or two bad directors in your day, you have not only hurt the production but taken out, you know, just not understand how the system works that they have to

make their day. Yeah, we can't spend five hours in the Scorsese shot because we're not Scorsese and we don't have the budget that we have, so we had like how all these kind of things I'm imagining. You know, as AD, you've seen directors come up with shot lists, which is, by the way, my favorite thing to do with When I work with AD for the first time, show up day one, one hundred and fifty shots, one hundred and fifty shots, and I just hand it to them and they're just like, no, no, no, that you

should just see what because it depends. Then that also tells me what kind of AD it is. If the AD is going to come up to me and go, we got to talk about this man, there's just no f and way we're gonna And I'm like that's good, or you know we're gonna give it a shot. I'm like, okay, I know which way, which kind of a D and I want the first one. I want the one that says there's no f and way we're gonna do this, but let's figure it out and let's figure it out

what And I go, don't I always do that? Let's see how fast we can move. I know I'll probably only end up fifteen or twenty of those shots. Yeah, And then once I say that, they're like, okay'se not nuts. But I'm assuming you've had that shot list or that storyboard. So how do you how do you see? What are those things about? What are the signs in a director that you can see that they just not they're in over their head.

pick out when people have stopped. It's or when people are trying to leave as soon as possible after a set has wrapped or hasn't wrapped, or they're planning on which bar to go to afterwards and that is the only thing keeping them from walking off of the set. That's when you realize that the director has lost the crew. But yeah, it's I think it's when concerns that are being bypassed because I'm the director and not even considered get bypassed a certain number of times. That's when you

really lose the crew as well. You know, like, hey, we can't do this because and then like whatever, like I'm the director, make it happen. You know type thing that's if you do this so many times, like you're going to lose the crew because that is a quick indicator that you have no understanding of why their job is important or why their job takes a certain amount of time, and why you're glossing over it. You know.

I see this happen a lot with specific positions. Positions for it is that usually are like makeup is a big one, art things like that.

And I think that's the issue is that new directors who haven't come up the ranks or worked in a position. It's perspective, and when you lack perspective and don't respect all the positions on set. You will lose your crew, and you will lose your crew and they will start to look for a new leader in that leader is usually the DP or the AD so and so when I start to get hey, what do you think we should do about this?

help talk to the talent. So at the talent. So I revised put that first. When the talent is talking to the AD hoc or the DP, talking to any other crew member about their performance or what they're supposed to do, that and it's not the director jump ships run.

them over until they can get to the bar. Yeah, it's something, but that's something that it's almost a second thought to young filmmakers, so like, oh, yeah, I just get a bunch of pizzas and like that. Pizzas kill production. It slows everything down. Spinning, it slows it down everyone. It's stuffed on cheese and bread and things like that. I remember an old you remember Dove Simmons. He ran a course called the Two Day Film School, and he was like this just Roger Korman upm and oh my god,

the stories he would say. And he's like, I don't have a lot of sugary stuff on my crafty table because it will cause sugar rushes. And if it caused sugar rushes, if there's tension, fights will break out. These are little things that you're just like I was. My mind got blown when I heard these things coming up. I was like, wow, I just never thought about it. He goes in, God forbid if you bring pizza onto a set, God damn, Like like, yeah, am I wrong.

I lived in the indie world, and I was like, because at that level, you've got to that's just that's just the way businesses run.

Eye line, oh sitting eye. If Christian Bale's situation with Shane Olbert, thought does anything and I don't think that conversation was so much about the eye line. I think it was other things going on. And then and by the way, if you guys don't know what I'm talking about, just google Christian Bale on set. It's genius, especially the remixes. But and by the way, Christian Bale had been on set since he was like seven yea or five, so he's been it's not like he's new to his set.

Can you explain to everybody what an eye line is and how to avoid getting yelled at by talent, which is the worst thing other than being yelled at by the director or any of the other crew members, Like, if you're being yelled at by talent.

extremely distracting. So we are always trying to crew andever and it's if you've don't enough, if you just know to you know, stand in us for the usually where the video villages or something like that, or in the shadows, because if you think about it, if you're trying to if you've ever tried to focus on anything, and you're trying to be in a difficult emotional spot and you

can't because a fly is flying around you. That's what it feels like when somebody is standing in someone's eyeline, and so it's kind of a it's a frame a vision where you will see that person. If you're in that frame a vision, that's the eye line, and so you're mate and you will accidentally send the eyeline and that's when you'll see people look at their look at the ground, be a tree, you know, like try to not move around so that you're not being a distraction

to the performance. And it's very easy to do. And the you know, the best way to do it is in general, wherever the camera is and where the action is being directed. If you're kind of in that besides the director and the DP and stuff like that, you try to stay away from that area. And and courtesy of asking somebody you know, the talent a it's or is this good spot or whatever. But if you can see the actor and you can make eye contact with that actor, you are in their eyeline. Move move, yeah,

So if you if they're that's the best way. If you can watch the scene and you realize, oh shit, the actor steering directly at me, you are in their eyeline. If you can make eye contact with anybody who's acting that is within their eyeline.

D shot, who get that guy out of this shot? Like, and you just like and you just start freaking out. Oh god, I've seen that happen too many times, even if I see it on my set before we got just can you get that guy out of the shot please. If I'm in a great mood, if I'm not in a b if if it's a rough day, I'm going to get out of my shot. Yes, So please just be aware of your surroundings.

If the crew comes up and it's like, hey, could we do the gun safety again, could you shout out again that the street is locked or that the street is live or something like that, I'm not going to sure under stressful situations, I might like appear stressed about it, but like I would rather somebody triple double check my work when it comes to anything that has to do with safety. And yeah, no, but I think collectively as a group, that's the only way for everybody to stay safe.

Is that if we kind of like a check and balance system. You know, there is a hierarchy, but people make mistakes, especially we throw them under that much stress and limited time and limited resources and stuff like that. I think it's up to the entire team to look

out for each other. So so everybody should be as hyper aware as possible, but it is so easy to become my opic, especially with what you're focused on in doing and so yeah, no, it's I just think any any and this has nothing to do with the hierarchy. I think anybody should be looking out for their fellow man woman set, you know.

And the reason why it's called Abby Singers. Abby Singer is actually a a d I believe, and he was famous for saying, all right, that was great, but then you would say, but let's do it again type thing, so and one more, Let's do one more and so they coined the term Abby Singer after him because at any time it felt like they're about to finish, another thing was added right before it, so it was one more before Abby Singer and the Martini. Uh, depending on

where you are. Some people in Texas have tried to make it the Margarita or the Texas Martini or whatever. But it's the last setup of the day, the Martini, and it's important in it's when you've been on say you hear it called out. Uh. I'm always trying to anticipate the Abby Singer and the Martini because these are indicators of letting departments know they can start to slowly

wrap up stuff. Because you know, anytime you've been anywhere, you kind of like move in and you spread out and you you're things get bigger and bigger and bigger. Spread out in space and having some extra time to slowly pack up your stuff and really make the exit of off the set that much faster and more efficient.

So I'm always in veteran crew members will get annoyed if you don't call them because call the Abby Singer or the Martini because they're like, I could have been, you know, wrapping stuff, and now I have to after wrap spend an extra thirty minutes I could have been doing in between setups, you know.

could be your ticket to another job. And that's not why you do that, you know, so don't mistake and oh, let's be nice to people so that you know five years to be off. Yeah. No, I think that's just a principle in life. It's just like people will always know after a set is done and it's crazy and you've all gone through war together, people will always remember

how you made them feel. And if you can leave a lasting impression of hey, when I dealt with this one person, they always made my day better or help was helpful or something, you will do great going downline. So that's that would if you want to break in, I as a veteran, I will hire people who make my life easier or just an easier doesn't need necessarily mean a skill set easier. Can just be like, hey, you made sure I had water the whole day, and I you know you made sure that I didn't I

knew where my keys were the whole day. That you know, if I will hire that person over somebody who's had five or ten years of experience, that you know doesn't who gives me an attitude or whatever, And that's the quickest way to get roped in it. Get to be in with with people is if you if I can feel like I can you have my back right no matter what? And so yeah, long story is if you can approach everybody as a how can I make your life easier? How can I just brighten up your day

a little bit? I think you'll do just fine.

to everybody. So that means burning out. That means giving more time and over committing and stuff like that, or doing projects with people who don't respect you as a person or as for your time or your safety or your well being, and it is okay to set boundaries by walking away and to know that your career is not going to go down the waste. You know, it's not going to be over just because you wouldn't stand for the way you were being treated a certain way

on set, and you decide to leave. And this is very, very very hard to do because when you're on set, especially if you're a position like being an ad or whatever, you're responsible for many people. It's not just yourself, and so when you leave, it feels like you are letting down.

for your ability to work later. So that's I still I still struggle with this, you know, just walking away and being okay to walk away or it's it's hard because you in this industry, it will feel like whatever opportunity that you have is the only opportunity you'll, oh, you'll ever get in career. It will feel that way, right, and you know there will be months where you may not work, you know, and stuff, And in that moment, maybe turning down a one hundred dollars per day, eighteen

hour job seems stupid because that's one hundred dollars. But but you're also setting an expectation, right, So the hope is by standing up for not doing that, you are enabling other people to also have the power to stand up for that, so that it sets a standard that that is not how the film industry should operate. You know. It's kind of like the whole me too thing too.

It's like, that's for me. If anybody is disrespectful in that way to any of my crew members, I will walk no matter what, because I am standing up for something and and say setting the precedent that this is not okay and ers. And I think it gets hard because you'll be on some incredible opportunities and stuff like that, and you have to make that decision of is it worth this opportunity or is this going to actually be damaging you know, in the future or or or dangerous

or whatnot, you know. So I think that's the that's the heart, is walking away. Nobody wants to walk away.

And and if anyone never says you'll never work in this town again, that's a guarantee. Will there's nobody that means they're so full of themselves. Yeah, it's if it starts off with do you know who I am? And then goes into.

Maybe in the olden days when there was like, you know, fifteen productions going on in the entire country at one time, you know, but now there's just too much work. And yeah, it's yeah.

Los Angeles and stuff like that. You see it, take a photo. It's always fun for me. But yeah, we're but yeah, get realisms dot com is the best way to go about getting it.