1st & 2nd Team in San Pedro CV

Shari directs Tim Robbins and James Gandolfini in between shoots on Cinema Veritae on location in San Pedro CA

2nd team (the stand ins) and below 1st team (Robbins & Gandolfini)

Some Studio Speak

Compared to independent filmmaking there's a lot more language cues to learn in LA.

In the production office I got to see a lot of paper traffic. Crew and personnel fill out

"box rentals" - when they use their personal professional equipment on production the studio pays them for the use of it. A camera or a laptop becomes a "box" that is rented...P.A.s don't always get paid for their stuff -- but HBO films does it.

"Sides" - excerpts of the script all pulled and marked in a certain manner to indicate what is to be shot for a day. They are usually packaged with the call sheet and collogated, cut and stapled into little packets everyone vies for during the shoot.

"Cover Sets" - alternate location to go to in bad weather (so you got your ass covered)

Film Stock abbreviations:

R.C. - Re Canned

S.E. - Short End

F. C. Factory Canned

"Video Village" - the designated area of moniters and director chairs where the above the line (directors, producers, studio execs) watch the action.

"1st team" - principles (the cast)

"2nd team" - the stand ins

"the vanities" - hair, make-up and wardrobe crew

****more to come***

On the Lot

On my internship for Cinema Veritae I get to "work on the lot" for a bit.

Production headquarters are located in Hollywood Central Studios a few blocks down from Sunset Blvd.

The Production Office takes up Building 9 all to itself.

In the foyer are the production coordinators, PAs, Secretary and accountants. The execs (producers, director, DP and their assistants) are all posted strategically in the back around the kitchen and bathrooms.

Upstairs on the 2nd floor is Art Department and Location Managment.

Up the spiral stairs on the third floor is Set Decoration, Props, more accounting, and set construction.

Wardrobe is in another building. And hair and makeup are in trailers on the street.

To get talent from wardrobe to the sound stage to production office and back again Set PAs chauffer them around in these elitist vehicles known as golf-carts!

While the rest of us little people use our two legs and run around as needed.

The same studio lot is predominately used now for the Disney kids shows. So you'll see all these guest stars and kids from the Suite Life etc, from time to time in different buildings.

The Lay of Los Angeles

I first came to Los Angeles back in March traveling with The Last Bogatyr when it played in Los Angeles International Women's Film Festival. Cooper (our associate producer), Michelle (camera operator) and I stayed a week, but we didn't see too much outside the radius of where the festival was.

Pretty much everyday then we'd commute from the house in Brea, CA driving an hr -hr 1/2 to Sunset Blvd in downtown Hollywood to the Lamelle's theater.

Now I'm here for the summer and getting to see, drive, and work a lot more of the greater Los Angeles. LA is a large "metropolis". There are all these little cities and suburbs all crammed side by side.

Hollywood Center Studios is located in Los Angeles technically, as opposed to The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences which is in North Hollywood, as opposed to the LOUD house location which is in Santa Monica.

My buddy Alex is interning in Beverly Hills and staying in that area. I'm interning all around and staying in Sun Valley.

Sun Valley is close to Burbank and Glendale...Burbank is north of Hollywood....etc, etc, etc.

Burbank though is actually is not part of the city of Los Angeles...meaning LAPD is not responsible for crime in that area, Burbank has their own police force.

Also there are all these highways and interstate highways... I usually drive the 170 and 101 to get from Sun Valley to Los Angeles most mornings.