NEWS
Current
Archive
PITCH BLACK
Info/FAQ
Screen Caps
Cast/Crew/Biz
Script
Concept Art
Wheat Script FAQ
Unrated DVD FAQ
Cards
Links
T.C.O. RIDDICK
Info/FAQ
Screen Caps
Stills
Characters
Cast/Crew/Biz
Script Pages
Continuity Photos
Figures
Cards
Links
BUTCHER BAY
Info/FAQ
Media
DARK FURY
Info/FAQ
Interview
Media
THE UNIVERSE
People
Places
Things
SITE
Messageboards
Contact Email
BruceL's blog
| PitcherBlacker Main | Feaures | Interview: Pitch Black
| | Pitch Black Production Interview |
| While covering the big names via constant news updates has it's charm, one of the goals of PitcherBlacker is to try and spend some time on the nuts and bolts of the actual movie productions. To that end, this site was recently very fortunate to get the chance to shoot some questions at a person who worked behind the scenes on PITCH BLACK. Take a look at to see just how grueling this kind of work can be.
Could you give us an example of what a typical workday was like for you?
Pre-Production
In Pre-Production we did 10 - 12 hours per day, normally starting at 0700, when I say 12 hours it is really 12 hrs 45 mins, being 45 for lunch and I have to say in 11 years in the industry I have eaten lunch at my desk with a phone in my hand 95% of the time and it takes 5 mins not 45, but that's just how it is.
During this pre-production period we (production staff) are all working together to break down the needs of the film, and the needs of the Cast & Crew, to allocate responsibility to specific people for certain areas and to put systems into place to enable efficient running of those areas and channels of communication and distribution of documents.
As Crew are hired we supply them with all of their needs from stationery to scripts, storyboards, etc....Also their on-set needs - in the case of the Camera Dept for example I would liase with one member of the department to assist with their film set-up. They supply a list of what they need to me and I must source it, cost it usually between 2-3 companies, purchase it and get it into their truck ASAP so they can prep for the shoot. This happens with each department, ie: Makeup will need very specific tissues, Sound will want a particular brand of battery and specific sizes, every department loves plenty of Gaffer tape, Grips want bolts, screws, tarpaulins, ropes, etc.
Usually by the time the departments begin work for their pre-production we only have 1-2 weeks to supply them all with their needs which is why during the last 2-3 weeks of Pre we are usually working 12-14 hours or more.Although this shopping expedition for 'Consumables' sounds dull to anyone else it is often challenging to find exactly what they need and is a great deal easier when more experienced crews give production samples or what they are after or a specific supplier. Part of this is to order camera slates to be made, often of different sizes which can be done in Australia, however several DOP's (in this case David Eggby) prefer to order from a company in Los Angeles as their slates are well made.
Some other jobs allocated to me were compiling Crew lists, phone lists, office extension lists, distribution lists, freight timetables, accommodation allocations and travel movement orders when crew moved from Gold Coast to CPedy (Coober Pedy - ed.) and back, answering phones, helping organise daily meetings to discuss production requirements, Cast rehearsals, Vin's visits to the optometrist, Claudia's Pilates classes etc............ Pulling together the pre-production schedule was always a team effort in the office and required liaising with the AD's, Costume, Director, Cast etc.........to ensure no-one overlapped.
Shoot
In Shoot we were working 12-16 hours a day at the very least particularly when we were preparing to move out to Coober Pedy for the planet exteriors. We had to send everything ahead and therefore had to order duplicate consumables for every department, carefully packed and marked for each dept. and get it all out to this little town in the middle of nowhere. Again this may sound dull..... however the person in charge of Production Office supplies neglected to send ink toner cartridges out for the fax and laser printer, both of which ran out on the second day and required a serious arse kicking to the individual and much stress to me to get them there ASAP. A big part of my job was to source accommodation in Coober Pedy for all the crew and cast and allocate rooms to everyone......... several "motels" were underground caverns dug out by the opal miners to maintain cooler living environments......... this accommodation jigsaw puzzle is always difficult as you have to take into account transportation requirements (which were limited) and ensure that each department is grouped together and that transport is adequate to get them all to set. Transport was detailed on the Call Sheet every night by Kerry Mulgrew and Jennifer Cornwell so no-one got left behind in the mornings.
Due to the fact that I have a son who at the time was only 2yrs old, I requested to remain at the Studio as the 'base liaison', having already been to Coober Pedy I was in no hurry to return particulary under filming circumstances. I have also seen far too many people in the industry prioritise work over their families to their own downfall and did not wish to follow this path. Although Darcy (runner), myself, and accountants were all that was left at the Studio and it may seem like a more relaxing choice.......... the pressure was unbelievable throughout the entire shoot out there as they were constantly needing everything and anything which had to be found & bought by Darcy and packed and shipped each afternoon and each night.
Which brings me to ........ One of my main jobs throughout the film was FREIGHT!! Extremely scary when they are so isolated and want everything yesterday. I had to work out an extremely complex freight schedule with flight path options from Brisbane or Gold Coast, via Sydney or Melbourne, to Adelaide all on large freight or commercial airlines, then on small aircraft .......... really small...... to Coober Pedy.... I had to know every plane going every direction that could lead me to Adelaide so if a special shipment was needed I could get it there in the fastest possible way. I also knew every bus route from Adelaide to Coober Pedy as anything too big or heavy could not travel in the plane. I also had to co-ordinate the freight of the processed film from set...... from Coober Pedy to the processing lab and back out to location for rushes screenings..........
Every day Darcy & I would pack and ship approx 12-20 boxes which would usually include 4-5 boxes of raw stock. If the Camera department failed to order stock it was a long way to get it there and would take at least 12-16 hours to get it from my hands to set.
How did the experience compare to other movies have you've been involved with?
This film was TOUGH!! Tougher for some than others....... and it wasn't me at the top of that list. I found it extremely challenging and satisfying in so many ways and felt I was on top of things, however I was constantly upset and disgusted by certain issues pertaining to working conditions within the shoot, particularly the production department that was understaffed and underpaid. I will not go into specific details but will say that had "Pitch Black" been shot in the USA, your Unions would have shut it down long before it was finished and would never have expected certain members of the crew to work 20 hours or more and then wake up to drive a cast member to work after 2 hours sleep........ dangerous......... stupid.......... and unnecessary..... as well as issues of $$$ related to same.
My friend and co-worker Kerry Mulgrew resigned, soon followed by me............. and several others also in other on and off set departments......... a very difficult decision for all of us............ particularly Kerry and myself who had never even contemplated such action before. It almost made me leave the industry alltogether!
Can you think of any particularly entertaining anecdotes that occurred during your time on PITCH BLACK?
FLIES!!!
As mentioned earlier....... the production office allocates specific areas and tasks to each person....and during pre-production other areas will be created that need attention or research. After a Production Meeting earlier which arose after a location recce to Coober Pedy, I was given a new task.......... FLIES!!
As the script required a "lifeless and dead planet" there could not be flies in shot EVER......... or it would ruin the whole concept of no life............ no life means no BUGS!!! If you have ever been to Australia or know anyone who has I am sure they will tell you that flies are everywhere........ particularly in outback areas where they swarm all over you, fly into your mouth and land in your eye sockets for a quick drink of moisture........
So as amusing and impossible as I believed my task to be, I began to set about fixing this mammoth issue (without the assistance of a magic wand).
I called museums and libraries and got books and other research matter and finally after a day or so my research lead me to the Brisbane City Council Entomologists who work in the community to control outbreaks of such creatures as flies and mosquitos, particularly when disease is involved. I spent much time with them on the phone and email discussing areas of concern ie: can we establish the source of the flies? Can we stop them? How? And is it safe for humans?.............. once I had a better idea myself I summoned them to a meeting at the studio with all the Heads of departments, Costume, Director, AD's, Camera etc etc......... and presented my findings. After this we decided it was necessary to send my team of two scientists (who were extremely amused by the whole situation) to Coober Pedy to look at several issues...... upon their return we had another meeting and the solution was as follows:- All costumes would need to be soaked or sprayed with a natural pyrethrum based insecticide, which would or should keep the flies at least out of shot if not out of Coober Pedy......
- Both my Entomologists would need to go to location for the entire time with back pack spray units and would spray occasionally around the area of shooting (great another two beds to find in this small town)
- Catering would need to be as far from the shooting set as possible
- All food on set should be covered and sealed
- Rubbish from crew should be kept as far from set as possible
- Rubbish bins throughout the town would need to be sprayed with treatment every day
- AND none of this could guarantee no flies!!
So we spent (from memory) about $25,000 on this little exercise... but I am pretty sure there are no flies to be seen on screen and it definitely made life more comfortable for Cast & Crew as it limited the fly population considerably.
FIBRE OPTIC CABLE
Another of my thankless tasks was to liaise with the Main Unit Gaffer, Tony, regarding the sourcing, costing, manufacture and freight of the fabulous fibre optic cable that you see in the film.
This was a stressful, costly and exhausting exercise involving phone calls at wierd times of the day and night (due to the time difference), and a terrifying freight experience that almost saw the cable miss its debut on film thanks to a strike in the US. It was an amazing amount of money to spend on a lighting source but I think it looked great........ and served its purpose
BLEACH BYPASS
A brilliant idea by DOP David Eggby to simulate the different suns and their colours by using a film processing bleach bypass technique.............. it caused a great deal of tension in pre-production and camera tests but after several camera and costume tests done by David everyone agreed to let him do the entire film............... well the relevant sequences that way............... I think it helps the mind through the different transitions of the planet without being too noticable.
Once the movie was complete it almost went direct to video instead of getting a theatrical release. Was there any feeling that everyone was "just working on some DTV project" ?
Once the film was complete we were told that it may go straight to video and it may not be released AT ALL........ it made us believe what we had suspected all along............ that the entire project was being guided to fail by some higher entity that needed a nice tax deduction!!
It was such a tough project with so many things going wrong along the way that we all used to joke about being sabotaged for some reason.... these kind of jokes started very early on in the shooting and were not limited to the Production department........... but I guess it was just a tough film. We have all worked on projects that we thought we would be proud of and weren't and others that we thought were crap and turned out great....... it is the nature of the beast.
A Production Co-ordinator friend of mine once joked that her mum thought she was a hooker because she had never in 7 years seen ANY of her films or TV series on TV or at the movies.......... part of the problem is that shows shot here aren't necessarily seen here and if they do come out on video they are usually under a different title and therefore aren't easy to find. There are several projects I have worked on that I have never seen.
We heard from the US that they decided to continue with the test screening which surprised them with it's response, then re-shoot some sequences and release it.
How did you react when you finally saw the complete film?
I always find it difficult to be impartial when I have worked on a project and walked through the sets etc............ it brings back memories of my work throughout the film........ ie: that's tha fibre optic that nearly gave me a heart attack, gee don't Vin's contacts look cool but shit that was close they nearly weren't ready for their first shooting day, etc, etc...
Generally I liked it a lot......... I thought it held together...... and I was proud of the job the Australian cast did..... I have watched it several times and still enjoy it. One of my favourite shots is the scene where the light reveals the creatures surrounding the wounded crew member.
At the time, the best that could be said about Vin Diesel's fame was that he had done some good work and was maybe up and coming. What is it like to have worked with him then, now that he is this megastar household name?
It is always a bit of fun to meet Actors and then watch their careers either die or flourish............ I can tell you that Vin was either loved or hated............ a personality that due to it's strength will make people react in a similar fashion...... personally I liked him ............ I though he was polite, interesting and had a fabulous voice! He was a little bit troubled by his special contacts, we often had to have an optometrist on set to help him put them in..... some thought that was a little demanding but I think I would do the same.
He had an strong inkling of "star" about him and would occasionally not do what the production office wanted him to do but my attitude has always been that unless you are an actor it is impossible to understand how and why they get to that place on set in front of the camera. I am not surprised to see him all over the place now and hope his head does not increase in proportion to his stardom.
The word was when Vin arrived that he was under the wing of the head of Interscope Films, who also owns the record company, and that they were grooming and directing him to where he now is........ you would probably know a lot more than me.
|
|
