Misconceptions

What I did on my last vacation

                                     


Hello from Vacationland...which is really just my house.  I've had a lot of time on my hands to do nothing  but play with my children, spend time with my wife, and lay on the couch which is what I needed more than anything. All this time on a person's hands can lead to boredom, which leads to internet searches. Out of sheer idleness last week I did a search for dolly grip in the hopes that it would lead to an idea for a post. It did. What I found was some good and some bad. On the good side, I found several posts on blogs by young dolly grips talking about a particularly cool shot they did or how much they enjoyed the job. I also found some articles on how important dolly grips and grips in general are to the process of filmmaking like this one. Dan Gold SOC really nailed it on this article and pretty much summed up all four years of this blog, thereby making it nearly obsolete. And this one, in which yours truly actually has a small paragraph. On the bad side, I found this one. This one was the worst of the bunch, although there were several which accused us of everything from holding the boom mic (clearly a mixup with the Fisher boom, which while operated by a "dolly grip," is a different animal), to carrying heavy stuff around. Unfortunately, I believe that often these misconceptions may extend out of the mind of the casual moviegoer and travel like a missile all the way into the above-the-line world, leading to lower wages, and generally being treated as an afterthought like we have often been for so long. A key grip once told me a story of a UPM he was working for who asked him why he needed so much dance floor because, "there wasn't any dancing in this movie." I've personally had equipment (crane bases, plywood, etc) unceremoniously cancelled because the office didn't understand what it was for and didn't bother to check, leading to a mad scramble to get it in before the day. Hopefully, this little corner of the internet can help dispel some of these ideas. Yes, I know we're not doing heart surgery and in the scheme of things none of this really matters, but it is our livelihood and we have to protect it as much as we can. And also I needed an idea for a post.
   I noticed that the Moviebird website has a nice blurb and a link about us. Thanks Moviebird!
Till next time,
D

PS- There are a few of you I haven't heard from in a while. Just check in to let me know you're OK or are still out there. Alexa- miss hearing from you, Megamoose- you too, Acraw- Say hi once in a while. I know many of you read without saying anything, but just let me know you're still around.