Tomala White 8th-9th February 2020

Grand Scheme Media/Screen Skills - First AD Masterclass

Presented by Richard Lingard

Hosted by Graham Smith

Hard Skills

 Shoot schedule
 Run the set
 Execute Director’s vision Director
 Directs all background action
 Supervises all crowd control in public spaces
 Maintains communication between Director and Crew ** 1st AD
D.O.P
Soft Skills

 Manage egos – vulnerabilities & artistic

 Manage crew – fatigue, despondency & mutiny

The AD Team

 1st AD – Responsible FOR everyone, responsible TO everyone

 2nd AD – office, background e.g. make up, arrivals etc.
 3rd AD – on the floor with 1st when shooting, looks after supporting artists
 Floor Runners
PRE-PRODUCTION
“If it’s not on the page, it’s not on the stage”

The 1st AD is brought onto the project in pre-

production. The production coordinator will
have all the information for them. PRODUCE
R
 Script – Breakdown
 Meet with the Director – work out PRODUCTION 1ST
logistics and vision. Have they worked MANAGER AD
with the cast before? Do they know what
PRODUCTION CO-
they want? Do they know when they have ORDINATOR
the take? (more takes = more money) Do
they have a style?
 Check with all the heads of departments whether or not they are aware of all the
information/ideas discussed with the director.
 Scheduling – Take the time to do this properly!
 Technical Recce – usually 2 weeks before with all heads of departments and schedule.
 Production Meeting – before shooting begins to go through schedule and green light everything
with all departments.
 Call Sheet – 2nd AD usually does these.

PRODUCTION

Block, Light, Rehearse, Shoot & Repeat!

 Studio or Location?

1
Tomala White 8th-9th February 2020

 Always schedule time before takes for the Director to talk to the cast.
 Technical run through for blocking.
 Costume & make up checks.

Running the Set Look for things that take TIME & MONEY:

 On time is LATE! Animals (handler essential), Water, Children

 Be nice! (work hours), Stunts, VFX, Moving Vehicles,
 Think ahead! Nudity & Intimacy (Be specific, are the
talent fully aware of what is involved?
Responsibilities
Contracts, clear storyboards, comfortable
 Communication – clear, concise & articulate set).
 Background Action – Give extras scenarios/some story Be aware of minimum time between turn
 Health & Safety arounds – rest for crew.
 Getting cast on and off set
 Atmosphere and moral on set

THE SCRIPT

 Difference between reading and shooting script (scene numbers on shooting script).
 Is the script locked? This means the scenes are locked but further revisions may be made
throughout.
 Revision Mode on Final Draft marks the changes with asterisks. For each revision, create a cover
page with the changes clearly stated.

SCHEDULE

 Final Draft - Tagger – compatible with Movie Magic

 Script Breakdown Sheet – Do in Movie Magic
 STRIP – Short hand schedule
 Lighting states are colour coded e.g. Yellow = DAY, GREEN = NIGHT
 The first schedule: Set/Location, start with locations and exteriors, cast availability, big crowds
 HETV/FEATURES – aim for 3-4 pages/15 set ups per day
 SERIAL – 6/7 pages per day
 Returning DRAMA – 9/10 pages per day
 Preserve 10/11 hour turn around
 Start with earliest calls first – it’s harder to start later then go back to earlier calls

MOVIE MAGIC

 Production information
 Calendar Manager – production start date (put post date much later to allow program to make
changes
 Set HEADINGS and CAST in caps
 Featured actors – put how many in brackets
 Ignore Auto Schedule button
 Day Breaks – add to bottom of each proposed day to start with
 ALWAYS add the title of the production
 Add date and time of schedule as there will be a lot of changes
 Sunrise/Sun set times

2
Tomala White 8th-9th February 2020

 Shooting day/times
 Unit Move
 REPORTS – go to print preview for different reports e.g. day out of days
 Customizing – Make sure the text boxes are growable and text wrapped to ensure all info is
visible. All remaining components – Adds any left-over information from breakdown sheet into
report.

Q&A with BARRY KEAL – 1ST AD (NI)

 NI Screen – get to know the people, apply for crew calls etc. Get in contact and ask them for
what exactly they are looking for
 Have confidence in WHO you are and WHAT you do!
 Only a handful of 1st AD from NI
 Tip – meet with 3rd AD or whoever and put your number in their phone followed by what role
you are interested in doing