Things on my Mind

Tonight is the final premiere of the last few episodes of Campus Retreat. Actually it's happening right now... and I unfortunately, am home. I'm heading to NYC early tomorrow morning and had to drive home today after my last class to bring my dog to the kennel. It's kind of really upsetting that I can't make it to the premiere or the wrap party.

It's always a really nice closure to be able to watch the final product of all your semesters long work with the people who worked by you. I've worked on 8 different ICTV shows during my 4 years here and it's sad that for me it's coming to a very uneventful end. I wish I could be there to laugh with everyone tonight and to celebrate our success.

I'm trying hard not to think too negatively about my experiences this semester. I think I am mostly just very ready to get out of Ithaca. I worked on Fake Out for several semesters and my last one really wasn't what I expected. I only got to be on for 2 episodes, no halloween or last episode for me either. As much as I loved all of the cast and crew of Campus Retreat (I can't stress that enough) sometimes it honestly made me upset to be on set. As assistant director you don't have the most fun on set because you're the one making sure we're actually getting work done. The last time I was on set one of the actors (granted he did get eliminated earlier) asked me what my job actually was and joked if I was just a "professional yeller." He should realize the only reason I had to literally yell was because after the third time calling 'quiet on set' it gets really frustrating when people just blantaly do not listen. I know he was joking but it's a matter of respect.

This sounds like a really sad and depressing post, but I really have loved every show I've had the honor of working on. ICTV is where I gained the majority of my field and studio experience. Also, I'm going to nyc for a concert so I'm really pumped to jam out and see all the cute Christmas lights.

I'm just glad it's time for me to move on. I'm excited to work on professional sets. I'm excited for LA. I'm excited to graduate. I'm excited for a fresh start.

Anyway don't forget to watch ALL episodes (WOO!) of Campus Retreat on ictv.org. I'm really proud of all the cast and crew.

All work and.. all play

Working as assistant director this semester on the ICTV show, Campus Retreat has been a really great experience. I feel like I naturally picked up the positions responsibilities because of all the time I have spent on set on other productions. You are basically the director's right hand (wo)man; you take on all the practical responsibilities so they can focus on the creative aspects.

Some of the main responsibilities include:

• Making the call sheets for our Tuesday and Saturday shoots
• Scheduling how long it will take to shoot scenes, episodes etc. 
• On set - ensuring everyone is being productive and working efficiently
• On set - keeping everyone focused so we're on time with the planned schedule
• Safety - minimizing dangerous situations so no one gets hurt

It's not the most fun job to have since you are always the one telling people to quiet down and stop goofing around, yet it rewarding because it's an important job. With practice you find the perfect ying-yang balance of basically still allowing people to have a fun, enjoyable experience while also pushing them to get our work done. You have to be extremely organized while planning and on set. My productivity on set definitely depends on how prepared I am before hand. At the end of the night it's an awesome feeling when people are so relieved we ended on time or even early... I just want to take a bow. 

(ALSO OUR FIRST 2 EPISODES ARE ON ICTV.ORG - GO WATCH)

Speaking of assistant directors, I was so pleased with Elena's work on Stopover City. She really pushed us constantly, reworking the schedule, planning our food breaks, and was on top of her game 100%. It really helped me focus on blocking, rehearsing and working with the actors and making sure I liked the shots Josh composed. It was really great to take on the role of director. At times I felt like my head was spinning, thinking about 100 different things at once but I had an amazing hard working crew that had my back. The actors were all such sweethearts and were amazing to work with as well. It was almost surreal to finally have my own crew. (My FF1 group consisted of 3 people, to do all the work of many, many more.) I'm really happy with how we all worked on set together and am very excited to see it all come together in post. We already have a rough cut which I'm dying to get my hands on. 

I LOVED DIRECTING!