THE SHOOT

People may disagree here but I maintain that if you, as an art director, have very little to do on a shoot, It means you've done your job well. Your prep went well, your build was on schedule, and everything's ready.

Reality with tight schedules now usually means that once we have the first set ready for shooting, we move on to the next, and so on until the shoot is over.

This is where key crew are critical. I tend to have a prop man, with all his own kit (usually a van), always near the camera to assist with the immediate shoot. He works on his own until he requests assistance from another department member. That then leaves me clear, with an assistant (and our own separate kit) to prepare for the next scene, so the camera crew are never held up.

Once a scene is prepared, it's important to show the director, prior to filming, so last minute changes are kept to a minimum.

It's up to the art director to select his stand by crew personally as one "weak link" can bring a shoot down. We are quite often requested to do the most unexpected of jobs, which I need to trust someone to do professionally and quickly. There is rarely a second chance to get it right.

Certain skills held by carpenters, painters, riggers and stagehands in this industry are unique and often under appreciated. It's these skills, which make our industry special.

Another area often overlooked is the strike (or clear up). We need to order skips, crew and transport for the returns. A hurried props clearance can cost thousands in loss and damages especially if props are not returned to the correct place or damaged in transit.