11

The Workplace

 

 

 

The Set

A movie stage is a small country run by a benevolent, enlightened (we hope) dictator called the director. It is designed for efficiency in making the film and little else. The back of the set faces bare walls with thick soundproof material. Electrical and grip equipment is stored along the edges. It is a large warehouse, an esthetic horror, and not very comfortable.

In the middle of this space is the set or a group of sets. Above it is a grid where large lights are hung. A sound cart with tape recorder and perhaps a few chairs line the perimeter. On a shooting day, the set is always crowded with people performing their various tasks—gaffers, grips, boom operator, property technician, set designer, makeup artist, ...

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