Skye Rentals | Film Production Supplies and Rentals

There is an old adage that says, “You Have To Crawl Before You Can Walk.” Well for an actor, you have to get the callback before you can book. Most actors know the deal with auditions. If you fit the type and can get through the sides, they’ll want to see more of you. What about the callback? How can you take the casting director’s mild interest and turn into a burning fire of intrigue and wanting? Although there is no exact science to this, but there are some general things that casting directors might be looking for on that second meeting.

A Hot Date
The callback is like a first date after you’ve met someone out at a bar. The casting director has decided that your opening lines were worth a more intimate meeting, so now you just have do enough to kick the relationship off. Be a hot date. Take some chances, don’t be afraid to stand out. Whatever they’re casting you for, be it a major motion picture, a television gig or a regional commercial, they want someone to pop. Be memorable.

A Confident Attitude
If you don’t book, you could be getting evicted. You know this; make sure the casting director doesn’t. Put your focus on the work and not on the stakes, no matter what they might be. This, of course, is much easier said than done, but it has to be pulled off. Remember that you need them contemplating not only the positives of booking you, but the negatives of passing. To accomplish that, you’ll need mastery over your scene study and your nerves.

The Frank Sinatra Component
Ah, Frankie, the Chairman of the Board. We could all use a little of his essence. That’s what you need. You need to be able to roll with anything they throw at you. Things run a little late, stay cool. They ask you to come in a little early, be cool. Whatever they ask, stay cool. If you’re English accent sucks and they ask you to try it, don’t make an issue, just try to fail with a little swagger and humor. Make sure they know that you’re a pro, one that you can handle anything they throw at you. This is an unbelievably valuable thing to have on set. Set is a place where even the tiniest idiosyncrasies can turn toxic and blow up morale, making versatile and easy going talent an essential component to a smooth shoot. Show them you’re the one who can handle the cold days, the rainy days and the drunken director days. Stay Cool.

Take those three arrows and put them in your actor’s arsenal. Use them as weapons against the tyranny of unemployment and frustration. Good luck out there.

Stephen H. Burum, the famed cinematographer who shot such films as The Untouchables, The War of the Roses, Mission: Impossible and The Outsiders, says the biggest change in the world of feature moviemaking during his career is the current mix of digital and film. “You do not have one system from beginning to end,” he explains. And if one isn’t careful, this can drive expenses up and up.

“A filmmaker will say, ‘We’re doing the movie all digital. It will be a lot cheaper.’ Well maybe with a digital camera it will be cheaper. But unless you know how you’re doing post, what the finish going to be and what the release platforms will be — there are multiple kinds of releases these days — you really put yourself in serious financial risk.”

Those “fixes” that suddenly arise when switching among different media can add time, which means greater interest charges on a producer’s loan, he points out.

The other big development is the rapidly changing nature of the camera equipment itself. “Digital cameras turnover every six months,” says Burum. “Rental houses must put out the money to buy this new equipment, which makes it very difficult to make a profit.

“In the commercial business, clients want new and different. And camera manufacturers are always keen to sell a new piece of this or that, something you have to get. So a post-production house or rental house in the commercial business is asked to buy that equipment even though it makes no difference at all in the final product. It’s only the perception that it’s hot.”

The next big change that Burum and his colleagues are looking forward to is an 8K camera.

“Within next two to five years we’ll have an 8K camera like 70mm,” he says. “The only question is where will the money for research and development come from? We should have had it 15 years ago.”

- by Kirk Honeycutt

Genset or an electric generator is an immense utility on a set in the case of power failure. However, when it comes to ordering or renting them, most folks become entangled in the technical jargon associated with them. While ordering, the vendor usually asks what is the needed power of the generator or what is the wattage or how many amperes of generator do you need? Having these answers at hand may be of higher importance if you are ordering the generator for an outdoor shoot or function since renting a generator with insufficient output would be futile and possibly damage equipment.

Understanding Electricity

Once you understand how units of electricity are interrelated, it would be extremely easy for you to determine the answers to these questions. In very simple terms, electricity is the flow of electrons through a metal wire. It can be compared with the flow of water in a hose.

• The pressure with which the water flows through the pipe is comparable to the amount of pressure with which the electricity flows in a metal wire. This pressure is termed voltage or volts and is represented by the symbol V.
• The rate at which the water comes out of the hose is measured by what is known as the flow rate. In terms of electricity flow, this is measured as current and is represented by the symbol capital I.
• The pipe or the metal wire through which water/electricity flows faces some resistance due to the gauge of the pipe or metal wire. The resistance faced by the flow of electricity is measured in ohms and is represented by the symbol R.

Now that you understand a few basic things about electricity, you will know what factors will affect the output of an electric generator. If the pressure or the voltage is increased, the output will also increase. If the flow rate is increased or if the resistance is decreased by taking appropriate actions, the output will also increase.

It is all about Power

Now here is fun part: You are increasing the output but you need to use that output wisely to ensure your work is completed. Suppose you manage to increase the output of the hose pipe by increasing the pressure, hiking up the flow rate or decreasing the resistance (by using a larger gauged pipe). You still need to use it appropriately to ensure the work gets done. For instance, if you are using the hose to clean your car, then pressure, flow rate and resistance all combined will determine how fast your car can be washed. Keeping in mind the analogy of water, the amount of work done with electricity is termed electrical power (P) and is measured in watts.

Understanding Generators

When someone orders a generator, he is usually are asked by the person taking the order how many kW (Kilowatts or 1,000 watts) of power do you need or what is the ampere power you are looking at. You may not have a proper response if you do not know the amount of electricity you will be consuming. So here it goes.

1. Prepare a list of electrical devices you will be powering using the generator(s).
2. Each device has a label that mentions its wattage. Write it down.
3. In case the label mentions the requirements in volts and amps, you can calculate the wattage simply by multiplying both (P=VI or power = voltage x electricity flow). Yes, you have to return to pre-algebra.
4. Add the required wattage and you have mathematically calculated your power requirement per hour.

In simple terms, if you hire a 10kW generator, you can power devices that consume not more than 10,000 watts of power per hour.
In case the output of the generator is asked in amperes (amp or A), here is how you can proceed.

• Generators usually have outputs in 120V or 240V. Most large appliances need 240V so most likely this will be the generator for you.
• Ask for the ampere of the generator.
• For determining the total wattage output, simply multiply the voltage with the amperes. For instance, a 240V generator producing 20 amps would generate electricity enough to power of 4800 watts or 4.8kW.

Final Note

If you are sure that you will not be powering any device which requires 240V of supply, ordering a 120V generator would be sufficient.