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In the spring of 2004, one of my RTF classmates contacted me to see if I would be interested in doing some location sound work. Obviously, I was. I cleared my schedule for the two-day shoot and met the director to obtain a copy of the script and the audio gear. The day of the shoot arrived, and I met the rest of the crew. It was a mostly female crew, but the Assistant Director (AD) was male and caught my attention. AD was tall and lanky, with blond hair and blue eyes. While attractive, I found his standoffish demeanor offputting. The shoot was a bit hectic, despite being fairly low key. I was annoyed by myriad technical difficulties: The set was in the middle of a cow pasture, surrounded by an electric fence and with powerlines overhead. The overwhelming power created a horrific sixty-cycle hum, plus we were only a couple of miles from the Manor Downs racetrack. While not loud enough to hear unassisted, the announcer's voice on the PA was just audible via my headphones, and waiting for a break in his commentary slowed down shooting. Also, inevitably, there were several planes flying overhead to or from the nearby airport. The numerous other technical difficulties wore on all of us, and tempers frayed by the end of the second day. I was immensely relieved when we began winding down. Near the end of the second day, I needed to do a bit more work for audio only, room tone and the like. "Okay, everybody, quiet on the set!" I shouted. Everybody went quiet except AD, whose voice remained an annoying mumble in my headphones. "I SAID EVERYBODY!" I roared, looking straight at him. Shocked, the entire crew went dead silent, which was perfect for me. I obtained my room tone without any snags. To my horror, AD immediately acted considerably nicer to me. I thought he would hate me even more than he apparently already did, but instead he began sucking up to me. Apparently he was the submissive type. I was greatly relieved to hear the phrase "that's a wrap" and get the hell out. Naturally, I bumped into AD in the halls of CMB a few times. I remember running into him early one Saturday morning while on my way to one of the ProTools suites. "Hey, Lauren!" he called chirpily. I mentally face palmed, smiled, and replied, "Hey, how are you?" "Hi," he mumbled, suddenly shy, looking at his feet. I smirked a little to myself and went on my way. I saw AD again at the end of semester screenings. He entered the auditorium and sat a few rows ahead of me. I didn't say anything, but of course he spied me just as he was sitting down. "Oh, hi, Lauren!" he said. I grimaced, quickly turning it into a grin. "Hey." ACG was sitting beside me, and I quickly mumbled, "That's the assistant director I was telling you about." ACG looked accordingly and said, "I see what you mean. He does look a little slimy. He looks like he needs a shower." I smiled politely but privately thought ACG had a case of sour grapes, not to mention projection. I had never said anything particularly nasty about AD, just that he didn't seem to like me much until I yelled at him. As with GSSB, I felt guilty and inclined to take AD's side. Luckily, it ended badly with ACG not long afterward. I didn't see AD again after that night, though I gather he is doing well for himself, working in the film industry in New York City. I'm glad. |