About the author:

About the author: Evan Luzi is the editor and founder of The Black and Blue as well as a freelance camera assistant.

You can learn more about him or follow him on Twitter and Google+.

10 Awesome Production Stills That Will Remind You Why You Love Filmmaking

Behind the Lens 2 Comments

10 Awesome Production Stills That Will Remind You Why You Love FilmmakingCreative Commons License photo credit: Karen Roe

Camera nerds unite!

Its time to indulge your collective love for the filmmaking process as well as your affinity for visual stimulation.

Over at The Black and Blue Facebook page, I held a mini-contest and asked people to submit behind the scenes production stills from movies they’ve worked on. In such a short time frame (about a week), I was pleased to see over 20 pictures posted to the page. Some were funny, some were impressive, and one was even sexy (you’ll see…).

So here are 10 of the best of them along with a few words from those who were there.

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Feeling Nervous on Day One? 5 Steps to Curb Your Anxiety

Miscellaneous Tips 4 Comments

Feeling Nervous on Day One? 5 Steps to Cure AnxietyCreative Commons License photo credit: Rachel Coyne

Are you feeling nervous about a shoot coming up? Do you lie awake at night thinking of all the ways you could mess up and never end up working in the film industry again?

If so, you’re not alone — many crew members get anxious before a shoot. Yesterday on Twitter I asked my followers if they got nervous before a shoot and here’s what some had to say:

  • “I used to get nightmares before going on set” – @david_charry
  • “The answer is definitely YES” – @FB_ac
  • “Everytime, even if I know it’s an easy one” – @mariofeil

I, too, still get nervous before gigs — sometimes for no good reason at all!

It’s something I’ve learned to get used to and part of dealing with it is a process I go through when I arrive on set. If you follow these 5 steps, you’ll be ready to kick ass when the sticks clap on take one.

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The iPad Slate iWould Use

Toolkit 3 Comments

Ikan Corp T-Slate iPad and Tablet Slate Clapperboard

The iPad, like most Apple products, is commonplace on film sets. Producers use them to watch dailies, directors use them to keep production notes, actors use them to keep themselves busy while they “hurry up and wait” and, increasingly, camera assistants are using them to slate.

Slating with an iPad is not a new idea. Capable slate apps have existed for awhile and one even made it front and center in an Apple commercial.

The smooth touchscreen interface of the devices and their slab-like shapes seem like a natural fit to digitize the clapperboard, especially considering the price gap between pro-level timecode slates and tablets, but using an iPad to slate never seemed particularly useful or pleasant – until now.

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Throw Yourself Into the Fire: A Career Challenge

Miscellaneous Tips 3 Comments

One of the most important actions you can take to insure your success in the film industry is to constantly challenge yourself. You have to continually learn new skills, cameras, and even different jobs to be successful in this industry.

And that’s the easy part.

The hard part is dealing with how uncomfortable it can be to be thrown into the fire. You’ll be worried about screwing up or whether you’re qualified. You’ll stress about new pressures and unknown obstacles. You’ll fear that you just can’t do it.

But these are good things.

Today I’m here to tell you that being thrown into the fire is an excellent way to achieve things you never thought were possible. So watch the video above and find out why you should relish being uncomfortable on set and take the challenge I set forth for you.

Please leave a comment letting me know how you plan to act on the challenge I mention in the video. And then come back and let me know the results!

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Do You Want to Be Told What to Do?

Getting Work 9 Comments

Film Career Flowchart from Film Sourcing

Do you have a wild imagination and no shame? Are you skilled at cleaning up other people’s mess? Do you secretly want to direct?

If you’re able to answer those questions without a hint of hesitation, then choosing which path you follow in the film industry is about to get much easier — which is to say it’ll get slightly less hard.

The first time you step on a film set, it’s easy to get intimidated by all of the different positions and career possibilities: assistant directors, assistant assistant directors, script supervisors, prop masters, best boys, grips and electrics… the list goes on.

Luckily, someone has made a flowchart that’ll help when it comes time to ask yourself that complex question: “But, what do I want to do?”

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7 G&E Techniques Useful to Camera Assistants

Camera Assisting 25 Comments

Grip Electrician on Fire Watch on a Film Production Movie SetCreative Commons License photo credit: postopp1

The Grip and Electric departments, collectively known as G&E, are amazing.

During long scene setups, you could spend all day watching them place flags, lay track, strike lamps, drop scrims, and fly in sandbags. I have a lot of respect for them because their efforts go largely unnoticed by audiences and, at times, production itself.

But what is also fascinating about G&E is the crazy amount of techniques they have for very specific purposes — there’s a lot to learn from them.

As a camera assistant (AC), you have to continually improve and evolve your knowledge to be better at your job. And the grips and juicers have a lot to teach us if you’re willing to watch and listen. To start, here are 7 techniques you should be stealing from them to use in the camera department.

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Happy 2nd Birthday to The Black and Blue!

Website 7 Comments

Happy Birthday CakeCreative Commons License photo credit: Will Clayton

Can you believe it’s been two years? It sure doesn’t feel like it.

On January 4th, 2010, I transformed The Black and Blue from a portfolio site into a full-blown blog for camera assistants. I had no idea what I was embarking on, but I knew the information I planned to share was unique and needed by tons of people like you striving to become better crew and filmmakers.

And now, judging by the numbers, my instincts were right.

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