the thing about freelancers...

As mentioned in a previous post, we had 4 shoots last week, which wrapped up yesterday afternoon around 5PM. Needless to say, today was definitely a day of rest and relaxation (read: I slept from midnight until 10AM).

On our bigger-budget shoots, we have the luxury of hiring out freelancers in our market, which I always enjoy. On our shoot on Friday I had the pleasure of meeting two new guys. One works frequently with the bigger production companies in town, and the other was fairly new to the field, but still a hard worker. He reminded me of a more scruffier and scared-looking Ryan Eggold from 90210.

And then there were the other two freelancers who we've hired out for every bigger budget shoot -- Bob & Amy, whom I love. It's neat working with a husband and wife team who simply get each other and work together flawlessly. Bob is a quiet, easy-going guy and Amy is his much more energetic counterpart who is great at rounding up crowds, directing, and is constantly on her toes.

The thing I like about freelancers is that they show you a different perspective to your normal flow of things. Last week marked my 2-year anniversary with my current job, and I've gotten very used to the way things work within our company. It's nice to have a different and unexpected perspective on how to set up a shot, how to light a scene, when and why to move schedules around. It's nice, fresh, and it keeps me grounded and constantly learning.

Tidbits from all 4 shoots:

1) One of our testimonials from our shoot yesterday was an 8-year-old named Diamond. For real. I met a girl named Diamond.

2) I noticed one of our new freelancer friends wore grip gloves with everything he did. I don't think he ever took them off.

3) Our talent from our shoot on Wednesday sliced his arm open on a desk he was standing at. Okay, he didn't really slice it open, nor was he bleeding profusely, but it was funny because he had hardly even noticed it.

4) There's no point in slating if you don't slate after every cut. I'm still trying to get my boss to understand this. You can't "half-way" slate your shots.

5) Shotgun Dan's doesn't accept AMEX. Neither does Community Bakery. These two facts proved to be very cumbersome this week.

6) A 2007 Camry's inflated birthday balloon capacity teeters at 13-15 balloons. Just in case you were wondering.