Tales From The Inside

Chapter Three: The Gates Opened

The first amazing thing that happened to me was going up to the gate of the studios in Wilmington. The security guard asked who I was and who I was there to see. I told him, and he placed a call. Seconds later, the gates opened. How metaphorical. It was such a simple thing, but it made me feel like a million dollars. Especially after seeing people being turned away all the time. I thought, "Wow, this is actually happening."




The day was amazing. I won't bore you with all the details, like what I ate for lunch, but I will say, it was unbelievable. They briefed me on my day. I was going to be attending a Producer's meeting on the episode being filmed the next week, then I would be going on a location scout, then off to the studios to watch them film, next would be dinner with the cast/crew, and lastly, a script read-through. I was floored. I had been expecting to sit in a room all day with a production assistant, lining scripts and talking about wardrobe or something. Maybe even doing paperwork or being shooed away as angry suits talked on phones.

Every part of the day was very interesting. I saw just how many people it took to make a television show and just how many little details had to be addressed. The location scout was the one part of the day that sticks out the most as being educational about the industry. First off, I was the only girl in the van. We were driving around, and I was sitting in the back seat watching all these men talk about locations and problems with them, or why they wouldn't work. The local YMCA's fitness room had too many mirrors. I just kept to myself at first, thinking of myself as a burden. Especially after one of the more respected in the group had given me an evil eye. The man in front of me was the first to talk to me after leaving the sanctuary that was the office. He asked me why I wanted to do this. He seemed skeptical as to why this 17 year old girl would want this as a career. I think he probably thought I had TeenBeat posters covering my walls. When I told him that it intrigued me and that it just felt right to be in the atmosphere, he softened a little and we ended up having a very nice conversation. Three things he said stick out in my mind today. (1) He told me that the hardest part of getting into this industry is that everyone wanted to do it. (2) You don't have to be college educated. You could be a kindergarten drop-out or have a master's degree in political science. (3) After one day of work, you either know its for you. Or you quit. You hate it, or you love it. I played it cool, but all of these facts scared me. First of all, I hated competition. I never won, therefore I hated it. And he made it very clear that it was a competitive occupation. Great, maybe this wasn't it for me.

When we arrived at the YMCA, the glare guy from earlier started digging through his backpack angrily. He then started asking if anyone had extra paperwork that we had all been given before we left. He had lost his and wasn't happy about it. I spoke up, rather meekly as I recall, and told him he could use mine. Everyone laughed and he mustered as much of a smile as I think possible. He said thanks and I could literally hear the ice breaking. He then patted me on the shoulder and told me he was going to buy me a coffee later. Acceptance! Sigh of relief and I'm struck dumb, (like in the movies, har-har), and they start moving without me. Ahh, a second of acceptance, and then I'm back to being the puppy dog following the "important people" around. I run a little to catch up. The man that had been sitting in front of me saw me and smiled. He leaned down and whispered, "Good work! First rule of filmmaking, always be prepared...to save someone else's ass."

On set, everything was completely different than what I expected. Much to my shock, it wasn't all that glamorous behind the scenes. It just seemed....normal. Of course, there were bright lights and faces that adorned magazine covers, but besides that, it was just a job. And that was a little hard for me to take in. In my fantasy world, making movies or television shows, was all fun and creativity being unleashed with rooms of people rejoicing at the new creation. Not people sweating and looking at their watches nervously and, to be frank, being grumpy. I just wanted to yell, "You have the coolest job ever! Why are you in such a bad mood!"

The rest of the day, was just as amazing. I left awe-struck, but most importantly, still wanting to be a part of the insanity. I had a closer look and I was still intrigued.

I told my mom that night that I thought that I should go for it. She laughed and said, "You are not moving to Los Angeles! Too many freaks!"

My dad said, "Don't you want to be an architect like me? Just think, you could take over my business."

Wait a second here. This reeks of parental disapproval. Oh yeah, that's another thing the man in front of me in the van warned me about.

"Parents don't usually approve. Too unstable, not much money."

Labels: crewing, Dawson's Creek, parents

posted by ms bct @ 7:02 PM 0 comments

Chapter Two: An Opportunity

You get the drive, you acquire the ambition, you devote yourself to figuring out where you belong in the process, and then what? I was sixteen when I seriously started to consider filmmaking as a career. It seemed so glamourous and dignified. It was like this was something I could do and be proud of how I spent my life.

I couldn't imagine a better occupation than filmmaking. And looking back, I knew nothing about it. I mean, I understood the train wasn't going to come off the screen, and I guess that was a start. I needed to know more before I decided to devote myself to it. But where to begin? How could I get from gazing from behind the barrier, (bordering on behavior that could be deemed stalkerish), to being a part of it all? The nature of the business is very private. Security and gates keep the outside world, outside.

I spent the better part of years sixteen and seventeen looking in from the outside on the rare occasion I could catch filming. I also became obsessed with television. I enjoyed movies, but by no means was a 'buff'. And I didn't own a video camera, so I wasn't running around like M. Night Shyamalan making movies with my friends. In fact, I was far from the cookie cutter example of a future 'filmmaker'.

When I was a junior, I heard about a job shadow opportunity in my school. Basically you put in a request to follow someone around for a day in an occupation you wish to work in. I decided to do it. I remember putting in a request to work with the Dawson's Creek Production Company, almost jokingly. I knew the chances were so slim, that I was potentially just throwing this opportunity away. You could only put in one request, and I seriously thought that maybe I should just put in a request to work in a Pediatrician's office. I'm really glad I decided against that. As much as helping children would be possibly one of the most gratifying jobs in the world, I passed out at the sight of blood, and sick children usually made me cry. I just took the chance and requested the production company.

I remember us all being called into the career guidance classroom and being handed an envelope with our job shadow assignments. I watched as everyone else opened theirs, clutching mine nervously. When I finally opened it, I literally screamed in excitement. My friends knew right away. I was going to job shadow "Dawson's Creek". When word spread through the school, most people were very excited for me and wanted to know everything when I returned. Others gave me dirty looks and one person even keyed my car. Keyed my car! I was very well-liked in the school, (even got "Most Friendly" salutation), so this surprised everyone. After that incident, I decided to not be so publicly excited about this opportunity and went the "play it cool" route. Inside, I was a mess of nerves.

The one thing I feared the most was, what if this wasn't for me. What if I hated it, or worse, they hated me and vowed, "You will never work in this industry kid! Give it up!"

Labels: ambitions, Dawson's Creek, fear of failure

posted by ms bct @ 6:56 PM 0 comments

Chapter One: Seeing The Light

It was raining and my good friend Falon and I were driving around. Well, she was driving, I was wishing that sixteen would roll around a little faster. We were barely sophomores in high school and our idea of a good time was driving around listening to Jay-Z's new album. (And maybe we were right. Those times, as I recall, were pretty fantastic.) The last stop before crossing the bridge back to our neighborhood, was, and always will be, downtown. The vintage streets and buildings bring a certain warm feeling over me, driving parallel with the water, the glistening christmas lights on the courthouse. Watching couples walk hand and hand, the special education teacher from our school juggling by the tourist booth. A semi-circle around him. That's another story all-together.

On this particular night, we saw the tell-tell signs of filming. As we understood it, Wilmington had become the filming site for a little show called Dawson's Creek. It was in its second season, and I had never seen an episode. But none the less, it was exhilarating seeing all the fantastic lights and huge trucks taking up half the street. We decided to park and wandered over the the Icehouse. Anyway, we stood and watched, and I remember seeing the cranes and monitors and huge China balls lighting up the set as a make-believe moon. I was really mystified by all the equipment and people with headsets on.

Falon started complaining that her hair was getting wet and she was cold. I told her to leave me and I would find a way home. (insert cheesy metaphor here) She indeed left, after I assured her it was okay.

And that was it. It just struck me. I stood there and just watched and listened and probably looked crazy for close to three hours. And immediately I knew, maybe piano wasn't my thing, and its no wonder I wasn't very good at sports, but thought I had finally found my niche. I was going to make movies.

Let the disillusionment begin.

Labels: Dawson's Creek, getting started

posted by ms bct @ 6:47 PM 0 comments