Film Industry News: UPDATE: Where the Heck is the GoldFold?!
At the end of January, I shared the latest news from Travis Gold, creator of the GoldFold callsheet wallet, on the status of GoldFolds and whether or not they’d be back on the market. The wallets had been revamped, and were set to come out in February. But February came and went, and there was still no sign of the GoldFolds. After getting emails from you guys with questions about the whereabouts of the new GoldFolds, and wondering myself what the status was, I decided to contact Travis again and see if there were any updates. Much to my surprise, within 10 minutes of sending the email, I got a phone call from Travis — and he gave me the scoop! Why the Sabbatical? There are imitations on the market, but GoldFolds are the highest quality, all of them handmade by Travis. He put no marketing into the product, and was thrilled by the success– but needed to take a step back and reevaluate. He wanted to work on branding the product, and make adjustments to the Fold. Improvements to the GoldFold There have been several updates to the product, designed to make it sleeker and able to handle an AD’s demands a bit better. Overall, we can expect a slightly smaller wallet. One of the improvements: the clip is now gone, and has been replaced by strong magnetic strips on the inside to help keep papers in place. The GoldFold will now also come with a band of elastic, making it easier to store more and allowing the Fold to expand and be overstuffed. The “button” is also smaller and a little more ornate. When Will the GoldFold Be Available? If all goes well, Travis hopes to launch the new line of GoldFold callsheet wallets in the next month. He’s a 1st AD by trade, and like all of us that work in this business, has been quite busy with his day job recently. He shared he’d been booked on a two-week job in the Bahamas. “I’m not complaining, but I’m trying to get these things out!” he laughed. FilmTools Travis verified that FilmTools will again be a distributor. A New Website & iPhone App Part of the reason for the sabbatical was to give Travis an opportunity to team up with someone that could help launch a website and iPhone app for GoldFolds. Goldfold.com is the official website, where all information/updates pertaining to the GoldFold callsheet wallet will (eventually) be found. Currently, the website is a placeholder, with a countdown to the product’s launch, which is currently set to April 19th. Can I PreOrder? Not yet! The best way...
On Production Assistants That Are “Usually Producers/Directors”
The Setting It was a fast-paced, high-profile commercial shoot; one of those .com companies that fly in entire teams of people from Los Angeles and New York. As a result, you’re usually working alongside the most talented producers, ADs, and crew members in town. While your days are filled with long hours and taking an obscene amount of Starbucks orders, it is a great opportunity to showcase your work ethic, get noticed, and get hired for future gigs. The Main Character: The Deluded Production Assistant For these large projects, you need an army of production assistants, and maybe you try out a few new people. I was working alongside a girl who’d obviously never PA’ed a day in her life. She was bewildered easily, and wasn’t grasping that 90% of a PA’s job is anticipation. About halfway through the second day of filming, this PA did have enough sense to tell that the production team was getting frustrated with her. During some down time on the shoot, the girl clarified to the commercial’s producer, Brittany, why she was having a hard time living up to the PA standard. “I don’t usually PA,” the girl explained. Brittany nodded knowingly, but in sympathy. Like any good producer, she wanted this girl to be in the department where she felt most comfortable. “That’s fine. What do you normally do?” “I usually produce,” the girl said, without missing a beat. Brittany blinked in surprise, and almost laughed out loud. The girl didn’t know the back end of a grip truck from a honeywagon, and she wouldn’t know a sandbag if she tripped over it. “Uh…okay. What have you produced?” “Well, I just did a music video, at Watkins,” she bragged. WATKINS! THE FILM SCHOOL. AND SHE WAS SERIOUS. Apologies for the use of caps, but I had to convey how absolutely absurd that is. I don’t mean to belittle experiences gained by going to film school, but film school projects do not equate to real world projects, period. I never saw that girl on a film set again. The Antithesis There’s a flipside to this Watkins music video story: The director of that student music video. He’s a good work comrade of mine, and we got into the business at the same time and PA’ed together for a couple of years. He is a film snob, and has seen every movie ever made and is quick to offer his professional opinion… but it’s because he’s passionate and he knows his stuff. The difference is, even though he was more than capable and was often frustrated by the menial tasks – he did his time as a production assistant. And never in the two years...
Film Industry News: The Return of the GoldFold Callsheet Wallet!
>> March 2013 Update: Click HERE for the latest update on GoldFolds. Exciting news, AD nation! For the last several months, it’s been difficult to track down the illustrious GoldFold wallet. The GoldFold is the perfect tool for storing those awkward legal-sized callsheets without wrinkling, as well as any additional papers you’d need to have on your person while on a film set. I’ve been trying to find a distributor to link to on my film gear recommendations page, but as anyone with Google has realized, it’s impossible to find – let alone buy – these handy callsheet wallets. I also couldn’t find any information explaining the absence of GoldFolds. After following several dead links to FilmTools webpages, I decided to go straight to the source: Travis Gold himself – a 1st AD and creator of the wallet. Within an impressive 5 minutes, he replied to my email! Travis Gold’s response, as of January 2012: Hi Laryssa. Goldfold is on a little Holiday of sorts. Gonna intro New improved line with Side carry mid feb. Subtle changes to Fold but side carry will be a terrific addition. Thank You And, there you have it – just a few short weeks until these wonderful little callsheet wallets are once again available for purchase. I’m guessing they’ll once again be distributed through FilmTools. Too bad we can’t preorder, eh? >> March 2013 Update: Click HERE for the latest update on GoldFolds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If you liked this post, subscribe to receive updates and stories about the film industry – or subscribe to my normal feed which includes all of my posts, including my adventures...
New York City and Randy Travis
Nashville supports a broad range of musical genres, but country music is Nashville’s core. For those of us who are immersed in it on a daily basis because of our work, it’s hard to estimate how popular country music is beyond the Mason Dixon line. When I was in New York City for a few days last year, that seemed as good a place as any to test the waters and see just how broad the reach of country music is. My friends and I were were eating dinner with a local New Yorker, and she asked me what TV shows I work on in Nashville. “Well, I just started working on Crossroads for CMT,” I said. In my experience, most people had heard of Crossroads. Or so I thought. Nope. “It’s a show that features one rock artist or band with a country band – and they play each other’s songs.” I explained, carefully selecting one of the bigger-caliber combinations. “Like, John Mayer and Keith Urban.” The New Yorker looked at me doubtfully. “I thought John Mayer was taking a break from music.” “Well, that show was a couple years ago,” I said, now on a quest to establish Nashville’s reputation as a legitimate film/tv hub. I was going to win over this New Yorker. “Uhh, the most recent one I worked on was the Avett Brothers-” quick smile of approval, score! “-and Randy Travis.” “Who?” “Randy Travis.” The New Yorker just shrugged, resuming her attention back to her meal. She’d never heard of Randy Travis. I grew up resistent to country music, mocking it and changing the radio station if I even heard a slight hint of twang, and even I’d heard of Randy Travis prior to moving to Nashville. I looked helplessly at my Australian friend who’d spent his whole life living in Brisbane or Sydney, and he looked as surprised as I did. Even he knew who Randy Travis was. “Uhh, well anyway, it’s a cool show.” I concluded, taking a sip of my margarita. And then the topic was promptly changed to finance, or traveling, or something everyone could relate to. What do you think? Was this New Yorker out of touch, or is the reach of country music limited to the Southeast (and apparently,...
“Quiet, Please” – Why PAs Don’t Win Popularity Contests
We want people to like us. It’s the human condition. The PA’s Primary Task: Keep everyone quiet while the camera’s rolling. We’re noisy Americans who blab on our iPhones while shopping for Greek yogurt and clogging up the aisle at Kroger. And even if we’re in the way, no one tells us to move, much less to shut up. Being told to “be quiet” when we’re in the middle of divulging may as well be an infringement on our constitutional rights. It’s hard enough to keep an entire crew quiet – that’s a lot of moving parts. You’ll get the occasional dirty look from someone, but they oblige, generally. But factor in egos, and the important people, and you can have a real problem. Do you do your job and shush ’em, or do you keep your job by letting them bust the take? …Really? Keep everyone quiet? You’re guarding the door that leads to a quiet, intimate sex scene. Only minimal crew – 4 or 5 people total – are allowed inside with the actors. Twenty feet away is craft service, which is being mulled over by a famous actor from that blockbuster hit you’ve seen 100 times since it came out 10 years ago. He strikes up an engaging conversation with BigWig Producer who’s wandered away from video village. The AD announces, “Rolling” in your earpiece – and you repeat in your friendliest and most official tone, maybe even staring at the HotShot actor- “Quiet please, we’re rolling!” But BigWig and HotShot keep yacking it up. You pray they’ll be quiet enough for the audio guy to not notice. (Impossible, they hear everything.) All seems to be going well, they’re maintaing beneath-the-radar volumes- until HotShot reaches the punchline to his non-exciting story, “…AND I’LL NEVER FLY THE RED EYE AGAIN!” You frantically make gestures like a captain losing a game of charades as his boat capsizes into the sea. You motion circles with your index finger over and over (to the rest of the world is You’re Crazy, but to us it means QUIET you idiot, we’re rolling), but you know its too late. The take is blown. The AD – your direct boss – screams “QUIET ALL AROUND” in your earpiece. This may seem like a very small dilemma when compared to the split-second decisions made by neurosurgeons and political leaders. But I assure you, it’s quite a pickle to be in, and can be very jarring. Do you tell the HotShot actor to be quiet, offend him, and get fired? Or do you not tell the HotShot actor to be quiet, and risk the wrath of...
The Time an Actor Picked a Fight With Me (Over Breakfast)
* Names and details have been changed to protect the guilty. The Setting I was working on a pilot, and we were filming on location. I was managing basecamp, making sure actors were getting ready, giving them their sides, getting any breakfast orders before the caterer stopped serving breakfast, and giving them estimations on how long until camera would be ready for them. The Story “Laryssa, please tell Jimmy that we don’t need him first off anymore, and that he can go get breakfast and hang out for a bit,” the 1st AD told me over walkie. “Copy that,” I chirped. No problem. I walked over to the trailer where Jimmy was, and knocked on his door. He swung it open hastily, looking down at me expectantly. I explained the situation to him briefly, but cordially: “Hiya Jimmy, a few things changed, and they won’t need you right away – so feel free to get breakfast if you’d like, the caterer’s still serving for another twenty minutes.” One of the mistakes I made in my delivery, apparently, was that I assumed both Jimmy and I were human beings. “Are YOU telling ME to get my own breakfast?” he scoffed, looking down from his lofty three-banger trailer as if he were Pharaoh. I was taken aback. I’d dealt with method actors before, but all-out drama was something new. “Well, no, I’m just letting you know you have the time, if you want to hang out, get some coffee-” This sent him out of the trailer, down to my level. “NO ONE has EVER told ME to get my own breakfast!” he retorted, the screen door slamming shut behind him. I feel it necessary to explain here that Jimmy wasn’t the main character. He wasn’t even really a minor character. He played the boyfriend of a minor character who might’ve had two lines in the whole script. However, he had contributed to a cult classic film of the 1990’s, but has failed to ever fully attain stardom. I wasn’t sure what to do as I stood there, with him staring at me expectantly. I knew he wasn’t my main priority. I needed to make sure the main actors were getting ready for their scenes, and that they had everything they needed. But, it’s never good to be the one responsible for sending an actor into a spiraling mood prior to 9am. “Um…well, I can get it, but I need to stay here, so it may take awhile-” “I’m trying to get ready for my scene.” He huffed, folding his arms across his chest, bothered that babying him wasn’t my main concern. “I know, and...
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I'm Laryssa, and when I'm not working in film or television, I'm attempting to travel -- or I'm here, providing resources for working in film or travel. Read more Elsewhere on the internets
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