The Second Unit often handles action footage, and there is nothing second rate about the different skills needed for this.

There are serious suggestions to refer to this as the Action Unit instead.

Here's a good article on it. Brian DePalma is known for giving his second units a lot of responsibility.

My understanding of a second unit crew is it a separate crew apart from the main crew that shoots footage the main crew won't have time to get. So it's a way of getting maybe 5 days worth of footage when you have only 3 days at the location. While the director and DP prepare for the main shots or the dialogue shots, the second unit can go and get action shots or establishing shots or inserts.

Say you are shooting a Western, the scene that you have to get is when the stagecoaches set up camp for the night. So your main crew focuses on that. A shot that you want to get, but is not crucial is when Dawn breaks over the mountain range, so you send your second crew to do that.

If you are hired as second unit, you main not get the benefit of working directly with the director or the main videographer, so if you can, you may want to look at what they have done, so you can a feel for their styles. If you get time, you may want to talk to them and ask what they need from you. I would guess that you would be expected to match the main style they are using. (We don't use shallow focus or We are shooting everything with a BlackMist filter, etc.)

As for " More importantly who calls the shots (literally) and who do I need to suck up to? " the hierarchy is pretty much the same as the main piece but usually with its own Director, Line Producers, DP, Gaffers and whatnot though ultimately they all operate under the main big wigs. If a production was a bank, you would be working in a branch instead of the main office.

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

P.S. busterkeaton, dont ya hate it when you type a reply and someone else posted the same thing while you were typing ? ;)

Ray,
I guess I do.

bubblevision,
In terms of hierachy, I'm guessing that you will probably be answering to the First Assitant Director which as you may or may not know, is not a creative job and doesn't really involve directing. A 1st AD is a much more a logistical and organizational job. It's all about getting the director what he or she needs. In military terms an AD does not draw up the battle plans, they implement the battle plans. An AD most likely will do more yelling an ordering than the director. That frees up the director to concentrate on the creative stuff and maintain a repuation as a nice guy. A good AD understands that his/her job is to serve production and that even though they are in authority, they have to serve the needs of the people under them who, after all, are incredibly skilled professionals.

Don't know how it works for underwater shoots, but in general the hierarchy is

Director
DP
AD

Underneath the DP, are all the people who control anything onscreen, lighting, grips, art department, talent stand ins, etc.

The AD generally serves the director and the DP and manages all the production staff, 2nd AD's, production assitants etc.

The sound crew is generally the oddball team. They have to not get in people's way, but be ready to go when the DP is. Everyone on set will understand not to stand if front of the camera, but not everyone will understand that even if they are far away from the microphone they still cannot make noise. (I used to do sound.) I have been on sets where they spend hours letting the DP and lighting set up, but won't give the sound guy five minutes to get a level, find out where the boom should go or do a rehearsal. I've also been on a set when they didn't want to do any blocking or rehearsal to not "kill the energy" even though it was handheld shot. So, of course, when they did the shot, the actor reversed his direction and the cameraman did a 180 to find me holding the boom pole . Naturally this shot involved the actor smashing a prop that they didn't have a replacement for. That was a good day.

The lighting crew hierachy is
Gaffer (head electrician)
Best Boy (Gaffer's assistant)
Electrics

A friend who is a Best Boy says Electrics bright light to a set and Grips take light away from set. So the Electrics, run cable, rig lights, main the generator, etc. The Grips rig flags, screens and gobos in front of the lights. Grips also do any special rigging on the set, i.e., dolly tracks, camera platforms, safety structures, etc.


You should try to find out as best you can what they need from you. You may be allowed some freedom (Get what looks best) or you may be asked to fill in specific gaps (Stay on the wide shot, because we will trying to get as many closeups as we can.) You probably don't need to suck up to anyone, just be professional on set, be ready whenever you are asked and generally be pleasant to work with. One skill that is comes in very handy on a set, is if you can communicate very clearly, very quickly. I almost never give the "thumbs up" in my normal life, but find myself doing it frequently on set.

Good luck.

One bit of "true folklore" I've learned in my young directorial career is that the DP's job is to argue with the AD. The AD wants the job to move efficiently, the DP wants to make sure the creative aspects of the 'vision thing' are realized before resetting for the next shot. So the AD is the gas, the DP (videographer) is the brakes.

So, theoretically (meaning you have to account for personalities and sensitivities on the set), you have to be willing to hold out for what you feel a shot needs, or at least bring it to the director's attention before the AD starts striking for the next shot. The director needs to make an informed decision that he's done with a shot.

P.S. Tell the sound crew you respect the importance of sound (which they rarely ever hear), and they'll be loyal to you throughout the shoot. Better yet, tip the director to tell them so.

All good information here. To try to clarify, there's one Director of Photography. There can be several camera operators under her.

The first unit shoots principal photography. In this case it could be shots of actors or talent on a dive. The second unit gets all the stuff they'll need to cut into a scene. It's not uncommon for the first unit to take the talent and move on to another setup while the second unit gets shots. In this case they'll be up on deck sipping warm drinks, perhaps.

If everyone is on the same boat I'd assume that you'll go in once the 1st unit and talent come back up. They can't keep people down there forever so they might rotate crews and talent.

You'll get instructions. Be nice to everyone. Nod and appear grimly confident. They have to tell you what they want. Just find your immediate leader and follow him or her. Don't bypass that person.

There's a difference between being second camera and being in a second unit. Obviously you can be second camera in the second unit crew.

Second unit can be big. It just usually doesn't involve the lead actors.

Rob Mack

An underwater shoot?

When the really big sharks start appearing the director calls for the second unit. Good luck.