words I learned this week:
gozee = husband
magnoon = crazy
ghabi, pronounced "rabi" (rolling the 'r' like the French do [back of throat]) = stupid
kalb = dog
'ota = cat
Thursday, April 23, 2009
World(s) [Apart] War Three
Holy Crap. It all came to a head today. I exploded. Okay, so not nuclear, but I did raise my voice.
A little back story: Apparently there were communication problems (go figure) last year between the special effects department and the AD department. So as a pre-emptive measure, a special position was created- a continuity AD, just for our department. Now, for those of you familiar with the industry, there really is no such position. Each Department Head is in charge of the continuity elements related to their work. We cannot rely on others because they may not know exactly what we're looking for. Moreover, they may not always be consistent in their coverage of continuity. There is a person in charge of continuity for the entirety of the production, and sometimes the script supervisor takes on these duties too. Buuuuut, it is not required to create a position JUST for the special effect make-up department. The inherent danger in doing so is that since this would be their one-and-only job, they will pour 120% of themselves into the job. While I understand and appreciate the importance of continuity, if something is a nano-millimeter off...and they're worried that someone will notice.... ehhhh... I'm worried about the future of the show.
Anywho, so now we've got this person who stands right next to me in our room with her laptop open with a bevy of photos she's taken and is pointing out (during application, in front of talent no less) how 'this is shorter than in the picture, and there was more red here and...' Grrr...
Now, up to today, I've smiled my 'acquired-from-years-of-service-industry' smile and said 'no problem, i've got it, sure, it's okay, i'm on it...', then asked her to tell me these things after if they're necessary. Every day for two weeks. It's been a constant, interminable struggle. I go to war everyday. They don't seem to understand that Chris and I know what we're doing and we're on it. If we can't manage a simple thing like continuity, then we have no business in this industry! Yet, she's still standing there, with her laptop at my shoulder, stepbystep.
Well, today Chris stepped in and said something. Enough was enough. She responded, things escalated and arguing ensued. IN FRONT OF THE TALENT. I don't care who's in my chair- You never EVER argue in front of an actor. After the actor left the room, I told Chris and our 'helper' that next time, you take it outside. She got defensive. I was trying to make my point (across a chasm of a language/cultural barrier) and she kept cutting me off, saying she didn't understand. Um, let me finish and hopefully you'll see what I'm getting to. She kept cutting me off, talking over me. That was that. I lost it and started raising my voice. Now, up until this point I've used my dad's technique of keeping my voice level, yet trying to express my 'displeasure' and getting my point across, and in every other case I've enjoyed measurable success. Today that went into the toilet. This was not going to be resolved without proper mediation.
I had to leave the room to regain my composure. I knew that if I didn't step away things would keep escalating and that would get us nowhere fast. When I returned I found two of our producers, Chris, the AD and her in deep discussion. Again. Now, understand that this situation is starting to feel alot like a scene from "Groundhog Day". We've had this conversation before, three or four times with different approaches, but always with the same disappointing results. There was alot of 'this is how we do it here', 'this is how we do it back home', I appologized for raising my voice (which apparently just isn't done here), lots of Arabic between one of the producers and the ADs, AAARRRRGG! We are getting nowhere!!!! Finally, we think we've come to a resolution. I think. Eeecchh. We'll have to see on Saturday. Which, by the way, is when our stuff is supposed to be here. "T.A.I.T." (Thank Allah It's Thursday)- I need a drink.
A little back story: Apparently there were communication problems (go figure) last year between the special effects department and the AD department. So as a pre-emptive measure, a special position was created- a continuity AD, just for our department. Now, for those of you familiar with the industry, there really is no such position. Each Department Head is in charge of the continuity elements related to their work. We cannot rely on others because they may not know exactly what we're looking for. Moreover, they may not always be consistent in their coverage of continuity. There is a person in charge of continuity for the entirety of the production, and sometimes the script supervisor takes on these duties too. Buuuuut, it is not required to create a position JUST for the special effect make-up department. The inherent danger in doing so is that since this would be their one-and-only job, they will pour 120% of themselves into the job. While I understand and appreciate the importance of continuity, if something is a nano-millimeter off...and they're worried that someone will notice.... ehhhh... I'm worried about the future of the show.
Anywho, so now we've got this person who stands right next to me in our room with her laptop open with a bevy of photos she's taken and is pointing out (during application, in front of talent no less) how 'this is shorter than in the picture, and there was more red here and...' Grrr...
Now, up to today, I've smiled my 'acquired-from-years-of-service-industry' smile and said 'no problem, i've got it, sure, it's okay, i'm on it...', then asked her to tell me these things after if they're necessary. Every day for two weeks. It's been a constant, interminable struggle. I go to war everyday. They don't seem to understand that Chris and I know what we're doing and we're on it. If we can't manage a simple thing like continuity, then we have no business in this industry! Yet, she's still standing there, with her laptop at my shoulder, stepbystep.
Well, today Chris stepped in and said something. Enough was enough. She responded, things escalated and arguing ensued. IN FRONT OF THE TALENT. I don't care who's in my chair- You never EVER argue in front of an actor. After the actor left the room, I told Chris and our 'helper' that next time, you take it outside. She got defensive. I was trying to make my point (across a chasm of a language/cultural barrier) and she kept cutting me off, saying she didn't understand. Um, let me finish and hopefully you'll see what I'm getting to. She kept cutting me off, talking over me. That was that. I lost it and started raising my voice. Now, up until this point I've used my dad's technique of keeping my voice level, yet trying to express my 'displeasure' and getting my point across, and in every other case I've enjoyed measurable success. Today that went into the toilet. This was not going to be resolved without proper mediation.
I had to leave the room to regain my composure. I knew that if I didn't step away things would keep escalating and that would get us nowhere fast. When I returned I found two of our producers, Chris, the AD and her in deep discussion. Again. Now, understand that this situation is starting to feel alot like a scene from "Groundhog Day". We've had this conversation before, three or four times with different approaches, but always with the same disappointing results. There was alot of 'this is how we do it here', 'this is how we do it back home', I appologized for raising my voice (which apparently just isn't done here), lots of Arabic between one of the producers and the ADs, AAARRRRGG! We are getting nowhere!!!! Finally, we think we've come to a resolution. I think. Eeecchh. We'll have to see on Saturday. Which, by the way, is when our stuff is supposed to be here. "T.A.I.T." (Thank Allah It's Thursday)- I need a drink.
Monday, April 20, 2009
"Itchy" Gitchy Ya Ya Yah
Blood seems to be a theme this week. Right now though I'm talking about my own; I seem to be the sole source of sustenance for some colony of mosquitoes, or fleas or something around here. My legs are all chewed up from the knees down. And the itching!!! Oh. My. God. It's terrible. Thankfuly we have a doctor on set- Dr. Khaled got me some antihistamine cream and some claratin, but still, the itch!! Arrrgh!! I can't stop!
Let's think about something else, shall we, or I'll start considering amputating my legs...
Speaking of the focus of unwanted attention, Chris and I feel lately like we're walking in a constant spotlight. As we walk down the street, taxis are constantly stopping (in fact, impeding traffic around them) to see if we need a ride. My feelings regarding this are very much the same as those regarding telemarketers: if I need something, I'll go out and find it- don't hound me. This goes for taxis. While I appreciate the willingness to help us, go away please! See these? These are legs- they work fantastic! We enjoy walking!!! We like exploring!! We'll flag you down if we need you.
In regards to driving in Cairo, I beleive that everyone here is a stunt driver in training. It's nuts how close the cars pass to each other! Inches. And not even a graze. Sometimes there's head-on traffic facing off in a one-way street (most of the sidestreets are like that) and it's like a game of Tetris as cars pull off into a few feet of space to let the other go by, all while pedestrians thread their way through. There seems to be an unspoken understanding between drivers too. Nobody yells, or gets really upset. There's a lot of courtesy, with driver's signaling to each other with a series of flashing blinkers and 'peeps' of their horns. I'm assuming that if no one gets upset, or tries to force their right-of-way, then there's less accidents. Just a theory.
Let's think about something else, shall we, or I'll start considering amputating my legs...
Speaking of the focus of unwanted attention, Chris and I feel lately like we're walking in a constant spotlight. As we walk down the street, taxis are constantly stopping (in fact, impeding traffic around them) to see if we need a ride. My feelings regarding this are very much the same as those regarding telemarketers: if I need something, I'll go out and find it- don't hound me. This goes for taxis. While I appreciate the willingness to help us, go away please! See these? These are legs- they work fantastic! We enjoy walking!!! We like exploring!! We'll flag you down if we need you.
In regards to driving in Cairo, I beleive that everyone here is a stunt driver in training. It's nuts how close the cars pass to each other! Inches. And not even a graze. Sometimes there's head-on traffic facing off in a one-way street (most of the sidestreets are like that) and it's like a game of Tetris as cars pull off into a few feet of space to let the other go by, all while pedestrians thread their way through. There seems to be an unspoken understanding between drivers too. Nobody yells, or gets really upset. There's a lot of courtesy, with driver's signaling to each other with a series of flashing blinkers and 'peeps' of their horns. I'm assuming that if no one gets upset, or tries to force their right-of-way, then there's less accidents. Just a theory.
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