Week 4: Wherein Stacy falls ill, plays bad cop

Perhaps it's the lack of sleep, the starchy, fatty food, a lack of exercise, or communal sweating with a large group of people, but Saturday a.m. I woke with a bad feeling in my tummy. I ended up spending the entire day in bed, sleeping, and occasionally getting up to well...it doesn't matter what I did when I got up.

I've only been sick once in the past year or two. I have a cast iron immunity that is now showing signs of rust. The sleep did me good. The kindness of Karen Browning and Steve Canner did me even better; soup and juices were delivered to my door.

The day went off just fine without me, thanks to a kick ass crew. They say the sign of good leadership is being able to leave and have things go just fine. So, that is a good thing. Still, being a troubled control freak, something Kat and I have both admitted to and accepted about ourselves and each other, not being there causes a few niggling sensations that I'm starting to get used to.

While I like being Production Manager in general, the sad truth is, it's just not always as much fun to be in charge as it is to say, run sound or be an A.D. or work with the camera crew. I'm in the position, cause that's where I fit best here and I'm happy to do it. Still, it means I have to do two things that I'm still not used to doing: a) Math and b) being the "heavy" or "bad cop".

• On the math: Our new production accountant is coming aboard and helping with that a lot. Most production managers don't have to do all of the math on any given production. I'm just a freak about wasted time and money and I want to keep my commitment to the crew to pay everyone as promised and to provide them what they need to do their best work.


• On being the "bad cop": While Kat and I and Lorie share sensibilities, and discuss all the big issues, I am the one who generally has to tell people the hard stuff. Things like: "don't be late", "here's what I need from you", "this is your primary responsibility, I need you to focus on it", "please make sure you X, Y, or Z" and of course, "We won't be needing you again."
  

My standards for this crew are high, despite the low pay and indeed because of it. If someone doesn't do their job, someone else has to. If there is a negative or bad attitude, we all feel it. If someone feels something isn't fair, the teamwork suffers.

This crew is given freedom to do their best work, a small stipend, good food, heartfelt thanks and a fun, positive working environment. They know this is as much their film as anyone's. Its not just a "Kat Candler" film, or a "Storie Productions" film. It's everyone's film.

Kat says I am "the foundation" of this film. To me, that means I'm in the background, pulling lots of levers and trying to keep the machine full of gas and money, the crew happy and fulfilled and the schedule on track. It's a different kind of creative than running camera or directing. It's mostly fun, except for the math and the badcop part, I'm getting used to those.