Hey Michelle, I am a film student who is ADing a mostly student run, 8pg indie short film. This is my 2nd time ADing, and it's with the same Director/DP but this time the stakes are higher. The previous shoot I worked on involved about 40 shots over 2 nights on Super 16, and each night we went about 2-3 hours over. The DP is talented, but extremely meticulous. Now he wants us to get 105 shots over 4 days (2 nights included) on Super 16 with at least 4 child actors involved. Suggestions? Thanks!

Oi vey, I just came off a similar situation. The thing is, the DP and the AD need to be on the same page and they have to respect what you say in terms of shot timing.

For one, you have child actors and that raises the stakes significantly. The DP may want 105 shots over 4 nights, but the reality is that child actors get tired… or better yet, throw tantrums and refuse to do the work. And there’s child labor laws that you as an AD need to have memorized in regards to how many hours a child can be working at a time, overnights/night time shooting, etc. Some of it can be overlooked if the parent feels comfortable and feels like the child is going to handle it professionally, but most of the time, it’s in your absolute best interest to keep to child labor laws and be willing to compromise the shotlist should issues occur.

Worse comes to worst, wave the child labor laws at the DP and tell him to be more reasonable with shots/setups. Put your foot down about ending at 12 hours for the crew and getting the child actors out at reasonable times. That is your job. The DP may hate you for it, but it’s the reality of the situation. 

16 October 3 Anonymous

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