S04.E05: Picture's Up

[Tara Ariano]

Jason's ready to take charge as production begins, but Effie's shooting schedule presents problems when it comes to the director's penchant for perfectionism. Meanwhile, Len makes his first visit to the set and is met with the crew's concerns about a lack of communication; and time is ticking on the deadline to get the signatures required to legally shoot at night.

[terrymct]

Mann's inexperience is really showing in his inability to schedule time, as well in his shooting and reshooting without providing any guidance or varying anything. Did he really say that this script relies heavily on the actors ad libbing? What about those weeks spent supposedly writing?

This movie really seems trite, a story that's been done many times before. The lines we've heard or gags (dick drawings on the face? Really?) we've seen haven't been funny at all.

[OptimisticCynic]

For someone who has a film fetish, does Jason realize how it works? At the beginning of the episode he says "if we don't make our days, apparently they are going to start taking the film away." If you're not making your days, that means you're using too much film on certain scenes and therefore you won't have as much left to complete your film based on the additional budget amount already awarded to you for said film! 

 

Not surprised at all by the crew problems which are really all down to Jason's ineptitude. From the missing signatures due to not enough preparation time to the camera operators having safety issues. Gee, I wonder if that's because he didn't have a shot list or put that together last minute? 

 

As for the night vs day discussion, how come color correction didn't come up? Is it not in the budget? Is that only available on digital? It's going to be converted at some point to air on television so I would assume that should still be an option.

This movie really seems trite, a story that's been done many times before. The lines we've heard or gags (dick drawings on the face? Really?) we've seen haven't been funny at all.

 

It sounds like Wedding Crashers with Brits to me, but probably not nearly as funny or charming. And I'm not a huge fan of that movie.

Edited October 12, 2015 by OptimisticCynic

[Latverian Diplomat]

For someone who has a film fetish, does Jason realize how it works? At the beginning of the episode he says "if we don't make our days, apparently they are going to start taking the film away." If you're not making your days, that means you're using too much film on certain scenes and therefore you won't have as much left to complete your film based on the additional budget amount already awarded to you for said film! 

 

Not surprised at all by the crew problems which are really all down to Jason's ineptitude. From the missing signatures due to not enough preparation time to the camera operators having safety issues. Gee, I wonder if that's because he didn't have a shot list or put that together last minute? 

 

As for the night vs day discussion, how come color correction didn't come up? Is it not in the budget? Is that only available on digital? It's going to be converted at some point to air on television so I would assume that should still be an option.

 

 

I think there was another wrinkle to the "making days thing". They had the option to spend the money on extra days instead of film. If Jason fell behind then they would need the extra days so goodbye film. You can fall behind without burning extra film (taking too long to set up, etc.) though it does seem that Jason likes lots of takes.

 

The camera department seemed really angry after just one day of shooting. I wish we had gotten more of that story -- I know the PG cameras can't follow everything -- but given all the drama around using film and the late start, I'm surprised they didn't cover those guys more. Don't really care what the Prez of HBO films thinks, but I understand that the producers have to.

 

Everything's easier in digital, but I think on their budget it would be very difficult to shoot day for night and not have it look like crap however they do it. Effie wants to address it in the script, because that's the cheap solution, but I don't see how that can work given what they've already shot. And how the hell could Jason do that much rewriting in one weekend. Isn't he supposed to be kinda busy anyway?

 

The "no night shooting" thing was quite a bombshell to end on. Somehow I don't think it will live up to cliffhanger.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Latverian Diplomat

[MrWhyt]

"a movie like this requires a lot of improvisation" (paraphrase of Jason)

 

That's why you shoot on digital! Film is expensive, multiple takes on film are way more expensive than multiple takes on digital. As for the night shooting, there is no guarantee that if the location was chosen earlier that all the neighbours would be on board but the extra time would have helped them modify the script if they figured out earlier than they couldn't get the approval.

Edited October 12, 2015 by MrWhyt

[OptimisticCynic]

"a movie like this requires a lot of improvisation" (paraphrase of Jason)

 

That's why you shoot on digital! Film is expensive, multiple takes on film are way more expensive than multiple takes on digital. As for the night shooting, there is no guarantee that if the location was chosen earlier that all the neighbours would be on board but the extra time would have helped them modify the script if they figured out earlier than they couldn't get the approval.

 

This is true. But if they had booked it even a month ago that would give them more time or try to find another location for an exterior to use at night.

[calliope1975]

I don't know if Jason is downplaying everything or if he's just clueless. He seemed so baffled/confused/unconcerned (I can't even read him to determine what he was feeling) about having film pulled for digital if they aren't making the days. 

 

I also would have liked to have seen more of why the camera crew were pissed. I didn't understand what was unsafe. 

 

I'm all for lowbrow humor, but what I saw shot didn't amuse me. Neither did the trailer that aired after the show. 

 

I hope they don't get the signatures and can't shoot at night, but that's because I'm feeling mean spirited tonight. If only there was a way they could have planned ahead and had time to do this necessary prep work. If only.

Edited October 12, 2015 by calliope1975

[MrWhyt]

This is true. But if they had booked it even a month ago that would give them more time or try to find another location for an exterior to use at night.

Oh yes, this is mostly because Jason took to long to decide on a location. I'm just being fair in noting that the problem isn't 100% of his making. The neighbours may have not signed even given the extra time a prompt decision would have given them.

[biakbiak]

Tom Bell has a writing credit on the original short and the Justin's direction to the other actors in one scene was "he is going to do something funny," so I wonder if most of his characters role in the script is basically Tom improves stuff.

[OptimisticCynic]

Did anyone else watch the inside the episode after the on demand? Marc mentions Jason having a really good leadership vibe on set but I don't buy it.

 

He talked about walking away from crew members and a lot of the interpersonal conflicts are due to his lack of management skills. His entitlement is so baffling.

[MrWhyt]

He talked about walking away from crew members and a lot of the interpersonal conflicts are due to his lack of management skills. His entitlement is so baffling.

In his defense that whole "I just walked away when someone tried to talk to me"  and "I used the word peasant a lot" conversation he had with Peter Jones was clearly intended to be tongue in cheek.

[OptimisticCynic]

In his defense that whole "I just walked away when someone tried to talk to me"  and "I used the word peasant a lot" conversation he had with Peter Jones was clearly intended to be tongue in cheek.

 

True, but he is so emotionless most of the time I couldn't tell! 

[Hootis]

I don't know if the movie business does this to people, but the way people speak to each other during conflicts sounds like high-schoolers. The safety meeting argument, the 9pm problem...hell, a lot of Effie's normal conversation seems so plastic. Drives me nuts.

[terrymct]

The "no night shooting" thing was quite a bombshell to end on. Somehow I don't think it will live up to cliffhanger.

Uncle Matt and Uncle Ben are going to have to swoop in with buckets of cash to save their precious snowflake.

[TVSallyS]

On the one hand not having time to get signatures is obviously Jason's fault. On the other hand I remain frustrated that the other people involved are just making tiny minor enough mistakes that he isn't ever forced to confront how it's all his fault. It ticks me off. They aren't managing him properly. He's a control freak. The whole film is his baby. That's obvious to anyone watching. So you can't just shout "choose a location now or we won't be ready". You must give the man details. Help him understand EXACTLY what will be sacrificed and why. If they had walked through the likelihood that all signatures would be gotten (and that he'd have to rewrite his whole precious script for day) back then, and been persuasive, he might have picked a location sooner. He hasn't ever worked within timelines and practical issues that he hasn't micromanaged entirely himself. Why can't they pick up on that and adopt a different approach to handling him?! Yelling at him, saying no and "just trust me" clearly was never working and they should have adjusted their style months ago. Then from his perspective, it's them not fighting for the movie. Turn the details over to him. Say "here is the choice". Then it is clear to him consequences are ON HIM. This time around, they did not appear to be TALKING TO HIM about the signature crisis. WHY???!! He seemed, with his inside the episode comments, to be totally in the dark about what was going on. WHY??!! If there was a chance he was going to have to direct it all as daytime, he should have been told immediately at the start of the shoot so he could weigh the probabilities of getting the signatures and make an informed choice as to whether to start shooting day at the start or take the risk and push forward with night. Since he wasn't kept updated, he now feels mistrustful again and somewhat justifiably upset. How should the director not have been told, when he started shooting night, that they didn't know for sure yet he'd be able to continue shooting night???? He's not off base in being a little upset. And once again, it's going to blow up more than it even should have.

He's just so entitled I can't stand people around him giving him any excuse to place blame elsewhere. Sigh. I'm frustrated they are. Learn the guys style. Keep him in the loop and give him details. Make sure he has no one to blame but himself. I mean, we all know what would have happened. He would have said "we need to shoot night." Then when it bit him in the ass, his fault. Now they look dumb for not mentioning it. It seems reasonable to say that if it was remotely likely they wouldn't get the signatures, Jason obviously should have been told upfront so he could decide whether to waste time darkening shots on day one. If it happened this way, someone miscalculated the ease of getting this done - which might be an innocent mistake, but once again, gives the egomaniac reason to not trust them instead of working with them.

Edited October 12, 2015 by TVSallyS

[Julia]

So, wait. The fact that Effie didn't allow Jason to piss off the permit holdouts by illegally filming past when she repeatedly told them they had to stop is the fault of Effie's attitude? 

 

You know, it gives me no joy to say this, but I'm starting to think I was right. They are trying to get the EPs and Jason off the hook for this debacle by hanging it on Effie.

 

It's kind of sad watching Bruce Davison try to salvage that crappy dialogue while Jason inexplicably decided that the Oscar nominee is the actor who doesn't get to improvise. Show some respect, little man. Longtime Companion was every bit as tragic as Boys Don't Cry. You should trust the man's instinct for comedy.

 

Meanwhile, Jason can't be bothered to plan his shots because he'd rather film the same scene fourteen times and catch "lightning in a bottle,' which is apparently hard to catch if your cameras know where to be ahead of time.

 

Wow.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Julia

[radishcake]

You know, it gives me no joy to say this, but I'm starting to think I was right. They are trying to get the EPs and Jason off the hook for this debacle by hanging it on Effie.

I thought it was interesting on the inside the episode from the Farrely Brothers quitting that she mentioned after watching the actual cut of the show she was surprised that no one ever called her and asked her why she reacted the way she did. I can't imagine that it was the only instance of them shutting her out over this supposed "personality conflict". Ugh.

[Primetimer]

Shouldn't we see more of Jason Mann not sucking? And other not-quite-burning questions about Project Greenlight.

Read the story

[Trixie Belden]

When Jason said "the producer is supposed to make the director's vision happen" or some nonsense like that, it totally highlighted how he really thinks this whole is just to service his wants and needs.  Unfortunately, nobody has disabused him of that idea.  Nobody has told him that Effie is there to make sure they don't go over budget or get fined by the city or that the union guys walk off the set.  He just thinks she's there to talk the homeowner into letting 3 people roller skate through her house filled with priceless objet d'art.  

 

Effie knows she's not liked and doesn't care one bit.  She said she's the "no" person and that she's good at her job, which is all she cares about.  Also, from the parts I saw being filmed, this movie is going to be crude and really not funny.  

[Latverian Diplomat]

Uncle Matt and Uncle Ben are going to have to swoop in with buckets of cash to save their precious snowflake.

More money could solve the problem, I guess, if they pay the neighbors to sign or there's an expensive day for night technical solution they can spring for. 

 

But what would be hilarious woud be Matt and Ben going door to door to get the signatures. "Can our friend Jason shoot a movie at night pretty please? Sigh, would you do it for a selfie with us?"

Edited October 12, 2015 by Latverian Diplomat

[JyDanzig]

WOW!  As badly as Jason comes off on the show, I can't believe how much worse he looks after viewing the Inside The Episode featurettes, in which he's allowed to talk longer and explain himself more fully.  How often can you say that about someone on reality TV?  "The editing made them look like a much better person than they actually were."

 

At the same time, allowing the director to film a week of night scenes, when he's not aware that he might be forced to shoot the rest of the movie as day, is a colossal screw-up.  Which is a depressing fact of what it is like to work for a director with unrealistic expectations -- "I didn't alert you early enough to the existence of problems that you created by ignoring my advice" is YOU making a mistake.  The director, he's just trying to pursue an uncompromising artistic vision!  Do we even want to live in a world where jokes about asshole-licking are filmed with the cold emptiness of digital, instead of the rich texture of film?!?

This comment from TVSallyS really hits the nail on the head:
 

On the one hand not having time to get signatures is obviously Jason's fault. On the other hand I remain frustrated that the other people involved are just making tiny minor enough mistakes that he isn't ever forced it confront how it's all his fault.

 

Edited October 12, 2015 by JyDanzig

[radishcake]

Do we even want to live in a world where jokes about asshole-licking are filmed with the cold emptiness of digital, instead of the rich texture of film?!?

So I guess reading the boards while drinking something is my own fault, my keyboard does not thank you JyDanzig! ;)

[radishcake]

It's looking more and more like the show and/or the producers are purposely setting him up to fail, which would be fine if this were E! or Bravo, but HBO should be above this shit.

Nick that's my exact problem. If I wanted to watch producer shenanigans I'd check out Project Runway. Maybe it's misplaced but I thought HBO is (or was) a better caliber of reality. 

[Julia]

I guess the narrative I'm getting here is that the EPs are processing Jason as One Of Us and treated him that way, and they didn't register that he was using them as a stick to beat the production with until things had already gone too far south to do anything but lay blame.

[terrymct]

More money could solve the problem, I guess, if they pay the neighbors to sign or there's an expensive day for night technical solution they can spring for. 

 

But what would be hilarious woud be Matt and Ben going door to door to get the signatures. "Can our friend Jason shoot a movie at night pretty please? Sigh, would you do it for a selfie with us?"

That would be awesome, a good penance for their selection of Mann for this program.

[ApathyMonger]

Deleted scene in which it's explained how boom mics work:

[John Ramos]

I wish they'd given a little more coverage to the roller-skating-in-the-house issue. Not because it in itself was so interesting, but because it was possibly the only time we didn't see Jason make a huge stink about it being cut. Was it because there was an outside person involved who had no stake in the movie being made and thus couldn't be manipulated?

[radishcake]

Deleted scene in which it's explained how boom mics work:

I think this clip is a perfect example of how the producers use Effie (as they SHOULD) to be the heavy, since you see the sound editor looking at her like "WTF is this guy talking about?!" and Mark is just hanging back letting Effie do the talking. I love that she's the one tasked with keeping everything in line BUT I hate that they've edited this (and frankly explicitly said) like they didn't hire her to do just this job. Yes she's the heavy but back her the fuck up. Come on now. 

[Julia]

I suppose they must have said this, but I didn't really grasp that Joubert represents the company making the reality show. At the risk of being cynical, I wonder if that doesn't explain why he didn't straighten out some of the misunderstandings we know he knew about.

[calliope1975]

I think this clip is a perfect example of how the producers use Effie (as they SHOULD) to be the heavy, since you see the sound editor looking at her like "WTF is this guy talking about?!" and Mark is just hanging back letting Effie do the talking. I love that she's the one tasked with keeping everything in line BUT I hate that they've edited this (and frankly explicitly said) like they didn't hire her to do just this job. Yes she's the heavy but back her the fuck up. Come on now. 

 

I don't understand why everyone walks around on eggshells around this guy. Why is Effie the only one speaking plainly? When Jason tried to invent a new boom mike (which, hey, at least he was thinking outside the box for once) why did everyone just stare at him? Why didn't the sound guy say, no, I've never seen that done before and I don't know if or think it's possible. He didn't need to be rude about it, just state some facts. Instead, we get lots of staring until Effie responds. 

[radishcake]

Well Nick he's done sound before. Riiiiggghht. My eyes have rolled too far and I fear injury.

[Irlandesa]

 Nobody has told him that Effie is there to make sure they don't go over budget or get fined by the city or that the union guys walk off the set.  

While not laying out specifics, Ben did tell him last week that Effie's job was to keep everything in line.  So he knows.  I just don't think he knows since he probably had to work on low budgets before that likely relied on friends doing favors.  3 million probably seems like a lot of money and how much could an extra mic cost?  But it says a lot that he's thinking of the equipment and not of the operator---he probably thinks he could get the caterer to stand there and hold the extra mic because that's likely the kind of flexibility his previous productions needed.

 

 Mark is just hanging back letting Effie do the talking. I love that she's the one tasked with keeping everything in line BUT I hate that they've edited this (and frankly explicitly said) like they didn't hire her to do just this job. Yes she's the heavy but back her the fuck up. Come on now. 

Mark finally did in this deleted scene which I wish they had included.  I think it's frustrating that it took Mark telling Jason that they can get an extra boom but they'll need to cut something---which is what Effie said in the beginning of the clip. 

 

BTW, if you haven't yet, I highly recommend reading the interview Effie did recently.  The link is in the media thread.  I think I like her even more. 

[radishcake]

Irlandesa I did and WOW. Yes I love her even more. It's an enlightening read.

[TVSallyS]

This is what they need to do more of to handle him, though. He can't believe they can't just do it if it matters. They can't just keep saying no. Jason's whole interpretation of that interaction was that Effie was "looking at him like it didn't matter", and that's why she shut it down so fast. Sort of like film didn't matter to her, so she didn't push, and Jason did. And got it. I know that's not a fair summary, but it's how Jason sees it. So. They have to simply say "ok, if you are saying that might matter more to you than something else, I will compute the cost of the extra man plus mike, and give you a list of the other things that you can cut that would add up to that price, with a brief summary of the implications of cutting those things, and you can make the choice". Stop saying no. Just start smiling and handing him the choice. Let him cut the other thing if he freakin' wants to and deal with the fallout, or let him decide on his own it can't be done.

[radishcake]

They have to simply say "ok, if you are saying that might matter more to you than something else, I will compute the cost of the extra man plus mike, and give you a list of the other things that you can cut that would add up to that price, with a brief summary of the implications of cutting those things, and you can make the choice".

That's almost verbatim what Effie said to him. "I can't pull the numbers out of my ass right now but I'll get them for you and we'll see what we can do". Again, his refusal to listen to anyone and the other producers being unwilling to back Effie up is the problem IMHO. I get tailoring your management style to the person you are trying to work with but as Effie said in the talking head from this portion of the episode, when you present someone with all the options and they just continue to not work with you or compromise on anything it's not YOUR problem past a certain point. They are presenting him with all these angles and ways to do things and he just refuses to cooperate. I'm not sure that's on the producers.

"Creating a new boom mike that doesn't exist is not a great idea"

"Oh but I do sound, I know what I'm talking about"

How is anyone supposed to react to that kind of stubborn idiocy??

[Julia]

This is what they need to do more of to handle him, though. He can't believe they can't just do it if it matters. They can't just keep saying no. Jason's whole interpretation of that interaction was that Effie was "looking at him like it didn't matter", and that's why she shut it down so fast. Sort of like film didn't matter to her, so she didn't push, and Jason did. And got it. I know that's not a fair summary, but it's how Jason sees it. So. They have to simply say "ok, if you are saying that might matter more to you than something else, I will compute the cost of the extra man plus mike, and give you a list of the other things that you can cut that would add up to that price, with a brief summary of the implications of cutting those things, and you can make the choice". Stop saying no. Just start smiling and handing him the choice. Let him cut the other thing if he freakin' wants to and deal with the fallout, or let him decide on his own it can't be done.

On the one hand, I agree with you that would be satisfying to watch. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that Jason would see it as the start of negotiations they don't have time for. I'd also be concerned that if she did allow him to trade something else in his limited budget for one of his impulse buys it would be spun as Effie hurting the movie to punish Jason, since he's clearly not competent to make that call with an eye toward the movie getting made. I think she's wearing enough of that egg already.

[Trixie Belden]

Jason did comment in one of his TH that all the movies he's made before have been labors of love for all involved and that everyone rolled up their sleeves and did whatever was necessary to fulfill his laundry list of needs.  He's never made a "film" under real life conditions until now.  He's never had to worry about budgets or unions or neighbors' signatures, so he's just boggled that LA film making is so hard and can't understand why this woman is working to ruin his film.

 

He's 30 years old and this is his first time trying to adult, and he's not really doing it all that well.

[terrymct]

Oh. My. Fucking. God. A two-headed boom mic? 

 

This is a person who has made MULTIPLE films? 

 

I cannot see how this show isn't just 100% trolling us.

 

 

That really confused me.  The need, if I understand it, was to be able to better isolate each speaker's voice which you could do with two booms in different areas of the room.  Two mics on one boom wouldn't give you that spatial differentiation.  Jason said you could set each mic to record a different range of sound but it's hard to imagine that the predominantly male cast would be speaking in significantly different registers.  

[tvsoothesthespirit]

It's too bad that Jason can't see that Effie is on his side. I think the show was cut to make Effie look unreasonable (wow talk about a trite concept -- the unreasonable black woman) and that Jason has decided that Effie is just saying no as a sort of reality-foil to his directing needs in order to create drama. He has a really adolescent inability to see his own part in things.

 

On the other hand, if this were the real world, he might appreciate that Effie has such tight control over his budget -- making it possible for him to finish. He might also appreciate that she keeps him from filming after 9:00p.m. without permits which, if they were caught, might sink their chances of getting the signatures AND get them bounced.

 

Jason whines that Effie isn't pulling for him to get what he wants, yet he is unable to think of options for himself. It's either night shooting or we won't be able to use the footage we just shot. I'm not in the film industry and it could be that there's nothing in between those two options but I haven't seen Jason give any thought to it.

 

Also, this movie reminds me of the Walter Matthau movie from the '70s -- A New Leaf.

[radishcake]

tvsoothesthespirit I'm enjoying the juxtaposition between your name and what this show does NOT do! :D

[Julia]

Also, this movie reminds me of the Walter Matthau movie from the '70s -- A New Leaf.

 

Interesting - who's Elaine May?

 

ETA [or not - the article I read seems to have had the wrong director named Jason Mann? Pfui. It would have made such a neat explanation...]

Edited October 13, 2015 by Julia

[LADreamr]

The director, he's just trying to pursue an uncompromising artistic vision! Do we even want to live in a world where jokes about asshole-licking are filmed with the cold emptiness of digital, instead of the rich texture of film?!?

I can only speak for myself, but no, I do not. I absolutely do fucking not. Life is too damn short.

[tvsoothesthespirit]

Interesting - who's Elaine May?

 

You know, my statement was based on just my first impression from hearing Jason's description. Although the May character could be the alcoholic brother in this instance.

 

Yes, Radishcake! This show actually makes me harrumph and shake my finger!

[terrymct]

Interesting - who's Elaine May?

 

Most of Jason's work seems to have been done in Maine, where his then-mother-in-law is a Senator and his then-wife was the Speaker of the State House, in partnership with his sister-in-law. Maybe that helped with any permissioning problems he had.

 

I don't think that's the same Jason Mann.   There's a Jason Mann who is a documentary filmmaker who lives in Maine and works at the Island Institute.  He's married to Hannah Pingree, who until she ran up against term limits was in the State legislature.  Her mother, Chellie Pingree, is also in politics in the State and at one point was majority leader in their State Senate.  Currently, Chellie Pingree is in the US House of Representatives.

[Julia]

I don't think that's the same Jason Mann.   There's a Jason Mann who is a documentary filmmaker who lives in Maine and works at the Island Institute.  He's married to Hannah Pingree, who until she ran up against term limits was in the State legislature.  Her mother, Chellie Pingree, is also in politics in the State and at one point was majority leader in their State Senate.  Currently, Chellie Pingree is in the US House of Representatives.

Ack, sorry, my bad. I read something that conflated the two.

[RemoteControlFreak]

I don't understand why everyone walks around on eggshells around this guy. Why is Effie the only one speaking plainly? When Jason tried to invent a new boom mike (which, hey, at least he was thinking outside the box for once) why did everyone just stare at him? Why didn't the sound guy say, no, I've never seen that done before and I don't know if or think it's possible. He didn't need to be rude about it, just state some facts. Instead, we get lots of staring until Effie responds. 

Because Jason is Matt and Ben's precious baby and they don't want to piss off Matt and Ben.

 

But what I don't get is why there is so much concern about multiple boom mics and shooting on film for a movie that's about licking assholes and drawing penises on a drunk guy's face.  It's not exactly high art. Can't they just shoot this in someone's basement like a low-budget porno?

Edited October 13, 2015 by RemoteControlFreak

[Trixie Belden]

Soooo, my husband and I just watched the trailer and that. movie. looks. terrible.  It really makes Jason's temper tantrums about shooting on film look even more ridiculous, because it's just a wedding farce, nothing more.  You could switch out Ed Weeks for Vince Vaughn or Jason Bateman and it would be the same movie.  Just because someone says "penis" or "asshole" with a British accent doesn't make high art out of a movie.

[lidarose9]

I don't understand why everyone walks around on eggshells around this guy. Why is Effie the only one speaking plainly? When Jason tried to invent a new boom mike (which, hey, at least he was thinking outside the box for once) why did everyone just stare at him? Why didn't the sound guy say, no, I've never seen that done before and I don't know if or think it's possible. He didn't need to be rude about it, just state some facts. Instead, we get lots of staring until Effie responds. 

 

I have been in that position many times, when someone tried to tell me how to do my job when they actually knew nothing about it. So often people think other peoples' jobs are really easy and straightforward because they don't understand them or they see them on a very superficial level. The very fact of their asking this question proves they know nothing. There are so many reasons and they are so complicated and intertwined with other dependencies, it would take half an hour to explain why it has to be done a certain way. Also, the question is insulting, implying you're being deliberately dense about a perfectly straightforward solution to the problem and any idiot can figure out a workaround if you try. It's mind-boggling to find yourself in that situation, and so you are momentarily stumped trying to come up with a response that's not counterproductive. The word is dumbstruck.  

 

Also I think on PG the crews have to be affected by the fact that they're being filmed, just like anyone else, and that awareness of the camera guys standing around can make them self-conscious. They are probably less likely to take a controversial stand or speak up about a problem. I think this might be part of the problem with Effie and her Girl Scout leader chirpiness. She's trying to "manage" the image she projects and so maybe goes overboard with the cheerful, gung-ho tone to counteract the fact that she's the one who has to say no to people a lot. 

[Julia]

I have been in that position many times, when someone tried to tell me how to do my job when they actually knew nothing about it.

So often people think other peoples' jobs are really easy and straightforward because they don't understand them or they see them on a very superficial level. The very fact of their asking this question proves they know nothing. There are so many reasons and they are so complicated and intertwined with other dependencies, it would take half an hour to explain why it has to be done a certain way. Also, the question is insulting, implying you're being deliberately dense about a perfectly straightforward solution to the problem and any idiot can figure out a workaround if you try. It's mind-boggling to find yourself in that situation, and so you are momentarily stumped trying to come up with a response that's not counterproductive. The word is dumbstruck.  

 

Also I think on PG the crews have to be affected by the fact that they're being filmed, just like anyone else, and that awareness of the camera guys standing around can make them self-conscious. They are probably less likely to take a controversial stand or speak up about a problem. I think this might be part of the problem with Effie and her Girl Scout leader chirpiness. She's trying to "manage" the image she projects and so maybe goes overboard with the cheerful, gung-ho tone to counteract the fact that she's the one who has to say no to people a lot.

This reminds me of an ancient Dilbert cartoon where the pointy-headed boss said that anything he didn't understand was easy, so he wanted to see the new server architecture in something like a week. It lived on my refrigerator for years.

[calliope1975]

I have been in that position many times, when someone tried to tell me how to do my job when they actually knew nothing about it. So often people think other peoples' jobs are really easy and straightforward because they don't understand them or they see them on a very superficial level. The very fact of their asking this question proves they know nothing. There are so many reasons and they are so complicated and intertwined with other dependencies, it would take half an hour to explain why it has to be done a certain way. Also, the question is insulting, implying you're being deliberately dense about a perfectly straightforward solution to the problem and any idiot can figure out a workaround if you try. It's mind-boggling to find yourself in that situation, and so you are momentarily stumped trying to come up with a response that's not counterproductive. The word is dumbstruck.  

 

Also I think on PG the crews have to be affected by the fact that they're being filmed, just like anyone else, and that awareness of the camera guys standing around can make them self-conscious. They are probably less likely to take a controversial stand or speak up about a problem. I think this might be part of the problem with Effie and her Girl Scout leader chirpiness. She's trying to "manage" the image she projects and so maybe goes overboard with the cheerful, gung-ho tone to counteract the fact that she's the one who has to say no to people a lot. 

 

I know and I agree. Especially since I hate confrontation and have a hard time speaking up for myself. Maybe that's why I'd love to see someone do what I wish I could. 

 

Mostly, I just want someone to punch Jason.