When the Director and the DP aren’t playing nice.
What do you do when the DP and the Director are not on the same page and are telling you to do different things? Can you cite an instance where this happened and what the outcome was?
I've only been on one set where I was put in an awkward position by the director and DP not seeing eye to eye, and that was mostly because I was inexperienced. I was doing my first feature with a notable DP with a couple of gold statues on his mantle, while the director was from the world of episodic television, and wanted everything to look "cool", despite the film being a classically shot anamorphic western.
On several occasions, the director asked me directly to add snap zooms, place the actors on the far side of the anamorphic frame, and “add life to the frame” by shaking the camera, etc. - stylistic choices that didn't fit with the established look of the film. I would then inform my boss of the director’s requests, which would inevitably lead to the DP giving me a long, stern look, followed by him saying (I'm editing out certain four-letter words, and using polite language not used at the time) "Don't do that". The DP didn’t feel the need to go to the director to discuss the issue, and I wasn't experienced enough to know to have the director ask the DP directly. My inexperienced solution? I’m embarrassed to say, that without knowing what to do, I simply ignored what the director told me, and did what the DP told me to do. After the take, the director would wander over, and seeing him coming, I would either look into the eyepiece, close my left eye to the world, and pretend I couldn't hear him questioning me, or I would claim that I'd forgotten his request, only to repeat my same action on the next take... Not a perfect solution, but the director did eventually start involving the DP in last minute requests, and I did end up working with that DP for the next 10 years…
I obviously needed to come up with a more professional way of handling matters going forward.
Occasionally directors ask me to do something without going through the DP, or ask me to do something that conflicts with the way the show (in the case of a series) is shot. I acknowledge the request, and say that I'll need to confirm it with the DP before putting it into action. This takes me out of the hot seat, and lets the director know that the final decision on aesthetics belongs to the DP. Once the conversation happens and a decision is made, I can carry on, knowing that the director, DP, and I are all on the same page.
How you approach the issue obviously depends on the show and the personalities involved. I don’t ever want to burden the DP with questions I can answer myself – they have enough going on – but I also don’t want tension to build unnecessarily, especially when it involves me or the DP. Needless to say, this is something you want to sort out early on in the process before it becomes an issue.
Honestly, this is one of the hardest things you’ll deal with as an operator. At least if you are on B or C you can skirt the issue a little and play dumb but if you are on A cam, watch out.
There are a lot of things to consider. First, who hired you and who is going to hire you in the future. Is one of them easier to deal with than the other? Is one more likely to understand the predicament you are in? But usually, at the end of the day, you have to realize that you are there as part of the camera team and not doing something you are explicitly told by the DP is going to be a problem.
The big thing is to see this coming down the pike and get out in front of it before it gets worse. Its not fun, but if you can’t go the route of having one or the other help you out and understanding the situation, you may need to confront it head on and get the two of them together for a private conversation.
If things start to go haywire, it’s not going to get better on it’s own so asking them if you can all talk at a moment where there is time and no stress (ha, good luck with that) is the best way to go.
As with so many other things you’ll do, the best way to confront this is to speak in terms of a problem that you are having. “I’m wondering if we can talk for a second because I may be getting things wrong but I’m feeling like I’m getting different directions from the two of you and I really just want to give you both what you want. Is there a way we could line things up together with the finder so I make sure that I’m giving you both what we all agree on and what you want?”
Lining things up together with a finder is a great way to go too because they will be forced to elave that situation having agreed on something. Then if one of them changes it after the fact you can simply do your job by letting the other know. It forces their hand and pulls you out of things a bit. If you have a digital finder and can snap a pic or take a video that you can refer to later when one of them says “that’s not what we talked about” so much the better.
Now I’m not saying that will work, and in some situations, it could even make things worse, but you are already over the cliff, so you sometimes have to be the adult in the room. If all else fails, the nuclear option of knocking heads is your last resort, but have another job lined up just in case.
I have been stuck in this position so often I feel like any prospective camera operator needs marriage counselor training. I've said elsewhere that communication is one of the most important skills a camera operator can develop, and it's situations like this where that really comes to the forefront.
Directors and DPs are often big personalities with strong opinions and healthy egos. If they're not on the same page when it comes to how to visually realize what's in the script, then you're in for trouble. I'll relate two stories of how I dealt with this issue. One near the beginning of my career, and one more recently so you can see the differences in how I handled this issue.
I did NIXON with Oliver Stone and Bob Richardson, and it was a very rewarding experience, but I don't think there's any argument about whether or not both of them have strong forceful personalities; they want what they want and expect to get it. And fair enough, they're both extremely talented and have earned that. However, there was one relatively lengthy shot that Oliver wanted to do handheld, and he left the set in Bob's hands expecting that's what he'd find ready to go when he got back. However Bob had a different idea and decided I should do the shot with the Steadicam. I won't go into why, but he had his reasons. When Oliver came back and saw me running around with the rig he was pretty surprised. There was some... "discussion."
It was decided to see what I could do with the scene, but right before the first take I had a peculiar discussion with Oliver. He wanted to know if I was comfortable with my reputation as a Steadicam operator, and whether or not I was confident about what my peers thought of my work. I think I mumbled a puzzled, "sure?" not really certain where this was going. He leaned close and said, "Good, because I want this to look like handheld. I want it to be the most fucked up shitty Steadicam you've ever done." And he walked off to the monitors. Bob was standing nearby and had heard the entire exchange. Just as I was settling into one he quietly told me, "Make it look perfectly smooth." and then he walked to stand next to Oliver. The actors were ready, the slate was coming in, and I had no idea what to do. This was 1995 and this was a really big movie for me early in my career. I hadn't had such a clear conflict presented to me before and I wasn't yet equipped to deal with it. I didn't have the experience, the nerve, or the communication skills needed to stop the proceedings and force clarification. Then I heard the sticks clack and it was time to shoot. I decided I'd just do the best I could. It was a fast moving scene in the Oval Office and we weren't entirely sure what Anthony Hopkins was going to do. Luckily, the actors brought so much energy and movement into the scene that the camerawork faded into the background. Oliver was excited by the performances and the possibilities revealed in that first take, so he spent his time talking to the actors, not me. Most likely Bob knew that would be the case. He knew Oliver better than anyone, and knew that bad looking Steadicam could do nothing but detract from the scene. I guess I knew that on an instinctive level which is why I chose to just do the best I could. Oliver sped the scene up more and more, and the camerawork got a little rougher from take to take as I had to really work to keep up with the action, but it worked for the scene and ended up looking great. I lucked out that time.
More recently I did a movie where the Director and DP were most definitely not on the same page. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say things came to a head fairly early in the shoot. I was wearing a headset during a small scene. I was really just using the Steadicam as a flexible dolly in a very cramped space, and we were shooting, but still trying to work things out. During the take the director preferred to be on set, and would look over my shoulder at my monitor. The DP was talking from the tent over the headset. And they were telling me to do the exact opposite things. I knew the DP wanted me to adjust the frame to fit better with the lighting plan, and I knew the director wanted me to go the other way to get a tighter over with an eyeline closer to camera, which they preferred, but that flattened out the lighting. The back and forth got bad enough that I finally stopped the take and told the DP on the headset they needed to come and talk with the director because I was getting pulled in opposite directions and that wasn't going to work. I may then have thrown the headset on the ground, cursed, and walked off the set to get myself calmed down.
When I came back I pointed out the obvious problem that I couldn't do two opposing things at once, and they needed to get on the same page. I was able to have the conversation I couldn't have twenty-some years earlier because I'd gained the experience and communication skills necessary to state what was needed clearly. There is one other factor that plays heavily in a situation like this: at this point in the production I was so fed up with the situation I did not care if they wanted to fire me on the spot. That will definitely not be the case near the beginning of an operator's career, so I understand that there are limitations to the advice, "Just put your foot down." But the fact that I have been doing this a long time meant that I had at least some weight behind what I was saying, and the DP and director, both being talented and reasonable people, agreed to work things out, and it was indeed better from then on. Mostly...
You need to address the problem as early as possible. If you see it coming, you can address it before it even happens. But it's all about being willing to put yourself in an awkward position between the two people that give you the most direction about your job. Make it clear you want to make them both happy, but if you're being told to do contradictory things, no one is going to be happy.
I'm going to say something here that some might not agree with. Ultimately, even though you're in the camera department and you were probably hired by the DP, the director is in charge and has the final word. In a situation where it gets ugly and the DP and director can't agree on what to do, you should do what the director says, and discuss it with the DP later. I can imagine some extreme circumstances where you wouldn't do this, (I've said no to directors due to safety concerns for instance) but that means you're once again not too worried about keeping the job, which is fine. It's more important to be safe. And it might be more important to maintain your relationship than with the director, which is perfectly valid.
It's awkward and uncomfortable and shouldn't need to be a part of the job of the camera operator, but it is, so work on building those communication skills. The experience you need can only come with time.
Stuck in the middle! They love to do it, both ways.
The director starts to go directly to the operator to get the shot they want because the DP isn’t giving them what they ask. For whatever reason, ego, miscommunication, difference in artistic style, we as operators sometimes get stuck in the middle. So, if they can’t communicate, it’s our turn to do so. Listen to what the director wants, explain it back to them so you’re all very clear, then simply say that you need to run this past the DP to make sure we’re all on the same page. The DP is either going to go along or not. At this point you can report to the director that we are all set to get their shot...or that the DP has concerns and its time to get you three together to discuss. With you present the other two will most likely come to some agreement or compromise. This process has worked both directions.
Sidenote: I have been yelled at for taking instructions from the director without involving the DP. I’ve also been yelled at for calling the DP over to discuss something with the director. (He’s the boss, he does the calling over) So be clever and you can do magic with keeping both sides happy.
This comes up every now and again. And, we never want to say, “No.” Best way to handle, in my experience, is to suggest that together we go over each step of the shot and how it could be accomplished, what would need to happen and how. In the honesty and clarity of this discussion, if the shot truly is unachievable, it will become clear to both. Or, maybe an idea will come up that makes you realize it really is achievable. Sometimes, the director will want to “give it a go anyway.” These are scary moments because it can lead to epic failure or maybe a cinematic miracle.
