tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post4515721523058008079..comments2024-03-22T14:40:33.276-07:00Comments on Blood, Sweat, and Tedium: Confessions of a Hollywood Juicer: Second TeamMichael Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02569781786039595929noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post-60294284975039747682010-08-24T12:09:29.029-07:002010-08-24T12:09:29.029-07:00AJ --
I wasn't teribly impressed by any stand...AJ --<br /><br />I wasn't teribly impressed by any stand-ins until I got into the multi-camera sit-com world. Stand-ins there have to be good or they're soon gone.<br /><br />D --<br /><br />You're right again, as usual. Although actors often make ripe targets for below-the-line frustration, we have to remember how crucial -- and difficult --their job really is. <br /><br />Wolfe --<br /><br />My intention was to stand up for stand-ins, not trash The Anonymous Production Assistant. TAPA lives and dies by the sword of snark, and wields a very sharp blade indeed. I'm a big fan of his blog, but sometimes -- like all of us -- he succumbs to the temptation to shoot from the lip. I just wanted to correct his notion that stand-ins don't earn their small paychecks.<br /><br />Sanjay --<br /><br />I think it's just a lack of experience on his part. He's only been in the biz a few years -- and it took me many more years to understood the value of good stand-ins on set.<br /><br />JD --<br /><br />What I saw of "Ed" was pretty good. I still can't understand why they took that show off the air.<br /><br />Anonymous --<br /><br />I agree on all counts -- and Penny's blog is a good read.<br /><br />Odocoileus -- <br /><br />Thanks. Glad to hear your shows were so generous with their stand-ins. Last I heard, stand-ins only get something like fifteen bucks an hour. It's hard for an adult, living on their own,to survive in LA on that.Michael Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02569781786039595929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post-16472388575001417922010-08-23T20:48:07.164-07:002010-08-23T20:48:07.164-07:00Great post (again), about a part of production tha...Great post (again), about a part of production that's not widely known to outsiders. Good stand ins are great to work with because they are always ready to go on set, they know how the process works, and they manage themselves. (This is, ahem, not always true with the cast members.)<br /><br />The shows I worked on usually gave the stand in at least one speaking role per season. That way they could pay their SAG dues with that one check. Almost all of them were actors, and we'd have to find replacements when they had auditions. As to their pay, if they're good, they're worth it. <br /><br />One thing TAPA should note is that long term stand ins for stars can develop close relationships with them. So be careful about suggesting that they're overpaid do-nothings.odocoileushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15162147214174195198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post-12472110539799041722010-08-23T20:45:37.755-07:002010-08-23T20:45:37.755-07:00I have worked with many stand-ins and they are wor...I have worked with many stand-ins and they are worth their weight in gold.<br />They are truly "understudies who never go on."<br />You mentioned a stand-in named Penny. I know Penny, have worked with her for years. She's aces and an asset on any production.<br />Her work is only surpassed by her writing. Her blogs should not be missed. LNAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post-85790717997605698832010-08-23T11:46:39.209-07:002010-08-23T11:46:39.209-07:00Saw stand-ins used extensivly on "Ed". ...Saw stand-ins used extensivly on "Ed". If you don't remember it, the show was about a lawyer who goes back home to Ohio and buys the town bowling alley. Filmed in North Jersey and used locations in many of NJ's older looking small towns.JDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post-21851055155809817792010-08-23T01:39:00.320-07:002010-08-23T01:39:00.320-07:00To expect actors to stand under lights and go thro...To expect actors to stand under lights and go through the motions endlessly while we light and do camera rehearsals and refine the blocking of a scene would serve no ones purpose.<br />I cant imagine what TAPA thinks the protocol should be.The Grip Workshttp://www.thegripworks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post-73091992343852551472010-08-22T16:50:03.577-07:002010-08-22T16:50:03.577-07:00I don't know anything about ANYTHING in Hollyw...I don't know anything about ANYTHING in Hollywood, but even I thought TAPA's post was unnecessarily snide. A very cheap shot at a target that cannot easily reply. Obviously, stand-ins are employed because they're USEFUL. <br /><br />I suppose TAPA probably wouldn't scruple to kick the crutch out from under a crippled kid, if he thought it might earn him an audience, and he could do it with a winsome enough quality so that the underlying self-serving meanness could be masked. I shudder to think what sort of PA he might become.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post-38862589792881863182010-08-22T16:22:40.291-07:002010-08-22T16:22:40.291-07:00Great post! I read TAPA's post and almost repl...Great post! I read TAPA's post and almost replied but didn't. A good stand-in is really helpful in blocking and lighting. The actor's have to go be made up and standing around under hot lights while we're setting up would just melt their makeup. A good stand-in remembers exactly when and where everything happens in the scene and they're invaluable to the lighting and camera teams.Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466991423411721535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post-75784738927386274372010-08-22T15:24:02.474-07:002010-08-22T15:24:02.474-07:00Very well put! And oddly enough, it's hard to ...Very well put! And oddly enough, it's hard to find a good stand-in. Too many of them don't pay enough attention to rehearsals, get too distracted talking to their fellow stand-ins to hear you ask them to run through their action, and/or are always looking down at their phone (which isn't helpful when you're trying to light their face). While it may not be as physically taxing as other jobs on set, it doesn't mean that just anyone can be a stand in.A.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06280771470428710391noreply@blogger.com