Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You tell the director that the producer has asked that no overtime be paid, and the film has to wrap.
Often, productions do go into overtime. This is pretty normal, says Timothy Stone. Although everyone would like to wrap after 12 hours, days are sometimes much longer. If it will only take an hour of overtime and that means that the commercial will not have to shoot the next day, you save money in the long run.
Directors, however, are not always concerned about saving money. Stone remembers when the director had to shoot a scene that involved millions of rose petals swirling in hurricane force winds.
The director wanted to study the creative aspects of the rose petals. The prop master secured real rose petals, silk petals and thin plastic petals, and a large fan. This allowed the director to see which type of petals moved the best in the wind.
Naturally, says Stone, the real petals moved more fluidly in the chaotic winds. The director wanted to use these for the production.
"She was quickly confronted with the cost of using real petals. Hundreds of thousands of fresh rose petals picked for nothing more than blowing them around in the wind would cost tens of thousands of dollars to have enough for multiple takes and multiple camera set-ups," says Stone. The director in this instance did not get her way.