LA is a fake city

Today ended the third day I have been on the set of a student film. Jean, (pronounced like a French 'John' not 'Gene') is a friend from church who is also a student at AFI (American Film Institute). He is producing a film, "Amy Ling" and I said I was interested in coming out to help. I was part of the Art department, which basically sets up the set for every shoot, and I also worked the boom mic, which is that long mic that is held above the actors'/actresses' heads. It's tiring. Your arms start to hurt after a while.

It was really cool to see everything that goes on during a movie shoot. I have come to a couple conclusions.

1) Making a movie is hard work. The last 3 days have been 12 hour days. You work HARD. They have to set everything up BEFORE the shoot (lights, camera, set, props, EVERYTHING has to be perfect), and then DURING the shoot, they take a couple rehersals, and then do probably 4-5 real shots which they actually record. During the shoot, everyone has to be silent. Even if you're on the other end of the house. Or outside.

2) Everything is done out of order, so you really don't get a sense of the movie even if you've worked on it. I always read how directors, actors, etc. say, "Yeah, the movie came out great" after the screening, and I'm always thinking, "Weren't you there when it was being made?". But seriously, you don't know how it will turn out until it's all put together. Everything is shot out of order, there is no background music, and you don't really get a sense of the movie. All you see are individual scenes. I don't even understand how the director can keep everything in his/her head while the movie is being made.

3) Continuity is a big problem. Now I know why there are so many mistakes in movies. There are so many takes, and everytime, they try to make everything the same, but things slip through the cracks.

4) EVERYTHING IS SO FAKE. The set is so fake. You just make things 'look' like you want them to, but it's not real. Perfect example: the milk in almost all commercials is not real milk, because it would look blue under all the lights. They use Elmer's glue.

There are often things hiding behind tables or shelves that you're not supposed to see. The crew is just too lazy to move everything. The actors/actresses are one minute joking with you, the next they are in character. It's pretty impressive. All the lights are artificial. They use all sorts of lights, filters, mirrors, and whatnot to achieve the perfect look. If you only see the top half of a person in a suit, chances are, they are wearing jeans and tennis shoes. It's cool to watch, and very enlightening.

I now understand why LA is the way it is. The entertainment industry influences society here. So everything is based on appearance and is so artificial. I seriously have never seen so many 'beautiful' people in the same place in my life. But not everyone is fake. There are also a lot of really nice people here.