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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Stolen Accessories... WTF???

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  • #21
Not worried about getting the gear replaced or the money to do so -- already taken care of by the production, they are a class act. I have worked for them before as DIT and supplied my camera, and even after renting my camera to them with this happening, I would do so again.

Long story short, the guilty party was hired as AC and assistant DIT -- or perhaps "camera tech" would be more appropriate. This person supposedly owns their own RED One and had a loose verbal agreement in place for the production to rent their camera. However, they couldn't supply the complete kit the producer / director wanted. So the production hired my camera instead. This individual took it personally and sabotaged various pieces of my gear that he could slip away with. He also tried to sabotage the production itself by unsuccessfully attempting to tamper with some of the media. I've also been told they have uncovered something else that the individual tampered with, but I'm not sure what it was.

At this point, I'm pretty much out of the loop. I have already been compensated by the production. The producer felt so bad about how everything went, he went through all the bits and pieces with me and priced out all the replacements, wrote me a check on the spot. I probably can't go into more details than this until I know how it's all going to work itself out. I really hope that they stick it to this guy as hard as they can.

It's just such a strange set of events. I thought I had pretty much seen it all... And I have seen contractors and employees try to sabotage their "competition", but today was a bit surreal.
 
Alexander Ibrahim said:
This is pretty awful.

I recently had a situation where I offered to bring a RED gratis to a shoot where I was engaged as DP. The producers threatened to destroy any RED that showed up on their sets.

So naturally I brought no RED, although I decided to follow through on the shoot. I would have preferred if they said, "No thank you," but whatever.

I did bring some small gear, mostly personal stuff and a couple of mics.

On the last day of the shoot I started to wrap and a piece of gear was missing. The producers had "seized" it for some imagined slight. The police had to be involved, but I did get my gear.

Some people around this business are just bizarre.

In any case, I completely understand you need to vent. I would have been mortified had it been my gear.
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That is why I like to hire a few large fellows as "grips" on larger shoots.....
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
Long story short, the guilty party was hired as AC and assistant DIT -- or perhaps "camera tech" would be more appropriate. This person supposedly owns their own RED One and had a loose verbal agreement in place for the production to rent their camera. However, they couldn't supply the complete kit the producer / director wanted. So the production hired my camera instead. This individual took it personally and sabotaged various pieces of my gear that he could slip away with. He also tried to sabotage the production itself by unsuccessfully attempting to tamper with some of the media. I've also been told they have uncovered something else that the individual tampered with, but I'm not sure what it was.
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Do people not understand that this is just criminal behaviour? Destruction of property. Depending on what state and the amount of money those shots would cost to reshoot, I think that this person could be be facing some pretty serious criminal charges.

It's not just your gear but the overall cost to production had there been a need for a reshoot. That can easily escalate into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Big on ego. Low on brains. Not the sharpest tool in the shed.



David
 
Was this dude on the set?

christian-bale-3.png


In all seriousness ... I'm glad you got reimbursed.
 
Wow Jeff... that is f-ing weird. Glad to hear the producers are stand up guys and that you have been compensated accordingly.
Were they covered for this sort of scenario via insurance? Is there flipped out crew member coverage available?

The guy's name should be shared as soon as it is possible. I wouldn't want to come anywhere near that guy.
 
Uhh forget destruction of property... This guy tried to delete/tamper with footage??? Theres a million bucks in liability right there. What a douche tool jack ass.

Glad you've been reimbursed.. You just doubled your drive storage!
 
That really is a crazy story. Bad luck for getting stuck in the middle Jeff but glad the producers are looking after you - that's a rare breed of producer right there!

By sabotaging your kit, the douche just sabotaged his entire career - gotta love irony sometimes!
 
Wow... bizarre. I just won't understand what goes through some people's heads, or how they hope to profit.

I would certainly find out what his RED Serial number is. After all RED is a private business and they can refuse service to anyone with a bad attitude. If anyone out there qualifies for that clause it's this douche.

I'm sure it's doubly aggravating because of personalization. That's the sort of thing that's just annoying. And wow... tampering with footage... that's like sacrilege.
 
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Just have to say this about the jackass who did this... I can't share his name or any other names and info at this time. I don't have all the details (red serial number and such). It was not my production. There are legal issues and the last thing I want to do is compromise any chance of seeing this guy dealt with in the best way possible. The police are involved and have been very helpful and useful throughout this ordeal.

It was a music video shoot that lasted approximately 48 hours with little to no sleep for most of the band / crew. I really don't understand these super-low-budget, gotta kill everyone involved, sort of shoots. But whatever... People go strange under such conditions at times. And some people are just messed up in the head to start with.

Yes, I've been reimbursed. I've already re-ordered the filters and a few other things. Probably won't replace the RED Drive right away as I have plenty of RED media for now.
 
How's the footage? Hopefully it was all worth it. Or at least that's what Brass will say to the other guy when he gets tossed in lockdown...

Noah
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
It was a music video shoot that lasted approximately 48 hours with little to no sleep for most of the band / crew.
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48 hours? Was is a Rap group? Were controlled substances involved?

I'm surprised there were not multiple homicides.

Seriously, this is just crazy; I've never met anyone who can function at an acceptable level after even half as long, not to mention the fact that our business can be dangerous. Fools and mostly unconscious crew do not mix well with high voltage and film gear. Even the drive home is extremely hazardous after such hours.

Could this actually be criminal? Frankly, I think the producer should be black-listed.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 
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  • #35
Leo, this is why I don't shoot music videos, or much narrative anything. At least not while I live in this state. Budgets here are microscopic or even non-existent. People work all kinds of crazy, insane and stupid hours. Surprisingly, people do this willingly. I do know that everyone on this production was paid, which is a huge step up from many gigs around town. Then again, that's probably how they managed to actually captivate people for an entire weekend.

Anyway, I agree with you, but won't say anything more to bad-mouth this production. I'm also not privy to all the details, I only know what is being reported to me. They just rented my gear.
 
We are all with you Ace, tampering with shots would make me produce a katana out of thin air and blend the guys insides with it in my own sleep deprived momentary insanity fiasco. Of course I kid, but I can see a lot of people beating the living shit out of the guy if they had no sleep. I'd like to think my producer hat would keep me from doing anything harsh, and I believe it would. Maybe I'd just deck the guy once though, drop him flat on the ground, and hope it would be forgiven by the judge.

Macho BS aside, I am happy that footage wasn't lost, and it seems like Jeff gets to upgrade his Red Drive to the larger one, or better yet keep the cash towards a Red Mag, new CF's or what have you. If they gave you a little something extra for the hassle then you can't complain. Much. :thumbsup:
 
What I find really weird is that the producer "felt bad" and wrote you a "check on the spot".... kidding. ( :
 
Leo Ticheli said:
48 hours? Was is a Rap group? Were controlled substances involved?

I'm surprised there were not multiple homicides.
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That is teetering on some pretty major assumptions there, Leo?

Leo Ticheli said:
Seriously, this is just crazy; I've never met anyone who can function at an acceptable level after even half as long, not to mention the fact that our business can be dangerous. Fools and mostly unconscious crew do not mix well with high voltage and film gear. Even the drive home is extremely hazardous after such hours.
Leo
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Check out this petition

http://www.petitiononline.com/canoe2/petition.html


David
 
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