Movies and theatrical productions bring entertainment to millions across the world. The audience only sees the final piece that is displayed before them.
The actors and actress along with the director are normally the main people who are praised after the curtain closes or the credits role.
Don’t get me wrong, they are a very important piece to this puzzle, however, the people working behind the scenes deserve as much credit (even more at times) as the people on stage/in front of the camera.
In theatrical productions, you have many people working behind the curtain to make the people in front of the curtain look good. You have roughly over eight different groups of designers and choreographers that all work together to get the job done. Let’s start with the lighting designer.
As you're admiring the beautiful light that is cast perfectly on the actress to make her contour pop (done by the makeup designer) there is someone (even more than one person at times) holding a heavy light at just the right angle with just enough brightness to make this happen.
Let’s not forget that while this light is being cast, you also have the perfect view of the actresses stunning dress she is flaunting (made by many people from the costume design category).
As the actress begins to dance and sing, you may wonder how someone could think of such a dance (well think of the choreographer because it was them who got you in such a trance with the actress' choreography) and you get lost in her crisp and clear voice (thanks to the sound designer who also creates the sound effects).
The number ends and the lights go out (thanks to our lighting design) and the next scene begins. Now the backstage crew strategically and perfectly places the next scene (that the set designer chose) onto a pitch black stage with not nearly enough tape put down to aline each set piece and prop (chosen by the property master) right before our eyes.
We only get to see the final work of a play/musical. The people behind the scenes spend months upon months perfecting the lighting, sound, costumes, makeup, set pieces, and everything else in between to make sure the production runs smoothly and the audience is captivated by their work they are displaying.
In films, you have many of the same categories and jobs as theatrical productions do.
However, with films, it can be done more than once. You can go back and do a scene again or even keep a scene but make edits after the shooting is done. Because of this, films tend to have more people working behind the scenes on the sets. You can have over a hundred people on set to film a 10-second shot.
Just like theatre, you have people in charge of constructing set pieces, creating props, and choosing props. Unlike theatre, there is someone hired to create a storyboard which enables the cast and crew to visibly see the film unfold and allowing the camera angles, characters, and set design to be strategically placed in order to help the scene unfold.
Going along with the types of camera angles used, there is more than one person who is operating a camera at a time as well. There are five main operators. The Camera Assistant (1st AC) is also known as the chief assistant to the camera operator. Camera Assistant (2nd AC) is primarily responsible for loading and unloading the new rolls of film in the magazines, as well as maintaining and filling out all the camera reports for the film lab.
Next, we have the Camera Operator who physically controls and operates the camera during filming. Lastly, we have the Camera Operator for aerial shots and the Camera Operator for jib arm/crane shots. These are both used to shoot scenes from high and different angles (off the ground). Have you ever seen a movie where you wanted to jump right through the screen a grab that piece of pizza right out of their hand?
Come on I can't be the only one. Well if you are like me, we have the food stylist and the assistant food stylist to thank. They are in charge of preparing and arranging the foods in order to create an appealing shot. We continue along with the mics held up above the actors in order for the audience to hear the dialogue that is being said. Of course, there are more people that are involved in the behind-the-scenes work but these are just to name a few.
The next time you watch a film or a play, take the time to appreciate all that is happening behind the scenes.
They put in just as much work as the people on your television screen and on the stage.
