A QUICKIE, BUT I STILL LOVE YOU

You can’t complain when the work comes, as you will never know when the dry season will come.

I’ve been working on THE A TEAM movie since early January. Work was slow and I got a cryptic call from my friend John Singleton asking “are you working on anything now?”

“No”, I replied.

“Don’t take anything” John said.

Months later, I am still working on the Fox lot. I did the first six weeks alone, and then we got another artist, Eric Ramsey. Yea, that Eric, the one that helped “steal” BOOMERANG… (previous blog) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA… Seriously, Eric has been a great help and an amazing fellow to work with. We actually did a photo shoot about six years ago, for the now defunct magazine, SAVOY. Others in that shoot were Eric’s equally talented brother, Peter, and Darryl Henley….yea…the co-stealer of BOOMERANG.

Brief side bar, Darryl has been a great friend (despite our different politics) and that will be another blog.

Eric is totally fun to work with. His style is different than mine, as like any artists, we are different. We do though both love other artists, the prime being the late great cartoonist, Alex Toth. Also, Eric and I will both bring in art books to show eachother.

Yes, we also have that inner geek reference point as well. We could do all of 48 HOURS in the voices of Murphy and Nolte as well as the villains and the hot headed police lieutenant.

The third artist is my friend, Benton Jew. Benton is as low key as Eric and I are boisterous. He has a very illustrative style in comparison to Eric’s simple but elegant style. Where Eric draws like an animator, Benton draws like Alex Raymond.

We bust our butts, but we have fun.

As I am trying to work during this weekend on a side gig, I will have to bring this blog to an abrupt close.

The kind of close you would have preferred for RETURN OF THE KING. What was that? Five endings? It should have been Aragon is crowned, the Hobbitts try to bow, but Viggo says “You dudes bow to noone”. The end. Nope, not quite… Did we need to see Sam get his groove on with the Hobbitt barmaid? Then, see his kids??

Oh, sorry. I have to get back to the side gig. Write you next week.

…YEA, I HAD IT PLANNED THAT WAY…

Okay, I had been in Bloomingdales for a long time. How long? Both terms of Reagan and I strictly remember where I was when GeorgeBush Sr. declared “war” – or was it a “police action” against Iraq. I was in the bath rug stockroom when I heard it. I said a prayer for the world and for the soldiers, as I saw the death that was to come. …Amazing how things repeat themselves.

The Hudlin Brothers followed “HOUSE PARTY” with “BOOMERANG”, a huge step up in terms of budget and scope. The Hudlins, who if you read the last blog, founded and ran the Black Filmmakers Foundation, which I was part of.

As the resident cartoonist in the BFF (as the Foundation was known), I was learning about storyboards, as I figured that if I got on to movies, I could tell people in the business about my scripts, which I had written since college.

The problem is, the Hudlins didn’t know I did storyboards. My caricature art decorated their offices, but they didn’t make the connection. Why would they? When they needed storyboards, they hired…TWO GUYS FROM LA! Yes, Eric Ramsey and Darryl Henley. Okay, Darryl is a Chicago native, but he was living in LA for years. Just as bad. They were NOT NEW YORKERS, where the movie was being shot. Okay, they were black, but I wasn’t feeling very Malcolm X-like when I thought my job was being taken.

It rather sucked being around BOOMERANG’sfilming, and not being able to be a part of it, or get paid! I did get to see Eddie Murphy on set, as well as this new girl Halle Berry (what ever happened to her?) but I was left out in the cold and was still a stockperson. Yes, I had helped Keith Hernandez, Whoopi Goldberg and Terrence Stamp find the right towels and bathrugs –the latter two were especially nice people, and Keith was cool too – but I was mentally wasting away and not using my God given talents.

Let’s not boo hoo here, folks. I got complacent, and I was paying for it. I should have been long gone, but my occasional publications in magazines like THE SOURCE, made me a little too patient. It was my fault, period. Ditto, my not getting the movie gig.

My childhood friend, Greg Mays had coaxed me out to visit him for a few days in Los Angeles, where he was working at Sony studios in distribution. He took me around town, showed me the sites, and I had a blast. But, Greg did something far more valuable for me. He got me a gig storyboarding a short for some friends of his. I wouldn’t get paid, but I would have samples. I did the job gladly on my spare time when I got back to New York.

While I was in The Black Filmmakers Foundation, I made a lot of good friends. Some of them I am still close with to this day. One of them, Rodney Stringfellow was the personal assistant to the Hudlin brothers.

Besides being a talented writer, Rodney was an artist, as well and had done storyboards for a number of up and coming filmmakers called “The DROP Squad”,

Which was the name of their production company. These gentlemen were associated with Spike Lee and worked with him on commercials.

They had a feature deal for a drama called “D.R.O.P. SQUAD” (they kept the name) which was adapted from a short they had done called “THE SESSION”. They needed a storyboard artist. Rodney was overwhelmed with his day job and he recommended me. Thankfully, I had samples this time do to the short.

I met with producers Butch Robinson and Shelby Stone, in addition to writer/director David Johnson. The interview went great.

Now, came the BIG decision. My job would take at least six weeks to do. I could take a leave of absence at Bloomingdales…or I could just quit.

It was a huge case of “get off the pot or piss”. I was not making a lot of money off D.R.O.P. Squad, so I couldn’t sit back and relax, but I had to make a change in my life.

My friends were behind me. Yvonne Kenny, who is now a talented documentary filmmaker, had left Bloomies the previous year. She said “being out on your own makes you crafty”. She was all for me leaving permanently and to stop messing around in a job I was tired of. My buddy Gaston (whom I out weighed by forty pounds) told me if I ever came back to work for Bloomingdales he would “kick me in the face”. If that ain’t love….

My mother, the still lovely (in her eight decade) Ruth Elaine Drummond gave me her blessings…though during my slow years she gently informed me “there are also tests for the Post Office and Police Department”

So, I left Bloomingdales. I even got a cake and farewell party from my co-workers. What totally sucked though, is that the movie got pushed back a few weeks, so I had to work in the store (hey, money is money, yo!) until my new gig began.

But, finally…I was IN THE FILM BUSINESS!!!!!

THE ORIGIN OF …STORYBOARD ARTIST!!

“For as long as I remember, I wanted to be a gangster…” Okay, I wasn’t Ray Liotta’s “Henry Hill” in “GOODFELLAS”, but, as far as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a comic book artist.

I grew up in Jamaica Queens, New York with two older siblings at home, both very talented artists. Mom was a teacher and then a guidance counselor, while Dad worked for the Board of Education and wrote electronics articles and manuals as well.

Being the wild eyed baby of the family – code name “geek” -, I was the one running around the house with his arms straight out pretending I was “GIGANTOR”. For those of you who are too young to remember this Japanese cartoon character, Gigantorpreceded “SPEED RACER” and was a distant ancestor to “THE TRANSFORMERS”.

Anyway, flash ahead years later, to The High School of Art and Design, I was dreaming of working for Marvel Comics, drawing Spider-Man and joining the ranks of Kirby, Romita and Buscema, all great comic book artists.

Sometime after college (NYC’s School of Visual Arts) I kind of realized that was not going to happen. Though a talented artist, I just was not good enough to be a comic book penciler . Anatomy had to be perfect. I kind of sucked at drawing fingers (ugh!) and did I mention perspective and architecture?

I even took an inking class taught by comic book artist Sal Almendola at DC Comics, but it was an uphill climb. Sal said I had the “wet noodle” style of inking. Not good.

Since my senior year in High School, I also caught the writing bug and I even studied screenwriting for 3 years in college. I got three A’s, but I was only a good, but far from great artist who needed money.

My attention was always divided between art and writing, which slowed my progress. I couldn’t focus on just getting better drawing skills as I had discovered Woody Allen and I found such great release writing my amateurish screenplays. My writing teachers always said I had talent, so I stubbornly kept at it.

I got a job at Bloomingdale’s which paid for little things duringmy college years and I figured something had to happen, right? I did illustrations for the hip hop magazine THE SOURCE, science fiction’s STARLOG and for GLAMOUR. Something had to happen.

Ten years later, I was a full time stockperson.

What the hell?! I was getting older, and the assistant managers stayed twenty-two. I was stacking towels and bathrugs when I wanted to be drawing. Ex-Coworkers would get promoted or leave and come back married with a kid and ask me “What are you still doing here?” It sucked!!

My art assignments were too sporadic. I got a little depressed, I must say. But I kept at it.

Things slowly turned. When I was at Bloomies (as co-workers called it), I met a co-worker named Oscar Nunez, who would later be a cast member on “THE OFFICE”. Oscar told me about an organization called “THE BLACK FILMMAKERS FOUNDATION”. It was run by the Warrington and Reginald Hudlin, who later did “HOUSE PARTY” and “BOOMERANG”. You never know what perseverance will do.

To be brief, aspiring black filmmakers (the name makes sense, huh!) got together once a month and discussed film, met professionals in the industry (“GOOD TIMES” John Amos spoke, as did Eric LaSalle before “E.R.” More importantly, writers like myself could have scenes of their scripts read aloud by a cast consisting by all the people in the workshop who wanted to act.

I was getting near thirty years old, and still worked at Bloomies, but I was at least with like minded individuals once a month. I was energized and in my element…one day out of thirty!!!Whohooo!!!

Okay, the storyboard artist part comes up next time.

THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH…

What I don’t envy about other positions on a film crew is that I work with a very select group of people and that I usually circumvent politics.

What, politics in film?  Yes, boys in girls.   Film can often be a harmonious display of artistic enlightenment, but it is also a business like any other. Boys and girls playing in the sandbox with multi-million dollar toys.

As a storyboard artist, Ionly have a few very important playmates in my sandbox.

The first one is of course the director, whom I discussed in my first blog.  They’re the ones I work with on most films.  The look of the film isn’t always created by the director, but a good one shapes the film.

I will often get hired by a director based of on a few things. My style, for one thinghas to be suitable for the project. A director won’t want someone overtly “cartoony” for a drama, nor will an artist who is very realistic and earthbound be good for a comedy.

An artist with poor or uninspired shot selection would not be good for a director who needs a little visual guidance or who values other opinions.  Your personality often must work with a director’s own. If you are overtly chatty, or too quiet, or just downright strange, you may have more time at home than you would like.  Directors often have to spend a lot of time with you and don’t want to be annoyed or creeped out while doing so.  You can only get away with this behavior if you are ABOVE the line.

On ZOOLANDER, Ben Stiller and I got along fine, as we are both from New York City and dig the original STAR TREK.  He said I was the only person who caught his in-joke of naming the villain, “Mugatu” after a Star Trek alien.

Hey, stop with the “geek” cracks.  I got the job and got paid!

Sometimes, the director will concentrate on other aspects of film, like the actors, the script, or the film’s look and will leave the shot selection to the D.P.

The first time I worked with my friend, Stuart Dryburgh (he shot THE PIANO and ONCE WERE WARRIORS, among others) was on ANALYZE THIS.  The director, the uber nice, ex-Ghostbuster Harold Ramis, concerned himself with the script and the actors, while Stuart did thumbnails (he can draw)and came up with the shots.  I was brought in to elaborate on Stuart’s sketches, and to come up with new shots and ideas.

Stuart and I repeated this on RUNAWAY BRIDE, where he once again provided me with sketches.  We also had input from the second unit director, Scott Marshall, who is now a director in his own right.  Scott and got along great, having shared a love of comic books.

When Stuart and I worked on SHAFT, he had to make a big adjustment in our relationship, as the director, John Singleton enjoys a direct relationship with the storyboard artist and will often come up with a detailed shot list on his own.

On my first “A” film, DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, I worked with stunt legend Terry Leonard for the first time, and he was both the stunt coordinator and the second unit director.  My gig was to board scenes that Terry would direct.  Cars, and stunt sequences, but not necessarily footage with the lead actors., Terry would then take these boards to director John McTiernan for his input.
My family sat through that film’sextraordinarily long credits, just to see my name billed with the rest of the “second unit”.  We’re talking dedication, folks.

Terry Leonard was a great and knowledgeable guy to work with and is an amazing boost to any show he works on.  I know many stunt people and coordinators having worked with so many in my travels.

AT FIRST SIGHT and the remake of THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR were quick and for the latter, un-credited gigs where I never even met the director.  I provided needed shots for a hang glider sequence in THOMAS CROWN, while I boarded a highly visual Val Kilmer/Mira Sorvino in the rain scene for SIGHT.

On ZOOLANDER, I was brought in by production designer Wynn Thomas, who worked with me on ANALYZE THIS and later on A BEAUTIFUL MIND. Sometimes I might do a scene(s) to help a designer figure out the practicality of the sets. Other times, even a designer can be the point man for the director. Designer, Doug Chiang, the young prince of science fiction and fantasy films come to mind.

My most unique work situation I must say occurred on THE DEVIL’S OWN.  I was hired to work with legendary cinematographer Gordon Willis, who worked on a little indie called THE GODFATHER.  The first artist got fired (it happens) and I was number two.  Gordon laid out the scenarios for my boards, which were later given to the late, great director, Alan Pakula.  We miss you, Alan.

Doug Coleman, the practical joke loving stunt coordinator (I still owe you, Doug) told me that the movie’s star, Harrison Ford wanted to work with me on a scene.  Lo and behold, I was in Harrison’s personal bus which was about as large as The Millennium Falcon.  Most storyboard artists love science fiction and fantasy, and this guy was HAN SOLO, RICK DECARD AND INDIANA FREAKING JONES!!!!

Harrison wanted to change a dramatic action scene to be about “chaos” as he put it, and not just another “action” scene.  Harrison was relaxed and friendly, not quite as low key as he is on talk shows.  I tried very, very hard not to go into full blown geek mode – that’s why I work out and do martial arts – and I took notes as Harrison spoke about the scenewhile he traded cigars with Doug.  Having gotten paid about 20 million for the movie,  Harrison had a little say so in how things went.

Whomever I work with, my job is to serve the film and my “playmates”. If everything works out, I have fun, meet great and interesting people and get well paid to boot.

WHAT THE HECK ARE THE “STORYBOARDS” ANY WAY, AND WHERE CAN I BUY SOME?

TO those of you in the know, and I assume as an industry blog site, you may have at least more than an inkling of what a storyboard is.  If, not, strap yourself what will hopefully be a fun ride.

First, who the heck am I? Well, my name is Warren Drummond and I have been a storyboard artist since 1993 when I did my first feature film, THE D.R.O.P. SQUAD,  a film that didn’t break STAR WARS box office, but it did start more than a few careers.  Since then, I have had the pleasure of working with John Singleton for a decade, comedy director Dennis Dugan for nearly as long, as well as some guys named Ron Howard on A BEAUTIFUL MIND, and some actor/director named DENZEL WASHIGTON on his directorial debut, ANTWONE FISHER.  More on them in another blog.  All in all, about 40 films and only God knows how many commercials.

Storyboards, to put it in a broad sense, are a great communication tool that lets people who are not blessed with the telepathic powers of Professor X (yea, I love comics) to all share the same vision and ideas, or at least give everyone the same foundation on which to start talking.

Storyboards are in visual terms, a comic book, or storybook of the films visuals and how to shoot them.  They are something that can pointed to and discussed.  They can be embraced or argued against.  Often, storyboards are changed when new ideas are brought in do to inspiration, budget concerns or practicality of filming.

Back in 2000, Ron Howard needed to shoot a scene where Dr. Nash (Russell Crowe) runs from people he believes are Cold War era Russian spies, and leads them on a chase across the grass of Princeton University, down some stairs, to where he is eventually captured after a vivacious struggle.

Ron had an entire crew made up of supremely talented and hard working people at his disposal:  Stud former Gladiator, Russell Crowe.  Well described action by screenwriter Akiva Goldsman,  an amazing cinematographer in Roger Deakins, and that Howard kid, who has been hitting them out the park since Mayberry.

So, how do they shoot this sequence, anyway???  Some directors and D.P.s don’t like storyboards and never use them (yet, another blog), but others find them useful to minor and to great measure.

Ron had to figure where to put the camera, how to move the camera (booms, pans, tilts, tracking shots) and what order of shots would tell the story in the final cut.  Rather than walk around the set half a day and waste a few hundred of thousands dollars – shooting time is money, after all – Ron had a visual plan of attack for how to shoot this scene for optimum effect in terms of storytelling, efficiency and emotional power.

Some directors like John Singleton have a perfect idea of what they want in a scene and they will write a shot list of every bit of framing and camera movements.  Others are not as visually inclined and need a strong D.P. to help guide them.  Their concern may be the performance.  Others are sadly, just lost.

Ron, has a strong sense of what he wants but likes to give a storyboard artist a first pass to see what they come up with.  Then, he will use this as a springboard to cement his ideas.  Brick Mason (the other storyboard artist…yea, he picked the name) and I would come up with a shot selections we thought would work within the parameters of what Ron wanted.  One thing we were told by Ron is that for certain characters, the G-Man who brings Nash in for help, Nash’s roommate or the little girl, there would be no shots from their P.O.V. because we would later learn that these people where figments of Nash’s troubled mind.  Ron also liked obtuse angles to further give a sense of disorientation for Nash and for the audience.

So, I wanted to start with Nash bursting out of the auditorium building and then to try a nice boom up shot to establish where the chase is taking place.  When Nash is cornered on the stairs I wanted really creepy angles on the men led by whom we think are Russian agents – but whom we later learn is a psychologist and his helpers.

If every shot is wide, we don’t feel connected to the characters.  Too many tight shots, and it’s TV.   Moving the camera opens things up and keeps things lively.

What I also do in storyboarding is to draw how things should look in the final (loose word) cut.  When a scene is shot, it is very rarely done in chronological order as it appears on film.  Scenes in the same location and angle are shot at the same time as to reduce the number of set ups and to save shooting time.  Remember, shooting time is money.

I did more shots of Nash fighting the men, along with all the little insert shots that might be added – like the close up of a hand holding a syringe.

Ron came up with a cool shot of the camera backing through an open car door as the then unconscious Nash is carried in.

Once Ron had all the shots, he and Roger took what they could use, and what could be changed or tweaked.  A BEAUTIFUL MIND didn’t adhere to Brick and my storyboards, but it did resemble some basic ideas and building blocks we gave to Ron to play with.

The one thing I always have to remember is not to get too in love with what I created, as they might not be used, or even after they’ve been filmed, a shot, or sequence might be dropped for the betterment of the overall film.

There were action sequences I worked on for months in the upcoming  Adam Sandler film, YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN, that had to be severely tapered because the production simply didn’t have enough allotted time and money to shoot the sequence as boarded.  I envisioned a balls to the walls, Hong Kong style fight scene (yea, I love those too), but American filmmakers (not named Wachowski) and studios don’t shoot fight scenes for three months or even three weeks .  Three days is a success as it is.

The overall purpose of the storyboard is to serve the director and the production.  You want unlimited vision, do a comic book, just as a frustrated screenwriter might be better served with writing a novel.

More next week.

My website is http://web.mac.com/warrendrummond

I love film, comic books, watching and doing martial arts, and hanging with my family and close friends.  I’m good, but God is great, so I stay confident but humble.