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Name: Marc
Username: DoubleM
Hometown: Chicago
Occupation: Propmaster
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What attracted you to the entertainment industry?
In college, I discovered how much I enjoyed telling stories through film and wanted to pursue that.
What is biggest challenge you face in the industry?
I had a hard time finding the people who hire crews for the film business here in Chicago. After 3 months of searching I went to an industry schmoozarama and met a woman who worked at a film lab, who remembered the phone number of a PA. That PA was real helpful and gave me a bunch of numbers of Production Managers. Finally, one of those PMs needed an extra PA and called me.
What advice can you give to people trying to get a start?
Network - it really is all about who you know. Be nice to EVERYONE - you never know who might be your next boss.
Please describe your job
As Propmaster, I'm responsible for all the items the actors touch and move around. I start by going through the script and meeting with the production designer and director to determine what props I need to get, then I have to find them. And then while filming, I have to make sure all items are in the same spot at the top of every take or new camera angle to make sure the continuity stays the same.
Can you share any tricks of the trade?
I have to be well organized and have to have a good eye for detail. My Polaroid camera is my best friend.
Please illustrate the way the performance of your position can help or hurt a movie. Name a movie that you've seen (or worked on) that we could view and understand the difference between a good job and a bad job.
There is a scene in "Virgin Suicides" when one of the boys goes over to the girls house and he's drinking soda from a glass. He puts it down on the table and throughout the scene, the level of the soda jumps up and down. The prop guy was asleep there.
How many screenplays, if any, have you written?
2 shorts
What's the best lesson you've learned in regards to working in Hollywood?
That I don't have to work in Hollywood to be in the film business.
What advice would you give to writers on how to craft a script that addresses practical production issues?
Minimal actors, minimal sets, set in present time (boring? maybe. but easy for the art department!)
What advice would you give a director on how to make production easier?
Well, when shooting in Chicago, some directors have a hard time understanding that it's harder to get anything they want here. Not every place rents like they do in LA and our prop houses aren't near as large as out there. You have to be flexible.
Top 5 films
- Taxi Driver
- Star Wars
- Chinatown
- Airplane
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
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