BBG AD Bootcamp x AMPI+

4-day workshop took place in collaboration with Academy of Moving Images (AMPI) on 24-27th April 2023 at Caisa and Goethe Institute in Helsinki.

The workshop aimed to give a better understanding of the work of the Assistant Directors by diving into the duties and responsibilities of the 2nd and 3rd Assistant Directors. Participants were introduced better to the concept of Assistant Directing, the workflow of the AD team, the tools and mindset needed to handle the department’s pressure, and the  concrete work with different production documents.

The workshop was led by Iiris Orasmaa and formed around 4 days during which the participants listened to lectures, had discussions with professionals and started their independent work on variety of production documents. Besides Iiris, the workshop had Assistant Director Olli Kasper on board giving insights into call sheets and the scheduling process, and Casting Director / 3rd Assistant Director Pia Nurmi joining the workshop as a guest lecturer and sharing their first-hand experiences with the participants. 

Content of the workshop:

Assistant Directors department

  • different ways of forming an AD team
  • who does what? 
  • who reports to who?
  • what are the responsibilities of the ADs’?

Assistant Director’s workflow on a production

  • walkthrough of different stages of AD’s work
  • “the usual working schedule”: how do AD’s prep?
  • “the usual set protocols”: how do AD’s function on set?

Communication 

  • theories and discussion around communication
  • practical studies: emails, texts, phone calls, walkie discussions when on production
  • communication on set
  • communication with cast

Call sheets

  • walkthrough of call sheets: what, why, how? 
  • basics of creating the call sheets 
  • performers, makeup, hair and costume schedule
  • department notes 

Conflict management

  • theories and discussion of conflict management 
  • “usual problems and solutions”: what challenges occur on most of the productions and how to deal with them? 

Working with extras 

  • “the usual on-set extras coordination”: what, why, how? 
  • basics of budgeting and breaking down extras from script 
  • basics of casting process
  • basics of managing the extras

Simple extras breakdown, budget, and casting calls 

  • demo of the documents needed on each production 
All images by Diego James © Academy of Moving Images

Shortly about AMPI + Advanced Workshops:

AMPI+ Workshops are designed to provide advanced training for the Academy of Moving People and Images (AMPI) alums and other filmmakers from diverse backgrounds with prior filmmaking experience. The participants are selected or invited from AMPI alums and new AMPI+ calls are made specifically for this purpose.

All of the AMPI+ intensive workshops are hands-on, tailored according to participants’ wishes and needs, and facilitated by expert tutors and industry professionals.

AMPI+ Workshops in 2023 were made possible with the support of the Kone Foundation.

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