Braving snow, ice and slipper-eating Sprocker Spaniels, filmmaker Dusty Rhodes shoots a photo a day to offer a peek into his working life. Dusty Rhodes - FilmmakerSwipe / click to begin MONDAYDepending on which day of the week and which month it is, I could be assuming a different role – camera operator, director or assistant director. These different jobs provide me with enough work to do what I love most: filmmaking. On this particular Monday I was a 1st Assistant Director for a short film, shooting in Black Park, Buckinghamshire. Lesson from this day: check the weather report every day on the run up to the shoot. It can change at a moment’s notice and affect daylight hours. TUESDAYSnow today, gone tomorrow. Well, almost gone; enough to make continuity an issue and drops of melting ice falling on your camera and actors’ heads a problem. This means you’ll need a spare hand to hold an umbrella over your operator, focus puller, loader and assistant. The snow looked beautiful but made everybody miserable. Having worn three layers of thermals plus a t-shirt, jumper and jacket, I can honestly say you can never wear too many layers. You can always take them off, but you won’t. WEDNESDAYYou can spend months looking for the perfect location and backdrop for a key shot; you can pay thousands for someone to find it for you… Or, you can keep your filmmaker eyes switched on and when you see a beautiful backdrop or a dingy street, take a snapshot on your phone and name it with its location. Before you know you it, you’ll have a catalogue of locations. Which is how we found this one, en route to a technical recce for another location. THURSDAYAt -5.5 degrees, I added a super thick winter jacket to my three layers of thermals… and was still cold. With a busy set-up on the street, it was essential that we keep the peace with the residents, and have enough sparks, gaffers and grips to get everyone up and running as quickly as possible. Hot drinks are essential, even more so on nights like this. If there isn’t a constant stream of tea and coffee, you’ll have no crew. Look after your crew and they’ll look after you, and your film. FRIDAYI spent my Friday on my computer writing new screenplays and developing old ones, as well as fielding a few emails about upcoming videography work. Being self-employed is great when you have work coming up, so during my time off I try and work hard to find jobs for the coming weeks, even if it is a day or two, to pay for the time off I need to make my own short films. This time off isn’t always productive, especially when you have an adorable 15 week-old Sprocker Spaniel constantly after your slippers! Dusty Rhodes is a writer, director and producer. www.bendustyrhodes.com Arts PeopleLink to Author(s): Dusty Rhodes Published: 29-01-2016 Log in or register to post comments