This chapter outlines the one department that is rarely seen on a low-budget film. The transportation department is responsible for all production vehicles and picture vehicles. In low budget, the only production vehicle may be one truck that serves the grip, electric, camera, and even sometimes craft service departments. In high-budget productions, each of these departments has its own vehicle, as do other departments such as art, wardrobe, and makeup. In addition to the transportation personnel, this chapter discusses the many production trucks that exist, what their purposes are, and how many might be needed based on script and budget level. Figure 16.1 illustrates the transportation hierarchy.
The transportation coordinator is the head of the transportation department (also known as “transpo”). He oversees and is responsible for the transportation budget. The coordinator also oversees acquiring all picture vehicles and coordinates airport pickups and deliveries. Following is a description of the transpo coordinator’s duties and responsibilities.
The transportation captain assists the coordinator and may perform any of the duties listed in the section “Transportation Coordinator.” Which specific duties may be delegated to the captain is determined by the work style and discretion of the coordinator. In some cases, the captain may concentrate only on coordinating and managing the drivers. The captain usually begins work shortly after the transportation coordinator. Other duties that would usually fall to the captain include the following:
A dispatcher is usually found on larger-budget films. This person works solely to schedule drivers for transporting cast and crew to and from the airport or to and from the set. The dispatcher starts work in pre-production as soon as large numbers of crew begin to travel into the area.
Drivers are just that, drivers. They transport cast and crew to and from the airport and the set. Drivers work the longest hours of anyone on set because they must transport the first people to set and the last people off the set. During times when they are not transporting people, they stand by the vehicles, ready to give a ride at a moment’s notice.
Teamsters are drivers who belong to local transportation unions. Whether you are working in a right-to-work state or not would determine whether you need to hire teamsters as drivers. Teamsters are also drivers who are trained in operating bigger vehicles such as your production vehicles. Drivers or teamsters would begin work shortly after the dispatcher. The transportation coordinator may start with only a few drivers and add more as they are required.
First up in the morning for the transpo team is to park the production vehicles. Either the transportation coordinator or captain uses a parking diagram so that each vehicle has an assigned spot. After the production vehicles are in place, the drivers usually stand by the vehicles to perform any needed maintenance, move the vehicles, or, as is usually the case, sit around and talk with the drivers of other production vehicles.
At the same time, drivers are picking up crew and cast from the hotel to bring them to set. The drivers are scheduled to do this according to crew and cast call times. Most crew will have the same call time, but actors are usually given split calls. This means that they are all given different call times, based on when in the day they shoot. The transportation team must figure out how to get all the cast to set just before they are needed so that they are neither sitting around needlessly nor late. Usually, this timing means that the team is running drivers back and forth to the hotel throughout the day. The team must also be ready to transport actors back to the hotel when they are finished, again so they are not sitting around needlessly.
When a production is using stars, there are usually certain drivers assigned to certain stars. A driver picks up the star at the hotel or wherever he is staying and brings him to set. The driver may do other runs throughout the day, but must be available when the star is finished to transport him back “home.” The transpo team also makes sure that any local crew or visitors to set have adequate parking. They will have signs posted for crew parking that is separate from the production vehicles.
Throughout the day, the transpo team has to make sure that all vehicles are gassed up and running properly. The transportation coordinator or captain will make sure that vehicles are getting gas as needed during runs. In pre-production the coordinator will set up an account with a local gas station that is conveniently located to most of the locations. Then, when a vehicle needs gas, the driver is sent to that specific station and can purchase the fuel without having to deal with petty cash and receipts. However, using petty cash for this purpose is also done.
At the end of the day, the coordinator or captain knows to have vehicles standing by to transport crew back to the hotel. Then, once all the production vehicles are loaded, they are returned to their overnight parking, which could be at the hotel if there is enough space, or in a parking garage.
Picture vehicles are any vehicles that appear on-screen. As such, your script determines the kind of vehicles you need. The script, however, might state that an actor drives his car to the store. Perhaps no specific kind of vehicle is mentioned. This is where the transportation coordinator has creative input. After discussions with the director, the coordinator will venture to find the perfect vehicle that fits that character. In motion pictures, as in life, the kind of vehicle a person drives reflects his character and style, as well as economic status.
In some cases, a picture vehicle may not exist. I once worked on a show that needed an armored truck. Since renting an existing armored vehicle from a company such as Brinks or Purolator was impractical, the transportation team bought an ice cream truck and worked with the art department to turn it into an armored truck for the film. In other cases, entire vehicles are constructed from scratch, such as the Batmobile. Sometimes picture vehicles are not covered by the transportation department. Vehicles such as spacecraft are covered by the special effects department, which uses models or CGI.
Following is a list of production vehicles that would be found on a medium- to high-budget project. As previously stated, in lower-budget projects usually only one or two trucks would be used to transport all the equipment to and from set. One rule on union shoots is that no one except teamsters is authorized to drive or move trucks.
The transportation department, also called transpo, handles all production and picture vehicles. The transportation coordinator works with his captain and drivers to make sure all vehicles are on set and to transport cast and crew as needed. When working with picture vehicles, the transpo coordinator may work with other departments to coordinate special effects or stunts. The number of production vehicles on a show varies with the size of the show. A low-budget production may have only one vehicle in which to store all of the equipment, whereas a higher-budget show may have numerous vehicles.
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