Can someone please briefly explain to me how set scheduling working in film production?

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Metalane
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Can someone please briefly explain to me how set scheduling working in film production?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvy7pkXOU-Q&t=56s

Above is a popular clip of Lynch getting frustrated at the lack of time he has to experiment and work out ideas on the set of The Return. My question is, if they supposedly “own” the sets and everything what time are they being limited by (minus actor schedules)? Was 140+ shooting days less than they thought they needed? Does Showtime have anything to do with the scheduling?

Apologies for being ignorant about this subject. Maybe Lynch’s next project has 200 shooting days (and a higher budge ($85 million)) so they have more time for brainstorming like this?

Finally, I know this is slightly off topic, but the owner of a YouTube channel known as "Obnoxious&Anonymous" has claimed that The Return was "stretched out" due to budget and time issues, thus resulting in the "Dougie sections" being filler. I know that sounds ridiculous, but does anyone here know the exact details of what went down with the Showtime controversy, because I can't seem to find any solid articles giving a direct answer. I don't think there's anyway that Lynch would add filler in, so that Youtuber is likely bullshitting. Also, that same Youtuber claimed that before The Return entered full production, he knew someone who went out to dinner with an actor that starred on the original run of TP, and that actor said that that one of the reasons they weren't going to be on The Return was because "Showtime was looking for younger cast members". Is it possible for Showtime to manage weather or not certain actors can be casted due to their age?

Cheers!
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Mr. Reindeer
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Re: Can someone please briefly explain to me how set scheduling working in film production?

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There’s a difference between locations and sets. When he talks about “the Fireman’s,” that was a location (a real movie theater in LA, also used in Mulholland Drive) that they only had booked for two days of filming. Here’s a “production schedule” I attempted to put together based on the dates in the documentaries: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4209

The studio/set work starts on 3/09 on this timeline. So you can see that the bulk of the shoot was on location where they were on tight deadlines.

The schedule does get looser once they’re in the studio, with the ability to move between sets. But they had the studio for a fairly short time given the amount of stuff they shot there in about a month.

I’ll let Needleman expound upon O+A’s podcast. :wink: Suffice to say, there is every reason in the world for believing that information is unsourced and unfounded.
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Metalane
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Re: Can someone please briefly explain to me how set scheduling working in film production?

Post by Metalane »

Mr. Reindeer wrote:There’s a difference between locations and sets. When he talks about “the Fireman’s,” that was a location (a real movie theater in LA, also used in Mulholland Drive) that they only had booked for two days of filming. Here’s a “production schedule” I attempted to put together based on the dates in the documentaries: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4209

The studio/set work starts on 3/09 on this timeline. So you can see that the bulk of the shoot was on location where they were on tight deadlines.

The schedule does get looser once they’re in the studio, with the ability to move between sets. But they had the studio for a fairly short time given the amount of stuff they shot there in about a month.

I’ll let Needleman expound upon O+A’s podcast. :wink: Suffice to say, there is every reason in the world for believing that information is unsourced and unfounded.
Thank you, wow the work you guys do is incredible! So, is the reason why they couldn't just ask for more time because of budget constraints as well? I know that actors schedules play a large role in it too, as you can hersa them say something along the lines of "We'll pay (Richard Beymer) more". Lynch also claimed they owned certain sets.
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Mr. Reindeer
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Re: Can someone please briefly explain to me how set scheduling working in film production?

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

Metalane wrote: Thank you, wow the work you guys do is incredible! So, is the reason why they couldn't just ask for more time because of budget constraints as well? I know that actors schedules play a large role in it too, as you can hersa them say something along the lines of "We'll pay (Richard Beymer) more". Lynch also claimed they owned certain sets.
A location (like Audrey’s house or the Fireman’s or Dougie’s house or the jail etc.) is a real building or property that is owned by someone else. The production paid to be there for a set amount of time, usually a day or two. To stay longer than that, they would have to negotiate with the property owner, and pay more money. But the production was also on a very tight schedule and they had to move on to new locations which were booked for specific days. Staying at a location longer than planned, in addition to costing more money, would be a scheduling headache and mess everything else up, as well as putting the production behind schedule. Lynch for all his idiosyncrasies is a famously reliable and professional filmmaker who doesn’t go over budget or behind schedule.

Lynch is talking about the studio work in the clip you reference, which is different. They “own” the studio for the time they booked it, and they can move between the sets they built inside. So if they didn’t finish all the Great Northern stuff, they could squeeze it in to the next day when they were scheduled to do Frank’s office (just as a theoretical example). What Lynch is essentially saying is, We’re not on location anymore. All the sets are a few feet from each other and we own them and can move easily between them. And the 1st assistant director Scott Cameron is acknowledging that Lynch is right, the only issue in this case is they would have to pay Beymer for another day. So yes, they could move the set work around and spend extra time on a set much more easily, but again, the studio portion of the shoot was short. The majority of The Return was shot on location, where there is very little flexibility.
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