ABSTRACT
Timing for an Overseas Production With today’s global productions it is not often that a director will have access to their staff under one roof. Many times they will be directing crews on the other side of the world, who may not speak their language. In this case, the director needs to be even more exact in the details of their notes on the dope/exposure sheets. Cultural diff erences and diff ering theatrical traditions must be taken into account when explaining their wishes. A simple gag like the magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat may be totally unknown to the artists being used. So the director’s notes must be painstakingly specifi c and clear: ‘ Magician’s arm anticipates back 8 frames, thrusts into hat 4 frames, hold 12 frames, pull out rabbit 6 frames, hold and react 72 frames, etc. ’ and in any explanations care must be taken to avoid confusing local slang. Once when I said a character was feeling blue — meaning petit melancholia — the scene came back with the character painted with blue skin! Another time the storyartist left the note that the Superhero took off like a rocket, and the overseas artists literally morphed his body shape into a rocket before blasting off .
