Vaughn
Stein
Vaughn Stein
(1998-2003) studied Drama at Bristol
University and intended to become an actor before
breaking into the film industry. As an Assistant Director,
he has worked on a variety of productions including the
latest
Harry Potter film
,
Quantumof Solace
and
Pirates of
the Caribbean 4
Concordia
Merchant Taylors’ School
iving the dream’: An ironic
phrase or greeting used widely in
the film industry while standing in
a puddle in a freezing field at silly
o’clock in the morning on a Sunday
waiting to start an eighteen hour day
wondering why you don’t work a 40
hour week in an office. Also used in
40 degree heat stuck up a mountain,
in your fifth hour of overtime after
a twelve hour shooting day or when
you fall over in front of the whole
film crew trying to pull on waterproof
trousers over your shoes.
First, let me give a brief outline of what
I do: the Assistant Director department
in the film industry is charged with
facilitating the director’s vision in a
practical capacity. We schedule the
filming period by breaking down the
script into component parts and working
out the most efficient way of shooting
the film. We organise all cast, stunt and
crowd requirements and run the set on
a day to day basis, coordinating and
knitting together the other departments
and enabling the physical film-making
process by bringing everything together
at the right time with the right elements
to roll the cameras. The AD department
is comprised of a First Assistant director,
who is responsible for all scheduling and
HOD coordination and who runs ‘the
floor’ (the set), the office based Second
Assistant Director who handles all
administration and cast requirements and
‘L
generates the call sheet, the universal and
hugely important document handed out
on wrap every night that details the next
day’s work schedule and all departmental
requirements, the Third Assistant
Director who works directly for the 1st
AD on set and liaises with the 2nd AD at
base, channels all requirements to cast
and crew and ‘sets the crowd’ (directing
the background artists around the main
action) as well as being charged with
coordinating the floor runners, the blood
sweat and tears of the film industry who,
quite frankly, do all the work for a fraction
of the money, none of the glory and
tend to be the most over-worked, under-
appreciated and generally loved members
of the film crew.
I started in the film industry through
a combination of the two ways that most
people who work within it do; through
a bit of luck and an opportunity taken,
and sheer blind nepotism! I read Drama
at Bristol University with the intention
of going to drama school afterwards to
pursue a career in theatre, but became
fascinated with the complexities and
intricacies of film and film making in my
first year (and in no small part thanks
to Messrs Roseblade and Andrews
who taught outstanding screenwriting
and film appreciation General Studies
classes in the Upper Sixth). My cousin
was a production accountant for a
small production company and I asked
him to put my name in for any work
experiences or placements that came
about. Matthew Vaughn was filming
‘Stardust’ at Pinewood Studios and my
CV made its way into a huge pile of CVs
in their murky production office in the
Kubrick building. One of the production
coordinators thought it funny that my
name was spelt incorrectly, as is his, and
I received a call on a Friday asking if I
would like to come in and do a week’s
work experience. Delighted beyond all
reason, I accepted. The work consisted
of turning air conditioning units on and
off on E stage at Pinewood in between
takes... Hollywood indeed! However, when
it’s Michelle Pfeiffer and Clare Danes
one is directing them at, it’s quite a buzz.
I smiled at everyone and made a lot of
cups of tea when I wasn’t sweltering in
the rafters holding air conditioning tubes,
landed a full time running job with the
VFX department, and spent the next
eight weeks running around Pinewood in
ecstasy without a clue what was going on
or what I was actually doing.
I went back to university and spent the
last two thirds of my final year training
with The Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company
as part of my degree. I got a call, two days
after handing in my final essay, from a
