Film Courage: How do you get comfortable telling people what to do especially if you feel like
maybe they have more experience?
David F. Sandberg (a.k.a. PonySmasher on Youtube): It can be a bit intimidating.
There was some friction actually on the set of LIGHTS OUT where…with the camera department.
There were some arguments about things.
Especially like the first day was a bit of a set back since it was my first movie it
was like “Oooh, I better not mess this up.
This is my one chance in Hollywood.”
I planned so much.
I made little storyboards.
Little diagrams of shot lists and everything.
And then the first day the DP didn’t really listen to me.
And some people in the camera department had made like really big movies that they were
talking about like they were working with Tom Cruise and all of these things and it’s
like “Oh darn…these are…”
They are so much more experienced than me.
But it took some friction and there was some friction and it took some time to really be
like “This is what I want.
Put the camera here.
We are going to put the actor here and we are going to do this.”
And it took me actually getting a little angry after a few days.
But that helped a lot because then it was more that we were on the same page.
It’s understandable I guess.
If you’ve done all of these big movies and then you are on this movie with this guy who
has never…yeah he’s never even been on a film set before.
Well what does he know?
We had an argument about shutter speed where it turned out that I was actually right which
felt really good because it’s like “Yeah, you’ve done this for a really long time
but I know a lot about camera because I’ve had nothing but time on my hands.”
And Googling and experimenting and things like that.
And also with actors especially.
Like on LIGHTS OUT working with Maria Bello was kind of intimidating because Holy Shoots.
And even casting for that role, there were a lot of women who came in that I’ve seen
in all of these movies and TV shows and it was like “Oh?
They are auditioning for me?”
Which is just surreal.
So it was a bit of a challenge I guess upfront but it quickly got into a good thing because
I mean actors and everyone on the crew they want to know what we are doing.
I mean they want to know exactly what you want and what the vision is so they just appreciate
that.
And even sometimes where there were moments where I was like I should do another take
but I don’t really want to ask that from the actors who have done it so many times.
Or from the crew or something.
So I was like “Yes, it was fine.
We can move on.”
And then you are kicking yourself afterwards but that’s another thing that I’ve learned
that I’ve heard from crew who was working on this other movie with this director who
was just doing take after take and they were working all throughout the night but the crew
didn’t hate him.
Instead it was like “Yeah he really knows what he is after.”
So almost like this respect like “Oh, he has his vision.”
So it’s like Oh?
They don’t hate you if you’re a perfectionist about something or if you really want to get
something right.
It’s almost as if they respect the fact that you are not going to give something up
until something is really good.
Because everyone wants to work on good movies, they want to be proud of “Yeah, I worked
on that movie.”
No one is going to be like “I worked on that movie and it was crap but we got home
at 5:00 p.m.”
You know?
People want to be proud:
Film Courage: Do you think it’s about really owning the fact that you’re the director
(that’s that hardest part) and then once that happens and then once that happens the
crew just naturally follows?
David: I think so.
As long as you’re not mean about it.
Yeah, that was an interesting experience as well.
Maybe it’s because I am Swedish where we have this sort of mentality of “Oh, don’t
think that you are more than anyone else.”
We are all sort of here [gestures to on the same level].
To come here and see how directors are kind of spoiled or kind of treated.
Like we had this meeting with someone and I walk in (I was sort of first from our side).
I walk in and meet this woman and it’s like “Oh hey, how are you doing?”
And she asks “So what do you do here?”
And I’m like “Oh, I’m the director.”
And suddenly she is like standing up and shaking my hands and like okay.
Realizing like “Oh?
Being a director is like a big deal here.”
That was strange because I’m not used to that and I’m still not used to that.
I mean it’s so surreal to see things like just the other day I was talking about things
like signing autographs and I was like why would anyone want my autograph.
But then I was talking to my manager and then he went to Ebay and see if my autographs were
on there and they were.
Film Courage: Wow!
David: That is insane.
People are selling my scribbles?
I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that thing of like “He’s that guy!”
It’s like “What?
I’m that Youtube guy who made that thing with the big parts.”
Yeah, it’s weird.
Film Courage: So that being said, what do you think makes a great director?
Aside from there’s a pecking order on set (sorry…bad pun there)?
David: I think communication and clarity of vision.
And at first when I came here it was like “Everyone needs to have a vision.
And I don’t know if it was like a language thing or whatever.”
But I was like “Oh what do you mean vision?
What is that?
Just how it looks?
But yes, knowing how it looks, how it feels, and a lot of times if you’re pitching things
you have to have comps or “It’s like this thing or this thing or whatever.”
So it’s just like having a clarity of what you what and being able to communicate that
and putting what the pictures that you have in your head into someone else’s head.
And some times for me words can’t communicate properly and then you have to draw things
or cut together things from other movies or create something just to sort of “This is
what I’m after.”
But I think that’s the most thing.
Film Courage: At one point for LIGHTS OUT movie didn’t you take your Black Magic pocket
camera and you kind of used some of your own shots or did you do a storyboard?
David: Yes, I did all kind of things.
I even did some of the visual effects shots that wound up in the film.
Which I’ve always had a big interest in visual effects and it was kind of cool to
be able to do that on my own.
I wished I known that I could do that when we were filming because there was a lot of
“Oohhh, I want to do this thing.”
And then I was told “Well that was a VFX shot and then that will cost this and this
and this.”
But then once I was in post I found out from the editor that the VFX guys don’t have
a union so anyone can do VFX in the movie which was…it’s a bummer for anyone who
does VFX because they really need a union but it was cool for me because it was like
“Oh wow, I can do all of these things myself and get it just the way I want it to.”
Because even with the VFX it was like “Oh, that’s not quite what I want, I’ll just
do it myself because it’s quick and easy.”
But whatever, yes.
I did as much as I could myself because part of it because I just enjoy doing it.
Film Courage: How does this feel sitting in the editing bay knowing that Yes this is “my
movie” but in some sense maybe you won’t have the ultimate say and before [with smaller
indie films] you did?
David: Well that’s the thing, it is very collaborate and it’s dangerous to have an
ego where it’s like “It has to be my thing,” because sometimes what your thing is might
not be what is actually best.
And the good thing about LIGHTS OUT movie was that when we made the short it was only
supposed to be a short film.
I think it would have been much harder to make a movie where “Oooh, this has been
my baby for so long.
It’s been my dream project for so long.
It has to be this.”
Because not just because of opinions of others but things never turn out the way you want
them to for so many reasons.
It was easy if like someone had a better idea or if the studio had a note where it was actually
like “Oh that’s cool, let’s do that.”
It was easier to do that when it wasn’t your precious baby.
That’s another thing I’ve noticed like reading stuff online is that the studios are
only out to sabotage movies.
Like the filmmaker he has this idea and he just needs to get through this gauntlet of
a studio trying to ruin it in every way.
Then coming here you realize “Oh the studio isn’t just people in suits trying to ruin
movies.”
I mean sometimes it can be that but it’s people that want to make movies and they can
have great ideas and the great thing about being the director is that you get credit
for it.
So if someone else comes with a better idea than you have, take it you know?
So that was good to know like “Okay, not everyone in Hollywood is trying to ruin movies
and just make money,” because yes the ultimate goal is to make money because it’s a business
but again people want to be proud of things.
People want to say “Yes, that movie you love, we made that.”
Even though rather times people would rather take that then “Yes, this movie made a bunch
of money but it’s terrible and laughing stock.”
So yes, there is a lot of people who want to make good stuff.