For 39 years the Edmonton International Film Festival has been a cinephilic institution in the city that presents veteran and emerging filmmaker talent from around the world.
It’s no secret that a lot of work goes into writing, producing, directing and shooting a film. There are of course many outstanding directors, actors, writers and producers involved, but what about the “scripties,” “drapesmasters,” “extras wranglers” and other unsung heroes of the film industry? The behind-the-scenes, after hours and detail-oriented film professionals, without whom, there would be no industry.
We spoke with three people from more “niche” film professions in the local film industry to hear more about what they do and why they do it.
Explaining what a script supervisor does isn’t always easy, says Corey Jones, who has been script supervisor on projects like Bates Motel, The X Files and Lost In Space. That’s partly because they have a big job: continuity. Script supervisors, lovingly known on set as “scripties,” have to make sure all the scenes, costumes, props and dialogue are consistent from shot to shot. “We need to see everything the camera sees,” explains Jones, so that camera operators know if something gets missed. Script supervisors have to make sure the same words were said in the same order from take to take and have to make sure every prop, every piece of clothing, every strand of hair, looks the same in every shot.
To keep everything straight, script supervisors take copious notes each day. “We use a sort of coded format to relay to post production what has been shot each day, where the shots belong in a scene and favoured takes and performances,” she says. All of this means that script supervisors are key communicators between production and post production. It also means they have a lot to keep track of.
While filming Lost In Space, during a particularly complex scene that had to be filmed on location and in studio, Jones noticed a crucial detail had changed between the studio shots and the location shots — a door that had been open was now closed.
“The doors being closed would have been problematic and costly,” she says. “VFX would then have to make that big and costly correction. Otherwise we would have to go back and shoot the scene again. If we did more takes — had the issue not been corrected — would have taken more time and also been costly for production.”
You can see why Jones says a script supervisor’s job is all about the details.
Unlike visual effects, which are digital elements and images added to a movie in post-production, special effects are practical effects that occur in real time during the production of a movie. They can include everything from explosions and animatronics of all sizes to actually changing the weather. For special effects (SFX) supervisor Larry Kelly, who often works on independent projects, his job can mean bringing SFX to life on a shoestring budget.
Kelly has worked on films like This Too Shall Pass, the 2024 film about a teenager that rebels against his strict mother by hopping the border to Canada for the weekend, and Chasing Midnight, the upcoming film starring Brian Austin Green. Each project has slightly different needs that require slightly different solutions. During one shoot, Kelly recalls having to levitate a group of actors high into the air. Ordinarily, this kind of SFX would require a crane, but they were shooting in a heavily forested area and couldn’t get one onto set. Kelly worked with the stunt coordinator to build a large tilt arm with a counter weight to help bring the action scene to life. “Using precise control we were able to safely lift the actors into the air.”
Safety, after all, is the most important part of being a SFX supervisor. Kelly has to make sure all practical effects have been built so that they can be operated safely and that everyone on set knows what is going to happen.
To viewers, practical effects might look like magic, but for a SFX supervisor, it’s the product of careful planning and communication, all intended to make sure everything goes just right.
You could say that Janine Waddell is a communications specialist. As an intimacy coordinator on film and television sets, she acts as a liaison and advocate for performers during scenes involving nudity, simulated sex or other sensitive physical contact. This means talking to actors, crew, directors, production, legal — really anyone that will be on set during the filming of intimate scenes.
Waddell is a trained dancer, and before she worked as an intimacy coordinator, she was trained in stunt work, so being on set and working with bodies isn’t new to her. But that doesn’t mean the work is easy. “Intimacy coordinators face all sorts of challenging and sometimes vulnerable conversations, so learning how to create space for that is essential,” she says.
Waddell says that some of the most important parts of her job happens with legal teams, combing through language to make sure that everyone is crystal clear about what is being proposed. It’s hard work, going through documents line by line with talent to make sure they know what will be involved in a scene. But for Waddell, it’s worth it. “I always feel so gratified when people share that they were glad I was there to help them navigate everything from what they will (or will not) be wearing to who will be on set during the shoot.”
The Edmonton International Film Festival runs September 25 to October 4 at various local theatres. Tickets are $15 per showing.
