EP 405: The Locations, Stunts and Transportation Departments

Julie Harris Oliver: [00:00:00] This is the Catch A Break podcast, the insiders guide to breaking into and navigating the entertainment industry. I'm Julie Harris Oliver. You can find us at catchabreakpodcast.com and all the social media @CatchABreakPod, as well as all the podcast places.

The presenting sponsor of Season 4 of Catch A Break is Santa Clarita Studios, a full service independent studio featuring 35 sound stages, an amazing new backlot featuring a New York and LA downtown street with interiors and an alley fully, furnished production office space and suite style executive offices along with post-production space. Dedicated to providing an attentive and personally tailored experience for all their clients. Santa Clarita Studios offers rentals and services to meet any budget, any need. Find them at santaclaritastudios.com.

We are continuing our [00:01:00] Project Greenlight series where we talk to the cast and crew of Gray Matter and get the real behind the scenes of the behind the scenes. We're dropping new episodes every day, so if you wanna start at the beginning, go back and start with episode 401. These episodes are not tied to the HBO Max Series episodes in order so you can binge both in no particular order and we just can't be worried about any spoilers. It's all out there. Listen at your own risk.

In this episode, I sat down with location manager, Yvette Yurcisin, stunt coordinator, Dee Bryant, and then later transportation coordinator, Sandra Ninham-Gallardo. These jobs are way more stressful than you might think, and these roles are not typically held by women, but these women came through with flying colors.

Okay, have a listen.

Welcome to Catch a Break. Today I'm here with Yvette Yurcisin and Dee Bryant. Yvette Yurcisin is a location manager who is most known for her work on Justified, Yellowstone, The Dropout, Inception, Private Practice, and Project Greenlight. She's also the writer and director of Telly Award-winning commercial. Welcome, Yvette.

Yvette Yurcisin: Thank you.

Julie Harris Oliver: Also, we have Dee [00:02:00] Bryant. Born in Los Angeles, Dee was raised in the San Gabriel Valley where she grew up riding motorcycles and street racing in her boyfriend's cars. Dee realized early on that with her A-type personality, she was not cut out to become college material and instead she pursued and completed a three year apprenticeship in the operating engineer's union where she was trained to operate all forms of heavy construction equipment, including cranes and bulldozers.

After spending several years literally drifting heavy construction equipment just to pass the time at work, Dee was eventually introduced to stunt driving for television and film where she's been hired on over a hundred different commercials, television shows and feature films doubling a-list actors such as Angela Bassett, Regina King, and Carrie Washington, while performing difficult vehicle maneuvers such as reverse 180s, t-bone crashes, and high speed chase sequences. As a seasoned stunt driver capable of handling virtually any vehicle proficiently, Dee is in the league of her own, which has earned her the reputation as a top female driver in the film industry. Dee has been fortunate enough to be hired to stunt coordinate several projects, including a $30 million [00:03:00] Nike commercial starring top athletes such as Serena Williams, LeBron James, and Megan Rapino. She's also co-founder of Association of Women Drivers. Welcome, Dee.

Dee Bryant: Thank you.

Julie Harris Oliver: Can I just ask you, what does it mean to say you're drifting heavy construction equipment?

Dee Bryant: Well, drifting is when you're breaking traction with the rear wheels and the vehicle, whatever it is, is literally just sliding across the turf.

So, drifting in cars is what you'll see on like Fast and the Furious and, heavy equipment, the one that I was operating, the earth mover, happens to have two engines, one in the front and one in the rear. So I would get behind the water truck and the, the turf was wet, obviously behind the water truck, and just gun the back engine, turn my steering wheel, and it caught, it would create, an entire drift of it, of the rear end of the vehicle.

So literally drifting heavy equipment.

Julie Harris Oliver: Amazing. Okay. And you're joining us from where today?

Dee Bryant: I am in Bogota, Colombia today.

Julie Harris Oliver: Okay. That's [00:04:00] amazing. I love modern technology, but so if there's any, if there's any funny sound where you are, I know you're coming from a long way away with kind of spotty internet.

Dee Bryant: Yes.

Julie Harris Oliver: So we're gonna roll with it.

Dee Bryant: Okay.

Julie Harris Oliver: Okay. Yvette, let's start with you. What was your first job and how did you get it?

Yvette Yurcisin: Well, my first job, I actually applied for, to work for a post house in Philadelphia. I was a salesperson. I, I was working in real estate and I decided that I wanted to work closer to anything to do with film, television, commercials, anything like that.

And there was a post house in Philadelphia that I looked up and I set up a, I wrote a resume, said how perfect I would be for this advertising sales job for post-production, and I FedExed it to the director. I found out who the director was, I FedExed it to him and told him how much he needed to hire me, and they did.

So from there I learned how to, edit all about editing, post-production, and bringing in clients to the post house.

Julie Harris Oliver: Wait, did you know [00:05:00] anything about post-production?

Yvette Yurcisin: Not a thing.

Julie Harris Oliver: You just knew I could sell.

Yvette Yurcisin: I knew I could sell. I was, I had a lot of sales experience in various, in various jobs, but I really wanted to work in film, and so I tried to figure out where could sales and advertising match with film in my area.

And the only, the biggest post house was this shooter's post transfer, they called it. And so I called them and I said, oh, who's the director? And they gave me his name and I hung up. And then I got the address and, and I, and I sent a FedEx in and he called and gave me an interview just because he said that he hadn't had anyone FedEx a resume before to him, to his desk, making it all important.

I was like, well I am important! And so I, I did, I worked there for about a year and a half I wanna say, and brought in several clients, but also was able to, I made a few short films of my own with some of the crew that were there, and they helped me edit my, my contests and things. So I, I learned a lot, but at, at a [00:06:00] certain point, I decided that I was gonna leave after that.

But that was my first real, I guess my, the closest job I can say to being in production at the time.

Julie Harris Oliver: The chutzpah.

Yvette Yurcisin: Yeah.

Julie Harris Oliver: That's amazing. So, okay, then tell us how you transitioned into location managing from that.

Yvette Yurcisin: From there, from there, I decided that I wanted to move to California and become, you know, really work in the film business. I always wanted to move to California, so I just packed up everything and left. And when I got here, I needed to work. I really didn't have any way to make any money. I was pretty broke.

So I decided to get my California real estate license back to sales. And I was lucky enough to work for RE/MAX and my business partner, my real estate business partner also happened to own a movie ranch.

So I worked as a realtor by day and at night I became a site rep at the movie ranch and closed every set that I could possibly close for about two years. I was on every movie and show that I could work [00:07:00] on. And it was the, my first location manager job was actually on a show called The Unit where the location manager there had taken note of my hard work as a site rep, and the availability list at the union was low, so he said, today's your lucky day. If you want, you can get a job in location. So they hired me as a, an assistant location manager to close sets for that particular show.

It took, it took about two years working both jobs day and night. But I loved it. I was around set. I didn't make a lot of money. I was exhausted, but it did pay off.

Julie Harris Oliver: Amazing. That actually makes total sense to go from real estate to locations. Especially in LA. You would start to know where everything was.

Yvette Yurcisin: Yeah. I didn't wanna be a location manager. I mean, most people don't plan on being location managers. It just kind of happens. It just, it just, it just was a match for me at the time.

Julie Harris Oliver: That's great. Okay. Dee, how about you? What was your first job in the business and how'd you get it?

Dee Bryant: Well, my first job in the business was a music video riding a motorcycle. [00:08:00] I had a mutual friend that was actually already a stunt woman. She knew that I could ride bikes and they needed someone to double Aaliyah, the late singer actress Aaliyah in a music video.

And I did the job, thought it was a lot of fun. Still never thought I could become a stunt woman. I, you know, I didn't aspire to, I just thought it was fun. I made a lot of money that one day and just kind of ignored it. Then I received a call from a guy who said that there were no African American women who could ride a street bike at my level. And so he needed me to double Lisa Bonet in a film called Biker Boys. And so he, Taft-Hartley'd me, put me in Screen Actors Guild, and my phone started blowing up after that just because, I grew up as a tomboy with five brothers and I kind of had a skillset already coming into the business.

I was already a certified scuba diver, licensed sky diver, licensed motorcycle rider, licensed big rig operator. And literally my phone just [00:09:00] rang off the hook. I was just working nonstop from that day forward.

Julie Harris Oliver: You were doing all the things already and then the film business was like, we could use all of them.

Dee Bryant: Yes. Yes.

My brother always says you were actually born a stunt woman, but you had no idea.

Julie Harris Oliver: You didn't know that was a thing.

Dee Bryant: I didn't know was a thing. Ironically, my uncle was a stuntman, so back in the 70s, I remember us, he was a, a cowboy as well. He was a bull rider. So my dad would take us to the rodeos and watch him do his thing on the bulls, and he was the original stunt double for Cornelius in Planet of the Apes because he was a, a cowboy.

He was riding the horses for Cornelius. And so I never thought, you know, it never dawned on me that a, a girl could do this. I, I didn't know that there was such a thing as a stunt woman. So.

Julie Harris Oliver: And I imagine they're not a ton of Black women stunt women.

Dee Bryant: Now there are. When I got in, in 1998, there weren't. There were maybe five working African American stunt women. Now because the film industry has spread [00:10:00] out so much and mostly, you know, all the big, big films are filming in Atlanta, now there are starting to be a lot more Black stunt women.

But, because there weren't a lot of roles, action roles, written for African American women, there really wasn't a need for us in the past. A big, huge, you know, need for African American stunt women. Now, there's so many action roles written for Black women, so many more that there's starting to become more need for us, more of a need for us.

Julie Harris Oliver: Good, good. Now in addition to all the vehicle driving that you do, are you also doing like the physical things without the equipment?

Dee Bryant: Yes.

Julie Harris Oliver: Like, the, I don't even know what. Flying through the air doing acrobatics? Are you doing all that?

Dee Bryant: Not so much anymore because I've been in the business 25 years now and I've paid my dues, so to speak, so I leave the ground pounding to the youngsters. But yes, I, I've done high falls, fire burns, [00:11:00] anything and everything dealing with stunts.

I, in 2013, I started doubling the lead on the show, on the number one Fox series called Sleepy Hollow. And her character did everything from riding a, an actor on the back of a motorcycle to driving a boat to, to sliding Broncos, trucks, vehicles. She did, her character did everything and it kind of, I should say, put me on the map cause everyone realized, oh wow, she's, she's really diverse. She can actually handle all these skills.

And so, yeah, now that I'm considered a veteran in the business, I try to preserve my body. So I turn down jobs. If someone calls me and says, "Hey, do you wanna do a car hit?" I'm like, I'm behind the wheel. Right, sure. But I'm not gonna be in front of the bumper anymore, so.

Julie Harris Oliver: Right.

Dee Bryant: Yeah.

Julie Harris Oliver: And you're coordinating now.

Dee Bryant: I am. I am coordinating now. It's kind of the natural progression for stunt performers to become stunt coordinators, then second unit directors where [00:12:00] all the action is. And then some of us even go on to become huge directors.

Julie Harris Oliver: Okay, let's talk about Project Greenlight now. I always imagine like, you get the call to do this job on this movie, and then they tell you also you're gonna be on a reality show.

So, Yvette, how did that hit you and what made you think, oh, okay, that's, that sounds fun. Or did you, or did you think it sounded fun?

Yvette Yurcisin: It did sound fun. And scary at the same time. I think I, I was at a, at a point where I was on hiatus from my other work and it was a great filler. It would've, it was a shorter term project.

I really do support Project Greenlight's mission in the fact that they support young upcoming directors and help them make a movie, which I would've given, you know, my left arm for someone to help me do that back in the day, or probably still would, I'm not sure.

But I was really excited about it and I, and I really didn't think too much or too deep into [00:13:00] the whole aspect of, oh, you're also gonna be on camera. I figured, what for two seconds. And, you know, I'm not the important one. But, you know, it was definitely changed, it changed the day-to-day stuff.

But in, at first, initially, my wanting to do the project was, was to get behind the actual Project Greenlight mission. And also it was a great little filler for work. And I, and I did think it was gonna be fun. I had no idea what I was actually in for, since I, I had never worked on reality before.

Julie Harris Oliver: Was it more than you expected?

Yvette Yurcisin: Much more, yes.

Julie Harris Oliver: I hear people were like mic'd the second they showed up on set.

Yvette Yurcisin: Yes. Yes. I mean, the biggest, the biggest thing was that I didn't, I didn't factor into that I had to specifically care about what I was gonna wear when I was going to work in the morning or that I even washed my hair or I wanted to put on makeup just because, just in case.

And, and then paying attention to everything that you say, even if sometimes things are off the cuff, I like to joke around a lot on set and I was [00:14:00] worried about that being taken out of context cause with the creativity of editing, you can say something and then only part of it shows up. And so if it means something else than what I think it means, so without getting too much in my head, I was stressed out about those kinds of things that took me a lot longer to get ready for work per se, or just made me more self-conscious.

The good news is I became much more in the now and present in the moment as we were filming, which then on the flip side made me enjoy the process and eventually the cameras started to fade away and I started to care less about that stuff.

And, but that's not to say I'm not a little freaked out about how it's gonna turn out.

Julie Harris Oliver: Well, I would, I would be in so much trouble. I joke off the cuff all the time. And if that were, people hardly get it in the moment, and if it were all taken out of context, I'd be in a lot of trouble. I, I can imagine the stress of that.

Yvette Yurcisin: Yeah. So that's, that was hard and fun.

Julie Harris Oliver: Hard and fun. And also we'll see.

Yvette Yurcisin: Right. We'll see. Exactly. I'm not telling [00:15:00] anyone I did it.

Julie Harris Oliver: Dee, how about you? How, how was that for you? Was it different cause you're a performer anyway.

Dee Bryant: It, it was, I'm so used to being in front of the camera, it didn't really bother me that the camera was there and a lot of times I was able to block it out. But like Yvette said, I had to be more conscious about my appearance and my censorship because stunt people, stunt performers are kind of known as the bad boys of the film industry. And we once in a while drop an F bomb here and there, you know, when we're talking about stuff.

So I had to censor myself and censor my clothing because I tend to be a bit of, a bit of an activist and I had to watch out that I wasn't wearing shirts that said something like, "my body, my choice," or, you know, just, I had to watch what I wore and watch what I said.

And other than that, it was just another day in front of the camera.

Julie Harris Oliver: Now let's talk about the activist t-shirts for a minute. Was that, like, did you get a list of things not to do, say, or wear, or were you just thinking, let me not stir it up while I'm on [00:16:00] set because I feel like wear the T-shirts!

Dee Bryant: Right. No, we, we were asked not to wear anything with logos, obviously because product placement issues. And, I was just aware of, of not wearing those type of things on set because I don't when I go to regular sets, you know. So you just, you don't wanna be the trouble, looked at or viewed as the trouble starter.

So cause you never know who you're working with, working for, and what their political opinions are. So just more conscious of just being on, on an everyday set.

Julie Harris Oliver: And then how did, having the cameras on you, for both of you, how did it affect how you did your job, but in addition to, you know, how you thought about how you were presenting and things, did it, did it interfere with, or not interfered... how did it affect how you did your job?

Dee Bryant: I, I, I don't think it really affected me much. Like I said, I'm so used to performing in front of, front of the camera anyway, so it didn't really, I just kind of [00:17:00] tuned it out and just did what I needed to do, stayed focused on protecting my actors.

Julie Harris Oliver: Yvette, how about you?

Yvette Yurcisin: I don't feel that it really affected the performance of myself or my team as much as sometimes the fact that I was always mic'd and some of my team members, most of my team members were not, that if I had to address something, it was kind of, I was worried if they were getting half of the story of what I'm asking crew members something to do and we were spread out all over the place, we were running around a lot, and so they would literally chase me around and go, "what are you doing? What are you talking about?" I was like, well, I , I'm just trying to do my job and it, and some of it is not, it's not interesting, especially getting only half of the conversation. It's like, well, we need to move these dumpsters because we're gonna be moving here.

And there's, there is a lot of things going on and there's a lot of work to do. So I couldn't, I didn't wanna stop my work because they wanted to catch a portion. "Well wait till we mic this person and wait," and that's like, no, we don't have time to wait for that. I just need to go and do. So I did learn how [00:18:00] to work with both scenarios and just kind of time it. If I knew I needed to address something really quickly, I would do it before I would get to set. So this way, I wasn't causing them to chase me around all the time.

Julie Harris Oliver: And then what about, cause I imagine if your locations and your planning, like where's everybody, where's everyone gonna be, and where's base camp, and where's the catering, and where's the bathrooms, and that, and it's not just your crew, now it's this whole other reality crew also. Were you responsible for accommodating them as well?

Yvette Yurcisin: Absolutely. That was, that was the biggest challenge of working simultaneously on a reality show and a feature film, is that my crew, it was only one crew, so we didn't, I didn't understand that the duality of the whole picture initially when I first started, and that kind of became very clear that I'm actually, myself and my crew are managing two separate crews with two separate call times, two separate call sheets, two separate movements, in addition to a [00:19:00] very challenging location where the property was very large and they had several other crews also shooting their movies or TV shows, commercials, still shoots all at the same time, and it was a juggle to keep them separated from each other because there was a strict rule contractually speaking.

Our location agreement did not allow us or the reality crew to film any of the other crews at any time. So if you're turning around a corner and you're being followed by the reality TV crew and to go to film our film, but we're passing another crew that's eating lunch or filming, they, it all needed to be avoided. So it was just a constant moving of pieces around every day.

And then if they, if the film, if we decided last minute that we were gonna change a scene, that affected my department and everything that we had pre-planned the day before on the day. And so then we became, we were just running around and [00:20:00] scrambling to try to make that all cohesive and not appear as if it was a difficult thing.

But having two teams or two crews working simultaneously was extremely challenging for my department because it really was only one team working with two different teams and then also factoring in the third. So that, that was very challenging.

Julie Harris Oliver: And can you describe the location for us? Cause a lot of people have talked about how kind of all the shooting was done on this one campus, but it sounds like you were able to do a lot of different locations on that same campus. Can you describe it?

Yvette Yurcisin: Sure. The campus that we chose for filming, the, the feature is wonderful. It's, it has over a hundred out buildings. I think maybe 120. And the, the property, it's huge. It used to be an old hospital treatment center, if you will, back in the day. It's closed down. It's been, been vacant and abandoned for quite some time now, and they allow filming there.

So this, this does allow for, because the size of the property is so large, [00:21:00] there are so many different looks that you can achieve there. And because we were so budget conscious, it was, it lent itself for a lot of diversity, you know, within the location itself to create all these different looks to support what was going on in this feature film.

So it really was a perfect location for this film and many others, but it just, it was unique in that sense. But it was, it's large. I mean, I'm not sure what the acreage is there now off the top of my head, but it is, talking about open fields, and swing sets, and roads, and hospital and administrative buildings, and schools all on property.

Julie Harris Oliver: Oh, so many moving parts.

Yvette Yurcisin: Yes, you might say.

Julie Harris Oliver: Yeah.

Hey Dee, can you describe what kind of stunts there were in this show?

Dee Bryant: There was a lot of foot chases in this show. A lot of running, falling, struggling. There was one, I think the biggest stunt where, was when one of my stunt doubles or the actor's character had [00:22:00] to fall down like a 20 foot, maybe 15 foot embankment. He had to roll down it. He, he was shot and then fell, rolled down embankment, and it was the inside of an old reservoir. So it was concrete, you know, a concrete surface, a rough concrete surface. So we had to make that happen and make it look violent as if he died without hurting anyone.

Julie Harris Oliver: How, how, how do you do that?

Dee Bryant: Well, thanks to the art department, they were brilliant. They actually took my stunt pads and which are like a, maybe a four inch thick pad, and they covered the top of them with a surface that matched the concrete. So it looked as if he were rolling down and landing on concrete when he was, the stunt double was actually landing on the pad.

Julie Harris Oliver: Oh, smart. Was that their idea or your idea?

Dee Bryant: Both. Actually it was, I approached them with the idea. Yeah. She was already, we were already thinking on the same lines. So when I approached her with it, she already knew that I, [00:23:00] you know, that was coming and she had already prepared to create this surface for me to put on my pad.

So it was a team effort for sure.

Julie Harris Oliver: Interesting.

Dee Bryant: Yes.

Julie Harris Oliver: Now what... I kinda wanna ask two questions.

Dee Bryant: Okay.

Julie Harris Oliver: Like, what was the biggest challenge in the making of the film and for each of you in your different departments? And then do you think that's gonna end up in the show?

Dee Bryant: For me, my biggest challenge was finding stunt doubles for the actors that were a match who were vaccinated.

I mean, literally I had three perfect stunt doubles that were a perfect match for my lead, and all three of them were not vaccinated, so I couldn't hire them. So I ended up going with another stunt double who wasn't a great match, but body-wise she was, but not, visually she didn't look like my, my, my actress. And sometimes we wanna go with someone who, if the cameras pans them, they can actually pass for that actress.

For example, when I'm doubling Regina King, the camera's are always in my face cause they think I look just like Regina or, you know, they could get [00:24:00] closer. It doesn't have to be a wide shot. So that was my biggest challenge.

Julie Harris Oliver: That, that, that's an interesting challenge that I didn't expect to hear.

Dee Bryant: Yes.

Julie Harris Oliver: How about you, Yvette?

Yvette Yurcisin: As far as a challenging moment or challenging task, I guess if you will, that I, that I was faced with on this particular project is that we, we needed to have a, and this was with you Dee too, the stunts, where we had to have a bus drive down a main street and hit a main character. And then, I don't wanna give away anything, but basically a bus hits a guy on the street.

And all of the locations that I found within the location, which the director really wanted something more, a little different looking, which I was able to find outside of the property, which then requires, me to apply for a permit. It requires me to have the assistance of police and posting and to close the road. It's a pretty busy road. And I did follow the protocol and put the application in on time and did everything, and then I received the [00:25:00] denial that the permit wasn't going to be accepted or approved because at the same time, there was a big county fair going on that they had moved to the area and because of the pandemic, they didn't have it for two years.

So now we're, we have this huge fair and all of the police in this town are being, attending to this fair and you just will not have the support available, so we're denying it. And that just didn't really fly with me because they didn't mention that on their website in the application process that, except for these dates, you know, everything's great except for if you really wanna film anything on these dates, you can't have the permit.

So since they didn't disclose that, I found a loophole in that they would have to revisit and then kind of make up for, how come I didn't, I wasn't aware of this because then I wouldn't have promised this great location. And so I went down to the city myself and spoke with a lot of people over several days, and finally they had to go back and then reapprove the permit, [00:26:00] which was only two days or a day before we were actually supposed to shoot it.

So I made sure the director had the plan B, that she was okay with the plan B because we had to have a plan B. I knew cause plan A was not gonna, I felt like I was gonna get it, then I didn't, then I did, then I didn't.

And, anyway, it turned out that we were able to, to get the permit. Some two officers showed up and did a wonderful job in holding back the traffic and we got the scene and we were really grateful to the police that day for showing up. We fed them really well and appreciated their help and we were able to get it done. So it was, it was kind of right up to the wire, but I really do think where we shot it and how we shot it and Dee can attest to this, that it really will add to the film and it will be shown.

That part will probably, I don't know how much of the drama of not getting the permit, but I did talk about it on the show. So I do think,

Julie Harris Oliver: Well, I'm so stressed out just hearing about it. Like, I love the in production you just can't take no for an answer. And you're gonna make that happen. [00:27:00] I'm, I'm thinking, , do you bring, do you bring cops from LA? Do you bring them from some, you know? Would they let you do that?

Yvette Yurcisin: Yes, I did suggest that they pull in CHP from another district or nearby territory, and they weren't having that either, so.

Julie Harris Oliver: Wow. You made it happen. Incredible.

Yvette Yurcisin: Yeah. That was fun.

Julie Harris Oliver: Dee, what was your perspective on that whole stunt?

Dee Bryant: I just thought Yvette was amazing because I can't even imagine being in her position and, and the stress that created. And I could feel the tension, you know, like the last minute things that were happening on this, on this project were just, everybody was a little bit under the gun.

So, but it, like I said, again, it was a team effort and, and she made it happen and we all made it happen, and it turned out amazing. I'm excited to see the finished product.

Julie Harris Oliver: Did you shoot this at night?

Dee Bryant: No, that note was a day shot.

Julie Harris Oliver: That was a day shot. Okay. Cause I was like, add, add to it.

Dee Bryant: Right.

Julie Harris Oliver: And then how do you handle someone being hit by a bus? Like how do you, how do you do that stunt?

Dee Bryant: Well, it actually is shot in reverse, so what we would do was put the stunt performer in on the [00:28:00] bumper of the vehicle to make it look like they were hit and then shoot it in reverse. Have the vehicle back up.

So then the, the other part, part of it obviously, is shot in sections. The other part of it would be to have that person in front of the bumper and then snatched away on a ratchet so that it looks like they were hit. So it's, it's.

Julie Harris Oliver: Okay. I feel like you're giving us movie magic.

Dee Bryant: It is, it is definitely movie magic, so yeah. We're not hitting anyone with a bus.

Julie Harris Oliver: I, I mean, I was gonna say. It doesn't matter how in shape you are.

Dee Bryant: No. We're not getting hit by a bus.

Julie Harris Oliver: Oh, that is very cool.

What were some, and Dee you'll have to tell me if this affected you or not, but I know it was such a compressed schedule and so many night shoots in a very short prep, in a very low budget.

Was there anything that, that either one of you kind of pulled out of your hat that made things more efficient or that you had to do because of all of those constricting details that, that maybe you wouldn't have done in a bigger budget thing?

Dee Bryant: Yeah, kind [00:29:00] of ask for favors from stunt performers that are, are actually friends and are willing to work under those circumstances. You know, work at night, drive two hours. A lot of them drove two hours to the location because it was the furthest east area of LA County, and a lot of the stunt performers live in the San Fernando Valley.

So just, you know, basically depending on your little black book for people who are willing to come out and work nights for long hours. And, yeah, just putting those things in order before the production is actually in, on camera, before we go to camera.

But when I first got the script, I already had in mind who I was gonna call for the stunt doubles and had several backups in case someone wasn't available or someone wasn't vaccinated. So just, preparing in advance helped.

Julie Harris Oliver: Yeah, and the relationships are so important.

Dee Bryant: Absolutely.

Julie Harris Oliver: Let's talk more about that in a minute.

Yvette, did you have a, a response to that question?

Yvette Yurcisin: Yes, [00:30:00] absolutely. I think that working with a low budget feature film that has a majority of night shooting is not right up there on the list, on the high list of, let me do this, like I wanna work with you and, and then put them on camera too.

Julie Harris Oliver: Not ideal.

Yvette Yurcisin: Yeah. It was basically finding, finding a crew or people that would be willing to do that at a lower rate. And again, it's like Dee said, calling in favors and saying, well, if you do this with me, I'll take you on the next one if you do a good job. And, and really getting them to also make the commute driving.

The biggest challenge, well a help I guess in it is at the property itself is a great filming location. The people that run the property were able to work with me on a budget. So I, I had started off where I had a, a specific budget as, as if I were bringing a show to the property, a standard rate card pricing.

And then after putting all the elements together, went back and renegotiated [00:31:00] the deal for the Project Greenlight process. And they, they do offer discount for film, student film making and stuff. This location works well with those kinds of projects as well. Not only do they, do they have large projects come there, but then also smaller ones.

But really it, it was a challenge because they can make full rate because the location is really popular. So it was getting in and booking my dates as fast as possible and locking it in and committing to a certain price. They worked with me. I was able to go back and negotiate it down to a point where we were able to get more quality and more locations within the budget that we had.

Working around the clock, that was extremely challenging. I fixed that by, by adding, adding another crew member and splitting their shifts, so that way we would work in shifts to have full coverage at all times. And then I would always, I was always on call regardless of whether I was there or not. And, so essentially when my crew's working, I'm always working. [00:32:00]

But it was such a, important for me because we were prepping at 7:00 AM but not shooting till 7:00 PM. And then shooting all the way till 7:00 AM. So it was 24 hour chair for the location for the site reps that represented the property. And then my department, I always needed to have someone from my department on set, on location, whether or not, whether we were shooting or not, as soon as there was one person that stepped foot on the property, I had to also have representation.

And to save money, we also moved our production offices to the location, which was really challenging. It was great. It was better for the production in a lot of ways cause production could be right there, but the buildings were old, they needed a lot of cleaning, they needed a lot of care. There was just, it was, also having people show up per production office at 7:00 AM or 6:30 when we weren't shooting till the evening, but they're working. So that was, the greatest challenge in this kind of a project that is very different [00:33:00] from your normal production, whether it's feature film or commercial or television.

Julie Harris Oliver: I've heard a lot about how, you know, people call in favors for this kind of a job and, and for this kind of a budget and it just makes me wonder, like, how, what's the, I know there isn't one, but what's the kind of, the calculation of the formula of I'll bring you on x big budget things and then I'm gonna call in three or four tiny show favors. Like there's gotta be some balance there. You can never predict it. So kind of how does that, how does that work?

Dee Bryant: I think that it's like you said, it's a relationship thing. So like the stunt performers that I used, I've hired before in big budget, bigger budget productions and projects. So it's a trust thing. Like they know that I have hired them before on, on regular budget shows or bigger budget shows, and I did say, I'll take care of you on the next one. And they know that I'm, I'm gonna keep my word. I'm not just, you know, it's not just small talk because they're not just coworkers, they're [00:34:00] actually friends of mine.

So the stunt community is very tight knit because we never know when one of us may get hurt or may not be here or, you know, knock on wood. But so we're, we're like family. And it's just a trust thing that you build and it's a relationship that you just, you have to depend on, have to depend on one another to keep each other safe and to, you know, just trust each other in general.

Julie Harris Oliver: And you just know it evens out at the end.

Dee Bryant: Oh, for sure.

Julie Harris Oliver: Somehow.

Dee Bryant: For sure. Always does.

And then fast forward, like the people that I'm hiring now, fast forward 10 years from now, they may hire me back because that natural progression will, where they will become stunt coordinators and they'll pay it backward. I always say pay it backward, pay it forward, and pay it backward.

Julie Harris Oliver: Hey, you know what's really funny, talk to you is every now and then, like we hear a motorcycle, like go by in the background and I'm like, that's perfect. Like the perfect soundtrack for when you're talking

Dee Bryant: Funny.

Julie Harris Oliver: Okay. Yvette, what about your, your calculation with the [00:35:00] favors?

Yvette Yurcisin: You know, I, I agree with Dee wholeheartedly that I've definitely developed a, a family atmosphere or trust with several other location managers that I've worked with in times past. Whether or not I've worked for them, with them, or they've pulled me in on a project, or, and vice versa in my community and location managers, there's a, there's a lot of people coming in that are new into it that are, that are only passing through, that are moving on to producing and directing. They're all, as I said, a lot of people don't really sign up to become location managers. They fall in for one reason or another. So it's very much about a journey and how, there's so many aspects to being a location manager that you have to, skills that you can apply or learn that are, you can apply in other positions as well, not only in the film business, but also in life.

So I like to treat people as if they are just respected for the work that they come in. And I, I think the biggest, the biggest thing is I take a lot of [00:36:00] pleasure in giving someone work and, and seeing that they're able to feed their family and that they're, and they're, that this may not be the most fun experience that you have, but if you really love it and you have a good attitude, it's going to pay off in the end. And so I always will hire someone again if the experience with them is great, or if they're, they have a really good attitude and they really...

I think if you have a, a desire to work and you love the film industry, whether the project is large or small is, is less significant in a lot of ways than as in the project itself, if that makes any sense.

Julie Harris Oliver: Yeah.

Yvette Yurcisin: So I don't have any problem hiring people. It's just they do ask though, you know, "what's the budget? How long is it? Where's it gonna be? Where am I gonna drive to?" And all those things do factor in, but they're, luckily we have a good pool of people available on the roster to call if some of my friends are not available. I have been able to crew up pretty quickly in most cases, whether it's large or small projects, just cause I help you, you help [00:37:00] me.

It's that kind of give and take and, and Dee's right, you don't know that the person that you've just hired isn't actually the major director down the road, production designer, whoever that, that may be calling you to say, "Hey, you were fun. It was great. You made it happen." and at the end of the day, we work so hard and long and a smile and a good attitude and it goes a long way.

Julie Harris Oliver: For sure. Now, I wanna ask both of you, I imagine you've, well, tell me if I'm wrong, I imagine it was not easy early in your careers getting where you are, knowing how difficult it has been for women and people of color in this business at all. So I'm wondering how is it now and is it getting better and are you seeing progress and now you're both at the top of your game and what did it take to get there?

Dee Bryant: Well, I am, to be honest with you, it's still for, as a, as far as a stunt coordinator, the doors still are not open to women in general, women of [00:38:00] color especially, but just women in general.

It's still a, you know, still the boys club, good old boys club. So it's still tough to become a stunt coordinator. As far as the stunt performer, like I said, there's so much more action written for women of color that it's a lot easier for women to become stunt performers, Black women to become stunt performers.

So as long as they have a certain skillset set that's needed, mostly gymnastics or martial arts is the start to get your foot in the door as a stunt performer. And, people are constantly, constantly looking for those skills for women that are different sizes, heights, weights. So it's, the doors are open for any woman who wants to aspire to become a stunt performer.

But as far as becoming a stunt coordinator, it really is about relationships and getting to know the, the executive producers or, or, you know, just knowing people that are in the higher ranks that will trust you [00:39:00] to coordinate their films or, or their projects.

Julie Harris Oliver: And then how do you see now, your role, having gotten there to mentor and help and, and be a model, do you, do you feel that responsibility?

Dee Bryant: Absolutely. Absolutely. I, I mean, I'm at the point in my career, after doing this for 25 years, that literally I think five years from now I'm going to become retired. I'm gonna be, that's my goal, to, to be retired.

Julie Harris Oliver: Now you're just bragging.

Dee Bryant: No. No, but, but it's funny because I feel like I, I cannot retire, even if five years comes and I'm at the age of retirement, I can't retire unless I literally have someone or several women to fill my shoes because it's, no one else is gonna help us.

And another woman was the one that helped me. And, and Jessica Harbeck, she, she's an amazing stunt coordinator, second unit director, who kept handing me jobs. Mind you, she's blonde hair, blue eyes, but she kept saying, "Dee, it's not right I'm being given these jobs that should be yours. You have way more [00:40:00] experience in this business. You're, you're just not given the opportunities."

So she always has a saying where, cracks me up, she says, "I was just at the white place at the white time," and so, so she'll be handed a job coordinating a, a TV show with an all black cast, and she's like, why isn't Dee being given this opportunity? So she'll pass me the job, literally. And, just people like that. It's relationships, you know, people that that see and that are just more conscious of, you know, what's going on in our business, the blatant disregard for, for inclusion. So we just need more Jess Harbeck's in our world.

And I feel like out of responsibility, I have to become her and give that opportunity to the next generation of stunt performers.

Julie Harris Oliver: So you have to be real focused on succession planning.

Dee Bryant: Yeah, for sure. For sure.

Julie Harris Oliver: How about you, Yvette?

Yvette Yurcisin: I think today after, oh, I've been in the business for 15 years, but I started my journey about 20 years ago. I [00:41:00] think that compared to when I first started to now, it's far easier for, in my department at least, for being a female location manager. There are several successful location managers. It's still, you're still dealing with all types of personalities, regardless of male or female, I think, egos and whatnot. And you, you're, my ability to navigate with all people and just be confident in myself, I think that is the biggest key, and I've always looked at it that way and I was never willing to early, early on in the career when there were times when I felt I was not being listened to just because I'm a female or they didn't wanna hire me because I wasn't the loudest voice in the room, trained me to, to give myself a voice.

I feel like I was missing a voice for a really long time. And the more that that pushback, the more that I refused to deal with that, and so the louder that I became, or maybe the more, specific I became in, in when I, when I [00:42:00] spoke. But it was definitely certain people along the line, along the way that did believe in me. And that's partially because of the confidence that I had in myself.

And then gender aside, I just didn't, didn't factor in that that was a factor. If they tried to make it a factor, I didn't believe in that because I just, I just, that was their problem, in my opinion, right. Cause, cause we can do everything you can do, only better, as Annie Get Your Gun, I was in that play. So, but it is easier because there are, many more opportunities and it's not so much, when I'm challenged that way, I really get surprised nowadays and it still happens, but that's more about ego than anything else. And that's rampant wherever you go, not just in this industry, but in life, so.

Julie Harris Oliver: Okay, well we will keep pushing on, pushing on.

Now to kind of change the subject, I've heard from a lot of people as you're coming up in this business, it's so important to, as you're managing your finances, being freelance and you never know when the work is coming, a lot of [00:43:00] people start side businesses, whether they're related or not.

So I wanted to talk to both of you about that. I know, Yvette, you had the location cleaning business. Can you talk about that and how you started it and how that kind of supplements, or complements, or helps?

Yvette Yurcisin: Yes. Years ago, over, over 10 years ago, I had started a cleaning service out of just necessity because there really wasn't a lot of companies out there that were willing to run out and clean up a set prior to a shooting and afterwards of, you know, debris from various things that were going on at the time. I mean, sometimes it was, it was a lawn and we needed to clean up for the dogs, or there was an abandoned house that had been infested at one point in time and, you know, needed to be cleaned. It's just not the most glorious of work.

So I started the business giving, helping out, for my own job just to give someone the work. But it was, at the time, it was just wasn't, there wasn't a lot of money in it. It was just like, here, I'll give you, just throw you the side cash, go do it. And [00:44:00] figured out quickly that it was, it could be, it's very helpful. It made us, our sets look right for production to show up, but then also to leave.

And eventually, I started the company, but then my ex took it over. So he was out of work and I needed, he needed work and I needed someone to run that business because I couldn't run that business and location manage at the same time. It was, it becomes a conflict of interest. It's, it's a lot. So he took over and he, to this day, has a very successful cleaning service because of it.

But it was born out of complete necessity. And I love, I love that I could give him that kind of work. And, and so I hire his company, the company when I can.

Julie Harris Oliver: So you see a need and a gap and fill it.

Yvette Yurcisin: That's right.

Julie Harris Oliver: Really smart. Dee, how about you? Any side business?

Dee Bryant: Well, the funny thing is I mentioned that I, I was a heavy equipment operator before I got into stunts. I actually never let that go. So when stunts is slow, stunt [00:45:00] work is slow, I go back and I operate a crane because the main reason is Screen Actors Guild insurance is awful. Their health insurance.

Julie Harris Oliver: Really?

Dee Bryant: So yeah, so to keep my health insurance with my other union, I just go back and work 200 hours every quarter. And it keeps my insurance with my operating and engineer's union. Keeps it current. So, and because

Julie Harris Oliver: Like in construction?

Dee Bryant: Yes, yes. Believe it or not. I know. Who knew, right?

So, the union that I belong to in construction, Local 12, is one of the strongest unions in, probably in the country. And it has great, like I said, it has great insurance, it has great benefits, but of course it doesn't pay as well as stunt work. But it's fun because now when I go back to do my 200 hours, I don't feel like it's work. It's just fun. I'm like, mostly I'm, I'm just doing crane work and I'm just swinging the hook at guys, you know, playing around with them.

So, the last big truck project I did was the Rams [00:46:00] Stadium, the new Rams football stadium in Inglewood. But it's, it was kind of cool because a friend of mine got some footage of me operating the biggest crane, and I was the smallest, probably the smallest operator and construction worker on that project, operating the biggest crane, and he's following me with the crane. I'm moving it to set some roof panels, and you can see the entire stadium in the background.

That was pretty, that's pretty cool. Something to show my grandkids.

Julie Harris Oliver: That is so cool. Is that something that you can just day play? Can you say, oh, I'm free Thursday. Can I go operate a crane?

Dee Bryant: Yes, yes. I just call the dispatcher and tell 'em, "Hey, I'm available for a couple days and put me to work."

Julie Harris Oliver: Well, that's amazing and surprising.

Dee Bryant: Yeah. So it's, it's fun.

Julie Harris Oliver: Yvette, did you have something else to jump in?

Yvette Yurcisin: Yeah, I, I just wanted to say, cause I didn't mention, but I'm still a realtor in California, so, when I'm not, when I'm not on a film, as I am in between shows right at the moment, I actually am, I have a listing and so I, I just pop in and I have, I have established myself in Ventura [00:47:00] as a, as a realtor, also in Santa Clarita, but more so now lately, Ventura, and I will actively still sell real estate rent for people or give their listings or bring buyers occasionally, people that I've worked with over the years.

I was a realtor in New York. I was a realtor in New Jersey. And now, in California. So it's always been something that I, the license that I've always kept up, just because once you get it, you don't wanna lose it. It doesn't offer me any benefits. It's just fun to take people through a house and see them light up when it's a, the dream house for them and, and so.

Very similar to locations when I go "Look at this location, it's amazing. You're gonna love it!" And they're like, "We do!" So that business is, is, because you, I think you need, it's healthy, like Dee said too, to, to keep your mind fresh and keep you going by having other things. It's, it's, I don't need to do it, but I love to do it and it's something that is just part of my life and probably always will be.

Julie Harris Oliver: That's great. So keep your licenses up, diversify your [00:48:00] income streams, do the things that bring you joy, all of it.

Yvette Yurcisin: Yep.

Julie Harris Oliver: Okay. So what was your favorite memory of Gray Matter and Project Greenlight?

Dee Bryant: I would say my favorite memory is talking to Mia, Mia Isaac, who was our number one. She was the lead. Talking to her, she and her mom, cause Mia is so, so amazingly talented. I kept thinking this, this little girl's gonna blow up. So I'm talking to her mom and I, I just asked, I said, "so what projects does she have up, up and coming after this?" And she said, she couldn't say the name, but she said, "yeah, we're going, her next project, she's, it's taking her to four different countries."

She was going to Jamaica, to Wales, back to California, then to another location. And I just kind of remember her, you know, talking about that. Fast forward, I was hired on a show in Jamaica called Black Cake, and it's a Harpo Productions on Oprah Winfrey show on Hulu, and Mia is the lead. So we ended up [00:49:00] working in Jamaica together for five weeks.

Julie Harris Oliver: Oh, fun.

Dee Bryant: And I had no idea when her mom was telling me about her next project, I had no idea I was going to be hired on that project. So it was, that was an amazing memory for me, just knowing that I worked with her back to back on her two, you know, latest projects and I know she's going to be huge. She's so talented. So that was, that was pretty cool.

Julie Harris Oliver: Right. And it's a small, small world.

Dee Bryant: Small world.

Julie Harris Oliver: How about you, Yvette?

Yvette Yurcisin: My favorite part of coming away from this experience was the camaraderie and the working together of so many different backgrounds. So many, the diversity of the crew for everyone coming together from vast experience under their belt to brand new, you know, lack of experience for a better word, or just kind of deer in the headlights. Oh my God, here I am. And just watching

Julie Harris Oliver: Early career.

Yvette Yurcisin: Yes. And, and watching, watching the actors also blossom, watching the location turn in [00:50:00] to the set without a lot of funding behind it. And seeing the creativity of the art department, the production designer, putting together sets that, in, in budget, which to me was just like, how's this ever gonna, how are we gonna do a film like this with this little bit of money? And, and watching,

Julie Harris Oliver: That's a miracle every time.

Yvette Yurcisin: Every time. But when they're, when you know anything can be solved if you throw a lot of money at it, it's really creative when you don't have any. And now how are you gonna do this? And, and everybody putting their minds together and going, okay, well there is a way, and you find a way, and you make it happen. And watching that kind of come to fruition in front of your eyes, even though you're kind of tired and a walking zombie, you still appreciate, appreciate everyone's effort and everybody pulling together, and, and, and for one, one specific cause .

I think my favorite part was just seeing the people accomplishing, moving up in the business when they took a new position just for this particular role, and seeing them [00:51:00] be really proud of themselves and the, the, you know, just the job well done when it all came together at the end, I think made me feel like I was a part of something special.

A lot of times when you work on a film or a TV series, when it all ends, you do sometimes have a wrap party, but it's not the same kind of moment that, look, we were in the trenches together. Even though you are in the trenches with every film in a sort, sort of sense, it just isn't something that's talked about maybe at the end because you're doing your job, that's what you do.

So it was special in that way and, and I think that I'll see a lot of these other, a lot of those folks I work with again in different roles like Dee. And it's always fun when that happens cause it's a small world at the end of the day.

But it's, it was fun. It was fun for that, you know, for that reason. A lot of reasons, but that was one of my favorite.

Julie Harris Oliver: Love it. Okay. Well that brings us to our martini shot, which is our last question of the podcast. What advice would you have for people who are trying to get in to do what you do? How would you [00:52:00] advise them?

Dee Bryant: I would tell anyone who's trying to become a stunt performer because once again, the natural progression of stunt performer to stunt coordinator, train, train, train. I mean, literally, I tried to put a new feather in my cap still, 24 years later, I still tried to learn a new skillset.

When I was in Jamaica for five weeks, I actually upgraded my diving skills from an advanced scuba diver to a rescue scuba diver just because I had so much idle time there. Just all I can say is train, train, train, and try to learn to do anything and everything that you're capable of.

And forging relationships are important. Like for Project Greenlight, I save a call sheet and I have everyone's names in my phone book because I feel like I have lifelong relationships.

Like I, I, I'm not in the position to hire Yvette, but if someone, I happen, happen to be in a conversation and someone says, "Hey, do you happen to know a female locations manager?" Yvette's the first person [00:53:00] that's gonna pop to, you know, pop in my mind. So I, I just think relationships and training are everything to become a stunt coordinator.

Julie Harris Oliver: Great. Yvette.

Yvette Yurcisin: I would say, I'm not sure who signs up to be a location manager like I said in the beginning. However,

Julie Harris Oliver: You never know. Someone might be home dreaming right now. That's all I wanna do is be a location manager.

Yvette Yurcisin: Yeah. What is that exactly that you do?

Well, but I mean, in a nutshell, I think that basically location managing is very similar to event planning. Look, we're going to a place, we're gonna have a huge party, there's gonna be about 100-500 people and you gotta make sure that we can be there. You gotta find a place for everyone to park. You gotta make sure that we can have permission and permits and bathrooms and tents and feeding. You gotta you, you worry about, you're not worrying about it all, but you're responsible for all of it. So if you love event planning, you'll most likely love location managing.

On the other side [00:54:00] of it, creatively speaking, if you love, or, and or good at photography, I mean obviously a location manager without the knowledge of a camera or, and nowadays you have cell phones and stuff, so it's pretty easy, but a love of photography and knowing your area that you live in so that you can, you can find it or being resourceful. Obviously computer skills are a must. And like Dee said, keeping up with technology as it moves. Drone shots. Drone, I, I still can't fly a drone, but I can hire someone who can.

And there are skills even today as they're moving so fast that I'm still trying to keep up with. But again, we can hire, as in my position as a location manager, I hire other location managers that carry a skillset that may be better than mine or are, you know, more extensive.

Being a people person is so important as, for a location manager. If you can't communicate clearly with crew and or residents or police or any, any person [00:55:00] on set or before you get to set, it's crucial to this position for you, in order for you to be successful because you have to be able to negotiate rates, you have to be able to negotiate hours. Someone might be having a birthday party next door while we're filming and what do you do then? I've had to move birthday parties, pay for them to take it somewhere else and, you know, they're pretty happy about that.

But definitely humility. I think that's one of the most important ingredients in, as a location manager, cause we're not always the, the ones that stand up and get the awards when it's all said and done. You have to be able to understand your role and how important it is to the making of any project. You need a place to do it, and you're that point person, you're that first line of creativity.

So you can imagine if a, if a location is listed in a script, it's up to you to go find some options. So you are the first line of, this is what it's going to look like. [00:56:00] And you give them some options and they pick, and then, then the work begins in the, so it's all in the prep just like event planning is. If you don't plan right for your wedding, there could be some disasters when you show up. And, and being able to handle them as they show up once you're there.

But it is a good idea to, your location manager that doesn't look like they're doing anything on set has actually done their job because it's all, it's all already happened. And they're just...

Julie Harris Oliver: if you don't notice.

Dee Bryant: If you don't notice, you're just like, you know, all those, all they do is sit around and they just walk around and they don't do anything. Well, everything should be done.

Julie Harris Oliver: Job well done.

Dee Bryant: Yes, it's exactly right. That's when we're to be plotted, I guess. But, but in, but there's, there's still work to, to have to do on set in a nutshell.

I think we handle it all, you know, for, on a location and if you really wanna catch a break, no pun intended, find a way to be around it like I did, like a lot of people do. There are endless things you can do on a production. I really cannot think of any career that in some [00:57:00] way isn't relevant to a job on set, that you can't find a way in to be there.

And when you're there, magic happens. Cause where there's a will, there's a way. And it doesn't matter what your passion is, if if you wanna be around film, there's, there's a job there for you somewhere.

Julie Harris Oliver: Amen.

Well, thank you both so much for being here. Yvette Yurcisin and Dee Bryant, thank you so much for being on Catch A Break.

Dee Bryant: Thank you for having us, Julie.

Yvette Yurcisin: Thank you. It was a pleasure.

Julie Harris Oliver: Okay, so now I got to sit down with Sandra Ninham Gallardo, who's a transportation coordinator, and her credits include Fatal Attraction, Gray Matter, Quantum Leap, Made For Love, Kenan, 68 Whiskey, Real Women Have Curves, Dirty Lies, and Lauren, just to name a few.

And you're gonna wanna hear her entire origin story. And lucky for us, we interviewed her on episode 305 of this very podcast. You can go to the website, catchabreakpodcast, or you can find it on your podcast [00:58:00] places. It's episode 305 to hear the whole story for Sandra. But in the meantime, we just wanna talk about Gray Matter and what it was like to be a transport coordinator on that film.

First of all, are you still one of two women transport coordinators in this business?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: Yes I am.

Julie Harris Oliver: Okay. Everybody, get into transportation. We need to increase the ranks.

Tell me what it was like for you. We know this was a film inside of a reality show, so what was it like for you to do your job while having a camera in your face and having a mic on? How did that affect how you do what you do?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: You know what? Really to have the field crew with us and have the docu side on the same side, it was just rewarding, you know, to see how the docu part was trying to record and, and show the beauty of the filmmaking. So it, it wasn't just, you know, like, they were intruding our side. It was just amazing to see [00:59:00] them to come before time and trying to capture everything that the other side of the film crew were doing. So it was amazing. It was an amazing experience.

Julie Harris Oliver: Also, sounds like you welcomed it, like yes! Show how we do this! Was it like that?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: Exactly, because, you know, people doesn't realize what is going into it, you know, from the whole production side. It's just a lot, you know, grips and electric and everybody's providing one little thing to make all this piece become beautiful.

Julie Harris Oliver: So then how did you have to factor in the docu-follow crew's needs and their transpo needs and their parking needs and their, how did you manage that? Or did you have to think about it?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: So, you know, this became on the prep time when, in the earliest stages of prepping to combine the needs through every single department. So even we have similar needs, everybody has a different time. [01:00:00] So we prep for the film crew in a different way, but in the same time we prep, we prep for the docu crew because they have lot needs too, so we have to understand what is into it in, in every single department so we can combine everybody together. Even we didn't share the equipment, but we have to provide every single piece so everybody can conclude their task.

Julie Harris Oliver: So they didn't have their own transportation coordinator. You had overview of the whole thing?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: Yes, I was the coordinator for both, for the film crew and for the docu side of the documentary. Yes.

Julie Harris Oliver: So then let's talk a little bit about that location. We've heard a lot about it. Was this one contained campus that had all the different locations on it? How did that affect your transportation crew?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: You know, it was not a bad situation because everything was in one site. The only challenging side was, you know, let [01:01:00] the docu crew do their work too, because we have to share everything with them: locations.

And it didn't affect a lot on us that wasn't the same place because we could, we could move around everywhere with our drivers. I have an amazing team. Everybody just so wonderful and they have great experience.

Julie Harris Oliver: So then what about things like, cause I know you were pretty far out of town, but it sounded like if people weren't spending the night near location, they were going back home to Los Angeles, but you were shooting nights. So if you had things that needed to be picked up or runs that needed to happen in Los Angeles, how did you, how did you manage that with that kind of wacky schedule?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: So I have to schedule different shifts for the drivers so we can have somebody during the early hours to go and do pickup. Because you know, as the vendor, they don't have the schedule for shooting nights like [01:02:00] us. They don't open in the nighttime.

So we have to schedule different shifts so we can be be covered at the whole times and try to accomplish every single run for every, every department and too, that doesn't affect us during our schedule in the nighttime. So we have to do a little job in there so we can have everybody on time.

Julie Harris Oliver: So what kind of hours did you end up working? Were you working around the clock? Did you work days? Did you work nights? How did you manage it all as the person in charge of all those people?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: I think I was a little vampire sometimes.

Julie Harris Oliver: Did you say Vampire?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: Yes, because you live the vampire life, you know when you work nights. So you are working in the nighttime and you work a little bit, in the nighttime when you work nighttime, so you become a little vampire.

Julie Harris Oliver: Oh my God. You're just running on caffeine.

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: Just running on the Starbucks.

Julie Harris Oliver: Yes, running on the Starbucks. And then how did you manage and maybe this ties into [01:03:00] how you answered about the scheduling, but keeping everyone's safety in mind. You know, it's so, so important as people are sleep deprived and driving weird hours and, and asleep and awake all around the clock. How did you manage their safety?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: You know, the safety of my department is my number one priority. So I make sure that everyone has their proper turnaround and the production offer hotels accommodations as necessary to ensure that the crew has resting time. So, yes, number one is the safety of everybody and ,you know, as my driver drive everybody around on the shuttle, they have to get their eight hours turned around no matter what.

Julie Harris Oliver: Yeah, great. What advice would you have for people who wanna work in the transportation department, women who wanna work in the transportation department, what advice would you give them? How to do it.

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: So you have to get involved and make up your mind and try to learn every piece of equipment because that's the key. [01:04:00] You need to know, you know, like a 10 tone, how long it is, what it holds, how many pounds. And that will be, you know, the key. Trying to know first what pieces of equipment are, the length, the size. You have to love it. You like cars, if you like picture cars, because that involve everything on transportation.

Since, starting from shuttle van, you know, how many people, if you wanna go on a specific location, how big is the location? If your shuttle van can go through, if you would need a minivan. So that will be my recommendation for somebody who wanna to be in the transport department. Trying to know first the equipment, you know, Google it, see it. That's the first thing that you can do now, you know, with computers and everything and Google, we can look everything and see everything. So that would be my advice.

Julie Harris Oliver: And then how, knowing it's a union position, if someone is [01:05:00] not in the union, how do they work toward getting in and getting that first job.

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: So yes, that's a hard thing sometimes to do it. But, if you work in a no union show and the show turns union, you get your 30 days. Straight 30 days. That's a quicker way if you work 30 days straight. Every single day counts, so everybody need 30 days to join the union and required to have a class A drivers license.

But you can get your driver license after your 30 days. But if you really wanna do this, get your driver license first so you don't have no holding back. That's the key. Get your driver license A. The whole nine yards, and that's the easy way. But you have to start in a non-union show that flip union.

Or this is the other way, when the union opens their books to, they hire permits. [01:06:00] So in the last couple years, we've been on permits every single month and a lot of people join the union and it's been great. So it is two ways to get into union.

Julie Harris Oliver: Okay. Let's talk about that for a minute. The permit process. So that is like when production's really busy and everybody has hired everybody who's on the roster, everybody who's in the union, then you need more people. You've run outta people in the union. That's your opportunity where you can come in and get some days. Is that right?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: Yes. That that's the opportunity. Yes. And you know, if you really wanna do it, you know, you can call the Union Hall, the 399 Union Hall, and they let you, they, they have a message, you know, the books are open, register in the call board. That will be key to, to, like, you can get into it. Or if you know somebody is a, a driver, you know anybody on the transport department and they know your name, they call you. You know, I call [01:07:00] people that say, "Hey, Sandra, when it's an opportunity, please." and I "Oh sure, you know, oh, this person need a job." and she knows. And he knows. And I like women transportation from my department. I like to have drivers that are women. We can do it all. We can take the war.

Julie Harris Oliver: That's right. And now interestingly the head of the Teamsters in Los Angeles is Lindsay Dougherty, who's a woman who's incredible. So times they are a changing.

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: Oh, that woman is amazing.

Julie Harris Oliver: Yeah.

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: She gonna go places, but she are already on those places. This woman inspire anybody. Oh my goodness. Yes. She's so awesome.

Julie Harris Oliver: She's amazing. You can actually listen to her story on The Other 50%. Not to plug my other podcast, but interviewed Lindsay as well. She's incredible. Sandra, is there anything you wanna leave us with?

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: You know, I just wanna to thank Jeanette and Yolanda and all you guys for having us on, you know, my transport team, and [01:08:00] myself. It's been amazing and an awesome experience to work on this project and seeing, you know, every single day contributing to the making of this, awesome, because it was an awesome project, we are really thankful for.

Thank you so much for letting to be a part of Gray Matter.

Julie Harris Oliver: Great. Well, thank you so much for being a part of Catch A Break. It was so nice to see you. Again, go listen to her on episode 305. Thanks so much, Sandra.

Sandra Ninham Gallardo: Thank you, Julie. See you next time.

Julie Harris Oliver: This has been Catch A Break, Project Greenlight edition. I'm Julie Harris Oliver. I'd like to thank our guests, Yvette Yurcisin, Dee Bryant, and Sandra Ninham Gallardo.

And special thanks to crewvie.com, a platform that connects people to productions worldwide. Check it out at cruvie.com. C R E W V I E.com.

Please check out our website at catchabreakpodcast.com and follow us on all the social media. Catch A Break is produced in partnership with CatchLight Studios and The Other [01:09:00] 50%. Our theme music Mantra for a Struggling Artist was composed by Andrew Joslyn.

Thanks for listening, and be sure to go watch Project Greenlight and then come check us out for the behind the scenes of the behind the scenes.

Next up we talk with cinematographer, Andrew Jeric and gaffer, Matt Hadley. Trust me, you wanna hear all about sodium vapor lights and the dimmer board. In the meantime, I hope this helps you to catch a break.