Research Methods

I’ve always found collecting information to be more about instinct than any sort of formal method. That being said, I approached the research for my project from several different angles. Being that I had already worked in the film industry for a few months prior to the beginning of the project, it gave me a “foot-in the door” so to speak. I was able to reach out to some of the producers in town and get onto more sets. The producers in Nashville are truly the ones that control when/where you work. My method of collecting data once I was on set had to be discrete for several reasons. The first and foremost reason being that I was working alongside seasoned professionals that perform their jobs several times a week. If I had chosen a more direct and obvious method of gathering information for my research I probably would have gotten blacklisted from further shoots. Therefore, I chose to do less talking and more listening. 

At first my methods worked. I was a production assistant on a big budget Rodney Atkins music video and my role allowed me to blend in and help out several different crew positions. Production Assistants, or PA’s as they are often called, serve many roles on a large production. This was a benefit for me as I got to interact with every department and meet every crew member. After I felt like I had hit a plateau in my observations I employed some other tactics. My major goal was to start interacting more with the crew and get them comfortable with me being around. After I had established a level of trust, I felt like they might open up more around me. The shoot lasted two days, and the weather was extremely hot for both of them. This lead to an idea. I began walking around to each crew member passing out water and other cold beverages or at least asking if they needed anything. My efforts soon paid off as the gaffer of the shoot (person in charge of all the lights) approached me and gave me a compliment. She stated that I was the hardest working guy on set that day. Soon after, I was able to carry on deeper conversations with the crew without getting in their way. I think my patience definitely paid off as I was definitely able to learn a lot from that shoot. Several other shoots followed and I was also allowed to take some set photos- another goldmine of information.

My second method of collecting information for the project was through interviews with people in the industry. This was part three of my plan, so to speak. I had already established relationships with members of the industry, now it was time to dig deeper. I soon began to inquire about interviewing certain people. I was very polite and tactful on how I approached this- insuring that it was only for a school project and wouldn’t take more than 15 minutes of their time. I was shocked to find that 4 out of the 6 people I contacted responded. Not only had they responded, they were overjoyed to help me out. Again, I feel this was in part to relationships I had previously established. I was thus able to interview several individuals and be more direct with my research.

Finally, I began a more passive research- reading through online filmmaking forums and browsing related websites. This was a less targeted approach but allowed me to take a look at filmmaking outside of Nashville- in order to confirm my findings were accurate with other markets of the industry. 

I feel like these three methods were the best approach to take when researching this particular industry. The industry is very much a “people” business and those who know how to network succeed. If I could change one thing, I probably would have dove into my research even sooner than I did. However, I feel that my research has been very beneficial towards the project.