a day as an art director

Posted by Miquel Comas Sabadell on

Yesterday i cried three times. am i too sensitive? my mother is probably right. here’s how it's a day as an art director before this set finally happened:


Thursday, 6:35 am 

 
wake up with crippling anxiety. shower, coffee, make a mental list that looks anything but organized. rush down the stairs with swollen eyes, and think, I NEED TO FIND A FOLDING SCREEN. where does one even find a folding screen when it’s not the 1700s anymore?

7.32am list of thoughts:

we’ll make this happen
what’s the budget?
is there even a budget?
i need an assistant
i won’t cry today I won’t cry today

found omw to breakfast! street hunting but no van to pick it up. called Laia, can we keep it?

8:23 am
 
Laia is obsessed with collages, which is crazy because i am NOT the most technological person on this team. i barely get past pen and paper. i made my first collage & it’s ugly as hell. i try to print it out to run around the city with references, but my printer is not working AGAIN. i give a reiki session to my printer for the fourth time this week
 

9:30 am
 
today’s mission: to hunt down furniture in secondhand shops. Secondhand stores I visited:


ANTIGUITATS TOBAJAS
Encant de Gràcia
Encants MARKET
RIBES I CASALS
TROC BARCELONA


13:34 pm
 
i go to this attrezzo rental place in Barcelona. phones are ringing in every corner of the room. i get screamed at and i happen to not care at all? i pick up my props, wave goodbye and rush down the metro
 

15:10 pm
 
on the metro, four bags hanging from each arm, my body swinging and bumping into pissed strangers. call with the stylist: make a list of clothes we need for the shoot as attrezzo: sexy tights? no. transparent grandma tights work better

stuff i borrowed from my grandma's place


5:24 pm (OTRANTO, again!)
 
i feel blessed by the owners of this shop. this must be the highlight of my day. i go through ceiling mouldings, chairs, tables… i’d take anything. i end up picking a ceiling moulding and rush back home

6:57 pm    dry cleaning service
 
on my way home, i remember i need those little plastic covers from a dry cleaner, and boom, i walk right past one. i end up inside the shop, hanging out with the workers. they teach me how to use the machine to make the plastic bags, and give them away for free. a *good conversation was enough,* they tell me. how sweet are strangers?

8:00 pm
 
go home, pick up the car, and drive to get the only folding screen i managed to find. the pickup is wild, my car packed, and as for me, i am EXHAUSTED. i drive to the ASRJ office to pick up more furniture we got the days before. Miquel and i spend about an hour trying to fit everything in my car. i drive back to Barcelona and realise I still need to fit ten boxes i have at home.
 i cry. I CRY

11:23 pm
 
thankfully, the owner of the syrian restaurant downstairs, who’s been watching me struggle kicking boxes for the past hour, invites me over for a beer and olives. I AM DONE, everything is packed and ready for tomorrow. i text the team, and the telegram group GOES WILD!!!!!!!!!!


Friday
Shooting day
 
next day goes smoothly. the shoot is good, set is done, pictures look great. Laia, laughing, shouts, “AINA! WE NEED MORE MESS!” & Clara and I throw every garment we brought onto the ground. somehow, despite the chaos of the past two days, the mess on set still wasn’t enough. quite ironic.

we had so much fun and pizza for lunch. i really do love my job, but next time send a prayer for me (or a paper agenda)

Love and courage,

x

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