The 3-Ton and Me: A Week

This week I drove the 3-Ton truck to a film set every morning, and picked up every night. Depending on my schedule and the size of the package you rent, I can sometimes offer this service to productions. It's a service that I've never heard of offered by any other grip truck or lighting company in Los Angeles.

It's fun driving the truck to sets because you see parts of LA that you've never seen before, and at really odd hours.

Also, on the freeway, all the cars hate trucks and try to speed around you erratically, cutting you off, and honking, which is always fun too.

However, I got to do a drop-off at the historic JC Backings which was a total awesome surprise (more about this at the bottom).

Prepping the 3 Ton grip truck with gear from our 5 Ton truck. At our lot in Alhambra.

First day woke up at 3:30 AM for 5:30 call time. 3-Ton parked in front of the epic Riverfront Stages before dawn.

Tons of epic sets in Riverfront Stages - all sorts of courtroom sets, jails, offices, morgues... This place is used by all sorts of TV shows.

When the sun finally rises in Los Angeles, it's pretty great, not something I usually get to see.

Trying to shoot panarama on phone while driving in Downtown LA. Probably not the safest thing to do.

Driving around LA is so stereotypical sometimes.

Picked up, and dropped off track at JL Fisher. Had to wrestle for dominance over parking spots against grip truck big boys Quixote and Galpin. Luckily they finally gave up picking on the new guy in town and I got the best loading spot in the house. (our truck on the left, closest to camera)

It finally rained in LA. Extra traffic, had to plan that into my driving route.

The rain left a creepy grey cloud that followed me around town. If you see this evil cloud, please let me know.

Between driving I had a chance to visit my friend Jag.

SHusshhh

Don't tell production, between driving

I had time to visit my favorite place in LA, Huntington Gardens to take some pictures.

The production also shot at the stages at USC Film School - where I got my MFA in film production a few years ago - was fun to be back at school again.

The new stages at USC's school of cinematic arts have an amazing overhead grid system. Our 12x12 Frame is being used in this shot.

JC BACKINGS

The coolest place I got to drive to for the shoot was J.C. Backings, an insane, 7-story backings warehouse in the middle of Sony Pictures Studios. It's hard to explain how huge this place is.

The top floor of JC Backings is amazing - huge old historic hand-painted backdrops all over the place, 7 stories up in an ancient old-hollywood studio building.

I snooped around on their website - look how amazing and insane some of these hand-painted backdrops are!! They are super old, have been used in classic movies, but in perfect condition - and some of these are massive, over 100 feet long!