Runs & Errands

General guidelines
• Have pen and paper ready at all times, and write down what you’re told to get.
• Never, ever go on a run without checking in with Production. Don’t assume that the director who is sending you out for the latest copy of “American Cinematographer” is going to remember to tell us.
• Never, ever take a vehicle on a run without first confirming that Production doesn’t need it for something else. Just because you’ve been driving the green 15-passenger van for three days doesn’t mean we won’t need it in 10 minutes to drive the extras back. Try to always use an empty vehicle for a run; if there’s equipment or personal belongings in a van, leave them on set before going on the run.
• Always check with Production; we may already have the item that’s needed
• If you don’t have a cell phone or pager, you must call in at least once per hour or at every stop ( it depends on the urgency of your run). If you do have a cell phone or pager, make sure Production has the number and that it’s on and that you can hear or feel it. It’s a good idea to check in with Production if you’ve been out of touch for a while.

Have all the information
• exact location and directions
• vendor’s hours and hours for the freight elevator (if applicable)
• contact name
• what you’re getting, how many and how much it costs
• method of payment-(PC, do you have enough?, check, credit card, on account)

If Production cannot provide you with all of this info, call the place you’re going to and double-check. Since vendors think you’ll buy something else if they don’t have exactly what you want, they may not check their stock before they tell you that they have what you want. Make the salesperson put the desired object in his hands as he is speaking to you and make him tell you his name. This usually avoids unnecessary trips.

Sometimes, even if you have been thorough, what you were sent for isn’t there in the exact way we thought it would be, and you may want to make a decision about what to get. Get Production on the phone and ask; do not try to choose yourself. Through no fault of yours, you probably don’t have enough information to make a good decision, so please let Production decide. Do not try to find it by going to several more places. We’re probably expecting you back and you need to let us know what’s going on, so don’t just disappear on a hunt.