"Below The Line in New York"

by Max Roslow (United States of America)

I didn't expect to find USA

Traveling to New York City for work you realize how quickly things change. I literally spent years dreaming of telling my own stories in movies and one day "on set" in New York as a Production Assistant made me realize that the struggle to be a part of the "Below the Line" crew probably wasn't for me. After a 20 hour day at around 1 AM I was walking down the cock roaches infested stairs at the subway stop off way out in Cypress Hills Brooklyn. This was a seedy neighborhood where drug deals and gunshots in the distance were a regular occurrence and the sound of the train screeching on the tracks leaving the station echoed through the neighborhood. At this point I was hoping to just walk the 500 feet to my basement apartment and immediately pass out. When suddenly something hits me in the back of the head causing me to fall down multiple stairs to the stained litter filled sidewalk below... (I'll set up the story that morning first I suppose.) . I was awoken up by the subway train stopping at the station above my building at about 4 AM. I knew at that point I might as well get an early start since I had to be at set in Queens at 6 AM and my alarm was only set for 4:30 AM. I rolled out of bed got dressed, walked passed the 2 cooking pots on the ground that were collecting water from the leak in the ceiling that the landlord didn't fix and left. I got on the train on the East End of Brooklyn and needed to pick up the truck that had the equipment on the West side of Manhattan....I had to do this everyday. My train decided to break down between stops. 15 minutes later once it started working I got to the stop where I needed to change trains and then repeated the process 2 more times to the West Side Highway. While entering the Depot in midtown on the way West side of Manhattan I was bombarded with people and the smell of urine. Inside the guy behind the bulletproof glass kept angrily asking me for the documents that I didn't have for the truck that I have picked up many times before. So I go outside and call the Producer of this Low Budget Shoot to send over the papers. He responded with "God dammit! Figure it out and get over here!" I figure it out get the Van and then I sit. The traffic to get back across Manhattan was so awful that it had taken me 2 hours to get to the set with all the equipment. Every 5 minutes I would get texts and calls asking for ETA updates. But I eventually I made it. At set, once I parked I was met with aggressive demands for food from delis and coffee shops near and far. Each task more laborious than the last. Once the middle of the day had arrived we had broken for lunch. Since I was the Production Assistant I had to separate from the crew and "Fire Watch" the equipment in order to make sure that nothing was stolen. So everyone went out side to the tent that I set up with the food that I gathered on this crowded Sidewalk in Astoria Queens. The rest of shooting went on and at about 10 pm we reached the end of the day. We loaded the truck and I did my morning in reverse. All while knowing I was expected to repeat this routine for many days to come. ... I see stars and I realized a man had a gun in my face threatening to kill me if I don't give him my wallet. A wave of fear, panic, and anxiety came over me and I gave him my wallet and he thankfully ran off. While sitting there on the filthy sidewalk, wincing, at the bottom of the subway stairs I couldn't help but think that if you're not an Actor, Director, or Producer or "Above the Line" then fuck this. there has to be something better in a better place.