Born and raised in Memphis, TN, I was fortunate enough to attend a high school that had a multi-million dollar TV studio and a renowned theater program - so I knew from an early age I wanted to work in film - I just didn't know how. I had no money and didn't have the test scores needed to get scholarships or get into a good film school.
I joined the United States Air Force with the intent of fixing my scores and getting money for college all while serving our country.
After serving my time I was discharged and armed with 'real world' experience, better grades and a little money for school. I applied and was accepted to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. During my time in NY, I was granted opportunities to work at Saturday Night Live, The Late Late show with Jimmy Fallon and was able to study abroad at Prague's Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU).
I was hired to produce my first feature film right out of film school, but it was a non-paying job, so I had to also fill the role of the 1st Assistant Director - that was the only feature I ever produced and I haven't looked back.
I never had the opportunity to learn under someone, so I had to teach myself the software, listen and learn from the crew around me, take notes from various producers and directors, figure out in real-time how to be the most efficient, problem solve and think very quickly. This route was extraordinarily tough and required a lot of humility, self-correction and patience.
Ideology of 1st ADing:
These experiences, throughout the last 10 years working as a 1st AD, have allowed me to achieve a high level of efficiency, incredible paperless organization, precise cast and crew management, but also the flexibility and adaptability needed to find creative solutions in the least amount of time.
The times of yelling at the crew on set are over. My experience has taught me that cast and crew alike respond much better to a respectful and positive working atmosphere. This can be achieved without compromising the necessary authority and without losing any efficiency.
My two beautiful kids and my incredible wife give me the drive needed to push through the long hours and help me remember what is most important in life.
Vicky Wight, director of Happiness for Beginners, references her 1st Assistant Director, Blake Brewer, during an Instagram Live interview with book author Katherine Center.
I absolutely LOVE this guy. I’ve been trying for years to find an AD that I could take with me on every project and I finally found that when I met Blake last year.
My latest film is a Lionsgate movie starring Zachary Levi called The Unbreakable Boy. We shot this movie in Oklahoma in the height of Covid with only a few weeks prep and it was an extremely complicated schedule. And I mean it when I tell you we never would’ve made it through without Blake. He built us a rock solid schedule leading up to production, and then 8 hours before rolling cameras on day one, our lead actor got a (false) positive Covid test, which completely destroyed the schedule. But as everyone was panicking in the middle of the night, Blake calmly sat down and rebuilt a new WEEK ONE in 25 minutes. And then rebuilt it again about a dozen times throughout production due to other Covid issues and weather. It was spectacular.
I honestly can’t say enough good things about Blake. He's smart as hell, is tough when he needs to be, keeps a great sense of humor in the worst of circumstances, and is just an absolute pleasure to have on set. I’ve never been so happy to have an AD by my side every day.
As director of Son of the South, I worked closely with Blake Brewer as my 1st Assistant Director. It was a very difficult shoot – frankly the film was underfunded and there were unavoidable problems that reduced our schedule from 30 to 25 days. However, I still wanted to capture the film I had envisioned which meant that everyone had to show up on their toes each and every day – we couldn’t afford to have any problems with organization that would slow us up at all.
On the contrary, we had to make up time and we had to constantly be clever about how to cover scenes and move on to the next. We had to “make every day” without exception and we did. Blake was brilliant. He kept the machine working – I barely remember a moment waiting for actors to appear out of make-up and hair or any of the other million details of a set that can often feel like just waiting for people. The best example of this was the riot scene. We had a day and a half to shoot a riot that had to be impressive – it couldn’t look like something done too quickly or too cheap. We had less than 100 extras for a scene that had to be populated with 300 to 400. This required a massive amount of preparations in order to get it done properly. Take a look at this scene, if you can. You will be amazed that what we got was anywhere near possible given those restrictions. Without Blake, we would have failed. He kept us on the clock and shooting and no overtime either those days. I believe that what we captured is one the best riot scenes ever filmed. I would proudly compare it any other and they all had days and days to shoot.
I cannot say enough good things about Blake. Besides his dedication, he is a very easy, calm and pleasant person to work with. When I do another film, he will be at my side.
I am a big fan of Blake. We hired him literally days out from filming when a previous A.D. didn't work out and he jumped right in and didn't miss a beat. As a producer, I found he did a great job of staying on top of schedule and time extremely well. As the director, I appreciated the fact that he didn't try and bluster his way on set and badger the crew, but was always authoritative without being an asshole and was respected by cast and crew. The actors were also big fans which as you know is not always the case.
I've worked with good, bad and mediocre A.D's and I have to say Blake was at the top of my list and I wouldn't hesitate to work with him again. I think if you do hire him, you'll be very pleased with his work, competence and demeanor.
Blake Brewer is a fantastic first assistant director. Not only is his ability in his craft top notch, but he works well with others, takes criticism well and is determined to put in the effort required to make a film successful. I first worked with Mr. Brewer in 2020 on my film The Inheritance. This film was unusual in that it was one of the first movies made in Georgia during the Covid-19 pandemic. We operated in uncharted territory, each crew member and dept having to find their direction in unusual circumstances. Not only did we complete the film, but we did so without a single case of Covid-19 infection. Mr. Brewer followed our producing team’s lead and became a leader to the crew, determined to keep the disease off of our set. That is a responsibility that did not exist a year before and Mr. Brewer took that yoke without any complaint or hesitation. It is not common to find a person who can carry extra weight without complaint.
Although that was my first experience working with Blake Brewer it was not the first time, we tried to hire him. Two previous projects I could not hire Mr. Brewer because he had too many jobs lined up. He came strongly recommended from producer friends of mine and I now understand why that is. I look forward to hiring Blake Brewer again, provided he is available to work on my film!
Preliminary Breakdowns & Schedules
Not ready to take your project into full prep? Not quite ready to hire a full time 1st AD, but still need a preliminary script breakdown and schedule to formulate a budget or have an overview of your project?
Contact me by phone 901.258.9088 or email me@blakebrewer1ad.com.
I'm proficient in Movie Magic Scheduling & Final Draft and I can provide you with breakdowns, schedules, one-liners, day out of days and many other reports in PDF format.
Blake Brewer me@blakebrewer1ad.com 901-258-9088 Directors Guild of America 1st AD Based in Atlanta & Los Angeles
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