FILM STAFF WORKS FOR BIG BREAK; CAST AND CREW PIN THEIR CAREER HOPES ON FILM'S NOVICE DIRECTOR.

Byline: Steve Carney Staff Writer

The name on the movie is hers, but the debut project for aspiring director Joanne Small is also her cast and crew's big break.

``These people know how much it means to me, and how much work I've done,'' Small said Saturday on location in Santa Clarita. ``Everybody was just waiting for me to take this step.

``If I do a good job, it filters down. Then everybody looks good.''

The Studio City resident has worked for years in various movie and television jobs in New York and Hollywood, most recently as a script supervisor on ``The X-Files.'' But a program at the American Film Institute is giving her her first chance to direct.

Most of the volunteer crew for her project, a Twilight Zone-esque short film called ``Joey Was Here,'' are friends and acquaintances from the industry doing her a favor and doing everything from securing floodlights to doling out water for parched co-workers. But they're also hoping to advance their careers.

``It's about helping a fellow filmmaker trying to make the jump to the next level. That's so hard,'' said Dan Romero, a 24-year industry veteran from Calabasas, who took time from working on ``The Flintstones'' sequel to secure catering and other set necessities for Small. ``We're supporting her effort, and maybe down the road we'll all get that same opportunity.''

She's gathered an ensemble from the tribes of technicians and craftsmen who wander through the film industry, relying on relationships and previous experience to secure jobs. Now they've all hitched their respective wagons to someone they believe is a future directing star.

Small is one of eight participants chosen from 150 applicants for AFI's Directing Workshop for Women. As part of the 25-year-old program, AFI gives winners a $5,000 grant and access to equipment. The women can raise up to an additional $15,000, with which they produce a 20-minute short film in five days, somewhere in the Los Angeles area.

Heather Page's regular job is as a first assistant camera operator, and she has worked on projects from the Austin Powers sequel to a biography of Clarence Darrow starring Kevin Spacey, where she met Small. But she's moved up to director of photography for ``Joey Was Here.''

``I like doing this type of work, and I'd like to do more of it. But the main reason I'm doing this particular AFI project is to help my friend,'' Page said.

``There are quite a few of us (working) above our normal position to get the experience, and also to help people, which is far more noble,'' she said.

Small said her friend of 10 years has worked as a director of photography on other projects, but limitations on the sets have kept Page's work from shining through.

``I brought her onto this project with the idea, it's not just my directing debut. She'll get a reel she can take around'' to show producers her abilities and possibly get feature film work, Small said.

Matthew Van Gelder's ambitions are more modest right now. The 20-year-old film student at California State University, Northridge, volunteered to work on Small's project because ``this is the only way I can get on a set.''

He's been unable to get paying jobs because he lacks experience, and working for Small gives him a chance to try out several assignments - ``I'm looking for my career: What I like, what I'm good at.''

As a production assistant, he moves cars on the set, fetches anything anyone needs, and even picks up windblown trash before it intrudes on a scene.

``I'm learning a lot what people do on the set,'' the North Hollywood resident said. ``No one cares if you ask a million questions. They like teaching.''

That's because they've been in the same position themselves, gaining experience and advancing in the business, said Mollie Helfand. One of the movie's producers, she's responsible for cajoling permits from civil servants, tracking down equipment and operators who will work for free, and basically handling all the logistics that make the production possible.

``Certainly there are a lot of people here to learn in all the disciplines,'' she said. ``I've welcomed people to ask questions. It's the only way to learn.''

Though Helfand has produced other projects, Small's movie is educational for her, too.

``It takes a long time in what you're doing to become competent. Every project is different, and creates a new set of challenges and opportunities to learn,'' she said. ``I've learned more from this than from anything else I've produced.''

One of Small's greatest challenges was replacing her lead actor when the man she wanted had to bow out a week before shooting after he got a paying job.

So she tapped a budding actor she'd recently met - George Stults, 23, a tanned, muscled blond who moved from Colorado Springs a year ago seeking an acting career. So far he's done only music videos and commercials.

``Joanne decided to take a chance,'' Stults said. ``I think this will be a good learning experience. I feel very lucky that I fell into this.''

But Small said she's the lucky one, who now has the chance and challenge to work with such a raw talent. Like those who hope to fall in behind Small during her rise, she said she hopes to forge a relationship with Stults that will arc through long careers for both of them.