Post by nigel on Apr 26, 2005 8:12:49 GMT -5
FILMING TOP TIPS
What I learnt from shooting a short film
Annoying filming problems
Continuity – runs into house covered in blood on a sunny day, and then in a flash of an eye clean as a babies bum and in the dark, usually continuity is messed up because you shoot on different days and you just don’t have the time or money to keep track of what someone looked like last scene.
Solution
Take a picture at the end of the scene, or rewind camcorder, have a quick look of the previous footage.
Flashing (actors looking at camcorder) – looking through a small black and white viewfinder you can’t tell until in editing.
Solution
Ask them to tell you so you if they think they flashed the camcorder so you can re-shoot there and then.
Mobile phones – you have a great day of filming come home and look at your footage, in the middle of a great line you hear TV interference because someone was making a call or playing with there mobile ten feet from the camcorder.
Solution
Tell everyone to switch off mobile phones, instead use walky-talkies.
Timing – “sound, camera, action!” View your footage end of day, realising by the time you said action or clapped the clapper’s board the actor has finished his actions before you got the board out of frame.
Solution
Ask the actor when they hear action count down from 5 seconds.
Filming Tips
Write a script. You need a basis to build on or you will end up with a load of footage that doesn't hold together.
Keep your first project small (<15 minutes) to test your film making techniques. Rising Evil originally was going to shoot 26 pages (from a 80 page script) as 1 page is meant to be 1 minute, but ended up only shooting 5 pages, which was 30mins long and took lots of time to complete mainly in the editing room.
Write down what footage is on each tape as you go along. This is extremely useful later on and is time well spent.
Avoid fancy effects available on your camcorder. It is easy to over-use them and they look tacky once the novelty has worn off. Concentrate on well-filmed footage and dialogue.
Zoom - Can be useful but only in a small number of cases. Think carefully before using it.
Things that look great through the viewfinder often look rubbish when viewed later on a TV. Be careful and check your footage regularly just in case you need to re-film something.
Stick to filming in good natural light. A poorly lit scene will result in a grainy image.
Take about the film with your 'crew'. If every understands what the aim is and how you are going to do it then your actual filming will go much smoother ... and be a higher quality, draw a picture.
Have fun. If you can't look back 10 years later with your mates, say "do you remember when..." and all burst out laughing then you might as well not bother. Let Hollywood make the global blockbusters. Home filmmaking is about something far more personal.
What I learnt from shooting a short film
Annoying filming problems
Continuity – runs into house covered in blood on a sunny day, and then in a flash of an eye clean as a babies bum and in the dark, usually continuity is messed up because you shoot on different days and you just don’t have the time or money to keep track of what someone looked like last scene.
Solution
Take a picture at the end of the scene, or rewind camcorder, have a quick look of the previous footage.
Flashing (actors looking at camcorder) – looking through a small black and white viewfinder you can’t tell until in editing.
Solution
Ask them to tell you so you if they think they flashed the camcorder so you can re-shoot there and then.
Mobile phones – you have a great day of filming come home and look at your footage, in the middle of a great line you hear TV interference because someone was making a call or playing with there mobile ten feet from the camcorder.
Solution
Tell everyone to switch off mobile phones, instead use walky-talkies.
Timing – “sound, camera, action!” View your footage end of day, realising by the time you said action or clapped the clapper’s board the actor has finished his actions before you got the board out of frame.
Solution
Ask the actor when they hear action count down from 5 seconds.
Filming Tips
Write a script. You need a basis to build on or you will end up with a load of footage that doesn't hold together.
Keep your first project small (<15 minutes) to test your film making techniques. Rising Evil originally was going to shoot 26 pages (from a 80 page script) as 1 page is meant to be 1 minute, but ended up only shooting 5 pages, which was 30mins long and took lots of time to complete mainly in the editing room.
Write down what footage is on each tape as you go along. This is extremely useful later on and is time well spent.
Avoid fancy effects available on your camcorder. It is easy to over-use them and they look tacky once the novelty has worn off. Concentrate on well-filmed footage and dialogue.
Zoom - Can be useful but only in a small number of cases. Think carefully before using it.
Things that look great through the viewfinder often look rubbish when viewed later on a TV. Be careful and check your footage regularly just in case you need to re-film something.
Stick to filming in good natural light. A poorly lit scene will result in a grainy image.
Take about the film with your 'crew'. If every understands what the aim is and how you are going to do it then your actual filming will go much smoother ... and be a higher quality, draw a picture.
Have fun. If you can't look back 10 years later with your mates, say "do you remember when..." and all burst out laughing then you might as well not bother. Let Hollywood make the global blockbusters. Home filmmaking is about something far more personal.