Any filmmaking tip
Everybody working lights should get a pair of gloves. Even a cheap-o dollar-store pair of gloves is better than nothing. Lights can get very hot and you don’t want second-degree burns becoming a “badge of honor” on your sets. Spring for gloves.
(more…)Continuity’s even more important: Dinner scenes are really, really challenging because you have to make sure chicken legs don’t magically heal from one scene to the next. Pay close attention to who is eating what — or just plan to shoot around the plates.
(more…)Make a big noise when you finish something. Celebrate, dammit — finishing a movie is a Significant Event!
Continuity’s still important! If you’re using a revolver in your movie, make sure the bullet counts are accurate. Nothing makes you look more dorky than a character talking about how she only has one bullet left when the viewer can plainly see five.
(more…)Continuity’s important. For each “movie” day, make a quick sketch of what each character’s wearing and make sure you double-check that sketch against what you’re shooting. This is not something you can easily fix in post.
(more…)You may run across people who try to discourage you. They may not even mean to do it, but whenever you talk with them, you’re discouraged. Your best defense is the following mantra: “Just get the shot.” Most of the folks who are discouraging are really trying to discourage themselves. Don’t buy into their limitations.
(more…)Regarding cables, lights, power supplies and other things plugged into the wall: These things should not get hot. If they feel hot to you, tell someone immediately. You don’t want them getting any hotter, and you definitely don’t want them to start smoking or burst into flame.
(more…)A dog isn’t a werewolf, but careful application of camera angles, cuts, reaction shots, and good interesting sound can fool most anyone.
(more…)If you’re using a monitor (which you are, right?), then do your best to calibrate it. Calibration is simply setting the contrast, brightness, color levels, and other controls to be as accurate as possible.
(more…)Always use a monitor so that you can see what the camera sees without making your DoP move. On rare occasions, a monitor is contraindicated, but those are very rare occasions. You always want to know what the camera’s seeing.
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