Child of tip – Production
There are three words that should drive everything in Production: “Get the shot.” The only two types of activities on set are activities that help get the shot and activities that are preventing the shot. Keep the former going, and minimize the latter. Food belongs to the former category, by the way.
(more…)If you can’t cut around bad acting, the best you can hope for is to be saved by your cutaways, and by the reaction shots of other actors. Another alternative is to rewrite the scene on-the-fly to be one of those moody contemplative scenes with billowing cloth and slow-motion cigarette smoke. I suggest you grab lots of cutaways, though.
(more…)In a pinch, shop light’s do just fine. The color balance is great and they’re cheap as hell. Every home improvement place has ’em. You have to take off those little grills, but you probably would figure that out on your own.
(more…)Bagels and doughnuts are not the same thing. Not even close. No amount of goo spread on a bagel makes it a doughnut. It’s still a bagel, only now it’s a bagel covered in schmeer. If your crew asks for doughnuts, give them doughnuts.
(more…)Have prize drawings for extras, if you have more than half a dozen. Everybody puts their name in a hat, and at the end of the shoot, draw for prizes. Movies are good prizes. Must be present to win. Helps ’em stick around longer, too.
(more…)Don’t be afraid to get close with the camera. A movie made all out of long shots (because the Director was afraid to get close) is a movie without any emotional context whatsoever. Get in there and get some of that!
(more…)To simulate a full moon, try strapping a 1K Lowell DP, at the end of your longest tripod or C-stand to the top of a fully extended extension ladder. It worked surprisingly well for us. We were able to cut the light through apple trees, which made for even niftier shadows. Gel it if you want. Spooooooky!
(more…)If you’re going to trigger a cue with a countdown and decide to trigger it early to get a better reaction of surprise, you should be confident your actor(s) can handle the unexpected so you don’t have to reshoot the scene should they break character.
(more…)If your actors absolutely cannot act whatsoever, or freak out once the camera’s on, make a big noise about your DP turning the camera off while you run through some off-camera rehearsals. Have the DP filming this secretly (“Just pulling focus, guys — don’t mind me!”). No matter how crappy an actor might be, they can usually be themselves with some reasonably convincing skill.
(more…)If you’re stealing a shot (and we all do it), be quick, quiet, fuss-free, and the bare absolute minimum of crew. Get in, get the shot, and get out.
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