The stress of filming..does it wear you down?

Richard J. Johnson

Richard J. Johnson

Joystick Member
I'm about 3/4 through filming my 1st feature length film and it is my first attempt at a movie. My crew only consists of 2, myself and the AD. No budget for anyone else and I could'nt find ANYONE to work every weekend for 3 months. Am I trying to do the impossible here? What can you do if you only can get 1 or 2 people to help and you really want to shoot a film. Hell, I even have local distribution already (my friend owns a marketing/distribution company). It does look and sound better than say a "Charm City" which was sitting on blockbuster shelves, but It sucks compared to some of the films I see here.
It is just starting to wear me down and it still has to be scored, color corrected, audio leveling, etc. Man I love making movies but it is so stressful. How in the hell do you keep the same creative energy when on set for 12 hours 3 days straight? I'm still learning and it is my first one, I know it will have a ton of mistakes but I will keep pressing on, so I know what not to do on the next.:furious3:
 
you forgot about editing ;)

i think 2 things are important,

1) i think when shooting a feature its important to shoot it straight through, not just on weekend. I did the weekend thing and it not only leads to way more inconsistencies in the production, but it also exponentially increases the schedule. Shooting 16 days over 3 months will wear you down MUCH more than just shooting straight through.

2) PREPARATION. the more you prepare before the rest you have to do later. you might have a brilliant idea in the moment to make something better, but you always know at least it will work will even if you dont. when things really start to wear and you're exhausted and not creative, that preparation means the movies practically directing itself
 
Cheesesailor77 said:
you forgot about editing ;)

i think 2 things are important,

1) i think when shooting a feature its important to shoot it straight through, not just on weekend. I did the weekend thing and it not only leads to way more inconsistencies in the production, but it also exponentially increases the schedule. Shooting 16 days over 3 months will wear you down MUCH more than just shooting straight through.

2) PREPARATION. the more you prepare before the rest you have to do later. you might have a brilliant idea in the moment to make something better, but you always know at least it will work will even if you dont. when things really start to wear and you're exhausted and not creative, that preparation means the movies practically directing itself
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I totally agree. The incosistencies are definately there especially with hair growth, something I did'nt even think about. Shooting like that is like an all white 10,000 piece puzzle that you have to put together blindfoled. but we just coud not shoot straight Through. We all have regular jobs and work different schedules. I have 2 kids that I take care of as well and I am sure that is part of it. It is even hard for me to get into Frameforge3D and storyboard the scenes because both of my children are in diapers. as soon as sit down and start, one is crying or the other has pooped themselves and it never ends. (I love it though) And when I don't PREPARE properly, it turns into a disaster. Maybe my time management skills need improving. But all in all it's the Prepartaion that is killing me. Thanks for the Reply you really helped me out.
 
I learned to shoot in Vietnam.

It sort of went down hill from there - that is to say, not to much to stress about after that.
 
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i think i lost 15 pounds on the last short we made. making a movie for me is an even 50/50 split between way too much stress and way too much fun.
 
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I think shooting shorts first is probably the best method. It doesn't commit to much time and who can fine tune your craft. Plus you get to know alot more people that way. That way when you are ready to jump into a feature who have already worked out the basics and have developed a decent amount of contacts.
 
I agree that shorts are the best way to hone your craft, and give you an idea of the logistics of putting a film together.

I'd also agree that the weekend thing is less than ideal.

BUT Anything is possible. I was the DP on a feature a few years ago that shot weekends for a few months. It turned out much better than I expected. Granted, the writer/director/actor was experienced in all three of those disciplines, (actually, pretty much all of the actors were experienced), and he had me to rely on. So he never once had to worry about anything technical. He just focused on the actors and the scene. If he didn't have an experienced crew, it wouldn't have been nearly as good.

It's more about your expectations. If you go into it expecting to learn a lot, you won't be disappointed. If you expect to make something commercially/critically viable, you probably will be.

But hey, you are out there doing it and you are almost done. Keep at it. It is stressful to the point of depression at times. But it is also incredibly rewarding. You won't regret pressing on.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
filthrich said:
How in the hell do you keep the same creative energy when on set for 12 hours 3 days straight?
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Not to be a downer, but . . . you buck up and do it. That doesn't sound all that onerous. Not just for making films, but for many jobs in many industries.
 
Also, there's always some down time on set for you to recharge a little, grab some food and get back to it. 12-hour days aren't really that bad.
 
It really is a love hate relationship. Just make sure to have fun because you don't want to end up like James O'Russell going crazy on Lily Tomlin.
 
First and foremost, having a crew is what will sustain you (even though it is a little bit of a mixed blessing... if you've got the budget to pay them, it can make life soooooo much easier. But, you've added a new level of expense and management so... weigh that as it may be.) But understand that the overwhelming majority of films made have crews because that's just the best way to do it.

Second, regarding this:
It does look and sound better than say a "Charm City" which was sitting on blockbuster shelves
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Just because it's on Blockbuster's shelves, that doesn't mean that the film is a) any good, or b) that it was sold, or c) that the filmmaker made a penny. Many of those films up there are actually PAYING blockbuster to carry them. It's called a "service deal", LionsGate is well known for service deals. Instead of the distributory buying the film off you and keeping all the profits, you instead HIRE the distributor to distribute the film, and you keep a bigger share of any potential profits. But it's money out of your pocket to do it that way.

And for a first, no-budget, no-crew pic, 12-hour days are nothing; on my first feature-length dreckfest we shot for five 20-22 hour days. Four hours of sleep, then get up and do it all over again... but as soon as you get the tiniest bit of experience, you have to stop doing that. It just isn't fair/rational/reasonable to ask people to work that hard.
 
If I don't feel like I got hit by a ton of bricks after a long shooting day (and for that matter the 1-2 days afterwards), it doesn't quite feel like i put everything into it.
 
A 12 hour day is standard. Everyone schedules a 12 hour day when shooting almost anything.

That said, Next time try and do it in a week. The weekend thing only works here and there. Especially when you get A or B list talent involved and a crew to pay. Its easier to schedule for a 6 day work week than three weekends.
 
During production I'm always thinking about the end about mid-way through, but as soon as the end comes, I'm thinking about when it's going to start again, lol.
 
Jim Brennan said:
It's more about your expectations. If you go into it expecting to learn a lot, you won't be disappointed. If you expect to make something commercially/critically viable, you probably will be.

This is my learning experience and I happy with my rookie mistakes. but commercially and critically viable...Not even close..LOL.

It is a lot of fun, And I don't mind working hard on things I like to do. If Only I was independently wealthy, it would be easier then.
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