What lessons did you learn from this film?

Imaginate

Imaginate

Well-known member
I'm interested in hearing some of the lessons that you learned while shooting and editing your films.

This project was a huge learning curve for me. There is such a big difference in your head knowledge, and actually going out their and doing it. Some of these things on my list are so basic, but in the rush, and in the moment, or lack of time, or surrounded by distractions they were missed.

1. Know your camera inside and out before starting on the shoot. Spending an extra 10 minutes trying to figure out the audio configuration means you losing valuable time that you should be spending getting the shot.

2. Make sure you have the ND filter OFF when shooting at night or in low light.

3. When shooting in 24p use the advanced pulldown if you know you're compositing stuff with it. Just no how to get progressive frames without interlacing to your effect guy.

4. When shooting material that you are doing motion tracking on, use a tripod and don't touch it during the take.

5. turn the auto iris off on the camera.

6. if you are using wireless audio, loud yelling and shouting can clip the transmitter unit. The levels on your recording device might look normal but infact the signal can be clipping. In situations with loud transients you are better off using a cable if that is an option.

7. Use a wide angle lense when shooting inside a car or at least have one available.

8. I had an option of shooting with an HV20 or XL2 inside the car and I chose the XL2 because of the superior motion stabilization but if I did it again I would have gone with the HV20 because the XL2 was just too big and clunky to operate in that cramped environment.

9. In the future I'll shoot more two camera setups... Its way better for continuity in editing. I think it would capture better and smoother performances.

10. Next time I will pay more attention to overlapping dialogue.

11. Always record ambient audio and wild lines for each scene.

12. Shooting outside night scenes really late at night when traffic is less is better than early evening when traffic is busier.

13. Try not to shoot or even park around banks or high secuity areas. People working in those places pick up on any people or activities that are unusual. One bank employee came close to calling the cops on us when they saw us put a prop taxi sign on the roof of our car. They thought it might be a disguised getaway car.

14. Make sure all props and wardrobe for the shoot are taken care of before the day.

15. Have a backup plan when actors can't make it to a scheduled shoot. In our case we had to write a character out of the story when he called and said he got called into another job at the last minute. It sucks but you gotta roll with it.

16. Let the camera roll before and after actors are getting ready to do their lines.. This provides some great and very natural cutaways.

17. Better communication needed with visual FX artist to make sure the shot suits needs of the effect.

18. On our shoot day I was operating the camera and directing, there was so much running around I needed my shot list all the time. For my next shoot I think I'll create my shot list on a small pad that I can clip on my belt so that I can grab it at a seconds notice.

19. Schedule actors better, for one days shoot its not bad to be waiting but for longer shoots it would be a real issue if actors show up in the morning and are kept waiting all day for a shot needed at the end of the day.

20. Record wildlines audio in a quiet place with no ambient sounds separately.. Maybe at rehearsal b4 shoot.

21. Format a shot list maybe with a check box area for fx attention or something.

22. Sort out locations before the day of the shoot. Don't try to shoot in front of a Bar with angry drunk people around.
 
Being this (Seattle Green) is the first video project I've ever worked on, I:
1. Now know that the on-board mic is terrible for picking up speech, but awesome for ambient noises like a refrigerator hum.
2. Shouldn't write my own script (in retrospect)
3. Know that even though our 'film' had to be completely dubbed over with music (at the last second, literally) in effort to salvage something, it was a valuable (and fun) learning experience.
 
Try to make sure the actors don't have anything the next morning when doing night shoots. Especially when it gets dark at 9pm and they want to be home by 1am. I think I stressed out the crew trying to get everything in in that little amount of time.
 
I learned:

1. We organized a lot before shooting, but it is never enough.

2. Sleep more than one hour in the night between two shooting days.

3. Don't show the footage of each take to the actors while you are shooting. Afterwards the actor will see from every take the footage and don't ask you any more what he has to do. Probably he didn't understand somthing what you wanted from him or missed something, but it is important that he ask you and you learn to describe to him what you want. To work with actors was really not so easy and they are all different. One needs more encouragement and an other needs always a feetback. It is really difficult to learn to give your actors enough space and freedom and in the same time set barriers for them.

4. Don't let your actors work in other roles behind the scenes. One of our actress helped for both days on the set. At the end of both days, one of the last shoots that we did, was her part. She saw the whole time the quality of the others and was more and more afraid to do her part, because she thought that she is not good enough. At the end she was completely inhibited. Perhaps in this case at could be helpful to have a bottle of prosecco or somthing like this, but we didn't had this bottle of prosecco and it needed a lot of patience to relax her while we were running out of time and we missed more and more the daylight.

5. Don't shoot where are a lot of turists, because there are to much curious, disturb your work and cost you time.

6. Don't use four different shooting locations in two days, because it cost you to much time to move from one to the other.

7. If you are the director, learn as much as possible about all parts of filmmaking. I have to learn above all more technical things, in particular: all about the camera and light.

8. It is easier to work with dogs than I thougt before and we had two lovely big Great Danes as extras.

9. At the end I learned that filmmaking is a great fun and like a drug, because it has so many sites to it, so you can learn a lot and you never get bored. It takes you completely. This was my first film and also my first script. I have fall in love with filmmaking and I am looking forward to make other films.

Susanne
 
I wish more people would learn number 6. When I DP for people and see they are trying to go 3 different places in the city in one day I cringe and nicely say maybe you should plan an extra day. Most times than not, we wind up having to shoot that extra day but they take my advice and reschedule around what I have said and give a big thanks when we just make it time wise with the extra day.




Susanne G. said:
I learned:

1. We organized a lot before shooting, but it is never enough.

2. Sleep more than one hour in the night between two shooting days.

3. Don't show the footage of each take to the actors while you are shooting. Afterwards the actor will see from every take the footage and don't ask you any more what he has to do. Probably he didn't understand somthing what you wanted from him or missed something, but it is important that he ask you and you learn to describe to him what you want. To work with actors was really not so easy and they are all different. One needs more encouragement and an other needs always a feetback. It is really difficult to learn to give your actors enough space and freedom and in the same time set barriers for them.

4. Don't let your actors work in other roles behind the scenes. One of our actress helped for both days on the set. At the end of both days, one of the last shoots that we did, was her part. She saw the whole time the quality of the others and was more and more afraid to do her part, because she thought that she is not good enough. At the end she was completely inhibited. Perhaps in this case at could be helpful to have a bottle of prosecco or somthing like this, but we didn't had this bottle of prosecco and it needed a lot of patience to relax her while we were running out of time and we missed more and more the daylight.

5. Don't shoot where are a lot of turists, because there are to much curious, disturb your work and cost you time.

6. Don't use four different shooting locations in two days, because it cost you to much time to move from one to the other.

7. If you are the director, learn as much as possible about all parts of filmmaking. I have to learn above all more technical things, in particular: all about the camera and light.

8. It is easier to work with dogs than I thougt before and we had two lovely big Great Danes as extras.

9. At the end I learned that filmmaking is a great fun and like a drug, because it has so many sites to it, so you can learn a lot and you never get bored. It takes you completely. This was my first film and also my first script. I have fall in love with filmmaking and I am looking forward to make other films.

Susanne
Click to expand...
 
1. Don't use a steadicam that is too small for your camera.

2. Mark is an asshat.

3. It's sad when the director knows more about cameras than the DP.

4. Mark is an asshat.

5. Working with different directors is a very different (and positive!) experience.

6. Get a good gaffer, it makes all the difference in the world.

7. Mark is an asshat.

8. Don't be too much of a geek about the picture that you stop listening to reason (see #1)

9. Crist Ballas is a rockstar, so is Sev Pearman.

10. Mark is an incredibly talented director and is a master of making talent and crew feel comfortable. He's also an asshat.

-Joe
 
I learned to never say "Don't worry, we have two months!" because then you get up to a week or two left and a rainstrom comes out of the blue and a bunch of roadblocks just fall out of the sky.
 
1. Don't shoot most of your movie outside. The weather is unpredictable.
2. Find a crew!!
3. Use an editing system that doesn't crash every 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Find a crew!!!
 
I learned...

- Wind is the devil, use proper equipment to filter it out.
- Don't put up revealing banner for the end of ones movie until...well just don't put it up!
- Ninjas are cool, but Fat Ninjas are AWESOME!
- Humility...Takes balls to get up infront of a camera...>NAKED!!
- Help is just a PM away!
- Do more than a few takes.
- Stop talking about your movie before its opened up...
- Fat Ninjas love Donuts and Pringles
- Mark Johnson and Jack Daniel Stanley are my heroes!!!

Rogan
 
1. Don´t shoot a big greenscreen at wind speed 8
2. Don´t shoot with Onlocation and a HVX
3. Don´t have 3 locations 50 miles appart on the same day
4. Things take always longer than you expect
5. It´s not in focus just because it looks in focus on the camera display.
6. Computers chrash way more often the closer the deadline is
7. Things that never been a problem before (like render out to mpg4) don´t work anymore if your close to deadline
8. Have a mix of coffee, cigarettes, Aspirin and Valium ready in huge doses during production
9. Prosecco makes actors act better
10. Making a 6 minute film can age a person 6 years

And most of all (I hear you Michael) FIND A CREW!

Frank
 
This project I learned a lot, mostly about shooting with a DOF adapter. (My first Time)

1. Don't scratch your ground-glass, and instead of paying for overnight shipping, grind one yourself and turn your adapter into the SUPER-LIGHT-SUCKING-MACHINE.

2. Either, rehearse with your actors, so they know what they are doing and have a chance to explore the character, or, instruct your noob crew how to work the gear before the shoot. Ideally- BOTH.

3. I have now learned the value of a proper over-scan production monitor. I had to reframe several shots in post because I wasn't seeing everthing on my lcd screen. Many focus issues too.


I can't wait to learn more lessons on the next fest, and I will start more than 1 week in advance next time.
 
I learned,
1) I need to buy a microphone even if it requires me loosing every penny I own I must buy one.

2) If lots of planning is good- lots more is better.

3) Don't work with actors who can only film for like an hour a week.
 
1. Have a good lighting person! Makes all the difference in the world.

2. Also, a focus puller if using an adaptor.
 
Everyone talks about it but there is absolutely no substitute for professional sound, both ON SET (thanks, Matt Gettemeier, you're a wizard and genius) and IN POST PRODUCTION (Brad Semenoff, sound maven...)
 
Listen to your actors say their lines. Make sure they practice their lines. Don't take their word on it.
 
1. the answer to ANY question is only 2 phone calls away.
2. get talented people in each position, and let them do their job.
3. crashing my car, a hospital visit, and complete lack of funding can't stop us from making a movie.
 
Traviscool, I too learned that a microphone is absolutly necessary even if you can't afford it. We were so busy looking for cameras and at one point I actually cancelled, then Rick came to me with a camera and said "let's do this" and I totally neglected everything else (audio, lighting, etc...)
 
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