Getting ready to film my first short, a couple questions....

S

Steve33825

Member
I have a 25 min short film, it's a paranoia horror/thriller, with a cast of 4 women and 1 male. Mind you this is my first time shooting, I've done my own research, and I'm by myself. I have the shots planned out and everything. The setting is going to be mostly inside of a one bedroom apartment (which I have already secured. There's a lot of dark scenes in the middle portion of the film that take place in the apartment. I have some questions regarding this...

1) Where can I audition actors for this? I live in NY. I don't think my apartment would be a good idea for myself and my family, I would be inviting 'strangers' into my home, for all they know, i could be a serial killer. Is there a place I could audition ppl for free?

2) What kind of lights should I get for this? And any advice on shooting/lighting the dark scenes?

Also, I should mention that I'm using a Canon HV-20, its supposedly the best cam to work in low lighting. I got a good shotgun mic that could be mounted to the top of the cam, propher headphones to hear what it's recording, i could also just take the mic and tie it around a broomstick to make it a boom mic.

So... I'm not sure what/if I should change any light settings on the cam or leave it alone and fix lighting post? If you can explain what to do from a first grade level, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks :)
 
Steve-

What part of NY? That's my home State.

I would look for a local community theater. They work under not-for-profit guidelines and they are generally run by a medium sized "clique" filled with a bunch of part-time actors. Shoot, its a great place to draw your talent from and once you rub elbows they might be inclined to let you use their space for an audition. It depends on how they are run. NY (if you are upstate) are filled with VFW's. That's an option. Or, check out the theater department of your local community college. Ask them if they have any actors in their classes that fit your criteria and ask if you could use an empty classroom or stage. There are many options. It just depends on where you live, whats available to you and how creative you get.

I will let someone else chime in on the lighting/audio front. Except I will say this...please do whatever you can to avoid the broomstick/boom option. Even WITH a proper boom mic its easy to get handling noise if you are not careful (this has happened to me). So, a broomstick is going to ruin your audio. You'd be better off planting your mics somewhere then using a broom stick. Having said that, I'll let a sound guru chime in. My insight on that front is very limited.
 
For lighting shoot a bit more light than you want and keep the camera setting flat. You can darken up the footage in post. It will be much easier to darken up the scene then to under expose it and try to pull it out later.

If the room is supposed to be dark, I like soft sources like flos. Something that will not cast any harsh shadows.

Just my opinion.
 
For lighting shoot a bit more light than you want and keep the camera setting flat. You can darken up the footage in post. It will be much easier to darken up the scene then to under expose it and try to pull it out later.

If the room is supposed to be dark, I like soft sources like flos. Something that will not cast any harsh shadows.

Just my opinion.
 
Black box theaters are a good place to hold auditions. Also hotel conference rooms can be rented out for a day for a very reasonable price. Community colleges or tech schools usually have space they will rent out for little to no money.

If you are unsure about your lighting and sound techniques then that should be your first step. Practice, practice, practice. There is not time to learn while actually shooting and if you get it wrong you have just wasted a lot of people's time and the good faith they put in you.

Nail down your technique before bringing actors in. There are books (and DVXUser's DVDs) on both lighting and sound that are the best place to start.

Definately don't tie your mic to a broomstick. At the very lowest end you can get a painter's pole with a proper shockmount for under $100. However, I do not endorse this road, just saying it is out there.

Cheers
 
If being by yourself means you have no crew at all, I would strongly dissuade you from that route, even if you have to postpone the shoot find a camera op and a sound guy. You cannot effectively direct actors while doing everything else.

Take your time and find a crew, even if they don't have much more experience than you do. Extra sets of eyes, ears and hands come in handy.
 
Jim Brennan said:
If being by yourself means you have no crew at all, I would strongly dissuade you from that route, even if you have to postpone the shoot find a camera op and a sound guy. You cannot effectively direct actors while doing everything else.

Take your time and find a crew, even if they don't have much more experience than you do. Extra sets of eyes, ears and hands come in handy.
Click to expand...

we found all of our actors by posting on craigslist and myspace. And don't even think about doing everything yourself as mentioned above. I shot a feature length film with a 3 man crew. And that was not nearly enough.

You can get a low end boompole for $100.00 on ebay like I did. And it works just fine. Do not mount that to the camera. you will thank me later.

You can also grab an elcheapo Britek 2 light kit for a couple hundred as well. if that is not in the budget grab some home depot work lights. Light it all well then darken in post as previously mentioned.

Hit barnes and noble and grab some books and read read read.

Good luck. it will not be easy.
 
filthrich said:
we found all of our actors by posting on craigslist and myspace. And don't even think about doing everything yourself as mentioned above. I shot a feature length film with a 3 man crew. And that was not nearly enough.

You can get a low end boompole for $100.00 on ebay like I did. And it works just fine. Do not mount that to the camera. you will thank me later.

You can also grab an elcheapo Britek 2 light kit for a couple hundred as well. if that is not in the budget grab some home depot work lights. Light it all well then darken in post as previously mentioned.

Hit barnes and noble and grab some books and read read read.

Good luck. it will not be easy.
Click to expand...

Ok. Well, since you said mounting it to the cam is a bad idea, I could still plug it into the cam right? If not, what am I supposed to plug it to?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top