Built Sets vs. Real Places (all of your shorts)

M

mrbrycel

Well-known member
I've been looking through all of the shorts in this section, and most of them look pretty damn good. In fact, I haven't seen very many that i wasn't extremely impressed with.

I'm currently a video production student, and I'm trying to plan ahead for my narrative short film that i'm going to shoot next quarter. I was wondering which most of you find better to shoot indoor scenes in? A built set? Or an actual place? Where have you shot most of your shorts?

The advantage I see to shooting in the real place is that it already looks natural. Even though art direction/production design is still a must, it's not as much work. But the advantage to shooting on a set in a sound stage are:

-More control over lighting
-More Camera Space
-Easier to shoot audio without background noise

And advantages in my school's studio's case:
-All lighting/sound/video equipment is stored next door to the studio
-The dolly must stay on campus

What advice can you give me from your knowledge and experience?
 
seunosewa said:
People on a low budget almost always go with locations, for three reasons: cost, cost, cost!
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Cost is definitely an imprtant factor. But in my case, I get to use the studio for free, which already has a bunch of flats that I can paint, and check out the lighting/grip equipment for free. So I'm thinking it may be easier and more cost efficient to carry the equipment next door than to load it in a truck and drive it to location. Although on the other hand, I'll have to design/build the set to look natural.

Which do you think would be more work? Building the set or transporting all the equipment?
 
Depends on how much money you have for the production. Flats help, but they don't look like real sets. They work on stage, but stage has that intrinsic quality of suspension of disbelief within the Proscenium. Which is why flats work there.

To build an interior set, you basically need to actually build it. Of course, no need for a full structure. But you need drywall, paint, everything to make it look like a real interior set. Factor in a set designer, then the entire carpentry team and the construction team on the stage. Which you might not have for an extended amount of time.

Your costs might be low or non-existent for the start. But you actually have to build that set, and factor in time.

Finding locations will be cheaper. Most times you can lock it down for free or very cheap. Especially if you are at a film school. Transporting all the gear is pretty easy. Lots of loading, but generally easy.
 
If you're not the DP, take the DP along for location scouting. He/she can tell you how just how bad 7ft ceilings look, or why a dining room with four mirrored walls might not be a great idea.
I find that building sets is expensive because materials are expensive, not just the space. The biggest advantage to built sets is for TV shows, where you will need to use and abuse the location. Just try to convince that bar owner to let you shoot for the 14th Sunday morning in a row!

If you have your heart set (forgive the pun), maybe you can team up with someone else's film project and build a dual-purpose set. Smart lighting can make them look like completely different places.
 
Furnishing a home or office costs a lot money. Furnishing a set to make it look like a home or office that people actually live in should be time consuming and even more expensive. With locations you can just move in, shoot for a few hours, and you're done.

I think a set is only cost-effective if it's going to be reused a lot: sitcoms, soaps, game shows.
 
Furnishing a home or office costs a lot money. Furnishing a set to make it look like a home or office that people actually live in should be time consuming and even more expensive. With locations you can just move in, shoot for a few hours, and you're done.
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This isn't giong to help for sets but seunosewa's post made me think about a feature being shot where I live (Lancaster, PA A.K.A. amishville.) They made an agreement with a local furniture company. The company's truck will drive by in a scene with their logo on it and in return they supply the feature with all the furniture. Check around for some local shops, you could be in for a surprise.

It might save you money if you chose to build a set vs. location.
 
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