how many pages to schedule for a day?
- Thread starter jbrie645
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WhiteMonkey
Well-known member
I can get through 50 shots with 2-3 takes of each with a small crew in around 8 hours comfortably. I also storyboard in advance and create a shot list from the boards.
Chris Adler
Veteran
Lots of missing variables from the equation. How "difficult" are the scenes? Are they professional actors? Do you have an experienced crew shooting? First AD?
Shooting speed should never be the goal.
Shooting speed should never be the goal.
the scenes are as simple as can be: either walking and talking or sitting and talking. the actors are young professionals. they have a bunch of screen credits but are not in the unions. the crew is a group of young professionals, also not in the unions. there is no first AD.
thanks again.
thanks again.
Chris Adler
Veteran
Well all of those factors certainly make it seem like an easy shoot. Next questions are how many camera setups do you need? Any camera motion like Dolly shots? Configuration changes? How many lighting setups? Interior or exterior?
Of course I can't give out a number, but these are all factors that go into scheduling. If you are shooting handheld with natural lighting then your schedule will be massively different than if you're shooting on a dolly indoors with lighting. I'd start out by going through the shot list, factor in setup/reconfigure times for each different setup, etc.
Hope that helps.
Of course I can't give out a number, but these are all factors that go into scheduling. If you are shooting handheld with natural lighting then your schedule will be massively different than if you're shooting on a dolly indoors with lighting. I'd start out by going through the shot list, factor in setup/reconfigure times for each different setup, etc.
Hope that helps.
RyanT
Veteran
Just go through the setups with your DP and estimate each setup. That includes setting up, blocking, shooting it, breaking down, moving from spot to spot. Just break it down into the smallest possible things and make estimates for how long that will take. Leave yourself a lot of wiggle room too for everything to go wrong.
Patryk_Rebisz
Veteran
HAHAHAHA!
Bro i'm not even gonna start to point out the fallacy of your math...
To OP, if there is a need for location move -meaning you have to drive - even if only for 5 min. Then try to schedule only 2 locations per day max. If withing the same space - you can get away with 3-4 "locations" per day.
WhiteMonkey
Well-known member
Last edited:
Patryk_Rebisz
Veteran
"50 shots with 2-3 takes of each with a small crew in around 8 hours comfortably"
8 hour = 480 min. 480min / 50 shots = 9.6min/shot. Typical convo is about 3-4 min so at that timing (3 min) and 3 takes per shot you give yourself remaining time (all 30 seconds of it!) to move camera, give notes and change lighting from one shot to another.....
8 hour = 480 min. 480min / 50 shots = 9.6min/shot. Typical convo is about 3-4 min so at that timing (3 min) and 3 takes per shot you give yourself remaining time (all 30 seconds of it!) to move camera, give notes and change lighting from one shot to another.....
WhiteMonkey
Well-known member
That's the difference. We're not running through the "master shot' and trying to get coverage. We're working in a different environments you and I.
Last year we started a film group with people of varying backgrounds and experience could get experience by working on a set. Our goal was to shoot 1 short film a month. The shoot was limited to be one day of shooting. Those were the rules and we took to it like fish out of water. We got 14 films in the can all year. You can check some of them out at www.vimeo.com/reallybadbrad.
Compromises had to be made. Time spent lighting each shot was limited. We shot what we boarded too. That's what enabled us to average about 5 mins a shot.
One month we were presented with a 13 page script to shoot in one day. I crapped my pants but with 1-2 minutes a shot we got it done.
Last year we started a film group with people of varying backgrounds and experience could get experience by working on a set. Our goal was to shoot 1 short film a month. The shoot was limited to be one day of shooting. Those were the rules and we took to it like fish out of water. We got 14 films in the can all year. You can check some of them out at www.vimeo.com/reallybadbrad.
Compromises had to be made. Time spent lighting each shot was limited. We shot what we boarded too. That's what enabled us to average about 5 mins a shot.
One month we were presented with a 13 page script to shoot in one day. I crapped my pants but with 1-2 minutes a shot we got it done.
Patryk_Rebisz
Veteran
yeah but then you start running a sweat shop in China and not a real film production where care is given to lighting, acting, composition, sound, drama, story and proper pre-pro...
i'll admit it, i too tried to shoot 50+ camera set-ups in one day, until i realized that this is not the point, because ultimately you can't polish the turd and when you try to bang out 50+ shots in one day you are making such HUGE compromises that a chance of your project not being that is very slim (for the record my 50+ production was crap).
i'll admit it, i too tried to shoot 50+ camera set-ups in one day, until i realized that this is not the point, because ultimately you can't polish the turd and when you try to bang out 50+ shots in one day you are making such HUGE compromises that a chance of your project not being that is very slim (for the record my 50+ production was crap).
Mattykins
Cute Member
As someone who AD'd a few shows.
There is no "math". I don't care what anyone says. I've pushed through 12 pages in a day before, 4 location moves, and we made a ton of sacrifices. Hollywood can move a page to four a day. It depends on what you are shooting.
If you can swing a lighting setup in 5minutes, more power to you. The last show I worked on we shot through 12 pages in one main location because we did 5 hours of pre-lighting the day prior.
I've also seen a dolly setup take an hour. That's for one shot. If you are dialogue heavy you need to factor in additional takes. If you are action heavy, you need to factor in setup. And you need to factor in load-in time as well as setups.
There is no magic answer. You need someone to look at your script, break it down, and tell you (generally) how long things should take. But I'd assume you can safely get away with 3-4 pages pending your script isn't crazy and you don't have a company move.
There is no "math". I don't care what anyone says. I've pushed through 12 pages in a day before, 4 location moves, and we made a ton of sacrifices. Hollywood can move a page to four a day. It depends on what you are shooting.
If you can swing a lighting setup in 5minutes, more power to you. The last show I worked on we shot through 12 pages in one main location because we did 5 hours of pre-lighting the day prior.
I've also seen a dolly setup take an hour. That's for one shot. If you are dialogue heavy you need to factor in additional takes. If you are action heavy, you need to factor in setup. And you need to factor in load-in time as well as setups.
There is no magic answer. You need someone to look at your script, break it down, and tell you (generally) how long things should take. But I'd assume you can safely get away with 3-4 pages pending your script isn't crazy and you don't have a company move.
Rolf Silber
Veteran
Apart from what has been said up till now:
How capable are your actors to work under a - presumably - tight schedule with long dialogue scenes?
In my country I would definitely look for people with a lot of stage experience.
Chris Adler
Veteran
Actually you proved that there is math involved and its pretty simple to figure out when you know all the factors. There is always initial setup time, there's tear down time, and time to reconfigure lighting/camera for each setup. In addition to that there is a minimal amount of time (on average) that each take requires, regardless of how far you go into the scene. Then there is the unplanned time for repairs, accidents, changes of mind, etc.
It's obviously all math, though many of the variables in the equation can be very "fuzzy". I'm sure that's what you were getting at.
"The army came over the hill" is an 1/8th, that scene may take weeks. How many setups can I get on the day coupled with my shot list, this would determine how many pages I could get that day, and whether I could get all the required shots in the budgeted time. On a union set here 30 days for a M.O.W 90 pages 2-3 pages a day. The less pages you have to do a day the better.
There are two things that fat man said that stuck in my head, "the best movies are made on a desk, and "the film is done! Now we just have to shoot it". So I think there is "math involved" logistics ,planning, and calculating, it is a militaristic assault on the universe to extract that story and present it with all the flourish it deserves. I believe if the director is a director, he will take that story like Omaha Beach, and his crew will follow him like Napoleon's Old Guard, because they get it, and they want to follow him. So with leadership, motivation, and luck; which is you co-creating with the universe, you could shoot as many as you planned for. Although sending the lads up Hamburger Hill, is a good way to get fragged, so the more you know about everything the better. When the best director has finished the film, the crew says "we did it ourselves".
PS Do you want to use the camera as an "actor" or an "observer". oops gotta run!
There are two things that fat man said that stuck in my head, "the best movies are made on a desk, and "the film is done! Now we just have to shoot it". So I think there is "math involved" logistics ,planning, and calculating, it is a militaristic assault on the universe to extract that story and present it with all the flourish it deserves. I believe if the director is a director, he will take that story like Omaha Beach, and his crew will follow him like Napoleon's Old Guard, because they get it, and they want to follow him. So with leadership, motivation, and luck; which is you co-creating with the universe, you could shoot as many as you planned for. Although sending the lads up Hamburger Hill, is a good way to get fragged, so the more you know about everything the better. When the best director has finished the film, the crew says "we did it ourselves".
PS Do you want to use the camera as an "actor" or an "observer". oops gotta run!
Mattykins
Cute Member
-__-
Yes, there is technical math involved. Addition, multiplication, the whole 9.
I was referring to another poster who mentioned there is a strict guideline to apply for productions since said poster excelled at math and thus had the perfect schedule. I was commenting that there is no set of numbers (read: math) that one can apply and call scheduling done. It's dependent on a number of factors and each set up is different and needs to be dealt with accordingly. One cannot apply the same set of formulas to each set up.
Yes, there is technical math involved. Addition, multiplication, the whole 9.
I was referring to another poster who mentioned there is a strict guideline to apply for productions since said poster excelled at math and thus had the perfect schedule. I was commenting that there is no set of numbers (read: math) that one can apply and call scheduling done. It's dependent on a number of factors and each set up is different and needs to be dealt with accordingly. One cannot apply the same set of formulas to each set up.
WhiteMonkey
Well-known member
Is that what I said? I don't see how anyone expects anyone to learn from us. This thread sucks.