Making film with NO script NO actors NO planning...

TDE

TDE

Active member
How do you make it look good?

I understand that is a huge question to answer and just cant be done short and easily.

When I film, I am "getting in where I fit in" which is to say that there are no "do-overs" or "get here and do this".

There is no direction.

My only tool is to think faster than they do, and try to put myself in a position to capture what they might do all on their own. Of course this is not guaranteed.

Most of you guys make great looking films, but they are obviously thought out and planned. Scripted, sometimes directed, re-shot, lighting, etc.

I dont get any of that.

I get this. A DVX100B and a situation.

Yesterday, my situation is 25 people racing cars on my race-track. They paid to be there, and the video is for marketing use. I cant ask them to do anything, or do anything to impair their experience.

So, under these non-control situations, what are some tips to make a great looking video? The DVX takes some great looking shots, but its hard to make a great looking finished product that would be really fun to watch.
 
But then its not really a film, right? What's your ultimate goal, besides a fun to watch final product? You said its there for marketing use, but is it there to promote your track? Be used as a commercial? What's your intention for distribution?

Lots of questions, but then again no script, no actors and no planning doesn't necessarily mean no story. If you have no story, it won't be very interesting to watch. Come up with a story you'd like to tell and when you see an opportunity to get a shot, do so.

It doesn't have to be linear, but a vague story line is better than no story.

-Kegan

EDITED TO ADD: you can always just get really cool shots and make it a montage, if a story isn't your style.
 
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You need an angle. The people you film do not need to know this angle, but you should have one. Treat it like a documentary. Get all your coverage. Then float around invisibly with the camera always rolling. Eventually you pick up peices of conversation or situations. You're capturing a social situation. All Social situations contain conflicts, problems to solve, antagonists and protagonists. You need to learn how to become sensitive in recognizing these things when they arise and you need that camera rolling...ALWAYS!!!

People will forget you are there. You will become invisible.

Remember composition!!!!!! Extremely important. And remember that the best films are made in the editing room. So get your coverage and establish a sense of place
 
I do the same thing when shooting behind the scenes for the studios. sometimes we have pitched ideas for specific pieces, but often, nothing has been approved so you are looking for "the story" on set. I have the benefit of being able to interview cast and crew during and after production to flesh out the story. very much a documentary approach here.
 
Why don't you write a script?

Why don't you write a script?

Write a script for a documentary, if that's what you want to make.

Or write a script for a short. Write it, and direct it. If you're the cameraman, give yourself direction.

Tell others whatever it is you can tell them to do. Talk to them, maybe they'll answer you and say something interesting or provocative :grin:

If you don't want to influence the movie at all, then hide the camera and shoot from specific angles without anybody knowing.

So it all depends on what you wish to achieve.

Good luck and happy shooting.
 
Ditto FilmMan. You're either doing a documentary or photojournalism, whatever you like to call it.

If you were doing an event like a wedding, you'd key in on the 25 most critical shots. If it were a documentary, you'd be taking lots of b-roll for cutaways and voice overs. Same for your gun and run style. Futher, you should always be thinking downstream, asking yourself:

- What's the story?
- Who/what are the main subjects/characters?
- Who/what is the protagonist/antagonist?
- What's the message? (heros journey, redemption, repentance, existentialism, post-modern, etc)
- How does this scene fit?
- How will I edit this footage? (including sequence, pacing, special cuts as intercut/flash/jumps/wraparound/punchline, etc)
- What camera shots will work best (master establishment/wide/medium/tight, framing, composition, reveals, POV, over the shoulder, dutch, high/low angle, silouette, reflection, etc)
- How will I use complimentary or conflicting message? (music, sound effects, lighting, color correction, camera shot, pacing, editing including opacity)
- What should I be doing to get dates with all the tasty babes? <wink>

Just a few things to remember - hopefully you're in the record mode and monitoring the audio! If you forget this all, remember what John Cooksie refers to as WALLDO shots:

Wide
Angled
Low
Linked
Depth
Opposites

Good luck, Michael
 
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Well, I think I know what you are asking, you are taping a live event to make a DVD about it.

Sweet, this is where I started in TV/FILM

I ran (at one point) the largest professional paintball media company in the North East sector. So, this is professional paintball, actual tournaments, and we obviously could not impede the players or the referee staff in any way. Since there was money, prizes, and everything running on the game in play.

We shot what we could get. I had to argue with other photographers and videographers about camera placement. There were no rules on the media end. As long as you got the shot and didn't get in the way of the ref of the players. Pretty basic. But for limited 'perfect' camera placement, there was a lot of competition.

I digress....

But basically myself and my film crew, of two others, would make our way onto the field not knowing what to expect. We had a few spots we knew there would be some action. Ideally. Since they were strong points on the field. Now, we know this, because all of us were professional players and referees as well. So we knew the field, we knew the game, we knew what to expect.

So basically we set up, and hoped that someone would enter the frame in that area to get this specific shot. Will this happen every game? No. So we follow the action as best we can. We take the best possible vantage point that also gives us a look at the major hot spots on the field where heavy exchanges technically should happen.

The dynamics of each game are totally different though. So we shoot what we can. We shoot as much as we can. And we log the shots we think would work in the DVD. We enter the edit bay and watch each tape and again, log what we think would make a good DVD.

We take that logged footage, the money shots, and the greenlit shots, and we put those together. And then separate those into different categories. So we don't end up having a long line of similar shots strung together. We then contact multiple independent bands and see if we can have permission to use their tracks. We then put down an approved music track, with permission, down on our timeline and start dragging footage out. We then put it to the music, sync it up, make it interesting, and then we tag it for review, where I go over it once more and give the final approval on the cut. We then add any graphic design effects we need. And our track is done.

Or we take the footage we log, split it up by team, and have team based segments with their best moves and such. We edit the footage to make it do what we want it to. However, we only have what we taped and what we captured. So we make the footage work for us. :)

Basically have an idea of how the event works, the rules, the regulations. Know the course. We would walk the field with the players in the morning. As they planned out their moves on the field. We planned out where we needed to be. And captured 'b-roll' and interviews as well.

Then set up cameras. Try to get a few operators. With live events there is a lot going on that one operator and one camera can, and typically will, miss.

And then shoot.

Bring it together in post.

Best of luck. If you have any other questions, or if you want me to expand on something, let me know. This is what I did for 4 years until I quit the paintball industry.

-Matt
 
Great posts from everyone, thanks!

Here are some more details about my job and what is expected of me.

I have a DVX100B, stock for now with just a few basic toys. I have to shoot, and edit the videos all on my own. Currently, the project is to film as many of our companies events as possible, and then create a marketing piece from it that we can forward in DVD format to potential corporate clients.

I am filming corporate entertainment events. We are a racing based entertainment company that does corporate team building, race school, rides, and teen school. Check us out,

www.texasdrivingexperience.com

So, I am a one man show to film and show this to everyone. We have a great product and amazing venue, my goal is to show this to everyone.
 
Your best bet as a one man crew is still to have some type of script, and when I say script, I simply mean writing down what you'd tell your potential clients about your business if you had to do it verbally, or in this case...in writing. A physical description of your services, etc. This 'script' will basically act as a skeleton for your dvd, normally in the form of a voice over on productions like yours. After that you just need to decide exactly what footage you need, or want, to 'put some meat on the bones' of the skeleton so to speak. You might not be able to control the action...but with the script...you will have some direction or at the very least know what you want to shoot...then set up to try and capture that. Having some sort of plan will save you big during the editing process and save you time during production as well.

Be specific as to what you want to communicate to the clients first...then shoot it. Sometimes easier said than done, but shooting without intent can become a lot of useless footage and waste of time.

Of course, on the action, especially trying to cover a race track, multiple cameras would be ideal if it's within your budget...even other camera operators(with direction from you as what to shoot). Live action shoots are tough. I directed live sports for a couple of years.
 
What can you fetishize? Meaning what can you abstract and gloat over?

This is America, we love cars. Sell the sizzle right? Get in the pit, lust over the chrome wheels, , show the sweat on the driver, show the tailpipes.

You'll naturally grab master shots, don't forget to get SUPER tight shots which you can pull out and reveal later, this creates tension and release or call back and response.

Think like an editor, what can you show without having a narrator explain? What emotions are natural to the environment you're in that lend themselves to your event? Competition, frustration, exhileration. And always include the audience, show us what they get out of it.

I can keep going but you get it.

Post your clip when you're done, I'm sure everyone would love to see it.
 
some ideas...

since you are marketing this to corporations, then think of what they want to see so that you can sell them more track time...

they want to see team work building, safer employee drivers, confidence building, etc... they want to see "buy in".

how to film this...
can you show the before and after of the employees? film their reactions as they first see the vettes, film them as they hear the vettes roar to life for the first time, you can always film the vettes at any time and add that in later, but try and get some cu of the drivers faces. the wow factor. show their faces after they get out of the car too. again, try and film them "buying in" to your ability to effectively sell better driving habits and confidence in teamwork building. fliming them putting on the helmet for the first time should prob give you a great shot too. the nerves and the anticipation of what is going to happen out there... this will give you a story. the story can be about how your program will change the employees for the better.

also, can you interview the drivers? even if you get a quick couple of questions in, or a comment or two. pick out people who are expressive in nature. or better yet pick out some people who you think might give you the best change in expression ( from before driving to after getting out of the vette ).


i think you actually got a lot to work with here, the programs look great. lots of potential!

good luck!
 
I think the best you can do is shoot non-stop... I don't mean don't cut ever, but spend little to no time with the camera off... do cut, but try to cut right after something you like that call for a cut to something else... this will then help you INMENSLY on post when you are looking for good out points as you try to cut it as if you had planned it that way...

reveal, pan slowly revealing your subject, whether it be a car or a person, a turn, a building, the class room... and try to think of any possible way to make your moves have a story telling purpose...

either emulate the feeling of the situation with your camera work such as a long lens shaky hand held for a person getting out of a car with his adrenaline off the charts or a smooth tripod pan as a car approaches and a fast CONFIDENT whip to follow it as much as you can as it passes you by...

editing will make it... having tons of good stuff, and especially if you have lots of different stuff will help you edit it as if you meant to do it all that way...

try to have as little impact in what they do as possible so as to get as much natural stuff you can out of them...

watch TV shows that you like and you feel you might want to emulate to some extent... the more you shoot the more you will notice about what and how they are doing the stuff you think is cool... that's a great feeling too!

again, trust yourself when you are operating that camera... you want your movements to be either subtle and imperceptible or completely confident and determined! you want to make it as if you are not there or as if you completely and positively meant to do it that way...

balance, don't do too much fancy stuff, remember this is not about your video of the driving but about their experience... so don't experiment too much unless you already have enough footage of them doing their thing...

again... it will be all in the edit... so think for that situation... shoot for yourself at that chair! you will thank yourself and buy yourself a beer if you do that heheh... I always think of how I am going to cut the stuff and it is like that that you will realize what you need or could use to round things up, to transition from one thing to the other and to cover each situation...

timing... if you use music drop it on the timeline before you start cutting! it will save you time... and make sure and think about your selections VERY well... pick a song that matches the feeling of the situation... oh! and make friends with as many bands as you possibly can! heheh... music will either ruin it or make it incredibly better! audio makes of breaks pieces... it can completely short-hand and almost ruin something spectacular or make it better by as much as DOUBLE! sound is 50%... not 49%, not 51%... 50 percent... period...

HAVE FUN! nice little gig, I love racing
 
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