Scheduling a feature.

Azmyth

Azmyth

Veteran
Shooting a feature length horror film.
Mostly shooting on weekends, and some weeknights.
Whats the fastest anyone has shot a feature film in? consecutive days?
 
Anyone ever? I hear the average porno is shot in a day or so :) And Russian Ark was shot in one continuous take and therefore only took 90(ish) minutes to shoot (not including the months of preparation of course) - I don't like it much as a film but technically it's fascinating.

Seriously, it depends entirely on your resources and how complicated what you're shooting is.
 
Yeah, I worked on an indie feature that was shot in 2 weekends..

and then read about another that took 40 days.

I think what seperated them, was the special effects and lighting. The one shot in 2 weekends, was done mostly with natural outside light and minimal special effects.
 
Of course an awful lot depends upon your crew, and how fast they can nail setups and changeovers.
 
Preparation is everything. Know what you need and how you are going to get it. Make sure that when the director, producer(s) and DP talk about the shoot they are all on the same page about what their expectations are. Make a shot list. You cannot be too prepared. There will be things that will go wrong that are beyond your control, so make sure that everything you can control is taken care of.

Assume NOTHING. Ask all the questions. The dumb ones, the annoying ones, the obvious ones.
 
Hmm

Hmm

We're looking at around 15 days for my first feature, probably just go with three 5-day weeks, because I think it'd be good to have those two off days in a row to see how things are going and make adjustments if necessary. Throw together some footage perhaps, get a bit of rest, etc. It'll make the shoot go more smoothly I think.

With about an 85 to 90 page script, 15 days, that's 6 pages a day or so, really not too bad at all. I think much more than that and you have to push too hard, but 6 should be doable on a quality level, especially given not a ton of locations, some locations are used quite a bit, etc. No doubt there will be days where we nail 8-9 pages and others where we get to 2-3.
 
Sad Max said:
...and boards, boards, boards.
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Yeah, I storyboarded (with crude stick figure drawings) my 10 minute film a couple of years ago, and then created a low-tech animatics version in my NLE, showing the storyboards with temp voices and sound effects. It was a lot of work, but made the prep and actual shoot SO much easier and faster, and minimised wasted effort, time and cost.
 
Hmm

Hmm

People say this, but I think honestly it's a waste of time unless you're doing action / sci-fi type of stuff. I have never done storyboarding and never had problems when I have a complete shot list. Sometimes you don't even know what you want for sure until you're there, even with all of the planning in the world, you end up changing your mind and saying well let's shoot it over on this table instead of that one, there's a nicer view here, maybe because when you scouted the lighting was different and you don't have the resources to black out the sun, or whatever.

The point is I think storyboarding is great if you have the ability but I think honestly if you have a detailed shot list and know what you want, you'll be fine.
 
I shot a 95 page feature in 10 consecutive days (Behind the Nine, rent it at Netflix)...but my current feature (Battle) we're doing 100 pages on 18 days of principal and 2 days of 2nd Unit B-Roll.

All sub 10hour shoot days thus far...with 2 days of principle left.

-M
 
JonathanLB said:
People say this, but I think honestly it's a waste of time unless you're doing action / sci-fi type of stuff. I have never done storyboarding and never had problems when I have a complete shot list. Sometimes you don't even know what you want for sure until you're there, even with all of the planning in the world, you end up changing your mind and saying well let's shoot it over on this table instead of that one, there's a nicer view here, maybe because when you scouted the lighting was different and you don't have the resources to black out the sun, or whatever.

The point is I think storyboarding is great if you have the ability but I think honestly if you have a detailed shot list and know what you want, you'll be fine.
Click to expand...


THe words "story boards" and "shot lists" means different things to different people. I think that it's great that you are able to move ahead without them. But it is never a good idea to go in to a shoot not knowing what you "even know what you want for sure until you're there" I don't mean knowing exactly how it's going to be set up or blocked, but rather what you need to make the scene work. If you don't know that, then you probably don't know your script well enough to be shooting. I am not saying that you shouldn't improvise, or take advantage of the opportunities that come your way on the spur of the moment. But if you don't know that a certain part of the scene needs an insert, a close up, a 2-shot or a wide shot, then you are just unprepared. But what good (and I don't mean well-drawn, but rather decisive and well thought out) story boards and shot lists do is clarify what you need to translate what is on the page to the screen effectively. All of that is mandated by the story you are trying to tell. That's something you should be very clear about before you ever roll.

It also opens a very clear line of communication and collaboration between the DP and the director about how the scene needs to be shot to work the way the director thinks it needs to. If you just talk about it, then you are usually not really on the same page....even if you think you are.

Like rehearsals, shot lists and story boards do not constrain your imagination. They free you to explore what will work best at the moment within what the film demands to be effective.
 
And don't get caught in the PAGE COUNT TRAP. It is important to know what your goal is, and a page count is a good place to start. But an eighth of a page that says :

The killer took turns with each victim plucking their eyes out with needle nose pliers, and feeding them to his kittens.

Is going to take longer to shoot then 6 pages of two kids in a cabin talking about how scared they are.

Page count is also severely effected by your blocking and camera choices. If you have a 4 way conversation that you cover in a oner, that will take a lot less time than getting singles. Dolly shots, jib shots and steadicam shots can slow you down like crazy, even if you are just shooting people talking.

Again, page count is good starting place and if you shoot simply, 6 pages a day is not bad. I have done as many as 14 (same location, looooong day).

But this is precisely why you need to sit down with your DP and WRITE DOWN exactly what you think needs to be on the screen at any moment in the script for the scene to work. Then figure out how to get that.

Effective preparation is 90% of making the movie in your head get up on the screen.

Just my .02. But these are lessons I learned the hard way.
 
JonathanLB said:
People say this, but I think honestly it's a waste of time unless you're doing action / sci-fi type of stuff. I have never done storyboarding and never had problems when I have a complete shot list. Sometimes you don't even know what you want for sure until you're there, even with all of the planning in the world, you end up changing your mind and saying well let's shoot it over on this table instead of that one, there's a nicer view here, maybe because when you scouted the lighting was different and you don't have the resources to black out the sun, or whatever.

The point is I think storyboarding is great if you have the ability but I think honestly if you have a detailed shot list and know what you want, you'll be fine.
Click to expand...

Boards aren't iron-clad, you know. One is perfectly free to ditch them if better inspiration comes along on-the-day.
 
Sad Max said:
Boards aren't iron-clad, you know. One is perfectly free to ditch them if better inspiration comes along on-the-day.
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Exactly. But because you took the time to make them, you and your whole crew are very clear about what you need, and why.

It seems so basic, but I can't tell you how many times i have been on sets where this hasn't even been discussed.
 
There's a lot of amazingly basic stuff that falls by the wayside.

Nothing, of course, that can't be fixed later with liberal application of $$$.
 
Check out a software tool called Sketchup. It's free to download and you can use it for storyboarding purposes without needing to be able to draw so much as a line.
 
Jim Brennan said:
THe words "story boards" and "shot lists" means different things to different people. I think that it's great that you are able to move ahead without them. But it is never a good idea to go in to a shoot not knowing what you "even know what you want for sure until you're there" I don't mean knowing exactly how it's going to be set up or blocked, but rather what you need to make the scene work. If you don't know that, then you probably don't know your script well enough to be shooting. I am not saying that you shouldn't improvise, or take advantage of the opportunities that come your way on the spur of the moment. But if you don't know that a certain part of the scene needs an insert, a close up, a 2-shot or a wide shot, then you are just unprepared. But what good (and I don't mean well-drawn, but rather decisive and well thought out) story boards and shot lists do is clarify what you need to translate what is on the page to the screen effectively. All of that is mandated by the story you are trying to tell. That's something you should be very clear about before you ever roll.

It also opens a very clear line of communication and collaboration between the DP and the director about how the scene needs to be shot to work the way the director thinks it needs to. If you just talk about it, then you are usually not really on the same page....even if you think you are.

Like rehearsals, shot lists and story boards do not constrain your imagination. They free you to explore what will work best at the moment within what the film demands to be effective.
Click to expand...

I think you're saying one thing, but that it has nothing to do with what I said at all. You don't need storyboards. You do need a shot list. One takes a few minutes per scene, the other takes forever and accomplishes absolutely nothing more. To draw up storyboards you have to have a ton of photos from every location, then be able to draw some of those images and put people in them doing things, whatever it is, etc. It's a ridiculous waste of time you could just put into something more creative. Nobody is going to see your story boards besides a few on the crew, so why not just have a shot list instead? Much simpler, everyone can figure it out fast. 1) Master shot of the scene; John walks up to Cynthia and hands her a glass of water. She reaches for the glass. 2) Insert shot of Cynthia grabbing glass from John. 3) Medium shot on John as he starts speaking. 4) Medium of Cynthia as she responds.

You get the idea, all of that is plenty to get through a scene. It just strikes me as hilarious and ridiculous to spend that much time drawing something that you can just write out in a minute. It makes no sense. It'd be different if we're talking about Star Wars, because you have all kinds of weird creatures, planets, technology, etc. That's part of pre-visualization. But a romantic comedy? Hey, if that helps you feel more legit, I guess, but it's not necessary and I've never been with a crew that would even care, they'd just like "Oh isn't that cute the director did some little sketches." So if it's for your own benefit anyway, just write it down and have a clear vision. It's not very difficult.
 
RockmanX3 said:
I can't even draw stick figures well, so storyboarding is out for me unless I can hire someone..
Click to expand...

I can't draw either but have gotten a lot of use out of over head diagrams type set up designs.

BTW, the fastest I have ever head of a feature was being shot was by Roger Corman who supposedly shot the original "Little Shop of Horrors" in two days and a couple of nights for second unit/pick-ups. This was after 5 days of rehearsal.

Of course, this was Roger Corman!
 
What has been great about this conversation is that we are describing the main problems with us do-it-yourselfers. We simply do not take the time to get it right. If we want to compete with the big boys and girls then we have to act like the big boys and girls. In fact we have to do more. We have to go the extra step beyond them if we want to compete. We don't have a studio looking over our shoulder watching costs and schedule. If it takes a year to shoot then it takes a year. Do not waver on getting what you need...and if you need more then go get it. I have worked on over 20 independent films and every single one was a rush job.

Instead of asking how long it will take to shoot we should be saying it will take as long as it takes to get every shot we need to make a great film. I will spend the time in pre-production to know I will get everything I need in production. I will rehearse before I shoot until we are ready to shoot! I've done two rush jobs on my first two films and I will not repeat my mistakes next time out. Starting with the scriptwriting all the way to the distribution. We have to take the time to get it right.

If you don't plan it out with shot lists and possible stick-figure storyboards then don't be surprised if you don't get what you need to make it happen for real. This business is changing and not for the better...so we need to make great films. I will now step down off my soapbox before I get dizzy and fall off!
 
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