What Else Do I Need?

Re: What Else Do I Need?

[quote author=Bsmith link=board=Directing;num=1090386165;start=15#19 date=07/25/04 at 09:48:41]
well you prolly don't have Hugh Grant in your movie, nor any other great actor in hollywood...so your performance isn't going to be great... [/quote]

That isn't necessarily true....
 
Re: What Else Do I Need?

I didn't mean to imply that continuity isn't important. Continuity is very important. I just meant to say that I don't want to get so bogged down in the technical details that I overlook the performance and the writing, which is ultimately way more important.
 
Re: What Else Do I Need?

I don't even really think you need someone dedicated to continuity. It especially depends on how big your crew is. I know that when I make a film I can pretty much ensure the continuity will be maintained naturally. It's a feel you get when you're making films.

That being said, you aren't going to be able to catch every single little thing. You should ask everyone on your set to pay attention to the continuity of your movie at least a little or at least in respect to each of their roles. If the sound guy notices a sound that shows up which wasn't there before, he's automatically helping you with your sound continuity. If your actors are conscience of it they'll do consistant movements and make sure that props they're interacting with will be in the same position they were previously.

In the middle of a scene's shoot you generally film the scene in chronilogical order so continuity is generally kept because aside from the cuts in between takes and changing setups everything is as it was previously. Continuity gets to especially be a problem if you're doing pickup shots or filming different scenes that occur right after each other on completely different days. Having an onsight photographer taking pictures of your set and scenes is a good idea if that's what's going to be happening, but if you're filming an entire scene that occurs in one day on a single shoot, continuity isn't usually an issue if your entire crew is paying attention to it. *you* will catch the majority of the issues, but if you don't, someone will....

at least that's what I've noticed is the easiest way to ensure continuity when dealing with a small crew. Assigning such specific roles as continuity to one person is silly. *You* should be catching most of it, your actors should be aware of it, and your entire crew should be paying attention to it in their own respects....
 
Re: What Else Do I Need?

It's definitely good if you can get it though...any help is help. If having them there won't slow down your work, and they aren't asking for money (or money isn't an issue for you) it's helpful IMO
 
Re: What Else Do I Need?

Someone doing their job isn't someone you have to worry about. Thats a backwards way to approach management.

Now, saying "someone else to worry about" in terms of feeding them...well, then sure it's going to cost a little bit more and add a little bit of production value to your film in return.

A continuity person won't ever slow down work unless there's a continuity problem, in which case, you should be slowing down to fix it. That's like saying a sound mixer just slows production down.

Eight grips around a watercooler, yeah, that slows production down sometimes...but if you're having a continuity person on set and they're slowing your production down by doing their job...then you obviously need to have them there.
 
Re: What Else Do I Need?

After finishing shooting my short this past weekend, I think continuity is important, and you do need a person for it. I didn't have one, so I had to do it, and yes it did take abit away from directing.
 
Re: What Else Do I Need?

It's still someone else to worry about that they also make it to set on time, letting them know what's happening... one more person always adds a little more work if you don't have the proper administrative structure on the set. Just based on the kind of shoot he's going to have I'm assuming he won't have that much of an administrative staff working on the film. This makes juggling more people more work...

By all means, if you have the resources to have the extra person on set to do continuity, it can be an asset. However, if the continuity guy is sticking out like a sore thumb as an extra body and you're lacking other essential crew, it can be a problem.

You really need to assess the entire structure of your crew and determine if it's really feasible to have a continuity person on board. Don't skimp out on a good AD or sound mixer in place of a continuity person. It's all about cost to benefit ratio.

Will having a continuity person on set be worth the extra managerial work rather than simply doing it yourself?

In smaller productions this is really the question you need to ask yourself.
 
Re: What Else Do I Need?

[quote author=IllLifeFilms link=board=Directing;num=1090386165;start=30#30 date=09/01/04 at 17:49:51]Hugh Grant?!? Seriously?[/quote]

LOL!
Did you ever see the movie "About a Boy"? He was pretty good in that. In fact, I liked it a lot.

T-1000
 
Re: What Else Do I Need?

Speaking of continuity...
In "The Day After Tomorrow" when the main character draws the "south of here, evacuate. North of here, they are doomed" line on the map, the line jumps around from wide to CU to wide. Would most people notice this? I doubt it. But I live near DC and in the first take I'm like "woo, I live", but then in the close-up I noticed that I would have died.
Don't understimate a random viewer picking up on small details.

That said... A short film I made one saturday night with some friends because we were bored was littered with continuity errors. But it was fun to make, and shooting took like 3 hours, so who cares.
 
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