General Filmmaking questions.

[Gustamize]

I've read some books on this subject, but there is always the "alternative" to everything. I like to ask people what their style/Techniques are. Especially after reading numberous of posts here, I know there are ALOT of very Expierenced People here that I hope I can get some advice from. I've always had a "Point and shoot" type of style because my thinking was "It's all for fun, who's going to see this besides us" well, few years of passed, and now I look at some of my older stuff, and think I can do better.

I was curious how do you guys shoot your scenes. I've normally have shot my scenes with numberous of takes, because of the people I use are friends and family, since they're not exactly trained actors (which I don't mind because we have fun), but after 15 takes of one scene they get tired, and I never get to shoot close ups. I always figured I get my stationary shots of my actors, and then I can do the close ups later since that's when you're really going to notice facial expressions etc. and they should have their line after so many takes.

I want to add different angles to my shorts, so I was curious on how you guys do it, before we'd just get together and shoot, so that is the reason my shots were just un-organized. I'm trying to be more organized, and I'm coming up with lists that states what scences we're shooting, who's going to be in what scenes. I have let someone else get behind the camera so I can actually direct and be supervising the script. (I can't do it all)

The 2 new actors that I just picked up liked how we're trying to be more organized, but the other 3 are willing to participate, but are shocked that I'm going forward and being more through. Eventually I would like to get shorts that I can actually post on the Net etc. Any Suggestions would be greatly appreciated. -G

 

[cnomad3d]

Sometimes in a pinch (depending on the scene) I actually throw out the master shot and just shoot the different angles I want. In other words, make a shot list or storyboard the shots you want to complete the scene and then divide your dialogue into those shots the way you will edit it. When you shoot it's easier on the actor because they have less to memorize at a time.
The downside of course is that in editing you won't have any flexibility. And i mean zero, when you have no master to go back to if your shot doesn't work for some reason, or you forget a shot, then you are pretty much screwed.

 

[Boz Uriel]

Everyone does things differently. That's a good thing. Watch, read, learn, adapt for yourself. Don't get caught up in what's the right way to do things because there is no right way. There's what looks good and what doesn't. In the end, if it doesn't look good then you need to try something else.

With that in mind, here's me in a nutshell.

I learned how to shoot by reading books and message boards like this one. I learned how to make a narrative movie by doing it (check that, 'still' learning). The more I do, the better I get. I think that goes for everyone. Don't sit around and read how to do it. Go do it. Or better yet, read one "decent" book about doing it, then go do it, then come back and ask questions about doing it, then go do it again, only better and maybe pick up on some more reading.

I write the scripts I shoot so maybe some of this won't apply to you. Generally, a movie my team and I do goes like this.

1. I write the script and we have a meeting where everyone reads it and critiques it. I change what I feel needs changing.

2. I sit down and draw storyboards of how I want the film to look, shot by shot. These are detailed and include scene breakdowns, what shot I want to use, cuts on action, notes about sub-text, things like that, so when I get on location it's easy to remember what I was thinking when I wasn't limited by time, light, and space.

3. We scout locations. I have a pretty good idea of what I need and I'm very familiar with my area so I can usually find what I want.

4. We show up on location and shoot. When I do my storyboards and scene breakdowns I also run through and figure out the best order to shoot. Things change when you're on location so I keep my storyboards in pencil and not chiseled in stone. Be free to change the script and the look but don't stray too far away or your movie won't have that consistent feel to it.

4.a. Once I have the order of shooting and the place we're going to shoot, the actors get together and rehearse. Having inexperienced actors myself, I anticipate they need some help with how, where and when to move or stay still. Once the blocking is worked out and we set up and shoot the wide stuff first (remember this bit for later). Then get closer as the takes stack up and the actors are beginning to hit their stride and know their lines and have gotten into their roles more. Some actors take longer than others and you have to watch closely that one actor who's 'mojo is werkin' doesn't shut down because the other actor needs 15+ takes.

4.b. If I see the actors flowing nicely and now they are sure they have their lines memorized, I'll re-do the wide stuff because their movements are more natural. Sneaky, perhaps, but I have learned that having the cameras rolling adds pressure and this pressure helps focus untrained actors. Tape is cheap, use it up. So actually I end up shooting the wide stuff last and the beginning is just a taped rehearsal. I find the actors learn get into their stride faster when the pressure is on, or the tape is rolling, or it's live, how ever you want to say it.

4.c. Getting coverage means getting more shots than you want or think you need so you can have maximum freedom when you edit. Personally, I don't do much coverage (yes tape is cheap) and the storyboard is just a guide to help me hit the right beats of a scene but I've learned to trust my instincts and go with it. I really like keeping an open mind about what shots to do when I'm actually on the location but the shots I pick, I trust.

5. Speaking of coverage, every scene needs some ECU isolation shots. If I was shooting a movie with an escaped caveman, I would get ten seconds of his fingers fondling the chain or something like that because when you edit, things like that save your continuity butt and your editor will love you. Or if you're like me, you'll love yourself. A hand going for an ashtray, a cube of sugar soaking up some tea, something that helps the narrative or the mood of a scene can really save you in the editing room so I do this a lot.

6. Cast and crew will get bored. Sometimes they'll get frustrated, maybe even angry. All you can do is stay relaxed, keep it light, and make sure you have plenty to drink for everyone.

Which shot to choose. Good question. Watch movies and learn. Det. Harry Callahan played by Clint Eastwood, in Dirty Harry, written by Joseph Stinson says "Go ahead, make my day." Notice the camera is slightly below his eye line showing dominance. The assailant is standing up with a woman in his clutches and a gun in his hand.

But in another "Dirty Harry" film the assailant this time is laying the floor, his hand is almost touching a shotgun. This time the camera is way lower than the eye line showing not the assailants point of view as much as one of the cafe's customers who's really close to the action. This way you're pulled close to the action as a bystander and you're not being asked to sympathize with the assailant because the very next shot of the him giving up is slightly above his eye line. Just as a crouching victim would see it.

Which shot to use depends on you the director and your style and the narrative of the story you want to tell (which may or may not agree with the author of the script).

Who do you want the audience to relate to? Who should the viewers sympathize with in any given scene. What feeling do you want to invoke, getting your actors to emote this is only part of the battle. You need to show it through which shot you choose and how you choose to show it. Lighting, sound, environment, all these things combine to make for a beautifully shot movie.

Where do you go the learn them? Film school is a choice I think you need to make after you've heard both sides of that argument and it is a very heated argument so be prepared. It's also something I don't want to get into here. Instead, let me recommend these books:

"Film Directing Shot by Shot" by Steven D. Katz,
"Film Directing Cinematic Motion: A Workshop for Staging Scenes" (Film Directing) also by Steven D. Katz,
"Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television" by Judith Weston,
"The Film Director's Intuition: Script Analysis and Rehearsal Techniques" also by Judith Weston,
"Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics" by Michael Rabiger (I haven't read Rabiger but I plan to because I've heard so many good things about it).

Like I said above, 'read' and 'do' at the same time is the best advice I can give.

Hope this helps.

 

[sonnyboo]

Always remember the two "C's"

COVERAGE and CUTAWAYS.

Coverage is more than one angle of any scene, even if it's just one set of close ups & a master shot, you are "covered" in terms of being able to edit. If all you have is a master shot or just one shot for an entire scene, you can't edit anything out of that scene. So a MASTER/WIDE SHOT, plus CLOSE UPS of each actor speaking their lines is the most basic form of coverage there is.

Cutaways are anything shot that does not require synch sound & pretty much can be cut into a scene anywhere. For example, feets tapping, hands folded, the things on the wall, or anything that does not require an audio to make it fit. Now, obviously you want to shoot something relevant to the scene, so pick your cutways carefully and make them meaningful.

Muchest muchest footage makes happy happy editors.

 

[knightly]

How I have shot depends on the scheduling/availabilities of cast and crew.

For location shots, we've blocked out the moments in a scene where the emotion intensifies and declines, and moved the framing when we got to that point in the script (PITA to edit) with enough overlap to allow for a decent cut.

For controlled environments, we shot masters of all the scenes with cerrtain characters in it, then scheduled singles for different days and shot line by line til we got stuff I liked as the director...allowed the actors to get a sense of the scene as a whole, then we could dial in the delivery of the lines (better sound from the singles as well as the mic could be closer to the actor).

The second way is much easier to edit later as you have choices in editing...make sure you have at least two angles of every scene for when the actors just cannot get past a certain line (with unskilled actors).

Find places to plant the script where they would normally be looking anyway. We had scenes where the main character is pointedly not making eye contact with the other actor in the scene...he's sitting at the computer, so we typed up his lines for that scene and he could read from that. I read the opposing lines off camera...we had him put a gap between my delivering the line and his response...so I could tighten it up in the edit. If you have driving scenes without lines being memorized, the actor can parrot back the lines to you as you read them...same gap for editing.

 

[Gustamize]

Boz, I'll have to check out some of those books out. That's one thing I'm starting to do is the Storyboard. I'm not a good artist at all so I just draw stick figures, and how I want the scene to be like. I'm just passing off some of my duties to other so I can concentrate on other things like this. I do the writing, the directing, the editing, the planning. Hard to balance all that with a family too I use alot of tape too. I just figured more is better. Plus you never know what you'll capture. You may have a funny blooper reel if anything! LOL.

 

[clive]

Robert Rodriguez says that good editors make good directors -- although there are a million reasons why that's not always true -- where it is true is that a good editor knows what coverage they need to cut the scene.

I'm not a fan of the master shot, unless I can tell the whole scene from that POV without cutting in closer. I'm also not a huge fan of storyboards either.

My preference is to use the TV studio technique of drawing floor plans, which lay out the action and where I'm going to position the camera to cover the action. The advantage of this technique is that you can redraft a floor plan to adapt to circumstances in a matter of minutes -- something you can't do with storyboards.

I'm less reliant on the maser shot because I shoot the whole scene from every position -- which means instead of going to a cut-away I can always go to a reaction shot -- although, it always pays to have a couple of cutaways to get you around any unforeseen editing issues.

I don't tend to get the issues that you get, because I only work with professionals -- I've always felt that using family and friends creates more problems than it solves.

 

[Gustamize]

Knightly - I like the idea of the line by line shot. I've always thought about doing it that way, but just figured it would take awhile, BUT with that said I have changed things I'm doing. I'm being pickier with the scenes. I'm not settling for "Oh good enough" especially when someone on set will say it. I just tell them now "Let's go for another one just in case" it's been working so far also what I have changed is not trying to make my little 15 min short shot in 1 day. I'm spreading it out so I can get the most I can scene by scene. The newer people I'm using and the ones I kept are willing to do what it takes to get it right, which is a HUGE relief and joy so far.

 

[Gustamize]

Clive - Yeah I agree with the whole family and friends can create more problems. I had a few close friends that I just decided that I will not use them at all anymore. Not just because they didn't know their lines, but they never even looked at the script I sent them weeks ago. I also talked to the ones that I'm using right now and told them to be honest with me up front, if they want to be in the short then be kind enough and read the lines, and know what the script is about.

The 2 other actors I just got (friends of my brother) arrived on the day of the shoot and they had their scripts, I can see where they made notes, and it was hi-lighted and everything. I was impressed. One day I'd like to get some pro's atleast some more deciated people like the 2 I just spoke of.

 

[sonnyboo]

I'm not a fan of the master shot, unless I can tell the whole scene from that POV without cutting in closer.

Me niether, but it's just spice on a rack, if you take my meaning. Master Shots are just one of the many shots you can get to supplement the story in every scene, but not something to become reliant on as the main or sole source, as many people sometimes get stuck with.

A Master Shot establishes the room & the environment, and not necessarily first, but somewhere in the scene so that you can orient the viewer to the place the scene takes place. You'd be amazed how many amature films use no establishing shots for the exteriors. I once saw an entire feature film without a single exterior shot showing me something.... anything about where the story took place.


FILM DIRECTING: SHOT BY SHOT and the follow up CINEMATIC MOTION are both great books for the basics.

 

[knightly]

I own both of those books and would like to add a recommendation "on directing" by david mamet. I also like to read acting books for getting a feel for the other side of the camera...I'm currently working my way through "Power of the Actor" by Ivana Chubbick.

When I'm done with my editing, I'm going to be putting together a post step by step for a single scene showing the source material, the assembly edit, the rough, the recut and the final cut as I go through them...I'll also be adding sound cleanup, coloring, foley and music so the different layers can all be seen on their own. It'll have examples of each actor going through their line by line singles with off camera direction..."Give me a couple more that are different" "happier" "slower please" "It pains you to look away from the television"...that sort of thing. I may start compiling that and posting it tonight ...I have the assembly done for that one, it'd be neat to post them as I go here...it'll also give me something to do to break the tedium of the assmebly edit.