how many "good" takes/angles do you usually shoot?

[lefecious]

Is there a general rule of thumb on how many good takes you'll get before you move on to another scene?

I'm assuming it's different for action vs. dialogue scenes, so if you have a number for each that would be great.

Also, how many angles do you usually shoot of the same scene? Just general rule of thumb.

I'm going to be shooting my first film soon and I know I need to get several takes and angles so the editor has enough to work with, but I tend to be over cautious with most things in my life and I don't want to shoot 30 takes and have everyone think I'm crazy because other directors only shoot 4 or 5.

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

Varies pretty wildly I think. An action sequence would be way different than two people talking at a table.

Personally, I have the entire film edited in my head before we ever walk on set. This is where going through the storyboarding process comes in handy.

Just because it's fresh in my mind, here's a rough cut of a scene I shot last weekend.

EDIT:
Embed wouldn't work, so here's the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIEJG20hnAs&feature=g-all-u&context=G2071847FAAAAAAAAAAA

It's about a 00:1:45 long. I think the shot list was 12 shots. We did as few as 2 takes of a shot and as many as 7. I think the sum of all the footage was about 25 minutes for this 1:45 scene. That's about a 13 to 1 ratio which is pretty high. We had a lot of time, so we were extra cautious. I think my more typical ratio is about 8 to 1. There are at least 4 shots that were there for safety coverage (cutaways and such) that didn't make it into the edit.

 

[rayw]

Varies pretty wildly I think. An action sequence would be way different than two people talking at a table.

+1


Too many variables.
Director might be picky and demand 30 takes for every shot (David Fincher).
Director might be "experiential" and deliberately wants to catch actors "discovering the situation" in one or two takes.

Actors might be professional and nail what the director has in mind in one or two takes.
Actors might have eight different ways they can play a scene.
Director might let the first take be what's in the script (until the actors deliver it "right") and then let then actors deliver it whatever they want in a few subsequent takes (often used as a tool to humor the thespians. )
Actors might be GD idiots and require fifty-eight takes as they keep screwing up lines and missing marks.

And of course we're not counting equipment, set, and prop failures - and any wardrobe malfunctions.

And like GE said it depends upon the action in the scene.
Conversations and fight sequences ain't even the same thing.



All that said, yeah, about four or five takes for a green cast & crew is about right.

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

I have a first AD whose primary function is to make me slow down. I have a tendency to say "that take was good enough, NEXT!". She forces me to slow down and work with the actors on performance (which is by far the weakest part of my game).

 

[Ewan]

I usually don't do too many when I'm doing my shorts. As others said, it depends on the shot. If it's a slow or a fast shot. If I'm shooting a shot that requires quite a lot of heavy VFX work to it, I might shoot it 3-5 times to makes sure I'll get it easy when rotoscoping or tracking. For shots that don't require much post work and are generally quite slow, then 2 takes should usually be enough.

 

[Cracker Funk]

I hate to give you a non-answer, but there's really no answer to this question. There are SO MANY variables that you've really just gotta figure out what works for you.

For each shot, I don't have a particular number of takes I intend to get. Well, actually I only want ONE. But the ONE that I want is rarely the first one that we shoot. So, we keep shooting, until I feel like we got that ONE. Time permitting, even after we get the ONE, I might still want to do another take or two, trying new things.

Then again, it might be such a simple scene that we just want to get through it and move on. You also have to deal with the reality of a ticking-clock. For most scenes, I might shoot 8-10 shots, with 3-5 takes each. But with extreme time-constraints, I'm not afraid to instruct the cast that they need to be one-take-wonders.

Get as much coverage as you can. But do what you gotta do.

 

[Alcove Audio]

I watched "Billy Wilder Speaks" on TCM the other night. He mentioned working with Marilyn Monroe was completely unpredictable. For "Some Like It Hot" they were going to shoot a scene on a beach where the Navy made jet over-flights every 15 minutes, and Marilyn had a very long dialog sequence, so they scheduled three entire days. She nailed it in three hours. For another scene all she had to do was walk up to a door, say "It's me, Sugar." She kept saying "Sugar, it's me." After 60 (yes, sixty) takes they wanted to put a piece of paper with the line written on it on the door. She refused; she didn't want to be reading the line. She finally got it on the 93rd take.

Now obviously this is the disturbed Miss Monroe in effect, but the ultimate lesson holds true - you do it until you get it right.

 

[PaulGriffith]

My answer: just enough to get it, not enough to feel really safe. All the sets I've worked on so far have had to do like 7 pages in a long day or something like that. Also, I like more angles than takes, so considering set up time there's never enough time to really linger. As soon as I feel a great take, I move on. Otherwise you're 12 hours in and only halfway through and you either have to totally rush the rest or figure out how to book the same 20 people for another day that's close enough not to kill the project and cheap enough to not blow the budget.

I've actually worked on a few sets where they wanted to shoot 12-14 pages in 3 hours. A kids performing arts place, all the kids knew their lines by heart like a play, so it's literally two cameras handheld, shoot a take, move, shoot a take, etc with very little downtime. Haha. No idea how wwe pulled it off, but we did!

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

Holy cow...
I consider 6 pages a day a brutal pace (and probably a 14 to 16 hour day) that will almost always result in having to accept some mediocre takes because you just have to move on.

My goal going forward is to somehow try to find the budget to never have to shoot more than 3-4 pages a day. That's why I'm about to spend close to $4K shooting a 15 minute web series episode.

 

[directorik]

Maybe there is an answer:

Is there a general rule of thumb on how many good takes you'll get before you move on to another scene?

I generally shoot one good take before I move on. It may take five
takes to get the good one - it make take 30 takes to get the good
one. Sometimes I shoot another take or two after I get the "good
one" just to see what new thing the actors may bring. But in general
once I get the good take I move on.

Also, how many angles do you usually shoot of the same scene? Just general rule of thumb.

As a general rule of thumb I shoot a master, a CU on each actor in
the scene, a two-shot or over-the-shoulder of each actor and several
inserts. So in a scene with two actors at the very least five different
angles not counting inserts. That goes up with more actors. That's
the minimum. I like to shoot a lot of coverage when I have the
time - or I can make the time.

but I tend to be over cautious with most things in my life and I don't want to shoot 30 takes and have everyone think I'm crazy because other directors only shoot 4 or 5.

Being prepared is important. Being "cautious" can work against you.
But thinking about what other directors do is foolish and limiting. If
all other directors shoot 4 or 5 takes and you shoot 20 or 30 until you
get exactly what you need, who cares other then you. Are you making
the movie so no one thinks you're crazy or so you get what you want
on screen?

 

[shortboy]

For dialogue, usually 3-5 full takes per angle. For action 5-10 unless the take is good early one, do an extra for safety. If it doesn't go as well as the previous, continue on if you feel you know you have enough coverage for the shots.

 

[Cracker Funk]

For dialogue, usually 3-5 full takes per angle. For action 5-10 unless the take is good early one, do an extra for safety. If it doesn't go as well as the previous, continue on if you feel you know you have enough coverage for the shots.

I'm sorry, I mean no disrespect to you, but I really disagree with this answer.

Dialogue is no less difficult to shoot than action. Some might say that it usually requires more takes, on average.

And just to make sure we're all using the same terminology, we're discussing how many takes one should get of each shot, and how many shots one should get in each scene. And the number of shots is basically the measurement of coverage, not the number of takes. An "angle" isn't really a thing.

To reiterate what I posted above, and to agree with Rik, you need ONE good take. And you do as many takes as you need to get it. If you have time, you might try one or two more, even if only for shits and giggles.

 

[shortboy]

Oh no I'm not saying it's any less difficult than action, I'm just going by experience, that on average for when I shoot it is 3-5. Am I saying that's all you need and its cut dry? Absolutely not. I'm just saying that a majority of the time, that's how long one needs for a certain angle to get the "good" shot.

As for the "good" shots itself, one's all you really need. And like I said, if you want to go one for safety and if it's better, awesome, if not, next shot.

And apologies on my part, I actually misinterpreted the title for whatever reason. I inititally read it as "how many takes/angles do you usually shoot" and went from there. The "good" part slipped my mind.

My first post was in regards to the amount it usually takes to get the "good" shot. But for action sequences, then one or two good takes, because repetitive action gets super taxing on the actors body.

 

[justinisfilming]

Is there a general rule of thumb on how many good takes you'll get before you move on to another scene?

I usually do another take after the good one just in case they come up with something even better. I end up using the 2nd to the last take most of the time.

I'm assuming it's different for action vs. dialogue scenes, so if you have a number for each that would be great.

For dialogue, I usually do a Master, then move closer with a CU or an over-the-shoulder shot. It just depends on what you want to convey in each shot so this will vary.

For action however, it depends on what style you want to achieve. Paul Greengrass (Bourne movies) likes to do that shaky, handheld type of action where he gets all the action usually in one or two takes. Some directors like to do inserts of punching/kicking etc., and that will require a few more takes. With that, depending on how good your actors are, you might do more takes than usual.

Also, how many angles do you usually shoot of the same scene? Just general rule of thumb.

If the scene is fairly simple, then keep your shots simple. You're the director (I think), you decide what shots will convey your characters the best. There's no rule in filmmaking.

I just heard a podcast with David Fincher and he admits that he did 99 takes of one scene in THE SOCIAL NETWORK. The lesson is, don't stop until it's good and you're satisfied. It'll pay off in the end.