how many takes for each shot

[derek smith]

Directed my first Short Film over the weekend. Was a brilliant experience. After we had finished, I spoke with a College Student (studying Film)...He was asking me how many takes on average I was doing for each shot. I told him on average 3....He then informed me that this was way too low, and I most likely would regret not doing more....Is there truth in this, or is it a case of when as Director, you feel you have got exactly what you need, where its 1 take or 100???

 

[evilplanetstudios]

Wow. When I shoot stuff, I allow for 1-2 good takes per shot, then we move on. I can't imagine doing 35 takes for one scene. Have you no remorse for your editor?

Sometimes, that's how many you need. Not for the entire film. If it's a simple scene you don't even need a second one. But when you are dealing with motion-based shots, that maybe you'll use VFX on or perhaps you want that one perfect expression on your actor's face, or that one perfect fall or swing or whatever, you want a bunch of shots to choose from because you don't want to set everything up some other day to re-shoot it just because that perfect, elusive shot escaped you on both shots you did.