I am shooting my first low budget short film, then my first low budget feature length soon. I am aiming for good enough quality to go to the film festivals and for DVD sales, and if successful enough, public movie theater showings. So I am doing all the research I can and how to achieve that type of quality that is good enough. However, since I am on a micro budget, will I really need a PD? Can a DP, a soundman, and an editor be enough to suffice for the film and sound quality itself and be good enough for a movie?
Is a production designer really necessary?
- Thread starter harmonica44
- Start date
But it was a fine rant!
Going "realistic" often takes more work and is more difficult than
"designing" a movie. Costumes must be carefully selected, lighting
must be carefully placed, locations must be carefully chosen, camera
angles must be carefully worked on.
Audiences are accustom to seeing things in a movie in a specific way.
You car example is perfect - if you can't see the person in the car that
isn't "realistic" because if you were standing there, looking into the
car, you would see the person in there. The camera needs a little help.
in their closet. What a character would normally wear in that situation
should be carefully thought out. For example, if your character is a college
professor in a small town and you hire an actor whose entire wardrobe
consists of California surf and club attire, you are going to need to get
the clothing a college professor would ware in that situation. And a Berkeley
professor is likely to dress differently than a Harvard one.
Going "realistic" often takes more work and is more difficult than
"designing" a movie. Costumes must be carefully selected, lighting
must be carefully placed, locations must be carefully chosen, camera
angles must be carefully worked on.
Audiences are accustom to seeing things in a movie in a specific way.
You car example is perfect - if you can't see the person in the car that
isn't "realistic" because if you were standing there, looking into the
car, you would see the person in there. The camera needs a little help.
You're right. You can't just have each actor put on whatever they have
in their closet. What a character would normally wear in that situation
should be carefully thought out. For example, if your character is a college
professor in a small town and you hire an actor whose entire wardrobe
consists of California surf and club attire, you are going to need to get
the clothing a college professor would ware in that situation. And a Berkeley
professor is likely to dress differently than a Harvard one.
True there, are lawyers and cop characters and hospital workers that will need certain clothing. But I think the main characters can wear normal clothes most of the time.
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Normal clothes can be problematic, too. That's why i mentioned a college
professor and not a cop or a doctor. Depending on where in the country
the story takes place a lawyer may dress slightly differently and the actor
you hire may not have the proper clothing.
Every single character wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt? You won't
want to do that, but there is a very real possibility that many of the actors
you use will own those. So you can't just tell the actors to come in wearing
what every they want - even in your "realistic" method. Someone will have
to coordinate what each character would normally wear in that situation.
YOU can do that or a costumer can do it.
"Drama is life with the dull bits cut out."
"For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a slice of cake."
--Alfred Hitchcock
One of the reasons that "Hollywood" films cost so much - even if they're "indie" - is the attention paid to the smallest details. As has been mentioned "normal" can be very hard to achieve. What drives you crazy is defining normal.
It is amazing how much hair/MU, wardrobe set design and location can build a character. Quite a lot of that is built during preproduction. The director works with the actors and crafts during prepro on defining these, potentially hundreds of, small details. THAT is why you have so many craft folks supporting the directors vision, to follow through and keep track of these myriad details; and the impact of their contributions can be huge.
The director is supposedly in complete control over the project. Whether s/he is or is not depends upon how well his/her vision is communicated to the cast and crew. And THAT is your job as director, to be able to communicate clearly and concisely so that your vision is communicated to the audience.
It is amazing how much hair/MU, wardrobe set design and location can build a character. Quite a lot of that is built during preproduction. The director works with the actors and crafts during prepro on defining these, potentially hundreds of, small details. THAT is why you have so many craft folks supporting the directors vision, to follow through and keep track of these myriad details; and the impact of their contributions can be huge.
The director is supposedly in complete control over the project. Whether s/he is or is not depends upon how well his/her vision is communicated to the cast and crew. And THAT is your job as director, to be able to communicate clearly and concisely so that your vision is communicated to the audience.
It's not really a true story, just inspired by true events. About 90% of it is fictional. Well for my script it will have to be set in a courtroom, a police station and a hospital, as far as the locations go that will be a challenge to get. Any ideas on places I could substitute that will do well for those, or anything? Thanks.
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