Our first shoot

MrBobTV

MrBobTV

Yesterday was my first big video shoot. By "big", I mean we got real actors, had a script to work from, used reasonably good mics and audio equipment, and had a crew working for us. This was my first real directing experience.

Things went amazingly smooth despite my inexperience and pre-shoot jitters. Most of what helped, I think, was the amount of preparation we went through before production. There wasn't a single thing we forgot to prepare for. We (my production partner and myself) wrote two scripts using the same actors, same location, and same general story setup. We shot our scenes out of sequence, and overlapping each other, but it seemed to have worked well. Except that we ran long, but I sort of expected that to happen.

Everybody involved was enthusiastic about the production and got totally into the spirit of the moment, so it was easy to get them all to agree to a second shoot date, where we'll get the remaining 35-40% of our shots. It's almost like I want to think "if it's this much fun, why isn't EVERYBODY making movies?"

But I'm realistic enough to know that we're a couple of lucky bums to get a cast and crew who are willing to work so hard and give so much to help make something special. It sure IS fun, though...when it goes right!

My blog has my account of the shoot, along with a bunch of pictures. Please take a look if you want to see a fun and terrific bunch of people!

http://www.futuredv.blogspot.com
 
Sounds terrific Bob! Congrats bud. I think I remember reading Hitchcock did such detailed storyboards that the movie as done before he ever filmed it. Keep on having fun! :D
 
Poke and Boz, thanks for the good vibes! Things are moving ahead, and we have another day of shooting scheduled for Monday. This will be the fun day, where the actors get to wear costumes and go WAY over the top acting! I'm looking forward to it.

http://www.futuredv.blogspot.com
 
I'll be sure to read up on the blog later; sounds like you have a great group of people together, meanwhile. :)

"if it's this much fun, why isn't EVERYBODY making movies?"
Click to expand...

You need to go watch the short "Why Do They Call It Filmmaking?" over at SonnyBoo.com. You'll be able to relate to it at some point in the future, I bet. :yes:

Here's a hearty :cheers: to Monday's upcoming success!
 
MrBobTV said:
It's almost like I want to think "if it's this much fun, why isn't EVERYBODY making movies?"

....It sure IS fun, though...when it goes right!
Click to expand...

That's the thing.. it's not too often that everything goes right. Finding a good cast and crew is all about persistence, and trusting your gut feeling about people.

Why isn't everybody making movies? Not everyone is creative enough to have vision for film.. also people generally think of filmmaking as very expensive (and they're generally right).

When you get right down to the heart of it though, filmmaking is just one big logistical puzzle that you have to solve.. the only problem is, as opposed to a jigsaw puzzle.. logistical puzzle pieces keep changing size and shape, so it's an ever evolving process of one compromise after another. Eventually (somehow) you finish, and do post production, and then when you watch the film (or better yet, show it around) the process is worthwhile. Don't get me wrong though.. I agree that it's fun, but it's focusing on the FUN and getting past the myriad of annoyances and problems that gets you through. ;)

Congrats on your first shoot. Hope the rest of the project runs as smooth for you.
 
Yes, that's exactly what I'm finding out; making a film is a logistical puzzle (or "nightmare" perhaps). Being innovative and flexible are both necessary traits for a filmmaker...along with having a good crew which is willing to work hard.

I'm also learning that working with talented actors is a big help to my creativity. I'm already thinking about future movies I'd like to write to take advantage of my actors' strong points.

I'll check out that short over at Sonnyboo's site. Thanks!

http://www.futuredv.blogspot.com
 
Sometimes just solving the puzzle can be a bonus in itself... I remember countless times where we would watch a shot over and over after completeing it... just because we had struck another challange off the list!
Of course, little did we know the tapeheads were slowly wearing down... mocking us..
 
Thanks Ed...what are you up to these days? We're probably going to start pre-production on another shoot as soon as production wraps on this one. Let me know if you're working on anything.

Spatula, I never thought about that! We're using borrowed cameras, and we don't have them long enough to burn through the tapeheads; we transfer the footage to VHS for preliminary viewing, then transfer through DV to the editing system to do the edit, so we only play the tape a couple of times on the camera.

I don't know why they haven't come up with an inexpensive mini-DV VCR yet...probably because it makes too much sense!

http://www.futuredv.blogspot.com
 
All I'm doing as of now is co-writing a story and working on the music for it. I don't think production will start for this before mid-summer. You can give me an email once you're done with your film.
 
I'm glad things went so well for you. I strongly believe that a positive attitude reaps positive results. Keep a positive attitude! Oh yeah, and keep planning well also.

And by the way, there are DV "VCRs" out there. Unless I misunderstood what you were saying. Basically Mini DV decks that play/record onto/from DV...not a camera.
 
Thanks Jason...the second day of the shoot went well also, and it looks like we'll need a 3rd and 4th, too. The studio is only open limited hours, so we can't get more than about 2 hours a night to shoot. I'd love to have a good 8- or 10-hour day to wrap this thing, but we have to adapt to what's available. At least the cast and crew believe in the project and are willing to work piecemeal to finish it.

I've been wondering about DV VCRs; I've never seen them advertised, except for studio quality professional models. Do you know of any in the under $300 price range?
 
No unfortunately I don't. The cheapest one that I have heard of is about $1,500 that an associate of mine just purchase. Pretty simple design, no bells and whistles or anything.
 
Bob: find yourself a no frills cheap DV camera with a firewire port, and use that as your DV VCR.

You'll save wear & tear on your regular camera, but still get all the functionality you need for editing.

if you find a used one on ebay that has some issues like the lcd is cracked or the lens is non-functioning, or the ccd is shot... but the tape deck still works good you might even get away with like $100 or less. :D

here's a link to what's available on ebay right now there are a number of them for under $200. Just make sure if you do go this route that you get one that is in fact miniDV.. some of these yahoos are advertising SD storage camera as being mini DV.. because they're small and record in a digital format onto an SD card.. punks. ;)
 
Thanks Will, that sounds like a good solution...I have a question though; does it matter WHAT miniDV cam you use?

For instance, if I shoot my footage on an XL2, can a cheapo busted Panny miniDV camera be used to transfer the data to my editing PC? Is the Firewire/miniDV/IEEEwhatever transfer format capable of moving the data off the tape to the computer regardless of the way it was recorded? I'm guessing it is, but I'd like to hear your opinion about that.

In the meantime, our current shoot is going to be scheduled for yet ANOTHER day (couple of hours, actually) a week from this Monday. What we'd originally (and naively) planned to be a long single day shoot, has ended up requiring a minimum of three days, and possibly a fourth to come.

The big problem is the fact that we can't use the studio for more than four or five hours on a weekend, and maybe three hours on a weeknight. Christ, if I can just get them to give me a full 12-hour day, I'd knock this puppy out in a single day. As it is, we're having some difficulty getting our actors to all be available at the same time.

My next project, I'm going to insist on 100% control over the location...it's easier to have a single LONG day of filming than the effort of getting everyone together two or three additional times. Hey, I'm still learning.

http://www.futuredv.blogspot.com
 
Yes, you can move footage shot on a DVX or XL2 with a cheapo cam - at least as long as it's functional! I do it all the time with 24p footage I shot using my DVX :)
 
Good to know, thanks Shaw.

Another note...we scheduled another shoot date for the 23rd. Boy, will I be glad when we get done with production and can REALLY start putting this thing together!
 
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