Post shoot blues

[fracaso]

Hello, I'm new here, and to filmmaking.

This might be a strange question to open with, but this is something I've dealt with my entire life in all manner of creative endeavors, and I'm curious how some of you might deal with it.

I just finished a fairly intense few days of shooting and I'm pretty tapped. I looked over what we got last night, and due to a combination of things -- about 70% inexperience and poor planning on my part, and about 30% losing crew at the last minute to unfortunate events -- we ended up with some glaring gaps in coverage, big continuity problems, sound issues, and things that seem to indicate I may have blown a good amount of the shoot. Not all of it is a big surprise, but some of it is a bit of a blow.

Let me just say before I ever decided to get deeper into this field, I realized I was going to learn some hard lessons, and this appears to be one of many to come. Objectively I know this. But I'm feeling pretty paralyzed by the prospect of even going through this footage as I feel like it's gutting me at every turn. Objectively I know it's all a learning experience, but I feel a sense of guilt for the volunteer crew and cast (and a sense of waste for what was paid for) and an overall sense of failure. This production is over a year in the making and is a passion project... I'm on the fence about whether to try and fix it, or just salvage what is there.

Most likely I probably lack the experience to be able to tell what's salvageable and what's not. I've been told I'm too hard on myself. But I know this one's a bit of a mess, I know I screwed up, I feel like a wreck, and I just want to curl up in a ball.

Any tips for how to mentally cope and keep on keeping on?

 

[CraigL]

Hello, I'm new here, and to filmmaking.

This might be a strange question to open with, but this is something I've dealt with my entire life in all manner of creative endeavors, and I'm curious how some of you might deal with it.

I just finished a fairly intense few days of shooting and I'm pretty tapped. I looked over what we got last night, and due to a combination of things -- about 70% inexperience and poor planning on my part, and about 30% losing crew at the last minute to unfortunate events -- we ended up with some glaring gaps in coverage, big continuity problems, sound issues, and things that seem to indicate I may have blown a good amount of the shoot. Not all of it is a big surprise, but some of it is a bit of a blow.

Let me just say before I ever decided to get deeper into this field, I realized I was going to learn some hard lessons, and this appears to be one of many to come. Objectively I know this. But I'm feeling pretty paralyzed by the prospect of even going through this footage as I feel like it's gutting me at every turn. Objectively I know it's all a learning experience, but I feel a sense of guilt for the volunteer crew and cast (and a sense of waste for what was paid for) and an overall sense of failure. This production is over a year in the making and is a passion project... I'm on the fence about whether to try and fix it, or just salvage what is there.

Most likely I probably lack the experience to be able to tell what's salvageable and what's not. I've been told I'm too hard on myself. But I know this one's a bit of a mess, I know I screwed up, I feel like a wreck, and I just want to curl up in a ball.

Any tips for how to mentally cope and keep on keeping on?

Everyone will deal with this in their own way, but the platitude "we learn more from our mistakes than our successes" I think bears much truth in situations like this. Rather than a lack of coverage, sound and continuity issues, you've got a huge amount of material to learn from and adjust/improve your next shoot.

Finishing it I think will make you feel better. Having completed a short, regardless of it's shortcomings, is an accomplishment. Perhaps one that will only be appreciated by yourself (and likely most people here) but that's what's important.

We've all done this. It looks so easy, but it isn't. But you really need to dissect what happened, and what you can do in preproduction to improve it, as well as strategies for dealing with the issues that cropped up during production. I've shot 3 times now for one director, and every shoot has had the same problems, he just never bothers to learn and improve, every shoot is as disorganized and behind schedule as the last. My crew is done with him I think. This last one was the worst, more continuity and holes than the first one we did together (probably because I spent a TON of time myself organizing that one).

Another platitude in closing: The next one can only get better? =)

CraigL

 

[Alcove Audio]

How do you get over it? Well, how do you get over other disappointments and come out feeling better and refreshed at the end? Put it on the shelf for a few days (weeks?) and have some fun. Go out with family/friends. Go out clubbing. Get laid. Go to church. All of the above. None of the above. Only you know yourself.

I realized I was going to learn some hard lessons, and this appears to be one of many to come.

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

You mentioned the things that went wrong, or didn't happen the way that you thought that it would - make a lessons learned list. You'll know what not to do next time. "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results."

Make a list of things that went right! Hey! You done good!!!!

See if you can find someone(s) to help you salvage what you can - another learning experience.

Pull whatever positives you can out of it.

 

[sfoster]

can you not do a reshoot? no one is going to hate you if the project turns out well. fix those continuity issues!!

production is the shortest phase of film development..

 

[NickClapper]

How you deal with this is up to you, but I guess I can still offer some recommendations.

One of the first shorts I shot was called 'The Samurai' and I shot it myself, but got in actors and a sound guy. Everyone was there for nothing, and I was directing and also operating the camera. And, when it was all done, I uploaded the footage onto my computer and noticed that 90% of the shots were slightly out of focus. Not out of focus enough for me to notice them on the tiny monitor when I was distracted directing, but enough that the footage was unusable.

How did I deal with it? I binned the footage that was unusable and got a DoP (Phil Arntz) in to reshoot the film. In the end, the film turned out fine: and my partnership with Phil extended to shooting a feature film. I now know that I shoot never operate the camera, and even though I wasted a couple of actors' time and efforts (they couldn't come back for the reshoot), I managed to get it done.

Alternatively: there were several points, making a feature film, when I knew that we hadn't got the coverage we needed, or had to cut scenes that would affect the continuity. And when we were putting the film together I could've stressed for years about all the things that weren't quite right, but, in the end, it was better just to get it put together.

The moral of the story: Destroy it if it's unusable. If not, do the very best you can and move on. You'll learn a lot about what you're good at, and where there are still holes in your production style.

 

[_Rok_]

But I'm feeling pretty paralyzed by the prospect of even going through this footage.

Gut Check: Carefully logging your footage will allow you to see the shots are they really are. Look at every take and write down your thoughts. The exercise of editing will be highly educational.

At each stage of the process, my short film died and was reborn as something entirely new: writing, casting, rehearsal, shooting, and editing. It's worth cutting your footage together to see if you can make something new out of it. Keep an open mind. The result may not be what you envisioned a year ago, but that's quite common.

BTW, self-loathing is part of my process as well Entirely normal.

Congratulations, you shot a movie! Move forward.

 

[jmoschner]

People above have given some good advice. Moving forward, look at what you did right and achieved. Focus on the positive and look to make the most out of what went to crap.

You will never get what you imagine or what from a film. I'm current project is animated. I'm creating it frame by frame and I still don't have it exactly as I imagine and there are things I would like to change. But I know better than to do down the road of endless changes and tweaks.

The first film anyone makes usually is bad. Really bad. It is part of the experience.

Worst case, you embrace all that has gone wrong and make the worst movie you possibly can. Forget about making it good. Make it horrible. Epicly horrible. Have contenuity issues? Ramp 'em up. Make no two shots match. Sound messed up? ADR the whole thing as comicly bad as possible. Don't even try to make it sync. Turn it into an Ed Wood or MST kinda thing.

 

[fracaso]

All great suggestions and thanks a bunch. No question you can't learn it all before you mess it up....

I'm sort of in the second act already; like someone mentioned, where last year's shoot fell short, we wrote around it to make it work, shot more material to fit that new story. And in reality, it's not all bad, it's just certain scenes have big holes, and others were maybe just poorly conceived/written and we didn't know until we shot them... and more often than I'd like, some sound is pretty botched (boom too far out, bad acoustic spaces.) In the end I think I'll seek out a more experienced eye on what "unusable" really means, as I tend to be a little on the harsh side as far as judgement goes. So far I think the lesson is "less is more" and "take time when you need it."

Thanks again for the support. These comments also helped me to remember the three movies, the one you write,shoot,edit...

Now I just need a short stay in an asylum and I'll be good.

 

[fracaso]

Worst case, you embrace all that has gone wrong and make the worst movie you possibly can. Forget about making it good. Make it horrible. Epicly horrible. Have contenuity issues? Ramp 'em up. Make no two shots match. Sound messed up? ADR the whole thing as comicly bad as possible. Don't even try to make it sync. Turn it into an Ed Wood or MST kinda thing.

Boy do I ever love this suggestion.

 

[ChimpPhobiaFilms]

Hello new dude!

Take note of your mistakes. After making a film, I write down everything I need to improve on and the critiques I get from others. Then I bring that notebook on set so I do not make those mistakes again.

Ask the cast and crew if you can do reshoots.
Do your best to fix it in post. ADR, color correction, etc.

Good luck!

 

[sfoster]

But I'm feeling pretty paralyzed by the prospect of even going through this footage as I feel like it's gutting me at every turn.

That sounds awful. I go through my footage and I cannot describe the elation. Maybe you jumped into the deep end too soon. Everyone wants to be famous and have fun, but no one wants to put in all the work and study

I do have some holes here and there, but I also scheduled more than one day of shooting because I know the project was rushed.. and time is gold

 

[fracaso]

That sounds awful. I go through my footage and I cannot describe the elation. Maybe you jumped into the deep end too soon. Everyone wants to be famous and have fun, but no one wants to put in all the work and study

I do have some holes here and there, but I also scheduled more than one day of shooting because I know the project was rushed.. and time is gold

No desire to be famous, zero. And I have fun. A several day shoot, and too small of a crew and too short of pre-prod, I really can't expect more than what we got out of it.

And I do study quite a bit and practice... So far, studying doesn't teach as much as actually trying stuff. And I do enjoy looking at the footage, but the mistakes/missed opportunities make me cringe. I'm a perfectionist and probably OCD and it doesn't matter if it's film or any other creative pursuit, I always deal with some loathing/backlash after the fact. The post was my way of reaching out to see if others had experienced same. That said, I'm glad that you don't seem to have that problem

 

[Cracker Funk]

Whoah, hold up! This thread needs to back up. I think we're being way too quick to accept that the footage isn't salvageable.

Maybe it's unusable, maybe it isn't. I think we should take into consideration the fact that we're often our harshest critics. Yeah, I've felt the sinking feeling that what I shot was crap (as recently as a few weeks ago, actually). I've experienced this feeling many times, and I've often been wrong.

Conversely, I've also experienced the opposite -- total elation that I had done everything perfectly. Only to later realize that I was wrong. Oh, SO wrong.

You gotta start editing it. Editing is often like putting together a really intricate puzzle, only you don't have all the pieces that came with the original manufacture, and you've simply gotta find a way to rework it into a beautiful picture.

I promise you this -- gaps can be filled in, with creative editing.

Chin up, and soldier on! If you find that you simply must shoot additional footage, then do that. But don't abandon what you've got until you've at least put some time into post production.

 

[Zensteve]

Yah, spend some time in the edit, to see how it comes together. Don't rush it. Don't force it.

Make it to the best of your ability. If you lack finesse in certain areas of post, seek out those with the skills. Don't go it alone.

At the end of the day, it's just your first film. The mistakes made & lessons learned will only ensure the next one is better.

.

 

[fracaso]

Yah, spend some time in the edit, to see how it comes together. Don't rush it. Don't force it.

Make it to the best of your ability. If you lack finesse in certain areas of post, seek out those with the skills. Don't go it alone.

At the end of the day, it's just your first film. The mistakes made & lessons learned will only ensure the next one is better.

.

Hey Thanks! All good sense. Yeah it's definitely the first effort of this magnitude... This may sound odd but... so excited to get on to smaller and less ambitious projects!

 

[CraigL]

This may sound odd but... so excited to get on to smaller and less ambitious projects!

Doesn't sound odd at all! My crew and I are doing just that, working on some 1-2 pages scripts that focus heavily on one aspect (specific lighting, fancy camera moves, VFX, SFX, sound) the really be able to get everyone firing on all cylinders. This time of year is tougher also, with school starting again (for those of us in school, and for those of us with kids in school) and it seems like non-stop things going on until the new year, so it's helpful to keep shooting but in small, bite-sized chunks. Still will be some great footage for our showreels, and valuable practise/experience for the bigger projects which are easier to do in the summer.

CraigL