Turn around time between scenes

welsh_gambit

welsh_gambit

Hi guys, I'm currently trying to put togather a shooting schedule for my TV series and was wondering how much time you guys leave between scenes to transfer and set up equipment?

I know it would depend on the amount of equipment but for a ultra low budget series with one camera, basic lighting and sound. Would you say 15-20 minutes to be OK?

We're basically moving from filming from outside a house, then into the lounge and then out the back door into the garden. I've allocated between 30 to 90 mins for each scene and was just wondering an average you guys leave for turn around time.
 
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How big is your crew? How experienced? How good is the director and other leaders at communicating what needs to be done? Are shots storyboarded or just a shot list? Are sets decorated in advance or as you go?

Moving from one room to another, setting up one camera and lights for the first shot, getting the on screen talent in the right place (after makeup checks) with just a handful of people who all l Ows where everything goes... At least 20 minutes. And that's if everything's perfect. 45 sounds more feasible to me.
 
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You always want to be conservative, but we shot in 3 different restaurants within a mile radius in less than 2 hours. It was a simple taste test and only for local cable.
 
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depends on the production needs.

If an office like think then I think your estimates are pretty good.

Dont forget that only gets you the FIRST camera set up in the new location. You have the other camera\light setups for the SAME scene to consider. 20-30 mins for a cam and light setup is fast, but like I said doable in the right context..
 
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There are way too many variables to answer this question. The only way to answer it is to get to know your own personal shooting style.

For now, I'd say it's safer to go with a per-page rule-of-thumb. Off the top of my head, I'd say 5 pages in one day is a fairly safe estimate (though you can definitely do much faster).
 
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Cracker Funk said:
Off the top of my head, I'd say 5 pages in one day is a fairly safe estimate (though you can definitely do much faster).
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That's five minutes of film length which means the average feature of 100 minutes will have a 20 day shooting schedule.

I think it seems a tad optimistic but I have no feature shooting experience, so. 20 days does seems pretty quick, though, even with magic math.
 
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Wombat said:
That's five minutes of film length which means the average feature of 100 minutes will have a 20 day shooting schedule.

I think it seems a tad optimistic but I have no feature shooting experience, so. 20 days does seems pretty quick, though, even with magic math.
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Hollywood productions are very different from micro-budget stuff. I averaged 6 pages, per day, on my feature shoot. 5 pages is definitely working fast, but I know other local (micro-budget) filmmakers who've kept that pace.
 
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Cracker Funk said:
Hollywood productions are very different from micro-budget stuff. I averaged 6 pages, per day, on my feature shoot. 5 pages is definitely working fast, but I know other local (micro-budget) filmmakers who've kept that pace.
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Hmm, I suppose most no budget (<$50k) indies tend to be more dialogue heavy out of necessity, which of course equates to a higher page-per-minute formula. That still seems like a breakneck pace; you didn't have to set up lighting in most of your scenes, right? I feel like that would be a particularly time intensive operation with a no budget skeleton crew.

I think Paul and wheat are right. It's very largely dependent on the particulars of the crew, because even a microcrew of two who are extremely skilled could move faster than a group of five who are only moderately skilled.
 
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Wombat said:
I think Paul and wheat are right. It's very largely dependent on the particulars of the crew, because even a microcrew of two who are extremely skilled could move faster than a group of five who are only moderately skilled.
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Right. Definitely very dependent on all sorts of stuff. For example, my shoot required (in fact, I kind of insisted on it), almost no setting up of lights. By contrast, a friend of mine shot a 25-page short in 6 days, and he spent RIDICULOUS amounts of time on each setup. So, he didn't reach the 5-per-day estimate that I'm throwing out there, but it is also true that he is very big on cinematography, and so his shoots tend to be the opposite side of the pendulum from mine.

Plus, there's the 48HFP. Most teams can knock out 7-10 pages in one day. Now that's a crazy day, and most of the movies are crap, so that's really not a recommended shooting-pace, but it gives you an idea of what can be done. I think 5 per day is relatively safe, maybe 4 if you wanna play it even more safe.
 
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BTW, I hear about all sorts of micro-budget indie features that get it done in two weeks, or less. It is true that mine is very talky, but it also has an extended action-scene, and a couple of big musical montages that required LOTS of setups in MANY locations. Without stuff like that, I could totally see shooting a "stereotypical" relationship-talky mumblecore feature in two weeks.
 
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Do you have an experienced 1st AD you can go to for advice (even if you can't have them on a production)?

For inexperienced filmmakers I tell them that, if they only have a little money, spend it first to find an experienced AD. And then listen to what they say.
 
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I consider 3 to 4 pages a day about right, so nice to have that pace. 5 to 6 pages more normal for my budget level. Pretty rushed, but you can do a decent job. Anything over that is "That shot take have to do, NEXT!" territory.
 
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