What Am I Missing?

etnad0

etnad0

I'm kind of new here. I've been reading the forum for a while and I think I have most of my bases covered. I just need to know what I've overlooked. We are filming an 8 hour mini series that we hope to pitch to a family network. We own all of our equipment for production so we don't have any rental fees.

Cameras
2x Panasonic DVX100B
1x Canon GL 2
2x Canon XL 1

Audio
5x Shotgun Mics
1x Studio Condenser Mic
Tascam FW-1082 Mixing Board
Cakewalk Sonar 4 Producer Edition

Video Editing
Adobe Premier Elements/After Effects
Sony Vegas Pro

We conducted our first casting call a few weeks ago and are doing a 2nd tomorrow. Most of the parts have been cast.

Everyone on the project has agreed to work for a small % of back end revenue share, credits, and free lunch. We have our own notary that has notarized everything for free and will notarize any future contracts for free. We have a boom operator, sound man, camera man, and special fx team. I'm directing and co-writing with a partner. We have a script supervisor as well. We'll have props and costumes taken care of before we start filming in the next couple of weeks. We've scouted locations and have the proper release forms ready to go when necessary. The website name and hosting has been purchased. Copyright forms are mostly complete and will be ready to go out when the series is completed.

What am I missing that we need before we get started?
 
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You don't say which shotguns - and why the hell would you need five? - or which "studio" condenser. You also don't mention whether or not you have a boom-pole, shock-mount, wind protection, etc.

The FW-1082 is not a production sound board, and will be impossible to use for run & gun.

Are you planning on recording audio direct to camera?
 
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Is the production company insured? Equipment, Public Liability insurance, Employee Insurance (Unless agreed prior within the contract)?

Welcome to the community! :)

It sounds like a very exciting project, the best of luck!
 
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For a TV series it's unusual to shoot with SD cameras. And shooting with five
cameras seems like overkill to me. A lot of crew needed to properly handle
five cameras. You have a boom operator, sound man, camera man which
is good for one camera and one mic. You seem to be four people short.

I find it interesting that you will be using five shotgun mics and not even one
light is mentioned. Or a single piece of grip equipment. You have a special fx
team but no AD or scripty or even a grip.

I totally understand no budget filmmaking using a minimal crew, but with
five cameras and five shotgun mics it seems having a few other crew members
is pretty important. And even a few lights sure would make an eight hour
mini series look much better.

When do you start shooting?
How long will the shoot be?
 
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Alcove Audio said:
You don't say which shotguns - and why the hell would you need five? - or which "studio" condenser. You also don't mention whether or not you have a boom-pole, shock-mount, wind protection, etc.

The FW-1082 is not a production sound board, and will be impossible to use for run & gun.

Are you planning on recording audio direct to camera?
Click to expand...

Samson C01 for the mic. It picks up pretty good sound so I figured it may come in handy. We do have a shock mount, boom pole, wind screen, pop filter, etc. The church one of the camera men attends has a full scale professional recording studio that we have access to for voice overs if needed.

You are right about the Tascam. I plan to use it in non moving scenes. I did consider getting a 100ft. slr cord to use with the boom mic, but would like some suggestions on that if anyone has any experience attempting that.

I'm trying to avoid recording audio direct to the camera. Syncing is not a problem, we just want to get the best sound quality possible.
 
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directorik said:
For a TV series it's unusual to shoot with SD cameras. And shooting with five
cameras seems like overkill to me. A lot of crew needed to properly handle
five cameras. You have a boom operator, sound man, camera man which
is good for one camera and one mic. You seem to be four people short.
Click to expand...

LOL someone said it was a bit overkill, but when you have 3 people that own cameras working on the same project, we have access to them. We probably won't use them all at the same time, but we have access to 5 cameras.

We are shooting a supernatural series and I know Scy Fy still plays a lot of SD mini series and movies. ABC Family does as well. These are two of our target networks to pitch the finished product to. Worst case scenario, we turn it into a YouTube mini series.

I find it interesting that you will be using five shotgun mics and not even one
light is mentioned. Or a single piece of grip equipment. You have a special fx
team but no AD or scripty or even a grip.
Click to expand...

I didn't have them right next to me and they are all different so I didn't list what they were. The GL2 doesn't have the SLR if I recall (not my camera), so we have an extra shotgun mic.

I totally understand no budget filmmaking using a minimal crew, but with
five cameras and five shotgun mics it seems having a few other crew members
is pretty important. And even a few lights sure would make an eight hour
mini series look much better.
Click to expand...

I should have been clear. We have 5 guys on set that work cams. One of the actors is actually a producer but loved the concept that I pitched to him, which was originally to bring him on board as a camera man. He wanted to be in the series so he auditioned and is really good. Long story short, he's an actor/camera man since he has a minor role.

As far as lights, we have 8-10 between us. We also have 2x Canon T2i (not mine), but we won't be using those for this project because of the limited filming time which is 8-10 minutes if I recall correctly. I know we probably won't film for that long, but I'd love to film a scene straight through perfectly lol.

When do you start shooting?
How long will the shoot be?
Click to expand...

We start shooting in 3-4 weeks which gives us enough time to tie up loose ends hopefully.
 
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It's difficult to answer your question, "What am I missing that we need
before we get started?" when you forget to mention what you already have.

Anyway, good luck with the shoot. Should be great fun!
 
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Alcove Audio said:
It's an overpriced poorly made audio toy that has no place on a film set.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree. I messed around with music for a while and the person using it has to know what they are doing. The audio quality is very good and crystal clear in the right hands. On the other hand, I've been to a studio out here that had expensive equipment, but amateurs running it and they had lag, static, and all kinds of other problems. I guess it depends on who's using it.
 
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directorik said:
It's difficult to answer your question, "What am I missing that we need
before we get started?" when you forget to mention what you already have.

Anyway, good luck with the shoot. Should be great fun!
Click to expand...

Very true. But that's the point. I may have something I forgot to list or someone may mention something that I don't have access to at all. This is my first project so I'm still learning a lot. I'm also working with people that have tons of experience so hopefully it turns out great.

Thanks.
 
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Sounds interesting. A huge job ahead. You don't mention lighting which is something that has to be considered. For such a long production I would find someone to solely focus on continuity. It will save the editor much frustration. In fact get the editor on set. Try and get the footage edited as you go along. You will see very quickly what reshoots you'll need to schedule.

All the very best.
 
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leebarry said:
Sounds interesting. A huge job ahead. You don't mention lighting which is something that has to be considered. For such a long production I would find someone to solely focus on continuity. It will save the editor much frustration. In fact get the editor on set. Try and get the footage edited as you go along. You will see very quickly what reshoots you'll need to schedule.

All the very best.
Click to expand...

We have plenty of lights. 8-10. It should be exciting. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks.
 
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