After over a century of movie production we know a number of things regarding success. Planning is, as always, essential. Colour, lighting, good scripts, good acting, and good equipment are also important. On top of this is an awareness of changing technologies, such as the addition of video and 3D to film and special effects, and changing expectations on the part of audiences.
So what are some of the core elements in shooting video?
You may have noticed at the end of most movies, the incredibly long list of credits from producers to gripboys. You may be wondering if all of these people are necessary for your video, especially if you are considering a talking head posted to your website. The answer is, “no, YouTube like videos don’t need all the people, but yes, they do need to consider all the jobs these people do and find solutions that can be handled by the crew you hire.”
Here in brief, are some of the fundamentals to consider.
Why are you making a movie and what’s your budget?
Although there are 2 questions here, the real aim here is to enunciate your goal. Is this a creative venture or a marketing piece? Are you looking for high-end production values or is the movie headed for YouTube? What resources are you intending to throw at the project?
To which channels are you distributing?
Some of the most common options are: movie houses, television, home theatres, tradeshow reels, dvds, and the web.
What media are you using?
The 3 media used in movies are film, tape and digitized video. Each has its merits. If I were summing them up, I would say: film produces clear colour, video is cheap, and digital video is both cheap and easy to edit.
Most likely you are shooting to digital video. This means you will need a DV camera, a computer and video-editing software. The advantages are that it is easy to cut and move about segments of the movie, enhance areas that are damaged, and add transitions. Disadvantage include that you can become disorganized, you can easily delete part or all of the film, the computer processing needs are huge, the computer storage needs are huge, it is easy to go over-the-top with transitions and special effects.
The choice of channel also affects the standards used for shooting. NTSC is the standard for North American television. The frame rate is 29.97 frames per second (fps) using 2 interlaced fields and a vertical resolution of 525. PAL is European and is shot at 25 fps with a vertical resolution of 625. This means that if you are creating a DVD to play at tradeshows around the world, you may need to create 2 copies of the final edit. HDTV (high definition) is different again. Shot at 24 or 30 fps with no fields, the vertical resolution is 1080.
Digital video also tends to use rectangular pixels unlike the square ones used on computer screens and televisions. The typical 4:3 aspect ratio of the computer screen (also known as 1.33:1) typically changes with digital video to 16:7. But check your equipment, there are other aspect ratios out there. Not recognizing the difference between the aspect ratio of the equipment you used to shoot the video and that which you use to display it, can lead to an end product that is squeezed to look too tall, or pulled out to look fat.
Have you got a script? Is it marked up to simplify the shoot?
There are standards for writing scripts that are intended to clarify each step of the production. The first step is the treatment. This is the overall story written as prose. They may include ideas for scenes and snatches of dialog. The aim is to clarify your thoughts and get the overall story down on paper, in order. It will also prove useful as a way to share your ideas.
The script is the detailed version of the story, broken into scenes which are delineated by sluglines. Slugs are inserted text that state the type of shot required for the scene: such as FRONT DOOR – HOME OFFICE – MID-AFTERNOON. This information alone tells the crew a lot about lighting needs, props, potential actors, and issues surrounding sound. A quick scan of the sluglines in a script will give the stakeholders a sense of the complexity of the movie and therefore, its cost. Lots of references to falling stars and elfland indicate $$$.
Scripts are formatted with wide margins. Sluglines are typed in CAPS. When there is dialog, the actor’s name is written on a single line, centred, with the description of any actions required, typed under the name, in parentheses. After that, the dialog is inserted and indented. Then comes a description of what happens next. For example
LUCY
(softly)
Get out.
If it helps, you might want to consider screenwriting software which will help you format your script. Final Draft is a useful option which includes a scene navigator. Scriptwriter also has aids for interactive scriptwriting if you are working on a game or non-linear story.
Once you have a script, you can work on a schedule. If you are shooting a talking head for the web, this step is likely to be a one-page breakdown of the scene. The schedule breaks the script into individuals scenes that start with the Scene Name, a one line description, INT/EXT, DAY/NIGHT and a script page reference. After this, list the Cast, Extras, Props, Wardrobe, Makeup, Special Equipment, and Sound Fx/Music.
You’ll need to layout a schedule that makes the best use of actors and props. Movies are not usually shot in scene order, but are shot with an eye to who is available, the weather, and rentals that need to be returned. Actors need to be able to move into a scene and follow it with something completely different.
At this point, you should be able to put together a fairly competent budget.
The last step in terms of the story, is the creation of pre-visualization storyboards. These are quick sketches where each sketch represents the keyframes of the movie. The keyframes are the frames where something significant changes: thunder rolls, an actor collapses, the focus of the scene switches from one actor to another, the camera zooms out… it doesn’t matter whether the change is initiated by a person, camera, lighting or sound, something significant has changed on stage.
Story boards vary in the level of detail. Some are pencil figures with arrows to show how the camera should handle the moment. Others are as detailed as a comic book or are themselves, works of art. There’s no rule here: the point of the story board is to allow the crew to visualize how the scene plays out.
What personnel do you have and what roles can they fill?
If you use amateurs, they may need prompts to help them get into the mood and remember their lines. It’s always dead obvious when an actor is reading cue cards, so you really want to ensure your actors understand what they are trying to say and need as little help as possible once the camera starts to role. If you retake the shot again and again, amateurs will begin tire and it will show.
Even a low budget movie benefits from attention to hair, makeup and wardrobe. If this is a low budget one-scene video, then have the actor(s) stand in the lights you intend to use, shoot a few frames and download it to the computer. Don’t try to judge the quality of the shot from the viewfinder. You need to know if the actor’s nose is shiny, if his hair looks fake, the mole on his cheek is distracting, his lips are pale, his eyes are dull. You can fix some of this with the camera and lighting and during editing, but why not save time and money by adding a little blush or concealer and running your fingers through his hair so he looks less stiff. Speaking of which, if the actor is very tense, you need to get him to relax. Photographers have lots of tricks for snapping a less formal photo, but when you shoot video, the camera rolls long enough for fidgeting and tension to reappear.
What props do you need?
Few things can throw off the pace of the movie then having to stop to find an appropriate prop. Get everything sorted before you start. Make sure they are in reach, clean and ready. Let the camera and lighting crews get a look at them in case they need special lighting. Items that flash or that are dull need special care when lighting.
Locations also need to be considered. Where are you shooting? If this is a low key in-house movie, then make sure you won’t be interrupted by staff emergencies, people needing to cross the “set” to get to work, power surges, lighting that changes when someone opens or closes a blind, background noises such as computer hums or airplanes. Let the lighting and camera crews test the location and adjust their equipment to get the best effect. The actors can be lit separately. You may find that you need to block out areas to simplify the background. There’s no need to tire your actors while the location is adjusted. Any living body of the right height can stand in while the crew gets a clean looking base shot.
What equipment have you got or can you get?
Yes, garbage in means garbage out. The best video editing suites can only go so far to correct poorly lit scenes where the actors mumble while a fly zooms around the set.
Cheap cameras generally pick up less information making it even harder for the editing suite to fix problems. Get the best camera you can afford, that you know how to handle and use a sturdy tripod or other stand to keep it steady.
Lighting has an important impact on the success of the movie since people are extremely sensitive to light and to a lesser degree, to colour. You will probably need a number of lights and filters, some of which are used to offset the natural lighting of the set where you shoot. Unless you are on a dark stage, you will not be able to control the overall lighting available but you may be able to compensate for it.
- Indoor fluourescents are coloured and often leave people looking greenish.
- Tungsten lights tend to turn the set orange. They also are relatively dim and shoot light in all directions. You can use tin foil reflectors to direct more light at the set.
- Outdoor light is blue-white and gives people what we consider to be normal skin tones. Interior shots flooded with natural light through a window can be balanced by daylight balance lights or by adding a Blue gel to tungsten lights.
If possible, shoot with all-natural ambient lights. Light the location, and then light the actors separately using key lights to create or remove shadows. This often requires a total of 3 lights: for example, a keylight to highlight the frontal planes of the face; a back light to add depth to the overall head; and a fill light to soften the shadows. Back fill lights are added to the overall scene to create separation between the background and the actors, especially when shooting against a backdrop.
Block out bright light for example, by moving the scene away from the light source, turning off overhead lights, and using “barn doors” on spotlights.
Sound is difficult if only because we often don’t notice ambient noise until the movie is played back. Fluourescent lights and air conditioners buzz. Traffic outside the window or airplanes overhead can obscure the sounds we want to collect and may seem out of context for the scene. You may be able to control some of the ambient noise by shooting early in the morning before traffic builds or by working in a sound-proofed room. You can also consider dubbing the scene later or using voice-overs, but if this is a talking head movie, syncronizing the speaker’s lips and the sound will be a nightmare.
An excellent mic can remove much of the problem. The microphone on your camera will probably pick up outside noise so consider adding a good unidirectional mic which collects sound from one direction only. If there are multiple speakers they may each need their own mic. They should be unobtrusive both to please the audience and to prevent the speakers from becoming overly aware of themselves.
Summary
As we say throughout this website, planning at the beginning saves time and money in the long run. If nothing else, we hope this article has made you aware of some of the basic elements of creating a video.