Time schedulling for a 3 minute short film
- Thread starter TOBIB
- Start date
I worked on that reality show, "On The Lot". One
of the challenges was for the directors to shoot a
one page scene in one hour. They had a full, pro
crew at their disposal.
Very few of them completed it.
I can shoot 5 pages of dialogue, with full coverage,
in 6 hours. IF I have good actors and a good crew.
What you can do might be very different. You're
going to shoot a master and close ups of each actor.
Since you don't tell us how many actors I will assume
you've got three. That means four set ups. If you
want to do more coverage you will need more set
ups.
If your crew is experienced and can get the general
lighting set up quickly and can adjust for each camera
set up quickly and you only do those four set ups, 6
hours seems reasonable. If you have no crew at all
(or just a dedicated friend or two) it could take longer.
If you are doing good lighting or just using the studio
wash it could take even less time. If you aren't doing
much coverage...
Well, you get the idea. My suggestions is to book as
much time as you can. You won't know how long it's
going to take until you're finished.
Figure out how many camera set ups you are going to
need and how often you think you will need to move
lights. Then, knowing the experience and skill level of the
actors and crew you should be able to make a ball park
estimate.
of the challenges was for the directors to shoot a
one page scene in one hour. They had a full, pro
crew at their disposal.
Very few of them completed it.
I can shoot 5 pages of dialogue, with full coverage,
in 6 hours. IF I have good actors and a good crew.
What you can do might be very different. You're
going to shoot a master and close ups of each actor.
Since you don't tell us how many actors I will assume
you've got three. That means four set ups. If you
want to do more coverage you will need more set
ups.
If your crew is experienced and can get the general
lighting set up quickly and can adjust for each camera
set up quickly and you only do those four set ups, 6
hours seems reasonable. If you have no crew at all
(or just a dedicated friend or two) it could take longer.
If you are doing good lighting or just using the studio
wash it could take even less time. If you aren't doing
much coverage...
Well, you get the idea. My suggestions is to book as
much time as you can. You won't know how long it's
going to take until you're finished.
Figure out how many camera set ups you are going to
need and how often you think you will need to move
lights. Then, knowing the experience and skill level of the
actors and crew you should be able to make a ball park
estimate.
As Direktorik said, it depends. 2 actors or 12, are they stationary or moving around, is the crew experienced or not...
I'd say as much timne as you can, up to 8 hours. You might be able to finish 3 pages in 4 or 5 hours, but you don't want to have to "settle" near the end because time is running out on you.
My only experience with a rented location, as my time ran down on the last day I accepted some takes I would have redone if "oh crap, I still have to shoot.." hadn't been in the back of my mind.
My only experience with a rented location, as my time ran down on the last day I accepted some takes I would have redone if "oh crap, I still have to shoot.." hadn't been in the back of my mind.
So you have your master shot (stationary dialog).
A few (2? 4? 8?) moviing shots.
Any close ups?
And two shots?
Any OTS (over the shoulder)?
Since it's in front of a greenscreen I assume the lighting will
be a flat wash with no shadows and from very few angles. Am
I right? Or do you have bigger plans? How many total set ups
will you need to cover the scene fully?
A few (2? 4? 8?) moviing shots.
Any close ups?
And two shots?
Any OTS (over the shoulder)?
Since it's in front of a greenscreen I assume the lighting will
be a flat wash with no shadows and from very few angles. Am
I right? Or do you have bigger plans? How many total set ups
will you need to cover the scene fully?
@gonzo_entertainment, yes, you are right with that.
I was thinking of keeping things simple, so:
one closeup, one medium shot per actor. I intended to let the actors run their dialog trough, then switch camera position and film the other actor, letting them run trough the dialog again without interruption.
There will be a couple of other shots. But the dialog will be the major part.
For lightning I'll use two light sources and maybe a third. I want an even lightning with some soft shadows on the face (Rembrandt lightning).
I was thinking of keeping things simple, so:
one closeup, one medium shot per actor. I intended to let the actors run their dialog trough, then switch camera position and film the other actor, letting them run trough the dialog again without interruption.
There will be a couple of other shots. But the dialog will be the major part.
For lightning I'll use two light sources and maybe a third. I want an even lightning with some soft shadows on the face (Rembrandt lightning).
I'm sort of in the same boat Tobib, only I'm not shooting in a studio. So I have sort of a related question:
When I do my story boards, would it make sense to also do diagrams or atleast note where the DP and I would like the lights set up. This way we can go faster? Or would it be a waste of time doing all that work? I would think this would be a little easier, but I'm sure so much might change once on location that we end up using different lighting set ups. What do you guys think?
When I do my story boards, would it make sense to also do diagrams or atleast note where the DP and I would like the lights set up. This way we can go faster? Or would it be a waste of time doing all that work? I would think this would be a little easier, but I'm sure so much might change once on location that we end up using different lighting set ups. What do you guys think?
I would do location scouting with your DP and your Gaffer before you start shooting. You can certainly get your storyboards done before hand. Then have those in your hand when you do the location scouting with your Gaffer and DP. That way you guys will know where the camera goes and the Gaffer will know where the lights need to go, so when you get there you can just go shot by shot. Other thoughts?
Once locations are selected, I take EVERY crew member who can make it to all the locations before hand. The DP can see what the natural/practical lighting looks like, where can he put lights, etc.. the makeup person can see the light situation and where they will need to set up, the sound guy can see how the room sounds, are there issues he'll have to deal with, craft services sees where they can set up, etc...