Doing EVERY THING yourself.
- Thread starter drc
- Start date
Very necessary. But take one thing at a time. How are you with a camera? That's #1, in my opinion, and don't rush past it.
That's why they make tripods and remotes!
(3 cameras in this setup)
Seriously, the first time director can't know everything. You would benefit from working with anyone with experience, even if it's just your actor/actress! I always said that if you kept Anthony Hopkins in frame and recorded good audio, no one is going to notice your basics, unless you screw it up (jolt the camera, distort his voice with bad levels, etc).
So, make sure you have good focus - adjust your eyepiece until the print in the display is sharp. Get your microphone close to the talent (within 2' of their mouth for closeups, just above the frameline for wider shots).
The more you plan (script, storyboard, practice), the better it will be.
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As a director you should understan every aspect and every job on set, so you know who to look for to fill those roles and how to communicate what you want in different situations. If you know a lot about camera work, you k ow what you can ask of your camera op.
However, without experience this is impossible. You can read all you want, but I would recommened (as well as most here) that you shoot shorts focusing on different aspects of filmmaking until you have it all down. It's a lot cheaper to make mistakes on a 3 minute short than a 90+ minute feature
However, without experience this is impossible. You can read all you want, but I would recommened (as well as most here) that you shoot shorts focusing on different aspects of filmmaking until you have it all down. It's a lot cheaper to make mistakes on a 3 minute short than a 90+ minute feature
Do everything yourself whenever possible? No, do everything possible to avoid it like the plague. Otherwisw, you'll be pulling your hair out.
Filmmaking is a collaboration of artists. It's not a solo effort. A effective director has great people skills and knows how to talk to people to get what they want. You will get burned until you know a hack from a true artist of a craft. You will get burned from egoes ruining your set with their selfishness. But then, you will learn to get team players and see the wheels in motion of true collaboration and the forming of a great film.
You need to learn how to work with people and let them know what you vision is as the director. James Cameron and Tim Burton are considered SOBs by those who work for them because they bump heads with their people on who is in charge and whose vision is being forged into moving pictures.
I have worn too many hats in my own productions and come to hear the words of Clint Eastwood haunting me, "A man has to know his limits."
Filmmaking is a collaboration of artists. It's not a solo effort. A effective director has great people skills and knows how to talk to people to get what they want. You will get burned until you know a hack from a true artist of a craft. You will get burned from egoes ruining your set with their selfishness. But then, you will learn to get team players and see the wheels in motion of true collaboration and the forming of a great film.
You need to learn how to work with people and let them know what you vision is as the director. James Cameron and Tim Burton are considered SOBs by those who work for them because they bump heads with their people on who is in charge and whose vision is being forged into moving pictures.
I have worn too many hats in my own productions and come to hear the words of Clint Eastwood haunting me, "A man has to know his limits."
Yeah, the goal is to do less and less over time. I want to have some experience with it so I know if the sound guy, MUA, grip, editor, etc... is doing a good job or not, and how to communicate what I want to them, but I am more than happy to let them actually do the work.
The less hats I wear the more time I have to devote to my real job of directing. I could not have found the power button to turn on the camera on my first two films, and why should I know how to, that's the 1st AC's job. My job is to tell them where to point it.
The less hats I wear the more time I have to devote to my real job of directing. I could not have found the power button to turn on the camera on my first two films, and why should I know how to, that's the 1st AC's job. My job is to tell them where to point it.
I think when you're starting out-having you and camera is essential. If you can get sound equipment (mic) and tripod and computer editing, all the better.
It's very much a gradual process, and you'll find that you may do some things a lot better than others. As you get experience, particularly with stuff that's of a semi-pro, pro nature more people come into.
But first, get yourself and camera, and start shooting
It's very much a gradual process, and you'll find that you may do some things a lot better than others. As you get experience, particularly with stuff that's of a semi-pro, pro nature more people come into.
But first, get yourself and camera, and start shooting
Scoopicman IS the One Man Band!
I love working with a committed, talented crew that are devoted to their specific roles and duties on set. At the same time, I also enjoy taking on those jobs myself if necessary.
For me it depends on the scope and purpose of the project. If it's an intimate short documentary where I'm following one subject around, sure, I'll probably do that myself. If it's a narrative piece, I will try to crew up as best I can and delegate. I am not a cinematographer nor production designer, gaffer...
That said, I did write, produce, direct, shoot, edit, etc. my first feature, which stemmed from super low funding and a cast (20+) that had jobs and other things going on, so sometimes I had to grab what shots I could on a moments notice. "You don't work until 3:00? Cool. I'll be there in 20 minutes. Get your wardrobe on!" Not the ideal situation, but it got done. Hook & Crook Films would have been a more appropriate name for my "company".
The logistics of having more people involved and zero money to fund the production just doesn't compute in my experience. You can only stretch a dollar, and people's patience, so thin!
I love working with a committed, talented crew that are devoted to their specific roles and duties on set. At the same time, I also enjoy taking on those jobs myself if necessary.
For me it depends on the scope and purpose of the project. If it's an intimate short documentary where I'm following one subject around, sure, I'll probably do that myself. If it's a narrative piece, I will try to crew up as best I can and delegate. I am not a cinematographer nor production designer, gaffer...
That said, I did write, produce, direct, shoot, edit, etc. my first feature, which stemmed from super low funding and a cast (20+) that had jobs and other things going on, so sometimes I had to grab what shots I could on a moments notice. "You don't work until 3:00? Cool. I'll be there in 20 minutes. Get your wardrobe on!" Not the ideal situation, but it got done. Hook & Crook Films would have been a more appropriate name for my "company".
The logistics of having more people involved and zero money to fund the production just doesn't compute in my experience. You can only stretch a dollar, and people's patience, so thin!
Also, with low/no budget films, you will be learning things with your cast and crew. Most of the crew will be inexperienced. So, you will learn by assisting them. I put my head together with three crew people on how to assemble and setup my 1K lighting kits I just bought for my last production. None of us knew. But, we worked at it together until the lights were up and running. An extra set of hands is always welcome on any production.
I am a one man production company It shows...Im getting better. Im wanting to delegate more and more in my next production. I think the experience of doing it all myself will be invaluable in getting others to do it with / for me.
You cannot ride two horses at same time, you only have one ass...<< I like that one
You cannot ride two horses at same time, you only have one ass...<< I like that one
I've been asked by crew people before, how would I manage a big crew. I told them by working with department heads and delegating work. They all like that answer.
I'm shooting a sci-fi military type short in June. One or two actors won't be enough for such a story. I have a 6 woman platoon of Special Forces cyborgs, 4 silver demon hunters, 5 humans being hunted as prey. How do I manage so many actors? The AD becomes responsible for managing the actors in the background and I manage the actors in the foreground. That's just following DGA procedures to manage that way. Also, we have a Special Forces advisor and stunt coordinator who are filmmakers themselves helping out. I will get the actors involved to have group leaders too. I have several returning actors who understand me and I understand them. That trust makes everything work better.
I'm shooting a sci-fi military type short in June. One or two actors won't be enough for such a story. I have a 6 woman platoon of Special Forces cyborgs, 4 silver demon hunters, 5 humans being hunted as prey. How do I manage so many actors? The AD becomes responsible for managing the actors in the background and I manage the actors in the foreground. That's just following DGA procedures to manage that way. Also, we have a Special Forces advisor and stunt coordinator who are filmmakers themselves helping out. I will get the actors involved to have group leaders too. I have several returning actors who understand me and I understand them. That trust makes everything work better.
Consider, running for coffee and food as the PA should, doing the lighting, the picture framing as a DP, listening and working a sound mixer as a sound guy, working a boom as a boom op, and setting up markers for actors for stunts and special effects all by yourself. Actors will walk off your set. IndieBudget is right that you only have one ass. You can only ride one horse by yourself.
You should consider working on a local Indie producer's project for free just for one position. Then, work on another production for free to learn another position. One by one you will get experience with each position. When you are new, if you take on less, you'll get more out of it. Free is gold for low/no budget producers. You won't have a hard time finding productions to work on that way.
The only thing I didn't do on Us Sinners is DP. I shouldn't be allowed to touch a camera.
Everything is important. With life in general, learn as much as you possibly can.
The most important aspect you can learn (if it can be learnt) is to spot talent. In every aspect of film making. If you can spot a good DP out of the twenty that might apply, it'll make one job easier. Good actors and actresses, will make another that much easier. That goes for every position that needs to be filled.
If you are literally going to do everything yourself, know your characters.
Everything is important. With life in general, learn as much as you possibly can.
The most important aspect you can learn (if it can be learnt) is to spot talent. In every aspect of film making. If you can spot a good DP out of the twenty that might apply, it'll make one job easier. Good actors and actresses, will make another that much easier. That goes for every position that needs to be filled.
If you are literally going to do everything yourself, know your characters.
Also, if you have to do everything yourself, use the camera's built-in mic. Most people here may disagree. That's like saying set your camera to autofocus. But, when you are a one man crew, rules must be broken. With no one to check the battery life of wireless mics or to mine the mixer, the camera's built-in mic will be your best bet. When I edited a friend's action short last year, I was surprised at the quality of the audio he got from the built-in mic. The trick is to keep the camera close to the actors.
I found that that works okay for something like a car interior scene, but I use a boom stand and shotgun mic for filmmaking. I make it a point to get closeups and get the shotgun mic up close. When possible, I get someone else to hold a pistol grip or a boom pole, which sounds 20X better than the camera mic.
A few weeks ago, I shot an event, where the main speaker was supposed to stand at the podium, so I set up my DVX100 and a Sennheiser mic by the podium (on the tripod and boomstand). This job didn't afford for another camera man, so I used the HVX200 to get handheld cutaways from the audience. Well, the speaker wandered away from the podium, almost the whole time!
The audio that I got on camera sucked, especially interviewing people in a room full of talking. Fortunately, the boom mic still picked up sound, from the guy speaking, that I could tweak, even though it wasn't close to what was going on.
I'm not really set up for event videography, but in light of the economy, I have taken a few side jobs. I was surprised though, in this situation, how much the on camera mic was not up to par. The shotgun mic saved my butt.