I met an actor on a shoot, and worked with him for a few days now. He has worked on several feature films, in smaller parts, as well as making his own short films. He says he interested in helping out with a script I want to shoot, since I showed him, after we hit it off, but he says he will only do it if I do certain things to make it good for such a tiny budget.
By certain things, he means I have to get lavs in my budget, which I did not have, and only have a hyper and a shotgun condenser mics so far. He says lavs are just much better, and the DP does not have to compromise his/her lighting for the shots, in order to keep the boom from being seen in shadow. He says he has seen too many DPs have to compromise their lighting and it's not worth it and it's worth buying lavs, so the DP can do his job freely, and get better results.
Another thing he says is that I shouldn't be relying on Action Essentials to create gunshot effects. It looks fake and screams low budget, and I really should go the extra mile to buy squibs and use real guns with blanks rather than FCP guns. He says when you show bullets hit walls, that it's better to show real walls getting shot. He explained to me a process in which you make it look like walls are having bullets shot into them without actually doing harm to the walls. He says that adding in muzzle flares, fake bullets into walls, and fake blood splatter effects in post, is noticeable, and you can tell it does not totally convincing by comparison to old fashion practical effects. I am better off using squibs, real guns, and real practical effects on walls, to sell the effect.
Now I am down for spending extra money on effects, mics, more insurance and more permits that will be required, if it will be money well spent, and it's worth it, like he said. But I told him that a lot a lot of location owners will probably not be okay with using real guns, and real practical effects on their property, whether I have permission or not. He says that it's just a matter of finding the right location owners and not matter how low the budget is, someone will always say yes if they love movies.
What do you think? He says he knows what he is talking about since he has worked on thriller movies, but do you think he is too positive per say, or does he have a point and post effects, and compromised lighting, should not be relied on, if trying to make a good impression in telling a suspenseful story?
By certain things, he means I have to get lavs in my budget, which I did not have, and only have a hyper and a shotgun condenser mics so far. He says lavs are just much better, and the DP does not have to compromise his/her lighting for the shots, in order to keep the boom from being seen in shadow. He says he has seen too many DPs have to compromise their lighting and it's not worth it and it's worth buying lavs, so the DP can do his job freely, and get better results.
Another thing he says is that I shouldn't be relying on Action Essentials to create gunshot effects. It looks fake and screams low budget, and I really should go the extra mile to buy squibs and use real guns with blanks rather than FCP guns. He says when you show bullets hit walls, that it's better to show real walls getting shot. He explained to me a process in which you make it look like walls are having bullets shot into them without actually doing harm to the walls. He says that adding in muzzle flares, fake bullets into walls, and fake blood splatter effects in post, is noticeable, and you can tell it does not totally convincing by comparison to old fashion practical effects. I am better off using squibs, real guns, and real practical effects on walls, to sell the effect.
Now I am down for spending extra money on effects, mics, more insurance and more permits that will be required, if it will be money well spent, and it's worth it, like he said. But I told him that a lot a lot of location owners will probably not be okay with using real guns, and real practical effects on their property, whether I have permission or not. He says that it's just a matter of finding the right location owners and not matter how low the budget is, someone will always say yes if they love movies.
What do you think? He says he knows what he is talking about since he has worked on thriller movies, but do you think he is too positive per say, or does he have a point and post effects, and compromised lighting, should not be relied on, if trying to make a good impression in telling a suspenseful story?
Last edited:
