Production Tips

Production Tips 

 Storyboard etc

A well planned storyboard should give you: 

• Settings
• Shots and settings/lyrics 
• What characters/actors will be needed in those settings 
• What props/costumes are needed in those settings 
• An idea of timings

Location/settings 

Do a recce

Plan your time there to the hour

High streets should be fine: shopping centers need to get permission- be polite, explain the purpose and again, plan in advance.

Equipment and Props 

• Make,beg, buy, borrow (don't steal)
• Make a list of what yo need and tick it off as you acquire it
• Be specific but not too ambitious 
• Book out what you need for the shoot- if your are sharing a piece of equipment with another group be reliable and get that piece of kit to them when they need it

Making a shooting schedule 

Shooting

• Plan for weather 
• For most of your shooting try and shoot for fewer longer periods rather than lots of small chunks 
• Shoot 5-10 times more footage than you need 
• Get the footage off quickly and label it all carefully 
• Use the clipboard if necessary to help with this 
• Back up tour footage 
• Film 5 seconds before 'Action' and 5 seconds after 'cut' 
• Use tripods- handheld shots are difficult and often look sloppy 
• Practice titling and panning with the tripods

Shooting and Post-production

• Doesn't have to be 'shoot the film' then 'edit the film' if you are well organised-can be done in chucks