Filmmaking Tips

Intro: What follows is a long list of tips that are based on things I've learned while making movies.

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Script

-DO NOT START FILMING UNTIL YOU'RE SURE THE SCRIPT IS READY. With Hearts It Is, the script was done in January 2000. But instead of filming that summer, I took the year to work on the script. It went from 80 pages to 104 pages, and had a much better ending.

-Listen to other people's advice. Show your script to people who will not think that everything you write is great. Ask them what can be improved. The best filmmakers are those who are never happy with the script; they always think it can be better.

-Get some people together and read the script out loud. You'll get a better feel for the dialogue when you hear people read the lines out loud. You'll figure out which lines work and which sound stupid.

-Get to know your characters. Make up backstories for them, even if these stories don't make it into the movie.

-In real life, people rarely just sit there doing nothing when they talk. So don't let your characters do that either. Have them read a magazine, flip through channels on the remote, anything, as they have their conversation. It just looks unnatural when characters sit there and state their lines without doing anything else.

-The bottom line is that a bad script can ruin what could have been a decent movie. And a good script can save a movie that would have been otherwise horrible. So take the time to work on the script.

Pre-Production

-Do location scouting. Locations can be anywhere. A friend or family member's house works nicely. Ask your cast and crew if they're willing to use their house. ALWAYS check out the place before the filming day. Bring the camera and mic and make sure that there is no strange video or audio interference.

-If you need the settings, try asking local businesses, or schools. It never hurts to ask. In Hearts It Is, I was lucky enough to be able to film at a popular local restaurant as well as a public university.

-When location scouting, look out for potential lawsuits. Is there a giant South Park poster in the living room where you're going to film a lot? You may want to take that down.

-The laws on brand names are sketchy. Most people agree that you need to ask permission to show the logo if one of these is true:
1. the camera lingers on the logo enough that it is recognized.
2. the logo/product is part of the plot.
3. the name of the product is spoken.
But like I said, it's all sketchy. In the film Clerks, the characters say "Gatorade" many times, and many candy bar logos can be seen at the end. But no one complained to director Kevin Smith about using the shots without permission. In my opinion, as long as you're not saying anything bad about the company, they shouldn't get mad. But is assuming that worth the risk? Your call.

-Do all the paperwork. You'll need talent release forms, contract(s), location release forms, and music release forms. If you're trying to get permission to show a product in the movie, do this long before you start. Give yourself plenty of time. Don't forget local companies, most are more than willing to help out.

-If you're working with minors, don't forget to check your state's child labor laws and follow them carefully.

-Get into local music. Talk to the bands and ask if they'd be willing to let you use a song or two in a movie you're making. Most local bands will do it for free, but it's a good idea to offer them profit points anyway.

-Decide whether or not you're going to pay your cast and crew. At the very least, you should offer them a free copy of the film and pay for their food on production days. You could offer them gas money as well.

-A common indie film way to pay cast/crew is with net profit points. Write down which people get which percentage of the net profits (if any). Then have everyone sign the paper. Make sure you do this before filming.

Casting

-You can find potential actors in lots of places. Put an ad in the newspaper, or a local entertainment magazine if your city has one. Post flyers up around high schools, college campusues, and/or local theaters. Go to some plays and get in touch with the actors you liked. Ask other local filmmakers for recommendations.

-Write a short paper (1 or 2 pages) to hand out to all auditioning actors. Write about your filmmaking background, the movie they are auditioning for, and what they can expect through the filmmaking process. This will help answer the actors' questions they have going in, will give them something to read while they wait, and will make you look professional and organized.

-When you're interviewing the actors, make sure you ask them if they are a member of SAG or any other acting union. If they are, there are specific rules you'll have to follow.

-You could have the auditioning actors read a monologue. Then give them a direction on how to read it. Explain beforehand that you will do this so they won't think their first read was bad. Then pay close attention to that second read. If they can't follow your directions in the audition, they probably can't on the set, either.

-Instead of monologues, you could also have the actors read a scene from your script with an assistant. Again, you can have them read the first take however they want, and then do a second read after you've given a direction.

-You could also have them do an improvised scene with your assistant. Even if the monologue read was horrible, most people will loosen up for improv and you get to see their true personality. Use a scene from your movie if you want to, just give your assistant some lines to feed to the auditioning actor. Tell them before they start that you know it won't be perfect, but just have fun with it. I once had an actress give a horrible monologue read, but a very good improv read, so we brought her back and she eventually got a supporting role in a movie.

-After the first round of auditions, have a round of callbacks. This is a good time to have everyone meet at the same time and pair up, reading scenes from your movie. Look for on-camera chemistry in this round.

-Choose your casting location carefully. Having auditions in your house tells the actors that you're not very organized or professional. Try to get a room at a local college or theater. Even an ordinary classroom is more professional than your place.

Rehearsals

-The first rehearsal should be a full cast read through. Do this in a very casual setting, like at your own place. Have some food and drinks. It's just everyone hanging out and getting a feel for each other and the script.

-If you have a limited rehearsal schedule, try to at least rehearse the most difficult scenes to film, such as scenes with a lot of movement and/or shot on one long camera take.

-Rehearsals are a great time to get all of the paperwork out of the way. Have the actors sign their talent release forms and the contract explaining net profit points (if you use one). You should do all the paperwork BEFORE you start production, because it is much easier then. Actors often scatter throughout the country when they finish making an indie film, and you don't have the time to track them all down.

Equipment

-Buy the best camera you can afford to buy. Do lots of research. Find a camera you think you might buy and look for reviews of it on the web. Go to message boards like on IndieClub.com and ask about the camera.

-If your camera does not have an XLR input, then get an XLR audio adapter. Those cheap ones from Radio Shack will probably not work. You'll need a more expensive one, like a Beachtek model. You will get what you pay for in the audio department.

-Lighting: All I know about lighting is that I know very little. In college I did some projects with professional lighting setups and couldn't get it to look natural. So I tried to make my first feature with just natural lights, some extra desk lamps, and white posterboard to reflect light. I thought it looked good. Some scenes I made dark on purpose to reflect the emotion of that scene. Unfortunately, most of the audience didn't get that and I became known as the idiot who doesn't know how to use lights. Go figure. For my next big project, I plan to buy some work lights and stands from Lowes and see if that works. The point is, there are many ways you can experiment with lighting. Find out what works for you.

-If you try to shoot day-for-night scenes, avoid getting the sky in your shot. Trust me, it will not look like a night sky and will be a dead giveaway.

-Make sure you have all of the appropriate emergency equipment: extra battery, tape cleaner, lens cleaner, AC adapter, etc.

-Always have duct tape. Is there anything it can't do?

-Buy some trash bags. If you're shooting a indoor night scene during the day, you can tape trash bags up in the windows to block out the sun.

Production

-I recommend that before every shoot, do something that gets you in the right mood. You know, that feeling good, "I'm ready to take on any problem today" feeling. For me, it's listening to some energy-filled music, something like Good Charlotte's first CD, or Metallica is always good too.

-The most time is spent moving around between sets. So when you get the camera and mic and lighting set up, shoot EVERYTHING with that setup before changing to the next setup.

-Set your shot on automatic, record on manual. If you leave settings like focus, iris, or white balance on automatic setting when you're recording, these settings may drift in the middle of the scene and ruin a great take. So always set your shot on automatic settings, switch to manual settings, then record the shot.

-Don't try to record audio outside around the 4th of July (we had this problem on July 3, 5, 6, and 7). If you have to shoot around that date, keep the takes short. It is nearly impossible to get in a long take without some idiot's firecrackers going off.

-Unless you have permission from the company, check the shot for brand names. If you've got beer bottles, you can always just turn them around so the labels can't be seen.

-Again, if you are trying to shoot day-for-night, do NOT get the sky in your shot.

Directing

-It is always a good idea to remind the actors where the current scene happens in the movie. Remind them of what happened to their character in the movie just before the scene you're about to do.

-Always tell the actors good job after each take (and at the end of the day).

-Despite what the books all say, some actors actually like line readings. Sometimes. Don't give them line readings on every single line or they will feel like you're treating them like morons. Try to help them with the character's emotions first, and if that doesn't work, maybe a line read will.

-Don't be afraid to blatantly ignore advice from directing books. Experiment and find out what works for you and your actors.

-If someone is not doing a good job, pull him/her to the side and talk to him about it. Never talk down to the actor in front of everyone else.

-When things go wrong (and they will), do not lose your cool. The cast and crew looks to the director to keep everything together when it seems like it's falling apart. Think of a backup plan, and do it. And when you screw up, admit it.

Keeping Everyone Happy

-Always have food and drink on the set. Ask everyone beforehand what kinds of snacks and drinks they would like to have on the set and do the best you can to accomodate everyone.

-Take lunch breaks on the longer days. Order some pizzas beforehand or find a caterer.

-Budget for a lot of water. Always have a cooler on set with lots of waters and a few cokes or juices as well.

-Bring things to do for actors who are waiting around before their scene. Bring magazines to read, or a Game Boy. We had people fighting over my brother's Game Boy when we shot at my mom's house. If I'd have known it would have been so popular, I would have bought a few more.

-Throw a great wrap party. This is your chance to thank everyone for working their asses off for you and getting little to no pay in return.

-If you can, give away some of the props to the actors. They make nice mementos. My lead actress thought it was so cool that she got to keep the dead rose from Hearts It Is.

Editing

-As with the camera, buy the best editing setup that you can afford. Buy a PowerMac G4 with Final Cut Pro if you can afford it. You will not regret it. This setup was designed by Apple specifically for editing. PCs are designed for internet, gaming, video editing, and lots of other things. They are also less stable and crash more often.

-Make sure your computer has lots of memory (at least 512RAM).

-Make sure the computer has lots of hard drive space, especially if you're doing a feature. Many people (me included) like to use 2 hard drives, a smaller one (around 20GB) for the basic applications and a huge one (about 80GB) to store video files. I use a 30GB and an 80GB on my G4 and the setup works great.

-Don't edit alone. It's best to either have a co-editor, or show someone your movie as you go and get opinions from them. If you edit everything by yourself and don't allow any feedback along the way, your movie will probably be great to you, but the audience might hate it.

-That being said, make sure the person helping you edit is not afraid to point out when what you do is bad. It hurts to have your ideas shot down, but through compromise the movie is ultimately better.