Shooting in a digital format saves a lot of time. It also allows crews to assume a lot on the set. It isn't until post production that you see where cutting corners on the set cuts the quality of the film.
Editing isn't easy. Of course, shooting isn't any easier. As I work with the footage we collected, I realize how important it is to spend the proper amount of time setting up a shot, and using the right gear to make things work. After Effects stabilization is amazing, but once you know what that effect is, you start seeing it everywhere... and once you see it everywhere you get sick of seeing it.
This project was a first for most of the cast and crew. This whole point of this exercise was to learn and grow and film makers, and we nailed that part. We took a script, did the work, and produced a movie. I'm proud of our work, but our inexperience shows.
The actors were amazing, and I have nothing critical to say about any of them or their work. The growth needs to come from the crew. Read on for more of my thoughts...
This has been a huge growth experience for me in learning to never say "we will fix it in post". We had the right gear. We had professional level camera, audio, and lights. We had appropriate sets, and most of our actors were a good fit for their roles. I think our biggest flaw was that we cut corners in the process.
Script Writing / Edits: A-
We knew what the script was. The team reviewed the script, and did a good job of thinking things out. We identified challenges that we could face, and were clever about finding work around. Josh wrote a good script, and adapted it as needed. He also did a great job of sticking to deadlines for the script. The problem that I didn't see then, that I would expect improvement on, is we didn't circle around and fix continuity problems as they came up. For example, when we were sure that we didn't have Cops to help us out with the party scene, the script wasn't amended. This wasn't a huge problem, because we had a cast and crew that were quick to adapt to changes. Another example would be the dialog in the coffee shop. We learned at Josh would need to play the role of Paul, but we didn't rewrite the script to take out the lines about "huge age difference". Overall, the script an excellent example of a 10 minute short, and the small differences didn't derail the film.
Set design / location: A+
The sets and locations were perfect. Pauls apartment presented some challenges for shooting, but the set fit the script perfectly. Jeff's house and Kim's house presented ample room for the cast and crew, and fit the script flow very nicely. The Coffeeshop was a big win for the film, as locations like this are hard to come by, and again, this set fit perfectly with the film.
Cast: b-
Lets face it. Some of our actors were steller, and some of us were obviously novice. I'll not get into who is what, except to say that our lead carried the film from start to finish. She was an amazing talent. And with her in that role, a lot of the other flaws in the movie were muted.
However, in the future, in order to make a great film, it is a must that proper talent be located for all the roles in the film. This was a huge challenge on this film as we were doing this for zero budget, and we couldn't compensate people for missing out on work. Day jobs always come before shooting. In the future, I'm hoping to have some amount to money to give to the cast so that they are paid for their work, but more importantly, they feel obligated to stick with their commitments to be in the film. Good talent is hard to find, and even harder to keep. Casting will need to be address properly before the start of production on the next film.
Camera work: C-
We need to get better at capturing the footage. Framing and blocking shots is super important. Also, Having the actors and camera crew do dry runs of every single scene is another big thing. To be very clear, I'm happy with the production as a learning exercise, but I'm also disappointed that we didn't practice more at working with our gear.
There is far too much shake in the footage. Another huge problem is that it is obvious that there is uncertainty in the framing of the shots. Many times a camera would 'swing' from one point of interest to another, when it was unnecessary. At most of the shots we had enough cameras running to allow us to block shots and stick with that blocking. In many cases this didn't happen.
Another problem is that we needed to be more aware of what was at the edges of the frame. There are shots where people's legs are showing. Shots where the extra objects or lights were showing. This is something you can't expect a new shooter to catch, but something we need to learn from moving forward.
EVERYONE: A++
I can't thank the cast and crew enough for putting in the work to get something recorded. I think as a first project, the story that we will be able to tell is a good one. We all worked together as a team, and there were no personal squabbles that got in the way of everyone having a good time and making the shoot a success. Everyone was willing to play their part, and no one was afraid to lend a hand when one was needed. I'm proud of this production. I'm proud of the cast and crew. Now that editing has started in ernest, we will start to see the shine of this project come through.
I'm looking forward to our public debut of the film, and the kick off of our next project!
people's legs are showing........
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