Filmmaking Lesson 17 Production Part 1

Production is a result of months and months of planning.

I’ll repeat this again. When making a movie, production is the result of months and months of planning. I emphasize the planning aspects of pre-production, because many filmmakers crash and burn during production because they didn’t have a solid plan.

PRODUCTION, PART 1

But you’re different. To make sure your production goals are executed in such a way that you get the most movie for your hard earned money, you will need to check and re-check with your department heads to make sure everything is AOK. Assuming you have a plan A, plan B and a plan C, you’re ready to shoot your movie!

Here are some tips that have helped my filmmaking run smoothly:

ACTION

1. Make sure whoever directs the movie starts each morning with a shot list. A shot list is a list of shots. And once you have it for each day, you’ll be able to check each shot off the list as you go.
2. If you’re directing, work with your DP to get an assortment of cutaways. You’ll need many cutaway options to save you from yourself, should you miss something in Post-Production. I’m not kidding about this.
3. Make sure you have a photographer on set.
4. Again, work with a great 1st Ad.
5. And hire a bunch of Production Assistants to help make your life easier!

The production process is a ton of fun. You’ll bond with other creative folks and by the end, assuming all goes well, you’ll feel like family. If you get a chance, check out American Movie. It profiles a guy who is so passionate about making his movie, that at times you don’t know if you should laugh or cry. For a more educational perspective, Hearts of Darkness – A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse profiles Francis Coppola as he struggles to make Apocalypse Now. Both DVDs are full of filmmaking passion and are a must see for any filmmaker working to make a movie.