Jan 08 2009
Some basic tips
Now I was taught it in the classes I took but I completely ignored this tip while filming a short film with friends a few days ago. It’s very helpful to leave a couple seconds on a shot before starting the action. I ran into the problem that the dialog, which was being said off screen, sounded incredibly weird because it started right on the cut between two clips. So leaving a second of stillness or at least waiting a moment before saying the line would have helped a lot.
In class, the teacher had us wait ten seconds after pushing the record button before having the take begin. She said it had something to do with letting the video get up to speed. I think ten seconds is pretty severe and I never saw a need for that long a pause. I’m assuming the ten second rule she devised was just to cover you’re a$s in a rare event where something weird happens with the tape. However, all that aside, I’ll remember to leave a couple seconds on either end because it actually does help the clips cut together better. It would also make the cuts easier to distinguish between and find when editing later, especially if you are unlucky and don’t have a program that batch captures. Granted all this can be avoided (the waiting and the unable to edit something so that isn’t cra*) if you just plan adequately from before the get-go. So my other two cents for the day is to say that you can never plan enough when it comes to shooting a movie. If you are like me, you’ll never actually stick to your plan but it’s good to have it nonetheless.
