Just got my hands on a nice minidv camera, and I was thinking since we have so many pine forests up here, and the fact that it was nearing winter, that my friend and I would make a sort of "holiday/wintery" film involving the ever-wonderful "enchanted forest" as kind of the main plot.
I'm going to a university in Fall '06, and I want to have a few short films under my belt before I enter the program.
We have just finished the script and now have a 2 week window of winter break where both of our schedules are free enough to allow for filming.
I want to prepare the groundwork so we can get this done in time, but I'm not sure where to begin. I need to plan the casting, visual effects, teensy amount of storyboards, location scouting, shooting in snowy weather...I'm sure there's more I'm missing, but as a first timer, I don't know what questions to ask myself!
Postulations? Pokes? Prods? Resources? Bombard me with everything ya got!
what type of camera do you have?
does your movie have dialogue? if it does, you're going to need a good shotgun microphone and maybe a mini-disc player to record on. i'd recommend having your first few movies be silent.
you need a tripod. if you're more serious, maybe invest in some sort of stabilization device like a fig-rig, or a steadytracker extreme. but since you probably have a smaller consumer camera, maybe build your own 'poor-man's-steadycam'.
if you're going to do a silent film, (which is again, what i'd recommend), watch some chaplin, and keaton. see how they make a narrative without any dialogue.
and because you're shooting outdoors, messing with the daylight and reflection of the snow will be tricky. i recommend shooting in black & white. larger margin of error to work with.
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one thing that will help with the glare of the snow is a lens filter. These aren't too expensive and can be found wherever you bought your camera. It's really easy to use. Just screw is onto the lens and your ready to go. I used one for a horror i made during the winter and it worked fine. And if possible try to shoot in spots where there are large shadows on teh ground so that the reflesction of the snow isn't as intense.
"Anyone who has ever been privileged to direct a film also knows that, although it can be like trying to write 'War and Peace' in a bumper car in an amusement park, when you finally get it right, there are not many joys in life that can equal the feeling." - Stanley Kubrick
"Anyone who has ever been privileged to direct a film also knows that, although it can be like trying to write 'War and Peace' in a bumper car in an amusement park, when you finally get it right, there are not many joys in life that can equal the feeling." - Stanley Kubrick
quote:
Originally posted by ourkid
what type of camera do you have?
A Canon GL2
quote:
Originally posted by ourkid
does your movie have dialogue?
About 3 lines. It's mainly visual in nature.
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Originally posted by ourkid
you need a tripod.
Got that included with my camera kit along with a wide angle lense.
There's actually a preset for snow and sand on the camera itself, but having a filter may work out better.
Please keep the comments coming! (scribbles on notepad)
Tripods that come with cameras often suck. Don't plan on panning or tilting with it and it will be alright.
Do not use any of the visual effects built into your camera, at least not if you have editing programs that can do the same. Its always better to have the options later in case the footage or visual effects provide by the camera don't turn out as hoped.
RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA
RJSchwarz
Well it didn't come with the camera per se, it was a kit that included a $80+ tripod.
Just trying to figure out where to start in the planning phase, what to plan for etc. Questions to ask myself etc.
I've got two of those in my closet. Tripods under $200 or so are good for photography, and for shooting a movie as long as you don't expect to tilt or pan, when you try that they aren't so smooth. Who knows, some oil and some practice it might be good enough, but you also might find yourself cursing a lot during editing when the jitters draw attention to themselves.
RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA
RJSchwarz
Time remapping might help in AE, but yah it's a Targus somethingrather. No model number that I can see...
But it's got 3 legs! ?:D?
