About Face

When we’re interacting with people, we spend most our time looking at their face. It has expressions on it, we can see what they are looking at, and plus it’s the part that makes all the noise. If you are making a movie, you’ll naturally have most of your shots framed for your actors’ face.

But when we interact with people, we do take in more than the face. We see body language, we hear their voice, we notice little details about them, like a scratch on their arm. Think about it: if you’ve ever gone people watching, you’ve probably watched entire stories play out before you without ever seeing the person head on, and yet you were able to figure not just what was happening, but also some of the subtleties.

What this means is that if you need to choose between seeing a character's face and some artistic decision, you can decide against the face. This also means you can actively seek options outside of the shoulders and up.

So, first, remember to get details other than the hero’s head. A close-up of a hand compassionately touching someone’s arm, for example, could be a much more effective shot than the accompanying facial expression. Feet are also excellent candidates for inserts – it’s the starting point of a lot of action. Cutaways of other characters in the room, but who aren’t involved in the scene, could fit under this same umbrella; sometime it’s more interesting to see how your heroes are effecting world than it is to see how the world effects them.

And, second, don’t be afraid to *not* make the face the center of your frame. It doesn’t need to be properly exposed, it can go to full silhouette at time. Also, a character can be completely out of focus, if you want. Or maybe you only see part of their face, like just an eye or their mouth. I don’t mean necessarily using an Extreme Close-up, but let objects obstruct the view.

All of this needs to be appropriate to your movie, of course, and sometimes a film is best when you just let the characters perform. But you’d be surprised how much you can push this rule. The most powerful image you have available often doesn't include anyone's eyes. Don't be afraid to use it.

Andy

We Found Our Soundtrack!

Congrats go out to Furious Styles, a three piece funk band in the San Francisco Bay area, for allowing us to use one of their songs in the Socal Film Group trailer!

We're going to use the song "THE SHOCKER" to our trailer, which is a montage of clips from most of the short films we've created since 2002. According to Joel, Bassist and Funky Engineer for Furious Styles, "We're excited to be working with the SoCal Film Group and look forward to collaborating again in the future!"

Furious Styles creates a raw, down and dirty brand of funk, specializing in slick beats, shredding guitar solos, and do-it-yourself production.

Click Here for the Furious Styles MySpace page!

Our brand new trailer, with a few more scenes, and our new soundtrack should be up next week!

What Makes an Excellent Short?

What makes an excellent short?

There's a difference between an excellent festival short and an excellent calling-card short, so I should be clear that in this post I'm talking about calling-card shorts.

I'm still trying to figure it out, but I think a good calling-card short would have to include:

-- Excellent cinematography, with at least a few flashy (yet appropriate) camera moves.

-- Excellent production values.

-- The appearance of costing a lot of money.

-- Pitch-perfect acting, without a single bad performance.

-- Snappy dialogue.

-- Some surprises in the narrative (though the "twist" ending has become cliché).

-- A story that grabs you by the balls or the funny bone (or both) and doesn't let go.

-- A brilliantly clever concept (George Lucas in Love and Troops come to mind, though that sort of self-referential stuff got clobbered by all the copycats that came along afterward).

Optional qualities would include:

-- A breakthrough in some area of technical filmmaking. (405, Prey Alone, Luxo Jr., etc.)

-- A twist on the general semiotics of filmmaking (La Jetee)

-- Nudity and/or sexuality that pushes the boundaries of what is accepted (this may not increase the quality of the short at all, but the movie will sure get passed around a lot more!).

-- Recognizable actors doesn't hurt (because it implies that you have the wherewithal to get recognizable actors to work for you).

...and for the kicker, all of that stuff should fit inside 15 minutes (or, even better, 10 minutes).

Of course, there are some excellent shorts that don't include several of these elements (like The Spirit of Christmas, which kickstarted the careers of the South Park guys), but I think the inclusion of all of those elements would drastically improve a short's chances.

For those of you who make shorts, which of these elements are missing? What can you do to change that?

For those of you who watch shorts (particularly if you watch them with an eye toward hiring good filmmakers), what other elements do you look for?

Learning about Lighting

One of the side-effects of the digital revolution in the world of film making is that while a great number of people now have the resources to produce their own films, because they lack a formal film school education, they are often confused by some of the traditional film making jargon. This thread began when a member of the group was confused about a post on another message board that was loaded with film jargon. It evolved into a discussion of color temperature and lighting gel selection.

Post 1:
"General! I need an Inky with a quarter CTO and an opal over here -
stupid nickname that the gaffer is stuck with on this shoot/a small fresnel (lensed) light, roughly half the size of our tweenies, it would be about 3 inches across and probably 300 watts/CTO, or Color Temperature Orange, converts daylight to match Tungston lights (the lights we use). Quarter CTO has a Mired Shift of + 42 and converts 5500K daylight to 4500K. Used when slight correction is desired or when daylight is below 4000K. It is optically clear and allows 81% of the light to pass through it. It can also be used on a light when a slight warming effect is desired./ Opal, or Opal Frost is a white diffusion material that is put in front of the light to reduce it's intensity. An Inky with a 1/4CTO and Opal will emit a soft, barely perceptible glow. It's hardly worth the effort.
some black wrap and a C stand with a single to the left.
Black Wrap is that black aluminum foil we use/I hope you know what a C stand is by now/Single is a single diffusion net
Over there I need a tweenie with a half CTB and cut it with a 250
Tweenies are the medium-sized purple-painted lights with the lenses made by Mole Richardson/CTB or Color Temperature Blue converts Tungston to daylight (it's the reverse of CTO) It has a mired Shift of -68 and boosts 3200K sources to 4100K. It's a partial conversion to compensate for varying daylight conditions and voltage reduction, or to boost aging HMI lamps and yellowed soft lights. It allows 52% of the light to pass through it. It can also be used to cool down the look./a 250 is Lee Filters’ half white diffusion
and give me a C stand with a double and a flag to get rid of that camera flare."
Double is a double diffusion net, blocks twice the light of a single/a flag is a black cloth on a frame used to totally block light

Post 2:
I've never heard anyone on any set called "general". I guess this was an affectionate nickname the D.P. or gaffer had for a lighting tech s/he was talking to.

Like I said, it's a nickname, not a film term.

It's not "an" opal, nor "a" 250". Perhaps s/he actually said "some opal" and "some 250".

Not necessarily. Frequently used gels and diffusions are often mounted on frames, so they can be quickly put into place, just like a silk, net or flag. So the reference could be to a framed opal or 250. I've also referred to single sheets of gel this way, as in "Marshall, get me a CTB from the tube over there". So it very well could be "an opal" or "a 250". However I find it interesting that he refers to one by name and one by catalog number.

and give me a C stand with a double and a flag to get rid of that camera flare."

You'd only need a flag to eliminate a flare. A double (net or scrim) cuts the amount of light (twice as much as a single), but doesn't block it, which a flag does.

But if the flare is coming from a reflection, say off a picture or a window, knocking it down with a net would be an option.

By the way, a net is the more versatile -- if more cumbersome -- grip variation on a lighting tech's scrim. The net is sewn on a metal frame and usually mounted on a C-stand; a scrim is (usually) a circular screen-like item which is dropped into a holder in front of a light's filament or lens. Scrims reduce all of the light coming from the source (or, in the case of half-scrims, light coming from one half of the
source), whereas nets can be placed anywhere in front of the lighting unit to cut either part of all of the light in variable angles.

While they both achieve the same result, I prefer scrims to nets, as they are smaller and lighter, thus easier to transport, and metal, so they don't rip or burn like nets do. The only thing I like to use nets for is sunlight, although if I could figure out a way to scrim the sun. . . .


Finally, "opal" is less dense than "250", though they both soften and spread the light in different ways.

Because you asked for it, here's a complete list of all the diffusion materials made by Rosco (along with Lee filters they are the two big gel and diffusion companies) and their properties as listed on their website. 250 is actually a Lee catalog number. Rosco does not have a 250 in their catalog.

Roscolux Diffusion Filters
Roscolux #100: Frost
Frost. Changes ellipsoidal to fresnel beam pattern.
Roscolux #101: Light Frost
Offers softened beam.
Roscolux #102: Light Tough Frost
Changes ellipsoidal into flood or scoop.
Roscolux #103: Tough Frost
Has twin qualities of wide diffusion and warm center.
Roscolux #104: Tough Silk
Creates a slash of light for stretching light along stairs, tables, cycs, etc. Diffuses while maintaining compactness of beam.
Roscolux #105: Tough Spun
Good on scoops for cyc lighting.
Roscolux #106: Light Tough Spun
Removes lens shadows.
Roscolux #111: Tough Rolux
Densest diffusion of the series. Spreads the light almost 1800.
Roscolux #112: Opal Tough Frost
Lighter than 100-103. An excellent diffuser for HMI, CID and CSI sources softening the beam slightly while maintaining excellent transmission.
Roscolux #113: Matte Silk
Good for striplights and specials.
Roscolux #114: Hamburg Frost
A very light frost; good on followspots and PAR lamps.
Roscolux #115: Light Tough Rolux
Roscolux #116: Tough White Diffusion
A range of diffusion materials adapted from cinematography-used for softening the shadow of the beam while maintaining a relatively high color temperature because of the use of ultra-white pigments in the manufacturing process.
Roscolux #117: Tough 1/2 White Diffusion
A range of diffusion materials adapted from cinematography-used for softening the shadow of the beam while maintaining a relatively high color temperature because of the use of ultra-white pigments in the manufacturing process.
Roscolux #118: Tough 1/4 White Diffusion
A range of diffusion materials adapted from cinematography-used for softening the shadow of the beam while maintaining a relatively high color temperature because of the use of ultra-white pigments in the manufacturing process.
Roscolux #119: light Hamburg Frost
Lighter than 114. Recommended for followspots and slight diffuse focus for ellipsoldals.
Roscolux #120: Red Diffusion
Combine a color with Matte Diffusion. Aids in broad, even illumination of cycs and drops. (Trans.= 12%).
Roscolux #121: Blue Diffusion
Combine a color with Matte Diffusion. Aids in broad, even illumination of cycs and drops. (Trans.= 8%).
Roscolux #122: Green Diffusion
Combine a color with Matte Diffusion. Aids in broad, even illumination of cycs and drops. (Trans.= 13%).
Roscolux #124: Red Cyc Silk
Combine a color with 104 Tough Silk. (Trans.= 12%).
Roscolux #125: Blue Cyc Silk
Useful in border and striplights to prevent scalloping; helps illuminate cycs and drops. (Trans.= 8%).
Roscolux #126: Green Cyc Silk
Useful in border and striplights to prevent scalloping; helps illuminate cycs and drops. (Trans.= 13%).
Roscolux #127: Amber Cyc Silk
A secondary color combined with 104 Tough Silk. (Trans.= 32%).
Roscolux #160: Light Tough Silk
Retains the diffusion properties of 104 but with less light loss.
Roscolux #162: Light Opal
A lighter version on the popular 112 Opal Tough Frost.
Roscolux #163: Powder Frost
A good medium cosmetic diffuser.

POST #3

I'm still a bit unclear on the whole 1/4 1/2 thing for gels and diffusion, is that referring to size (1/4 of the light or something?) or to the level of the light changing properties (1/4 is less than 1/2 in terms of changing light quality)?

OK, lets use CTB (Color Temperature Blue) for an example. Here is the Rosco catalog for CTB:
Cinegel #3202: Full Blue (CTB)
Standard Tungsten to daylight correction. Boosts 3200°K to nominal 5500°K daylight. Deep-dyed base. (Mired shift = -131, Trans.= 36%, -1.5s).
Cinegel #3203: Three-Quarter Blue (3/4 CTB)
Boosts 3200°K sources to 4700°K. Used when a partial conversion is desired, or when daylight is below 5000°K. Deep-dyed base. (Mired shift = -100, Trans.= 41%, -1.3s).
Cinegel #3204: Half Blue (1/2 CTB)
Boosts 3200°K sources to 4100°K. A partial conversion to compensate for varying daylight conditions and voltage reduction, or to boost aging HMI lamps and yellowed soft lights. Deep-dyed base. (Mired shift = -68, Trans.= 52%, -0.9s).
Cinegel #3206: Third Blue (1/3 CTB)
Boosts 3200°K sources to 3800°K. A partial conversion to compensate for varying daylight conditions and voltage reduction, or to boost aging HMI lamps and yellowed soft lights. Deep-dyed base. (Mired shift = -49, Trans.= 64%, -0.6s).
Cinegel #3208: Quarter Blue (1/4 CTB)
Boosts 3200°K sources to 3500°K. A partial conversion to compensate for varying daylight conditions and voltage reduction, or to boost aging HMI lamps or household incandescent sources. Deep-dyed base. (Mired shift = -30, Trans.= 74%, -0.4s).
Cinegel #3216: Eighth Blue (1/8 CTB)
Boosts 3200°K sources to 3300°K. A partial conversion to compensate for varying daylight conditions and voltage reduction, or to boost aging HMI lamps or household incandescent sources. Deep-dyed base. (Mired shift = -12, Trans.= 81%, -0.3s).
Cinegel #3220: Double Blue (2 x CTB)
Boosts 2800°K sources to 10,000°K. An over correction filter designed for special applications. Deep-dyed base. (Mired shift = -260, Trans.= 10%, -3.3s).

There are two things to look at here. One is the Mired Shift. Mired is an acronym for Micro Reciprocal Degree, a measurement derived by dividing one million by the color temperature in Kelvin. For example 3200K is 313 mired (1,000,000 ÷ 3200) and 5700K is 175 mired (1,000,000 ÷ 5700). Therefore the filter needed to correct from studio incandescent to summer daylight is 137 mired and the reverse, from 5700K to 3200K, requires a -137 mired filter. A half gel has roughly half the shift of a full gel. (For more info on this, check out http://www.tvtechnology.com/features/let-there-belighting/f_let_there_be_lighting-07.07.04.shtml).
The second is the Trans, or transmission number. This is an indication of how much light the gel will allow to pass through it. While they aren't strictly proportional, because some light will always be blocked, a half gel will always allow more light than a full, but less than a quarter.

POST #4:

One thing I already discovered there (if not the intended result) is that -- in a pinch, of course -- we could combine a full CTB and a full CTO for a makeshift ND gel.

Theoretically, yes, but since all gels cost about the same, it's not really practical. And since we've got more ND than anything else at the moment, we probably wouldn't need to.

POST #5:

I have to put it into crude terms to understand it. Full CTB (aka "Blue") will make the light from a tungsten lamp be daylight balanced. Half blue will take it halfway there, quarter blue takes it a quarter of the way there, etc. CTO turns daylight-balanced light into tungsten- balanced light.

Now, you can use these halfs and quarters to get the light just perfect, but most of the time, you use them for purely aesthetic effect. For instance, EXT FRONT PORCH - NIGHT; on the lamp that is casting the light from outside, you'll likely use a half blue to mimic moonlight, and then, on the lamp that is casting the light from inside the house, put a quarter orange to represent a household bulb. (But
you usually need at least one light that reads as "white," other wise it looks weird.)

Also, using slightly different shades is also a way to deflatten an image. Let's say your key and fill light are about the same brightness, and for some reason you can't change the brightness of either of the lamps, so it's making the actor's face become totally flat. One way to get some gradation on their face to is make one of the lights a slightly different color. An eighth blue/orange can be just the trick.

So why is blue/orange sometimes called CTB/CTO? Because there is "Show
blue," etc, which won't mimic daylight, but could be used to represent, say, a blue neon sign. But, usually when you say "Full Orange", everyone knows your mean CTO.

“Show” gels are also called “Party” colors, because they are used by DJ and nightclubs to create a visual effect without regard to color temperature.

Also, daylight isn't always daylight. Sometimes to match sunlight late in the day, or early in the day, or when it's cloudy or smoggy, a fraction will come closer than a full. Same applies with lights, as the age of the bulb and the use of a dimmer will also change color temperature, so that's where the fractions are useful.

Searching for a Soundtrack- Deadline May 20th

Just a quick reminder, SoCal Film Group is searching for a soundtrack to our group promotional trailer, and the deadline for submissions is May 20th, just 5 short days from now.

Send links to Socal's MySpace mail or to Tim Clark at clark@socalfilm.com

So far folks have sent us a lot of great music, and we're facing a tough choice, but don't hesistate to make it even harder on us. Send your stuff in today!

SCFG FAQ

Here's a work-in-progress FAQ, which will evolve as more Questions become Frequently Asked.


How did the initial group get together?

The group was formed from all long-term members of the screenwriting website Wordplay. The site's founder, Terry Rossio, had been telling Wordplayers to make our own movies for some time, and everyone thought that was a good idea, but no one actually got off their asses to do it. Then Ryan Polito sent Steve Barr an email with an idea to gather together some like-minded WPers and form a creative collective. They came up with a list of eighteen people, and invited them to a meet-&-greet. Sixteen showed up, twelve were interested.

Is there a membership or subscription fee?

Yes. $50 to join, and $25 per month. Which isn't really very much, and doesn't buy a lot. But then again, our biggest expense is paying for insurance. The ExecProd for any given project foots the bill for that project - the group just supplies the equipment and volunteer crew.

Is there a leader/chairman/benevolent dictator?

We have an executive board (President, VP, Secretary, Treasurer), but they don't meddle in the actual filmmaking. We also have a new membership committee, which interviews people who want to join. Talent and experience are important, but the main criterion is: Do you play well with others?

I see you have the group's philosophy up there large on the home page. Is it the philosophy that helps keep everyone pulling the same way?

For many of us, it's a film school. For others (who are more skilled) it's a way to make "calling card" movies, in the hope of getting meetings around town. So far, we've been able to support people from both of those camps.

How do you decide whose project to make?

Originally, since we had a backlog of scripts, we voted on which projects to make first. These days, whomever has a script just has to schedule around whomever else is filming in any given month.

What if some of the group don't like the idea/script/project?

Notes and feedback on the projects are encouraged, but the ExecProd can choose to ignore them all if he wants. Most of us will work on any script, whether we think it's good or bad. That's because we're a "sweat-equity" collective, so if I work on your short whether I like it or not, I can expect you to work on my short whether you like it or not. Those few people in the past who were always "busy" when a poorly-written project came around quickly found that they had problems staffing their own projects.

How do you fund the projects?

We're very non-bureaucratic. The writer becomes a de facto Exec Producer, and is responsible for paying for the budget.

What do you shoot on?

We shoot on DV, and currently own two Panasonic DVX100s. We recently bought a cool prototype adapter that allows us to use 35MM still-photo lenses, to create a filmic depth of field.

Do you have to rent equipment?

Terry Rossio loaned us about $20,000 worth of Microdolly grip equipment, which has been hugely helpful. One of our members is a professional boom operator, and has a lot of sound equipment. Another is a freelance director/producer/AD for TV sports, and has a lot of lighting and grip equipment. We've only had to rent equipment a few times, and that falls under the Exec Prod's responsibilities.

Who acts in your productions?

Over the years we've developed a small repertory of sorts, with maybe half a dozen versatile actors we know we can count on. Most of our actors, though, we get from auditions. We use Breakdown Express to post breakdowns, and then accept electronic submissions of headshots/resumes from actors who want to audition for us.

Do you pay your actors?

Nope. They typically work for a copy, credit, and meals.

How do you manage the catering?

Since we're not paying anyone to be there, we try to feed them really well. The food budget is usually the biggest expense on our projects. Exactly how craft services is handled is up to the ExecProd -- sometimes they'll arrange for someone to cook for us; sometimes they'll buy decent fast food. The cliché meal is pizza, so we try to only have pizza once on any given project.

When do you shoot? And for how long?

We tend to go in peaks and valleys of activity, because we all have our own lives to lead.

Our scripts have ranged from 3 pages to 33 pages, and from simple Master/OTS/OTS coverage of conversations to complicated fight scenes that take forever to film. It all depends on the project and the director.

Is there a maximum length allowed?

Officially, no. But just from societal pressure (read: us bitching at the person who wants to hog all that time), most people keep the projects down to a weekend or two of work.

Is there a limit to script length?

There's no limit on the length of scripts, but rather on the length of principal production. Two weekends of shooting (plus maybe a skeleton-crew pickup day) seems to be the upper limit.

Also how do you deal with finding locations?

This is currently our biggest challenge. In L.A., everyone who has a location wants lots and lots of money to shoot there, plus liability insurance of at least $1,000,000. We can't afford that much, and so we've had to scramble around a lot for locations we can use on the sly, as it were. It's a pain in the ass. Most of us are pretty aware of the locations we have available to us, and we adjust our scripts to take advantage of the places we know we have access to. But it's still a problem, and probably the next big hurdle we have to tackle.

We've been very lucky to have the support of the North Hollywood Masonic Lodge. We've filmed over a dozen shorts in and around their building, and we hold our auditions there.

Dov SS Siemens' advice is, if you're going to make a short why not make a feature?

For most of us, making feature films is the goal, but the group isn't designed to make features.

What seems to be happening is that smaller groups of SoCal members are meeting on the side, to put together business plans and such for making features separate from the group as a whole. They know they can count of the rest of the group to help out when they can, but it wouldn't be fair for them to hog all the production time for a long-form project.

What do you edit on?

Five or six of us have fast Apples with Final Cut Pro on them. Also, one of us is a pro editor, and has access to a bunch of Avids and color-correction stuff, as long as we only use it sparingly.

How can I join the SoCal Film Group?

We recently decided that we need to have a moratorium on new membership for at least six months. It's possible that we will accept new members on a referral basis, but our small membership committee was getting deluged with applications, and we didn't want to grow too big too fast. So, for now, the official line is that we're not accepting new members; we'll reevaluate that stance in 2007.

In the meantime, here are a couple of very good film organizations that can give lots of assistance (and assistants) to independent filmmakers: Group 101 and The Filmmakers Alliance. We heartily recommend them.

If you have any other questions, please contact us at Barr@socalfilm.com

Pixel shock.

So I’m sitting in a room, surrounded by a mess of wires and about a half a million dollars worth of fancy equipment. There are two things that I find notable about it.

First, all of this cutting edge technology--with its fans and glowing displays and the rumor about being originally developed for spy satellites-- is for the mere purpose of putting a moving picture on your TV screen. You’ll hopefully spend two hours watching, and then turn it off and say “Well, that was nice.”

The second notable thing: None of it works.

It’s kind of an amazing thing to see, actually. A tech’s been called in, he’s frantically switching out cables, his cell phone keeps ringing and he tries to continue troubleshooting while taking verbal “suggestions” from his bosses. My boss stops by every few minutes, asking when it will be fixed, and I have to find another way to tell him “I don’t know” that doesn’t make me sound ignorant. The scheduler at the color house calls every hour or so, wondering when it will be fixed, because we are six hours late for our session which costs $450 an hour.

Welcome to life in HD. After years of the FCC’s gleaming promises of better tv for everyone, I’m now Post Supervisor on a show that needs to deliver in HD. It’s my first HD show, the picture’s locked, and we’re working in 1280x720, sixty frames a second. It feels like the edit bay is held together by duct tape.

While our problem is a little extreme, it’s not out of the norm, and finding the answers to the questions has been really hard; someone may be able to tell you the differences between the sixteen different HD formats, but each format has its own little bugs. Good luck finding someone who’s actually finished a project in all sixteen. In fact, one of the best ways to tell if someone is actually an expert in HD is if they tell you “It’s all so new, no one knows anything.”

All of this has given me a new party line about HD for my personal projects: Not yet. Unless you already have a delivery requirement, only use HD for acquisition. Edit it in a way so that you can later remaster it in HD (which may mean generating HD graphics and down converting them), but don’t go through the effort of an HD finish if this is spec – buyers and festival judges will be looking at a regular DVD anyway.

Instead, finish it in NTSC anamorphic. A regular DVD player can take advantage of it, and it’s what you’d do with your HD master, anyway. Why suffer the pains of the extra disk space and buggy software in order for a format that no one can see, anyway?

Andy

Gearhead #1...

So, Rod’s been bugging me lately to do some blogging on the technical aspects of making digital shorts since I’m one of the (admitted) gear heads in the group. I’m generally just as happy talking about the technical specs of a new camera as my wife is eating cheesecake. I think I’ve been the DP on nearly half of SoCal’s shorts, for better or worse ; -), and it’s taught me a few things. This is kind of a whack at imparting one or two of those lessons.

These are some of the ones that I have to remind myself of all the time:

-Cinematography (digital or otherwise) is all about lighting. You can have the latest Cinealta HD camera or a barely digital Hi-8 from 1995 and either of these can serve your story purpose if the scene is lit appropriately. You can push and pull the image in post, but you will always be limited by the relative light levels in the shot.

-A brightly lit shot is NOT necessarily a well-lit shot. I used the term “relative light levels” above because I’ve seen so many people throw up a couple lights, make sure they can see an image on the monitor, and then press record. If you’re gonna do this you might as well be shooting a local news story or a porn. Lighting for dramatic purposes (and I’m including all genres in this) has to be concerned with how the differences between the light and dark areas in the image affect the dramatic intent of the scene.

In the case of ENG (Electronic News Gathering) or a porn, if you prefer that example, *coughstevebcough*, all that matters is that you capture a distinguishable image, not that you have an image that’s quality in and of itself adds to the story being told. A dramatic scene could literally leave your actor’s face in total darkness and have something brightly lit in the background and be a stunning shot that implies the character’s state of mind.

-lighting takes time, but takes much less time if you prepare. For anybody directing or DP’ing the first time…walk through your locations and talk about how the DP might light the scene. Talk about the potential challenges. Write the specifics down. You may have to abandon these plans later on but you’ll be able to adapt much quicker having done it once.

-if you are or are working with a writer/director, remind yourself or them as often as you can that film is a VISUAL medium. I know, I know…it’s amazingly self-evident, but that doesn’t stop it from being deceptively easy to forget. Especially when you’ve lived with characters inside your head for the whole writing process and now you’re faced with the pressure of an entire crew standing around looking at you while you decide if you need a close up, a medium, or a dolly that moves from one to the other. As much as possible, work out how you want your story told visually before you shoot. I guarantee that it will turn out differently than you imagined but if you don’t go in with at least an idea beforehand you’re very likely to fumble when the cameraman turns to you and says, “How’s this frame?”.

-Cameras can move. Move them. It can often look cool when you do.

-Unless you can do very perspective accurate storyboards, stick to a shot-list. If you’ve got a complicated shot that involves FX, background or set dressing then that’s different. For the majority of indie shooting though, your camera op or DP is going to be asking the director, “Where do you want the camera? How does this look?” and not referring back to the boards much at all.

That’s what I got for now…next time I’ll go more techie and talk about some of the cameras and equipment we’ve used.