Hi John,
I hope this isn't too late.
I hope that some of this will be useful for your presentation on shooting for the edit. I have divided my ideas into the following categories:
1) The equipment that people bring to a shoot doesn't tell you their skills or experience.
2) You have little control over the environment
3) White balancing doesn't always work - mixed lighting and mixed cameras
4) Stupid people tricks
5) People skills make a difference
1) Quality equipment doesn't equate to high skills and experience.
I've seen many cases where people want to get into film and video and can afford good equipment. Sometimes they have only basic skills and little experience working on a team. You have to determine what their skill levels are and need to review their efforts. Consider someone who brings an nice camera to a shoot but doesn't white balance or worse, uses full auto including auto iris and auto balance.
2) Usually on low budget projects, you have little or no control over the environment. If you interview someone in the employee lounge, it may not be possible to turn off equipment like the ice machine. In a large office building you will seldom be able to control the HVAC systems. While someone may have a great office, you may want to interview them elsewhere and use footage of the office as b-roll. Same holds try for outdoor shots where you can't turn off the neighbors lawn equipment, dogs vehicles and people.
3) Mixed lighting and mixed camera both cause problems that white balancing won't solve. Most docs and independent productions that I have been around aren't equipped to gel a glass wall or large windows. They usually only have limited tungsten light like Lowel kits that don't produce much light with blue gels on them. Try to set up shots so there is little or no color gradient produced in the background. For example, in a long row house with sun in the front and tungsten/fluorescent lighting in the back, have your 180 line run across the house, perpendicular to the axis between the different lighting sources.
For some low budget productions, people bring different cameras. Even if you white balance them on the same object from the same direction other colors may vary, different shades of red, etc.
4) If you are shooting a master and closeups at the same time, look out for the fool that goes hand-held and keeps wondering in and out of the master shots.
On DSLRs, many don't display audio bars. Plug in a dead mic and you get no audio and if you don't have a way to monitor it… Even if you have a dual recording system with great audio, you will have lost your reference track.
5) In locations or conditions where you don't have control over your environment people skills can be more important than technical skills if you can get the right person on-site to help you. In one case my doc partner and I had an interview go well enough to have a time challenged executive give us another interview at his house after work. In another case, I had a young student from Colorado that I took to Arlington Cemetery after class. The area around JFKs grave was roped off. I asked the guard if we could get a shot of the monuments through the eternal flame. It was near closing. She announced, It's closing time. I need everyone except the two gentlemen I told to stay to leave now. After the other people left, she gave us permission to get our shots which he submitted to the base newspaper.
I will be using the comments I have seen on this thread with my students.
Best Wishes,
Paul Sulsky
----- Original Message -----
From: "john.maio5011" jmaio@mac.com>
To: Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 6, 2013 12:01:01 PM
Subject: [Avid-L2] Re: Help with presentation to small independent filmmakers
For my pitch, I plan to sort the tips into phases:
Creative (screenwriting, storyboarding, etc.)
Pre Production Planning
Production
Smooth handoff to Post
Hopefully I'll have time to start today. The presentation is on the 17th.
Again, thanks to all who have offered their excellent tips and advice!
John
--- In Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com , "bouke" wrote:
>
> Nice, but if you are going to revisit it, please sift it on subject, and
> take away the double entries.
> (and perhaps re-write some stuff, we all know you're qualified for that :-)
>
>
> Bouke
>
> VideoToolShed
> van Oldenbarneveltstraat 33
> 6512 AS NIJMEGEN
> The Netherlands
> +31 24 3553311
> www.videotoolshed.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Roger Shufflebottom"
> To:
> Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2013 5:04 PM
> Subject: Re: [Avid-L2] Help with presentation to small independent
> filmmakers
>
>
> I collated these comments and uploaded a PDF to the files section under 'L2
> Hints and Tips'. If I didn't credit everyone correctly, complain to me!
>
>
>
> With Best Wishes,
> Roger Shufflebottom
> +44 7973 543 660
>
>
> >________________________________
> > From: John Beck
> >To: Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com
> >Sent: Thursday, 31 January 2013, 19:42
> >Subject: Re: [Avid-L2] Help with presentation to small independent
> >filmmakers
> >
> >
> >
> >Any chance you could post your document somewhere? Thanks. --J.B.
> >
> >Roger wrote:
> >> Very useful thread. I'm going to follow Ben's lead and consolidate it
> >> into a document for my students. It will do them good to see these
> >> comments from folk out there and working.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> With best wishes,
> >> Roger Shufflebottom
> >> +44 7973 543 660
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------
> >>
> >> Search the official Complete Avid-L archives at:
> >> http://archives.bengrosser.com/avid/
> >> Yahoo! Groups Links
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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