Jaque' Poopatta: Legendary wooden filmmaker of France. Photo credit of tacoasylum.com
By Nicholas Lives
As I'm sure most of you know by now, the annual Alta High School Film Festival is soon arriving, with the due date for entries being as early as January 25th. This of course means that anyone who wants to enter in a film of their own better start jumping on that particular ball soon, lest they wind up with a 5-minute video of their cat sleeping.
So what do you do if you are interested in making a film of your own, but you don't know the first thing about what goes into making a movie? Folks, whether you like it or not, Nicholas Lives is here to help.
Pre-Production!
A common mistake made by amateur filmmakers is that often they believe that the best way to approach making a film is to just wander around with a camera filming everything they see and then hoping for the best. Wrong.
Planning is everything. If you want to make a film of your own, even if it's just a silly 60-second comedy sketch, then you have to have a plan of some shape or form. Whether it be a professionally written script or a series of stick figures scribbled in crayon on the back of a napkin, if you don't have a plan, you don't have a film.
Production!
After you've put together some sort of plan for your film, it's time to start filming. Here's a few quick tips to keep in mind while filming in order to make things easier when it comes to the editing process:
- Don't go out of your way to film scenes in chronological order when not necessary. If, for example, two of your scenes in the film took place in the same warehouse but at different times in the story, film all the warehouse scenes first so that you don't have to be trotting back and forth between locations.
- When filming in the dark, make sure to always keep the actor's lit, otherwise you'll get a very grainy picture. The best way to do this is by having someone shine a light on a piece of white paper, which will reflect some of the light onto the actors without looking unnatural or distracting.
- Don't use the "zoom" function in the middle of a scene. This usually winds up looking pretty tacky in the final product. If you wish to zoom in on your subject, let the scene finish and then film it again at a closer angle. This will allow you to integrate the close-up shot into the film during the editing process.
Which brings me to...
Post-Production!
When you've finished filming your masterpiece, now is the time to make it all come together by transferring the footage into an editing program. Several free ones are available, such as iMovie for Macs and Windows Movie Maker for PC's, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding one that suits you. Here are a few general tips to keep in mind during post-production.
- Music should add to the scene, not distract from it. Before you import that "Poker Face Remix" into your fight scene, ask yourself: Am I adding this in because I like it or because the film needs it?
- If you find that you can't hear the actors in your film talking for one reason or another, you can always dub their voice. This basically means recording the actor with a separate microphone in a quiet room, and having them talk in-sync with their lips on the original footage. It may sound hard, and that's because it is. That being said, don't underestimate the negative effect bad sound can have on your film. No one can appreciate your masterpiece if they're too busy trying to hear the actors speak.
- Don't overuse the pre-built "transitions" that come with your editing software. Most movies use only the most basic of cuts, meaning that they literally just jump from one shot to the next. When's the last time you saw a movie use a cheesy "page turn" transition? You may think it looks cool, but trust me, it doesn't. Don't do it.
Well, I hope some of you aspiring filmmakers out there found these tips useful. I look forward to seeing all your films at the Alta High Film Festival on February 1st!
As I'm sure most of you know by now, the annual Alta High School Film Festival is soon arriving, with the due date for entries being as early as January 25th. This of course means that anyone who wants to enter in a film of their own better start jumping on that particular ball soon, lest they wind up with a 5-minute video of their cat sleeping.
So what do you do if you are interested in making a film of your own, but you don't know the first thing about what goes into making a movie? Folks, whether you like it or not, Nicholas Lives is here to help.
Pre-Production!
A common mistake made by amateur filmmakers is that often they believe that the best way to approach making a film is to just wander around with a camera filming everything they see and then hoping for the best. Wrong.
Planning is everything. If you want to make a film of your own, even if it's just a silly 60-second comedy sketch, then you have to have a plan of some shape or form. Whether it be a professionally written script or a series of stick figures scribbled in crayon on the back of a napkin, if you don't have a plan, you don't have a film.
Production!
After you've put together some sort of plan for your film, it's time to start filming. Here's a few quick tips to keep in mind while filming in order to make things easier when it comes to the editing process:
- Don't go out of your way to film scenes in chronological order when not necessary. If, for example, two of your scenes in the film took place in the same warehouse but at different times in the story, film all the warehouse scenes first so that you don't have to be trotting back and forth between locations.
- When filming in the dark, make sure to always keep the actor's lit, otherwise you'll get a very grainy picture. The best way to do this is by having someone shine a light on a piece of white paper, which will reflect some of the light onto the actors without looking unnatural or distracting.
- Don't use the "zoom" function in the middle of a scene. This usually winds up looking pretty tacky in the final product. If you wish to zoom in on your subject, let the scene finish and then film it again at a closer angle. This will allow you to integrate the close-up shot into the film during the editing process.
Which brings me to...
Post-Production!
When you've finished filming your masterpiece, now is the time to make it all come together by transferring the footage into an editing program. Several free ones are available, such as iMovie for Macs and Windows Movie Maker for PC's, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding one that suits you. Here are a few general tips to keep in mind during post-production.
- Music should add to the scene, not distract from it. Before you import that "Poker Face Remix" into your fight scene, ask yourself: Am I adding this in because I like it or because the film needs it?
- If you find that you can't hear the actors in your film talking for one reason or another, you can always dub their voice. This basically means recording the actor with a separate microphone in a quiet room, and having them talk in-sync with their lips on the original footage. It may sound hard, and that's because it is. That being said, don't underestimate the negative effect bad sound can have on your film. No one can appreciate your masterpiece if they're too busy trying to hear the actors speak.
- Don't overuse the pre-built "transitions" that come with your editing software. Most movies use only the most basic of cuts, meaning that they literally just jump from one shot to the next. When's the last time you saw a movie use a cheesy "page turn" transition? You may think it looks cool, but trust me, it doesn't. Don't do it.
Well, I hope some of you aspiring filmmakers out there found these tips useful. I look forward to seeing all your films at the Alta High Film Festival on February 1st!
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