l9 - Shooting Schedule Guide
l9 - Shooting Schedule Guide
l9 - Shooting Schedule Guide
A key component to building a shooting schedule involves knowing how much needs
to be shot on a particular day.
Producers must conduct meetings with heads of department in order to get
everyone on the same page.
A film production is an everchanging organism and keeping everyone informed as
things change helps to keep the production running smoothly.
There are two ways you can break down how much needs to be shot in a day. You
can either do it by pages or by scenes.
But his mode of thinking creates a problem.
Breaking down a script into 8ths gives you a precise way of measuring exactly how
much needs to be shot on a particular day.
This involves dividing the pages of your script into eight 1-inch sections.
This is important because it helps determine the length of a scene.
For example. If a scene is 6/8ths, that translates into 6 inches out of 1 full script
page.
Then go through the script and mark how long each scene is in 8ths. If a scene is
longer than a page, then it’s a 1 page plus however many 8ths it takes up on the next
page. For example, 1 and 2/8ths.
As you begin your scheduling and whilst in the process of scheduling, ensure that
you are constantly communicating with each crew and cast member.
If you cannot afford to fully pay and book cast and crew for a complete block of time,
there is a chance that they will have other commitments.
Get peoples availability as early as you can and make a note of any other
commitments people might have.
Department needs:
Another reason for getting a cast and crew opinion on the shooting schedule is that
each department’s needs might affect it.
For example, the art department might want some scenes to be carried out towards
the end of the shoot as they don’t have enough prep time within a certain location.
In another example, costume and makeup might prefer scenes to be done at the end
of the shoot for continuity reasons. You never know what problems might occur to
mix up the schedule out of sequence.
When deciding the shooting order for your scenes, you can choose to shoot
chronologically or in an unchronological order.
Most films will shoot their scenes out of order because it is the best and smartest
way to get a shoot done on time.
For example, shooting all of the scenes that take place in one location at the same
time or in the same span of time.
Another way to approach scheduling scenes is to plan to film the most complicated
scenes first.
That way no matter what occurs to slow your daily schedule down, at the very least
you will have hopefully ticked off one major scene that required the most
manpower.
You will also need to consider actor’s energy and emotions.
Scheduling two emotionally exhausting scenes right after the other might be too
draining for an actor. Also consider physically demanding scenes such as fight
sequences.
Location availability:
The next thing you will need to consider when scheduling is location availability.
This is especially true if your story has a lot of location changes.
Avoid having any major location changes during one day.
Another factor that will affect location availability is that you can only shoot in a
location for a certain amount of time.
Lastly, think about whether your location is interior or exterior. If it’s exterior, think
about the weather and the season you are planning on filming.