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Rantings
Geoffrey Elliott

This is the area where I unleash all my rantings, primarily involving the silver screen, but occasionally spilling over into other areas, as rants are known to do. Last month I started in on the making of my lastest movie(if it can be called that). Nobody sent me any death threats so this time we pick up where we left off.

I said last time I'd go into the equipment that we use for our projects. That was before I realized how incredibly dull that would get REAL fast. So allow me to go over a few of the topics resulting from our recent filming.

My partner in crime Steve Walters arrived up in Seattle right on schedule with all the equipment we really needed: camera, tapes, and batteries. Unfortunately he forgot the tripod. No a real problem since we were doing a lot of moving shots, but it bring to mind one very important point: be sure you have all the stuff you need before embarking on your filming trek. Check and double-check because it wastes your precious time to run over looking for replacements, or backtracking to get what you left. Daylight being finicky, schedules being tight, time is always of the essence when you can't book up people for weeks at a time.

But we make do, as always. The first series of filming goes off without a hitch. It involves me trashing my room for a scene late in the film. A suggestion when doing something that involves big set adaptations: always run through exactly what you need to do before doing it. Big movements need to be checked by the cameraman so he can compensate for movement in the frame, and knows just what you plan to do. That way if you smash a mirror or rip your bed up and throw it around, you can usually get it done on the first take; which is often your only take, unless you go get another mirror. Also: check what you just filmed before moving on. That goes for any shot, to insure you don't find yourself wanting another take later on when you're trying to edit the final product. There may always be something you can fix, and if you have time, film and battery power you can do it then and there rather than scurrying to get another shot later.

We were able to check our stuff out on the TV later that night, just by plugging in the camera. Unfortunately, we left the battery on throughout the night. Which brings up a very important point: always prepare yourself for any possible complications. Backup plans, backup batteries, extra tapes, etc almost always provide useful. Just imagine: you've spent all day on top of a hill getting through a scene, and you're almost done. Then the battery gives out. And you don't have a spare. So you come back the next day.... and the tape runs out just minutes after beginning again. This happened two years ago, and we learned well from it. Not only do complications slow things down, they frustrate you, the cast, the crew and when people get frustrated worse things can happen. Tempers flare, mistakes are made, and the whole thing sort of spirals. So always try to prepare for difficulties, and maybe bring some food along to placate your helpers.

The rest of our work came off great, a wonderful start to the project. It's a big rush just to get back behind/in front of/ beside the camera, even if everything doesn't come off right. Luckily we were well prepared to deal with our mistakes.

Next time I think I'll go into the bonuses spontaneity can bring to a shoot, and maybe a little bit more opinionated stuff on what works and what doesn't.


Of course all of this is my own opinion. Want to discuss the silver screen? Think my rants are interesting and want to know more? Or think that I need to find a new topic? Mail me, and we'll talk.

Any images copyright their respective owners. I take no responsibility for any mental or physical damage caused by reading this page, and make no claims I know what I'm talking about.


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