Of course, without a broom, you’re hosed…

Get it right on set – fixing it in post takes ten times as long and is twenty times as expensive as doing it again right there. Probably more, by the time you read this. Yes, I’m guilty of saying “we can fix that in post.” And for each of those instances, yes, I suck.

This includes things like “Look, just throw a cloth over it, man.”

I could have saved many weeks of digital work with the proper application of cloths, newspaper, sheets, and props on my sets. Hell, even tossing a shemp in a corner could have saved me some grind later.

Ah, live and learn… May you learn from my living!

Watercolor paint can be used in a pinch, or acrylic, to cover something, and then as soon as you’re done shooting afterward, you can hose it right off.

Don’t forget one of the easiest on-set miracles to perform: moving the camera a little bit.
Newspapers can cover things. Posters work, too.

My favorite example of this was a short movie by my friend Christian. They had some sign in a store window that they could not remove (it was inside), and they were trying to film a period piece. So, they threw an extra (aka: Quality Actor Person) into period clothes, handed him a broom and said “Stand riiiight here and just slowly sweep.”