Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #157
Get every single punch!
If you’re shooting a fight scene, get a lot of coverage. A lot. Every possible angle you can. Overshoot.
Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #133
And it’s rarely in HD.
You might think having a setpiece that consists of video monitors tracking action all over a location is a cool thing, and in a lot of ways it can be, but think of each one of those video feeds as a completely separate short movie you have to make before you make the movie.
Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #132
…assuming you have a trailer.
The night before a shoot, check all costumes, props, locations, actors, gear, food, and crew. make sure everything’s ready. Make sure batteries are charging, tapes are striping*, etc.
Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #130
Unless it’s a really masterful master shot…
Don’t spend all your time getting the master shot. A master shot is important, true, but you need to get coverage, other angles, lots of things for your editor to use.
Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #116
Do you see what I see?
Always use a monitor so that you can see what the camera sees without making your DoP move. On rare occasions, a monitor is contraindicated, but those are very rare occasions. You always want to know what the camera’s seeing.
Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #110
Not so great for adult films, though.
If you want someone to move very, very creepy in a movie, have them move backwards and reverse the video. If they move quickly, the illusion is blown, but if they move slowly and in a somewhat linear fashion, the audience won’t q-u-i-t-e know what’s going on, and that’ll freak ‘em out.
Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #52
Keep an eye on the right things at the right times.
Always check your monitor to make sure you’re happy with your framing, but after that, watch your actors.
Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #37
You Can Always Shake it in Post!
Get a tripod! Battlestar: Galactica was a fluke — if you don’t lock that camera down, you’re going to make your viewers queasy. You can pan and tilt and even dolly if you have one, but unless you have a real good compelling reason, please, please, please get that camera on the sticks!
Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #31
Get. The. Shot.
There are three words that should drive everything in Production: “Get the shot.” The only two types of activities on set are activities that help get the shot and activities that are preventing the shot. Keep the former going, and minimize the latter. Food belongs to the former category, by the way.
Low-Budget Filmmaking Tip #30
Think of it as “Contemplative Time”
If you can’t cut around bad acting, the best you can hope for is to be saved by your cutaways, and by the reaction shots of other actors. Another alternative is to rewrite the scene on-the-fly to be one of those moody contemplative scenes with billowing cloth and slow-motion cigarette smoke. I suggest you grab lots of cutaways, though.