Good Filmmaking Is All In The Planning

 
Lisa and Delta Pilot (and NYVS member) John Roberts plan his shoot

As I am in the middle of reading UNBROKEN, I am in a very pilot oriented mood.

One of our NYVS member is Delta Airlines Captain John Roberts.  (I sent him a copy of the book).

When pilots take off, they don't just fire up the engines, take the plane up and 'see where it goes'.

But fimmakers (and video makers) do this all the time.

The results are as catestrophic as if a pilot took off without a flight plan.

Fortunately, no one dies if your career crashes.

But it hurts all the same.

Yesterday, I screened a piece by one of our VJs.

It was an unmitigated piece of crap.

She had gone to cover a music performance festival, had put the camera on the tripod and pretty much shot the performance.

This doesn't work

And it doesn't work becuase, like a bad pilot, she had not filed a flight plan for the shoot.

What do I mean by that?

If you know you are going to shoot a performance, you have to say to yourself, 'what are the elements of a good film about a performance?" In other words, what should my FINAL PRODUCT look like?  Plan the final product, not the shoot, and you'll have a target, as opposed to simply tryhing to keep up with reality 'as it happens'.

Well, in any good film about a performance, you are going to have the following elements:

1.  People arriving for the performance - ticket sales, checking in. milling about. a few soundbites in anticipation. getting your seats.
2.  The actors getting ready behind stage - makeup. costumes. practice. anxiety. a few sound bites.
3.  The technical people preparing the room.
4.  Everyone is seated. The opening.
5.  The performance itself. (this is the easy part)
6.  The audience reaction. Applause. Close ups on faces. Wide shot from the back and so on.
7.  Anticipation in the wings.
8.  The end of the performance.  Applause
9.  Lights up, people leave. Soundbites. How did you like it?
10.  Actors back stage.  Interviews. 

OK
Those are the ten elements you are 'shooting for' so to speak.

Needless to say, if you got all of them you could cut a great film every time.

Even if you only get 7 or 8, you are in great shape.

And you knew this before you even left for the shoot.  

Now, when you get to the shoot, YOU are in control. Instead of playing catch up and hoping for the best and seeing what happens, you have filed a flight plan.

Stick with it, and you'll always have a happy landing.