Making a film - the basics PART 1

Planning and Equipment

The planning stage is, quite simply, the most important part of the filmmaking process. I cannot emphasise this enough. If you don’t plan, you will end up with only a poor example of what is possible. We’ve all sat through Uncle Jack’s longwinded video of his last holiday in Spain, with bad camerawork that has your head spinning. Or little Suzie’s nativity play with atrocious sound that leaves a constant buzz in your ears. By planning what you shoot, where you’re shooting and knowing why you’re shooting it, you will be able to create good short films that will keep your audience engaged, and headache free.

Step 1: Equipment

Knowing what equipment you have to hand will guide what is achievable for your project, and with a little experience you will learn to be efficient and think on your feet. You may think, ‘Hold on - I haven’t even got an idea yet, and you’re asking about equipment?’ Well, the fact is that in the first few steps you take, you’ll quickly learn that your equipment dictates what you can and can’t do. Knowing this upfront will stop you thinking about helicopter shots and mass special effects, allowing you to concentrate on what you do have.

So, to start with, make a list of what you have available to you. Generally, the list will contain:

a)      A DSLR that can shoot HD video, a standard DSLR or a mini DV video camera. Not only do the new breed of DSLRs shoot photographs, but they also now have the ability to shoot HD video. This widens your capacity to make great high-quality films. Photographs, too, are very much used in all forms of filmmaking.

b)      A tripod. A sturdy tripod with a fluid head is best. Most photographers will have a tripod for taking stills photographs, but not all will have a fluid head. It is not strictly necessary at the beginning, but you will feel your need for one grow the further along we go, as a fluid head gives you the ability to shoot at a more professional level, creating smooth panning shots.

c)      A microphone. An external microphone (preferably a directional stereo mic) will be essential in the long term. Clear, well-balanced sound is the first sign of the quality of your film. But don’t fret if you only have an on-board mic to start off with, as this will be more than adequate in these early stages.

d)     Power. Back-up charged batteries are essential for when you’re shooting. I have been on professional shoots with unprepared crews that have arrived with batteries that have little charge, with no back-up or means of charging. This is a nightmare scenario and utterly unforgivable, as whole days can be wasted at serious cost to the production. And it is important for you to think about, because if you are filming a one-off event like a wedding, you will only have that day to film. There are no reshoots for occasions such as this.

e)      Storage. What are you going to capture your film on? With the new HD DSLRs you will probably be capturing your footage on a SD card. A 2GB SD card will only hold five minutes of HD video. This rises to about 20 minutes per card if you decide to shoot at a lower resolution. Check your user manual as each camera model will differ in what resolutions the unit will capture in. The lower the resolution, the lower the quality of your captured footage.

From your onboard storage, you will need to be able to digitise/capture your footage onto a computer or preferably an external hard drive (more on this in a later post). You don’t need a high-end, top-of-the-range computer - a standard laptop will do. Extra SD cards are a must.

f)       Editing software. You will inevitably need to edit your film, so editing software is a must. Windows Moviemaker is perfect for the first-time filmmaker and has all you need to produce films with music and credits, and, best of all, it’s free.

This is the basic list. The further you move along the filmmaking road, the more you will add to your list. Keep this, and refer to it every time you embark on making a film. Things will become more intuitive the more familiar you become with all the stages, allowing you to be creative, free from worries of ‘Have I got everything I need?’