Making a film – the basics PART 2

A slightly technical bit to consider

Before you even think about shooting your film, you have to decide how you are going to show it to your audience. Usually, if it is for home viewing, it will be shown on your TV, so you need to know about the aspect ratio.

Is your TV widescreen or one of the older square models? Aspect ratio refers to the size of the viewing area on your TV or screen, the amount of visible action on film. This will typically be 4:3 or 16:9. If you ever wondered what those figures meant as you tried to fix your telly for a widescreen movie, here it is.

TV and film are always shown in landscape format. 4:3 is the old standard ratio, in which TV productions were shot and broadcast. The problem is that all films for cinema were shot more or less on widescreen. This is referred to as 16:9.

The difference between the two is that you have a larger viewing area with 16:9, hence the term widescreen. The figures 4:3 and 16:9 are the proportions of both the recorded footage and your viewing medium, as a ratio of width to height.

If you try fitting a widescreen image to a 4:3 film, you will have to squash the image, or lose information from either side. And if you try to put a 4:3 image in a 16:9 frame, you either get a stretched image or you will see a black band on either side, and so will the viewer – when cut with landscape, these will jar. This can often be seen on old TV programmes rebroadcast today.

So, as part of your planning, find out what your viewing medium will be, and shoot accordingly. Websites like YouTube and Vimeo will display in either format.

Aspect ratio is not pixel resolution, which relates to the quality of the image. As 4:3 is generally being phased out, in future I will only be discussing with regard to 16:9 format, so the resolution you choose will either be 1080i (high definition) or standard widescreen (720 x 576). Look in your camera manual to find out how to set your shooting aspect ratio to what you want for video.

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?’

The origins of film making

The cutting edge technology available today means that everyone can make films. If you want to make good ones on your HD DSLR or video camera, some knowledge of the background and rules of filmmaking will certainly help.

Originally, human stories and history were passed down by word of mouth; and then with painting, sculpture and the written word. That all changed in 1839, when the photographic process became available to everyone. The birth of film was in 1872, when Leland Stanford asked Eadweard Muybridge to photograph a horse galloping (below) using 24 stereoscopic cameras, therefore producing the first moving image. Then Robert W. Paul’s invention of the film projector allowed for the first public showing of moving images in 1895.

People soon realised the significance of this new spectacle. The Lumiere Brothers sent operators out all over the world to shoot with their Cinematographe device, and they created almost 2,000 films by 1903. These films reflected everyday life: trains pulling into stations, people leaving work at the factory. Known as ‘actualities’ or slice of life, they were the first documentaries.

Documentary film makers are dedicated to recording the present, and their work will be viewed as historical documents by generations to come. Whether it is made by people who dedicate their lives to such pursuits, such as David Attenborough, or amateur filmmakers who do it their spare time, all work is equally valid in representing the cultural and political mood of the day. This is most prevalent now, at the advent of the digital age, when the internet is such a portal for people to share knowledge instantaneously. No other age of man has been as documented this one, at all levels of society, allowing us all to be guardians of history regardless of social standing. This is an incredibly exciting time, with developments in equipment now accessible to all, especially with regard to cost.

And now you can also be part of this new chapter that sees amateurs assisting professionals in pushing the boundaries. Think of it as in astronomy, wherein the amateurs now have the ability to document astronomical events, and quickly share the findings with professionals and the rest of the world. This initiative has become part of filmmaking too, with the likes of websites such as YouTube and Vimeo. So, in only a few steps, you could soon be making films, with equipment you already own, that will potentially last forever.