How to Make a Quality Short Film on a Very Low Budget

[Darkone8921]

I own a small production company and will shoot my first short in September. The script is done and solid and I have almost all the roles cast. Also, I have almost all of my locations taken care of as well. I'm asking for all of your opinions on how to make a solid quality very low budget film. I only have a Panasonic GS-120 but I feel I can make it all work from the strength of the script and the talent of the actors and crew involved. Are there any ideas on lighting or audio or cinematography that any or all of you can give me? I'm sure your tips and advice will do nothing but help. :?:

 

[Darkone8921]

I own a small production company and will shoot my first short in September. The script is done and solid and I have almost all the roles cast. Also, I have almost all of my locations taken care of as well. I'm asking for all of your opinions on how to make a solid quality very low budget film. I only have a Panasonic GS-120 but I feel I can make it all work from the strength of the script and the talent of the actors and crew involved. Are there any ideas on lighting or audio or cinematography that any or all of you can give me? I'm sure your tips and advice will do nothing but help.

 

[Darkone8921]

I own a small production company and will shoot my first short in September. The script is done and solid and I have almost all the roles cast. Also, I have almost all of my locations taken care of as well. I'm asking for all of your opinions on how to make a solid quality very low budget film. I only have a Panasonic GS-120 but I feel I can make it all work from the strength of the script and the talent of the actors and crew involved. Are there any ideas on lighting or audio or cinematography that any or all of you can give me? I'm sure your tips and advice will do nothing but help. Editing tips are welcome as well.

 

[Digigenic]

Even though the GS120 is a 3 chip camera, lighting will be a challenge because it doesn’t fare well in low light conditions. So you’ll always need plenty of available light. Most consumer cameras aren’t built to pick up high quality audio either, so you’ll want to consider running audio through an isolated source and syncing it up to mix down in post. Example would be to use a few microphones, patched into a mixer that then runs into the Mini Disc Recorder. It will definitely require at least a couple individuals dedicated to sound, but it’ll have the biggest pay off in the end. With regard to the cinematography approach, that would all depend on the degree of stylization the story requires, is it drama, comedy, action, etc…?

 

[DerekEastham]

If you're interested in post production tips... we'll all need to know a few things first...

For instance:
--> What editing system will be used (or which ones are you considering)
--> Will there be special FX?

Anything else you can give us, for details, will help us to help you as best we can.

Looking forward to hearing more about your short...

Maybe you would consider posting your script in the screenwriters forum also?

 

[Darkone8921]

The film is a drama that will be edited on Adobe Premiere Pro software. There are no special effects. I just want the editing to be as fluid as the storyline itself. I have some of the shots in my mind but the editing will be key. What else can I tell you?

 

[DerekEastham]

Sounds like a pretty simple & straightforward edit to me...
so I don't know that there's anything more you'll need to tell us.

As for tips on editing... I very strongly recommend that you go out and purchase the book "In The Blink Of An Eye" by Walter Murch.
Walter Murch is a brilliant editor whose credits include 'Apocalypse Now', 'The English Patient', and most recently 'Cold Mountain.'
His technique and insight is just amazing, and I've found his book to be a great help... especially when making cuts. It's opened my mind to an entirely new way of looking at the footage on my computer, and a new way of thinking about cuts.

You can't learn editing from books... but you can gain insight.
I would also recommend watching as many dramas that are similar to your project as possible... but don't watch them as an audience member, watch them as a professional... focus on the technical elements & the editing style, this is another great way to gain insight.
Also, watch even more movies that have little to no similarities to your film... you'd be surprised where the insight and inspiration can come from.


Let us know if you need any more tips or information.

 

[Suitcase]

just wondering

just wondering

My thoughts are directed toward the "tips" portion of this Topic. I was only wondering if any consumer DV cams (in the same price range as the XL-1) actually support any decent looking Slow-mo record settings. Seems like when I take the regular footage into post, and want to get really slow, it naturally starts looking a bit choppy. Mostly my question was if maybe someone can give me a tip on how to make it look slower and better, because I'm pretty sure a camera setting I'm asking doesn't exist for us po-boys with our XL1s and what not.

 

[Digigenic]

Welcome to the forums 8)

Alright,

You've addressed a very critical fault in current DV cameras and NLE editing applications with their inability to create fluid slow motion sequences. 1st, with regard to "in camera" slow motion, as of right now, there are only a handful of high priced HD cameras on the market that can "overcrank" and "undercrank", which are terms developed from shooting traditional film at a faster or slower frame rate than 24 frames per second, so that when placed on the 24 frame rate time line for play back, it naturally plays slower or much faster.

Consumer and Prosumer grade DV cameras generally can only shoot at a set frame rate of 30, with the XL2 and the AG-DVX100 as exceptions, they shoot 24, 30, and 60i. But, some film cameras, and those HD cameras I mentioned above give a choice of shooting anywhere between 5 and 120 frames per second, some even faster or slower.

In order to get a nice slow motion effect, through in camera, you'd have to be able to control those frame rate parameters so that you can increase the frame rate up to about 80, 120, or maybe even higher, so that when played back at its origin of speed in the timeline, it will appear much slower. Now, with regard to handling it in post, there's only one NLE application that has concentrated on how to take standard DV footage and slow it down in the timeline without the common choppy feel, and I believe that's Avid. I’m not sure if it’s a proprietary plug-in just for Avid editors, but I think it is. I can’t remember the name of it either, but I'm pretty sure it’s currently offered through Avid. If you use a Mac, Final Cut Pro has a decent "frame blending" option, which allows for a bit smoother feel, but it still feels kinda cheap. I'm not sure how well Premiere, Vegas, or Liquid Edition handle slow motion, but they all generally share that same flaw of not being able to create slow motion very well.

So, with that in mind, it appears that the only alternative I can suggest at the moment (and it isn’t really all that cost effective) would be to look into Avid and find out about that plug-in. Chances are, you'll already have to be editing on an Avid system to get the plug-in, or even worse, you’d have to buy the entire application, which isn't cheap. Well, that's about all I know for that, maybe someone else will chime in and offer some more advice. Hope it helps either way :wink:

 

[DerekEastham]

I'm not sure exactly which plug in that Jacob might be talking about... but I am familiar with Avid Xpress DV Pro's newest feature called "Fluid Motion"... it'll do the best motion effect I've ever seen... on DV & Beta footage no less!

I'm not sure if you can get it as a plug-in... or if you'd have to find yourself an Xpress Pro set-up to borrow for a few hours.

Good luck

 

[Digigenic]

Hey Suitcase,
Where you at :?: ... 8)
We gotta talk about you trying to do a spin off my series...don't make me get my attorney involved :wink: