About film and television creation.

Posted on Edited on In Views: Waline: Word count in article: 4.3k Reading time ≈ 4 mins.

This is an automatically translated post by LLM. The original post is in Chinese. If you find any translation errors, please leave a comment to help me improve the translation. Thanks!

Movies achieve a sense of naturalness through extreme deliberation.

Basic Process of Film and Television Production

  1. Scriptwriting
  2. Converting the script into storyboards
  3. Planning the shoot based on storyboards (grouping shots at the same location)
  4. Casting actors, securing shooting locations
  5. Preparing costumes, makeup, props
  6. Conducting the shoot
  7. Post-production
  8. Release

Film Shooting Process

Process:

  1. Upon arrival at the shooting location, the first step is to conduct a regular rehearsal of the scene to ensure the actors' emotional states are intact. Duct tape can be used on the ground to mark positions and aid actors in their movements.
  2. Pay attention to camera language and scene scheduling. Try to shoot all scenes from each camera angle to ensure the coherence of the actors' emotions.
  3. After the rehearsal, the camera and microphone conduct a preview to confirm the shooting effect.
  4. The director, cinematographer, sound recorder, and script supervisor confirm readiness.
  5. Turn on all microphones (compared to video files, audio files are much smaller and can be recorded multiple times for error tolerance).
  6. Start recording with the camera.
  7. The script supervisor places the slate in the focal point of the lens (near the shooting subject) and signals the scene, shot, and take. After slating, exit the scene.
  8. The director shouts "Three, two, one, action." Everyone remains quiet, and the actors begin their performance. Each department records according to the preview actions.
  9. The director shouts "Cut," the actors stop performing, and the recording for each department ends.
  10. Review the recording playback. If approved by the director, continue to the next shot; otherwise, repeat steps 4-9.

Notes:

  1. Camera recording files are large, especially with high-quality cameras, so try to minimize ineffective camera shooting time in the process.
  2. The slate is really important for organizing files in post-production! Really important! Really important!
  3. As the director shouts "Three, two, one," observe whether the script supervisor has exited the frame and adjust the pace according to the surrounding activities. Ensure silence and a clean frame after saying "action."
  4. Even if the actors have finished their lines, continue acting (improvising) until the director shouts "cut."

Shooting Equipment

Microphones: Large NTG3, Small H5

Voice-over: If post-production voice-over is needed, consider wrapping the recording equipment and voice-over actors with blankets to ensure clean sound without reverberation. This provides more room for audio post-processing.

Reflection: If encountering glass reflections, water surface reflections, or insufficiently clear skies during shooting, use polarizers in front of the lens to eliminate these reflections.

Slate: You can use a physical slate or use an app on an iPad or smartphone as a slate. The key is clarity in the shot.

Post-production

Sound

Main Volume: Between -12 and -6

Background Volume: Between -24 and -8

Use wired closed-back headphones for monitoring whenever possible.

Recommendations: Sennheiser, HD25SP, SONY7506

Image

Aspect Ratio:

  • 1.85:1 for a cinematic feel
  • 2.35:1 for widescreen (to compete with home TVs, the wider, the better for viewer perception).
  • In the 1960s, 3D movies gradually disappeared. 2D can also tell a story well.

Video Format Conversion: Use Format Factory.

Insights

Film and television production is a meticulous process, with each step being crucial. Any issue in one step can affect the final result. Among them, storyboarding and shooting are particularly important. A good storyboard can streamline the shooting process and greatly improve efficiency. I believe a good storyboard should have the following characteristics:

  • Accurate description, allowing visualization of the shot from the storyboard.
  • Feasible shooting plans can be executed based on the storyboard.
  • Allow for redundancy, adding some extra shots to increase editing flexibility.

During the shooting process, two points are crucial: adhering to the shooting schedule and strictly following the shooting process for each shot. Even for a short film, there can be dozens to hundreds of shots, and each shot may require multiple takes, resulting in a large number of files. Adhering to the shooting schedule and process ensures no shots are missed and greatly facilitates post-production. Additionally, pay attention to the following:

  • After each shot, review the footage to check for any issues in recording quality.
  • Use a slate for every shot, which greatly facilitates file organization in post-production.
  • Naming convention for shooting files (recommended): Scene number_Shot number_Take number_Equipment ID_Equipment model.
  • Ensure that the naming of recording files corresponds to shooting files for easy editing in post-production.

After shooting, organize the footage according to scene and shot numbers, including video and audio files.