Advent Production – Part One
I did this sort of thing a few years ago with a script I wrote; it worked great. Some of the actors recorded themselves from their own phones, and those not comfortable with it came into our studio, and we shot their parts for them.
We then compiled the shots into the presentation, which we showed on the “big screen.”
Here are a few things we learned from the experience:
- Make sure people know how important the audio is. Many problems can be resolved with good mics and low background noise. (Run a little of the lines and then listen back before recording the whole thing.) If you can record audio with both the camera/phone and another digital audio recorder (another phone, field mic, etc.), it provides a backup in case one has issues.
- Think about camera position. Normally the camera should be about head level. Too low and you are shooting up the nose and too high makes the subject seem small or diminished. There are exceptions, of course. For example you may want to shoot from a child’s perspective looking up at an adult, or perhaps you want to diminish your subject. The point here is be intentional. Use a tripod!
- Make sure all footage is shot in the same mode. e.g., landscape. Many people using phones tend to shoot portrait. This makes blending the footage more difficult and most presentation screens are in landscape.
- Try to make sure lighting is both sufficient and appropriate. Better to have a well-lit scene that needs to be dark than vice versa. It’s easy to darken a scene in the editing software. The reverse is not true as noise is introduced into the picture when trying to increase lighting. Also, with the lighting, watch for shadows, especially on the face of the actor. Certain lighting makes faces more sinister, etc. Post-editing is trickier with this so better to think about it during shooting.
- Lock focus on the camera (may need to use a phone app like Yamera if using a phone) this keeps the focus from going in and out when trying to autofocus. Also, use white balance if available to make tones more consistent across clips. Some of this can be done in editing if needed but takes more time.
- Leave room at the beginning and end of recording while staying in character. People tend to start and end too quickly, leaving little room to work with timing during the editing process. Also, if a line is missed, pause, resume character for a few seconds and repeat the whole line. This makes splicing the footage easier and more fluid. There’s no need to stop and start over.
- Green Screen worked great for us in certain parts of the script as we were able to add in virtual sets. This takes some practice, though. You need to make sure the screen is uniform in color and in lighting or it can be exceedingly difficult to correct during editing. (BTW, it doesn’t have to be green. Just make sure the background is NOT the same color as the person’s clothes…)
- Plan Plan Plan. It’s easy to jump into shooting without thinking about how you are going to put everything together. This usually causes challenges during editing.
- Consider adding in some background sounds/music to enhance the overall production.
- Keep it simple. Only add special effects and such once you know you have time. Creative opportunities are boundless, but you need to stay focused on your deadline or you can get carried away with the extras and be late or disastrously rushed to release the product. Decide early what your non-negotiables are.
I also did a production where part of the story was filmed in a home and the other was on stage using the same actors. It provided a way to lessen the demands of the lines, augmented scene changes, and provided another set that didn’t have to be added or removed from the stage. So many possibilities . . .
Blessings!
Rodney D. Hall, Dramatist
