Preparation Phase
When filmmakers prepare for the physical production, it is called preproduction. The director plays an integral role in this process and he is the coordinator of the staff to create the film. The director and producer hire cast and crew at this point, as well as scout for locations for filming. The producer sets the budget and the schedule for filming is matched accordingly with that with the assumption of the separate shots being made "out of continuity."
Transporting people and equipment is really expensive, so producers do their best to film in the same location. The producer must also plan on shooting around actors that are not present on the set every day. They try to schedule the most difficult scenes first before cast and crew get tired.
During this time, many things are going on at once. The writer might be revising the screenplay and the casting supervisor will be out hunting for actors. The director orchestrates the contributions of specialists in different areas. For instance, they work with the production design unit, headed by the production designer. They create the drawings and determine color schemes and architecture of the sets. A graphic artist may be assigned to create a storyboard that include notes on costumes, lighting, and camera work. Difficult action sequences and shots using special effects or complex camera work are usually storyboarded in detail. Those storyboards can be transformed into simple 3-D animations called animatics. These give an idea of what the shots should look like.
Shooting Phase
Hollywood filmmakers refer to production as the shooting phase, which is also known as principal photography. The director's crew is a group of people that the director supervises. This group consists of the:
All of these different pieces working together result in many hours of footage and sound. For every single shot, the director usually does multiple takes. If a movie requires a line, the director will have the actor say the line multiple times for more than one take. Usually one take, or one part of a take, are integrated into the final piece. The black chalkboard that you have seen with a person clicking it to signal cameras to roll is called a slate. The slate is used to organize the hundreds of different takes so that when the movie gets to the editing phase, they can work faster.
When shots are filmed, there are usually procedures that the director and crew follow. Crews set up lighting and test the sound recording and the director rehearses the actors and instructs the cinematographer. The director then supervises what is called the master shot. The master shot records the entire action and dialogue of the scene. There is usually excess footage left over and this is called coverage. The script supervisor then checks the details to make sure that they are consistent within all these shots.
If special effects are going to be used, the shooting phase must carefully plan for them. Actors will often be filmed in front of green screens so that they can be inserted into computer-created settings. Sometimes they will incorporate what is called motion capture to add a person or animal that needs to be created by a computer. Small sensors are attached all over the body and a special camera records the movement.
When filmmakers prepare for the physical production, it is called preproduction. The director plays an integral role in this process and he is the coordinator of the staff to create the film. The director and producer hire cast and crew at this point, as well as scout for locations for filming. The producer sets the budget and the schedule for filming is matched accordingly with that with the assumption of the separate shots being made "out of continuity."
Transporting people and equipment is really expensive, so producers do their best to film in the same location. The producer must also plan on shooting around actors that are not present on the set every day. They try to schedule the most difficult scenes first before cast and crew get tired.
During this time, many things are going on at once. The writer might be revising the screenplay and the casting supervisor will be out hunting for actors. The director orchestrates the contributions of specialists in different areas. For instance, they work with the production design unit, headed by the production designer. They create the drawings and determine color schemes and architecture of the sets. A graphic artist may be assigned to create a storyboard that include notes on costumes, lighting, and camera work. Difficult action sequences and shots using special effects or complex camera work are usually storyboarded in detail. Those storyboards can be transformed into simple 3-D animations called animatics. These give an idea of what the shots should look like.
Shooting Phase
Hollywood filmmakers refer to production as the shooting phase, which is also known as principal photography. The director's crew is a group of people that the director supervises. This group consists of the:
- Script Supervisor- is in charge of all details of continuity from shot to shot. They check all tiny details of performers' appearance, props, lighting, movement, cameras position, and the running time of each shot.
- First Assistant Director- is the person who plans each day's shooting schedule with the director. They set up each shot, keep track of the actors, monitor safety conditions, and keep energy up.
- Second Assistant Director- is the liaison between the first AD and the camera crew and electricians' crew.
- Third Assistant Director- is the messenger for the director and the staff.
- Dialogue Coach- is the person that feeds the actors their lines and speaks the lines of offscreen characters during shots of other performers.
- Second Unit Director- films the stunts, location footage, action scenes, and the everything else at a distance from where principal shooting is occurring.
All of these different pieces working together result in many hours of footage and sound. For every single shot, the director usually does multiple takes. If a movie requires a line, the director will have the actor say the line multiple times for more than one take. Usually one take, or one part of a take, are integrated into the final piece. The black chalkboard that you have seen with a person clicking it to signal cameras to roll is called a slate. The slate is used to organize the hundreds of different takes so that when the movie gets to the editing phase, they can work faster.
When shots are filmed, there are usually procedures that the director and crew follow. Crews set up lighting and test the sound recording and the director rehearses the actors and instructs the cinematographer. The director then supervises what is called the master shot. The master shot records the entire action and dialogue of the scene. There is usually excess footage left over and this is called coverage. The script supervisor then checks the details to make sure that they are consistent within all these shots.
If special effects are going to be used, the shooting phase must carefully plan for them. Actors will often be filmed in front of green screens so that they can be inserted into computer-created settings. Sometimes they will incorporate what is called motion capture to add a person or animal that needs to be created by a computer. Small sensors are attached all over the body and a special camera records the movement.