Digital Films for Students

This Wiki will deal with the process and specifics of creating a digital video or film from the perspective of a student.

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Pre-Production is the first phase of creating a digital film and involves all the planning and organization that leads up to the actual filming. Spending a little extra time during this phase can save yourself from much frustration during filming / post-production.

As the first step in producing a digital film, planning every aspect of the work that needs to be accomplished will be crucial in making your project successful. You must know what needs to be done, when it needs to be done by, and who needs to do it. In addition to this, you need to find the most efficient way of scheduling certain tasks, so that neither time nor money is wasted. Set deadlines and determine when each aspect of the film is going to be completed by. Have a schedule that clearly states what work is being done on what days, who needs to be there, what kind of equipment you'll need and where you're going to be. Always assume that it will take you longer than you had originally planned.

The script is the creative guideline for what the film will be about. In most cases, you'll have been approached by a writer or will have sought out a script for the particular project, but occasionally you must write one yourself. If you find yourself doing the latter, be sure to be as specific as possible regarding which shots you want to get, and how that will illustrate the story. And always remember, the other techniques you may know for producing a film will likely not be able to salvage a poorly written script.

Storyboarding your script is a very helpful step in visualizing the film before any shooting actually begins. Doing so can expose continuity errors, plan specific shots and camera angles and assist in organizing dates and times for shooting. While not always strictly necessary, doing so will make you better prepared for the actual filming. It's often best to avoid highly detailed storyboards as doing so will likely waste time. Make them only as complex as necessary to illustrate how the shot / scene will appear.

Like your regular script, a shooting script contains a list of all the scenes and shots you've planned for your film, but may be organized based on shooting days. This is because it may not be efficient to film linearly, where the first scene is shot on the first day and the last scene on the last day. Instead, scenes will common locations can be shot on the same day (or over whatever period you've scheduled to be there) which will save downtime from moving equipment and personnel.

One of the biggest road blocks to producing a film can be getting consent for on-location filming. Showing up with equipment and crew prepared to film without prior permission will likely end with you being asked to leave the premises.

• Be knowledgable and open about the topic of your film and what you want to do. Owners are concerned with how they, their employees, their customers and their business will be portrayed, and consent is easier to get if you can allay these fears.
• Be professional and courteous. You're asking for their help here, not the other way around.
• Offer something to them in return. Even if you're working on a budget, you can provide some benefit to the business, like free advertisement. If you're working at a restaurant, for example, you can order a meal for your crew to show your gratitude.
• Emphasize that you will do your best to not interrupt regular operation. In addition to helping you, they're risking potential business by allowing you to film at their establishment.

Possibly the biggest restraint on your film will be financing it. In many cases, you'll end up as the sole benefactor, so budget wisely. It may be tempting to go out and find professionals to hire, but keep in mind that doing so will be extremely expensive and you may not even be prepared for their work.

• Check with friends, family, co-workers, classmates, professors, etc. Find anyone you can who is willing to volunteer their time, premises, or equipment.

• Script Writer
• Producer
• Director
• Casting Director
• Actors
• Extras
• Stand-ins
• Camera Operator
• Lighting Operator
• Boom Operator
• Public Relations
• Equipment Coordinator

Production is the second phase and consists of recording the actual film.

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• Digital Video Camera
• DV Tapes
• Extra Batteries
• Lights
• External Microphone
• Microphone Boom
• Extension Cables
• Steady-Cams
• Dollies

Ideally, you can have a person familiar with theatre wardrobe organize what the actors will be wearing at all times. Most likely, however, this is something you'll have to do yourself. It's easy to ignore this aspect of the film, but that may result in continuity errors when an actor moves from one scene to the next and their clothing changes. It's important to not simply have a single outfit through out the film as the passage of time is easily demonstrated by changing appearance. If you're shooting non-linearly (which you should), be sure to know what wardrobe will be required for each scene and each day of shooting.

Depending on the topic of the film, makeup may play an important role in setting the tone. Age, injury, cleanliness, etc. can all be depicted through the use of makeup. As always, having someone who's experienced in the field will be vastly helpful.

When working with most DV cameras, it's necessary to not under-expose your shots or they will appear grainy. Similarly, over-exposure will blow out the image and significantly reduce the color data available.

There are many different options for handling camera movement, including tripods, steadicams, dollies, booms, cranes, arms, etc. However, in most cases, you won't have the budget for this kind of equipment. What you should know is that their basic purposes are to create steady, moving shots. The most complex and expensive method is to use a Motion Control device, which is a computer operated machine that can make consistent, accurate camera movement. For small budget productions, a tripod may be all you can afford, and all you need if you plan your shots properly.

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Audio is an equal portion of a digital film, and should be handled similarly. Consideration for the surroundings and the sounds they generate is necessary. Remote microphones placed on the actors can be very useful for capturing their dialogue while omitting external noise. Mic booms, on the other hand, will record ambient sounds. In many cases, it will be necessary to re-record audio after filming and dub it over the footage to create consistency.

Setting the White Balance of the camera before filming will help give it a neutral color balance. If you fail to do this, it may appear either too warm or too cool, which is caused by an orange or blue tint. Many cameras come with an auto white balance, but in most cases this feature is not recommended. If the camera allows for a spot white balance, you can place a pure white object (paper, or cloth) in front of the camera, zoom in, and select Spot White Balance, which will adjust the WB according to the light conditions at the object.

Keeping the characters or important objects in focus can be time consuming and difficult, but is necessary to creating a good film. Low end cameras generally do not have manual focus, but if you're lucky enough to find one that does, be sure you use it. In some cases, they will include an Extended Focus button, which digitally zooms the viewer in, but does not affect the actual film. This allows you to check up-close whether or not the shot is in focus. One mark of professional films is the use of Depth of Field, which appears as objects further or closer than the main object are greatly out of focus. If the lens of the camera isn't capable of doing this, it can be faked by placing objects unusually closer or further away, or it can be artificially reproduced in post-production.

Post-Production is the final phase where the source material gathered in Production is edited, composited and exported as a final product.

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Shooting in DV means you'll be using NLEs (Non-Linear Editors) to edit your film. This is a non-destructive method, as the original source material (the DV tape) is not damaged when editing, in comparison to linear editors that require cutting and splicing of actual film. Examples of these include:

• Adobe Premiere
• Apple Final Cut Pro
• Avid Media Composer
• Sony Vegas

NLEs are generally limited in their abilities to composite multiple clips, adjust colors or add advanced effects. Compositing Programs, on the other hand, will give you a greater range of possibilities as well as a more powerful toolset for completing your film. Some examples are:

• Adobe AfterEffects
• Apple Shake
• Discreet Combustion
• Blender 3D

It should be noted, however, that compositing programs are not meant for long duration editing, rather NLEs are much better suited to that task. The high memory and processor usage of compositing programs would make it inefficient to edit any footage longer than a couple minutes.