Following what has proven to be a pretty good time over the last couple of weeks, clearly thing's are starting to take off again despite some of those low moments. Some recent successes have been a great boost.
'Survivor' won 'Best Shorts Competition'
'International Psychoanalytical Association Video Award'
I've also had another couple of job offers come my way. Whilst uni graduates celebrate a grade expressing the opinions of two lecturers, hopefully things of an international scale and my extended experience will help put me at the front not to mention my interests of a career and not a job with a teenager's salary!
"My method is by NO means 'fool proof' - Things WILL go wrong... What you do to fix them is what makes you a good director"
Here we go -
Here we go -
1 – The Script
I have trained harder than in any other trade to perfect
this the most because if you get this
part wrong, you’re already screwed. I believe 'you can film a bad film from a good script, you can't film a good film with a bad script!'
Doesn’t matter what size the story is, if you
don’t have a comprehensible one – it will be boring. So many times you hear
people ask; "so what’s it about…?" Think of this question like small talk, people
(especially English people) will want to say the least amount, so if you’ve not
got a response in one simple line and they start carrying on – unless they
really loved it, they’ll say “the story was shit,” indicating simplicity as a must have... Ever wonder why British small talk: "You alright?' is always met with 'yeah, not bad!' is 90% commonplace? It's the same as the 'like' button on 'Facebook' - its the laziest option for people to validate their notification and appearance in someone's life / opinion without having to really give a shit. Hence why loglines become so important in film (one line synopsis') not to be confused with taglines (one line sellers) - See some examples (Lucy V Hay).
What do I do?
How many pages am I trying to do this in? Get the inciting
incident as close to the beginning as I can, every word, every action, every
line of spacing, every object, scene, age, pause, transition, description MUST
matter. Get the character to drive the story, what their goal is and why, what
stops them and make the achievement believable and go out in style before the FADE
OUT.
What I Hate!
People who just pick up scriptwriting software, writing
sludge, not having read anything before and expecting me to appease it and / or
those who can’t handle feedback and those people who dish out something that
hasn’t even been scanned well enough for spelling & grammar (yeah alright, even I can miss this on occasion not on every fucking page!) but... Even worse –
those that try explaining everything with dialogue! It’s lazy, un-cinematic,
unprofessional & shite!
2 – Producing
I am ‘very’ critical of my own work but usually get a 2nd
opinion I can respect whilst rewriting anything that is difficult to procure, which
usually includes certain locations, props, costumes etc then think, “how much
can I shoot without spending anything?” – why? Because I’m not rich and without
a production company to fund it, not my team nor I are going to make a penny
from this so writing to budget is paramount.
What I do?
I give myself at least a month before I intend to film to get the
equipment, crew & cast, locations, props, call sheets, risk assessments,
transportation details, audition space etc. Put the cast call out on www.castingcallpro.co.uk or meticulously hunt down who I can on www.Spotlight.com, filter the
auditions, give them a choice of two dates, get 3 good choices per lead role as
they will have other work come up & remembering to have a backup & for fuck
sake guys - use ‘proper actors’ – people who know what they’re doing & can prove
it!
Then I ensure I’ve got a 1st
AD for the shoot to crack the whip – Someone assertive but not a dick who think’s their in charge. From here on on in, I keep hold of all
reins until the shoot dates. Finally, I do a couple more read throughs, a
couple of team meetings if I can manage it for people to ask any of their
questions, get that shot list finalised and make sure I’m satisfied and I’m
ready to shoot.
What I Hate!
Amateurs that have tried to organise it all last minute,
people that drop out without good reason, people who have arrived on set and
didn’t ask their questions beforehand when they should have done. People who
have a problem obeying authority and those who don’t communicate and constantly
need chasing, wasting my time, the teams time and making us all worry. This is
no excuse in the digital age. Please don’t use the words “I was busy” – without
context and an initial warning or something, this is meaningless & do it
more than once, I will look at replacing you at my earliest opportunity, rather
than it become a problem further on.
3 – Directing
This is it! I’ve got my team, everyone’s there (some
late, which my 1st AD should've bollocked them on at the earliest opportunity)
now its ON!
What I do?
My performers become my core concern, I take them through the
scene THEN the shot we’re about to shoot, marking their positions then watching
them through the monitor / view finder at every rehearsal and take. I have all
my “as ifs” directions at the surface of my head to alter the performance and I
don’t expect so much as a mouse fart to disturb any take.
Someone fucks up a
line – no problem. Reset & do it again. Watch the action carefully until I
shout “CUT” – my 1st AD asks me; “how’s that Dan?” I ask my DoP, my
sound recordist (if I suspect) “any problems?” – they respond thumbs up or
down, we mark a new take and go again OR I say; “Awesome guys, lets go again!”
the only thing that could’ve gone wrong here would be the performers, needing
new direction – provided ALL this is cool, I get ‘3 TAKES MINIMUM’ for each
thing on my shot list and my 1st AD keeps cracking the whip with
their time keeping, I ask: “How we doing for time?” they reply, “we’re running
behind” or “you’re alright for now” – NEVER, “you’ve got plenty of time” – you
take the pressure off and leave no room for errors later – I must be kept under
pressure!
ONE HIGHLY IMPORTANT thing, I “always” remain open to ideas and
regulate them. I may just get passed something I may have completely forgotten
or under-thought/cooked – I may be in charge but everyone there has the same interest
as me – to make this thing the best it can be. Remember – you’re in charge but
don’t be a dick!
Each hour is important. I work my ass off to give people that
half hour break and feed my team with the best I can afford. Yeah, my legs
are made out of steel but theirs may not be and at ‘every’ opportunity I’m
shouting the words of encouragement out and telling whatever jokes I can – Keep
everyone motivated!
I make sure I pick up whatever shots I may’ve
missed and make sure the sound recordist to get some atmos / wildtrack
to layer on to other takes in the edit later. But no matter what, making sure I review the rushes at the end of each day with my 1st AD, transfer them safely,
double-check all shots, audio, video are all captured.
Tip: Do NOT format your SD card(s), unless
absolutely necessary. Pick up another and it’s on to the next day. Trust me, if you keep things as organised as possible, you’re editor’s life will be kept far
easier for later – & for God sake… Keep them safe!
What I Hate!
Disorganised people who haven’t checked their kit before
they get to set - Doesn’t matter what it is. People who have acted the
professional all up until this point now because they know squat they’re
costing us all greatly. People who don’t know when to shut up and when to
suggest ideas. Those who don’t respect each others roles, people who don’t know
when to back off, directors of photography who think they know best – “No, pal,
you’re here to suggest some ideas, do your best with what’s been given and be
friendly & p.s, I told you, you wouldn’t touch that storyboard nor the shot
list once you got here, trust me, its not my 1st rodeo”
(–GOD,
I’ve got so many of these examples. Usually, the older they are, the worse!
I believe this is the most undervalued part in the process
next to the scriptwriting. It takes forever. When anyone tells me; “Oh, it
shouldn’t take that long, its easy really” – Bullshit! That is the sign of a
bad editor and / or someone really cocky you don’t want to risk working with. Believe
me, I’ve been there!
What I Do?
Write out a planned order of transcoding, syncing ALL video
with audio (if recorded separately) and stick to it. Ensure you watch ALL
rushes and list each one with an easy thumbnail e.g; Sc1, WIDE, 3, Tanya
approaches John = Scene, type of shot, take number, shot description. Every
single last shot marked the same way so my editing software places it into an
order I can find easily later. Once everything is there ONLY THEN can you start
building your film and putting it together. I usually start with the last take
for each shot and work backwards – why not? – that’ll be 80% likely to be your
best performance for obvious reasons so I encourage everyone to start there.
Concentrate on one thing at a time;
Story - get all the video and audio into position as best
you can
Video – switch up the takes a little, cut what can be cut,
replace others, see what works best
Audio – Compensate one take’s for another if its better if
you think you can, cut things out, add your transitions in & get those
Music – Go get your music! Loads of them out there, send
them a rough cut and give them an audible idea of what you’re looking for
Grading – Time to exaggerate those scene colours and give
the project the cinematic ‘feel’ that you’re going for and most film festivals
you submit to will know if you haven’t bothered so do it! Darken, lighten, set
up those that feel you need to look more orange (positive moments) or blue
(need I state the obvious) and be careful!
Result – You need to fine tune all this for aaaaaaaaages
before you’re happy. Get other opinions, your own eyes will fail to spot
hiccups after spending so long with it.
What I Hate!
Editors who ask for a script and / or shot list but don’t
bother reading it and in fact leave you feeling you’re babysitting them rather
than letting them get on with it. What’s the point in being in a creative field
if you can’t bring your own common sense and own innovation into it? Editors
who don’t ask questions or keep in contact or carry the same annoying traits of
a stereotypical DoP who railroads in and loses track of where the shots are,
complaining shots are missing, trying to blame the entire crew when all the
time it was sitting right in front of their nose. “Seriously dude – stick to
the script, have some ideas, stay in contact addressing any questions, concerns
etc & lets just get through it and try to enjoy it, shall we?”
5 – You’re done – Now make sure you show some gratitude
Number 1! – You wouldn’t have this project without your crew
and cast so making damn sure they’ve all got their IMBD listings, LinkedIn recommendations, showreel footage etc is the least you can do. If you’re a production company or an investor who’s promised payment and coverage of expenses, do this within a week tops. Don’t be a twat – I’ve seen people do and get away with this so many times and it pisses me off. Then of course if desired send it off to a few festivals via www.withoutabox.com
or www.filmfreeway.com and keep in
touch with who you can from the production – if they’ve proved themselves and
were good to work with, why wouldn’t you?
Won’t say what I hate, think, I’ve already made it quite
clear…
Anyway, there you have it. Can probably say more but that’s
my preferred method as simple and honest as I can illustrate and whatever you
decide out there. ALL I want to know if I’m working with you one day is, you
use your manners, are professional, ambitious and honest. Not much to ask,
right? Yeah, well you’d be surprised if you heard some of my stories but that’s
for another day.
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