Your Tax Dollars at Work.
Recently, I went to the IFCT or the International Festival of Cinema Technology. Sounds impressive doesn’t it. It was even being hosted on the first day at the CBC. They usually put on good stuff. And hey, the tickets were free (always a good thing, right?). So I went and quickly found out why.
It turns out that the name of the festival is a bit of a misnomer. While there were a few, and I do mean few good little films using the technology of DV and MiniDV to their fullest. The majority were sadly lacking in everything from the story telling to the Cinematography. I mean these were poor efforts, hard to watch they were so bad. And the worst thing was that their mistakes were so basic. So here’s a few basic pointers for shooting a MiniDV film.
Bright sunlight is your enemy. Try to shoot on cloudy or overcast days. The chips in most video cameras are very light sensitive so they’ll blow out an image very quickly. If you must shoot on a sunny day, close up your aperture or flag the scene and for Pete’s sake use bounce boards to get some light on your actor’s faces. Also your camera if it’s a decent three chip should have a Zebra setting. Use it and you’ll see the hotspots before you’ve caught them on tape.
Take some time to write a good script. I know most of us want to get a basic script down and then run out and shoot the thing as quickly as possible. Don’t. Take some time and create real characters and a situation that aren’t walking talking cliché’s. I know it’s all been done before but experiment, shorts films are there to offer fresh perspective on old themes.
Then take time to cast people who can act. Believe me, real actors aren’t hard to find. They’re always looking for a good script (see above) to flex their acting muscles in. Stay away from friends and family unless they can act. Prima Donna’s need not apply either. You’re shooting a short not Godfather 4.
Just because your buddy shoots wedding videos does not mean he can shoot a film. Video is a tough medium to work in. I know professional DOPs who shy away from HD because they’re worried about lighting it well. They prefer to shoot film because it’s a devil they know. Always be aware of the scene in front of you. Block it and look at your monitor. MiniDV and HD are WYSIWYG mediums. There’s no lab between you and a daily, you’re looking at it.
Mark your shot tapes properly! Or you’ll be sorry when you shoot over yesterday’s footage.
So there you have it. Just because MiniDV and DV are cheaper, it doesn’t mean they are easier. It’s all the same steps as shooting on film and in some ways it’s a little harder. But if you’ve got a good Script, good Actors, an excellent Director and DOP and a little bit of cash to grease the wheels, the rest will click together like a well oiled machine.
Good luck and good shooting.
Steve Abbott