How to Stay Organized

Successfully shot, whether it’s documenting a dog’s life or shooting the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is dependent on good pre-production. “Pre-production” may sound official, but it’s just a term that’s meant to suggest the planning; writing; and, of course, money-gathering stage of a video or film production process. The reason big movies sometimes go hundreds of thousands of dollars over budget usually is a result of poor pre-production. (Well, okay, sometimes budget overruns are due to acts of God—unexpected rain on days you’re supposed to shoot outdoors—or acts of demigods, as in movie stars who storm off the set.) What we’re trying to say is that for whatever kind of shoot you’re working on, pre-production planning is essential. Most of this is common sense. (Of course, it’s common sense that’s easily forgotten or ignored—we commit these sorts of bloopers on a regular basis. But it doesn’t mean we don’t try.) The classic shot-killers that planning can avoid include these:
• Forgetting to charge batteries
• Misplacing the lens cap
• Not locking down the camera on the tripod
• Forgetting the tripod or steadying device and getting a bad shot because your arm hurts and you move it as you’re shooting
• Forgetting the tape or running out of tape during an important moment • Not knowing that your subjects plan to turn off the lights in the room to give their presentation
• Not “checking your monitor”—meaning framing a shot poorly and shooting the segment without realizing there’s a lighting problem, a distracting background object, or other problems
• Choosing a bad location for the camera that gets blocked by spectators or front-line subjects
• Assuming that your camera’s microphone will suffice for the sound and not checking for ambient noise or accounting for chatter close to the camera
The most mundane tasks are easily forgotten, and generally these are things that can make or break shoots.
After dealing with the basics, make sure you have a clear idea of what you are going to shoot, where it will take place, and how long you intend on shooting. In our example, we know that “Monk’s Bath Time” will start outside, when Monk is called in from the yard and then transitions into an interior shot in Nina’s guest bathroom. Monk won’t be terribly happy, and thus Nina won’t be terribly happy, and lots of watery excitement is expected. In terms of shooting, this translates to the following:
• The different lighting circumstances of moving from outdoor to indoor illumination should be considered (she may not use lights inside, but she might need to white-balance the camcorder).
Whoever is shooting will probably not need a tripod, because Monk will be a moving target that could knock over the tripod with the camera attached.
• An hour-long MiniDV tape should be more than enough, but a back-up tape is a good idea just in case.
• At least two hours of batteries would be ideal, as well as backups and a power adapter with extension cord—just in case.