Making Films and Videos: Advanced Strategies

Producing or directing a big-budget motion picture is a noble goal, and optimism is a useful tool in reinforcing personal determination. Unfortunately, the odds of an individual becoming the next Speilberg and have that kind of creative power in the film and television industry is nearly a million to one. Very few of us will have a chance to produce or direct even a Hollywood B-movie. This reality is not being negative or pessimistic because there is a ton of work left over for the rest of us. Speilberg is not producing and directing the hundreds of weekly sitcoms or documentaries you watch on television. Then there are the thousands of commercials, TV movies, music videos, newscasts, game shows and studio interviews. Think back on how many school films you watched while growing up, and every training or safety film you sat through. Someone had to produce and direct them all, regardless of whether it was for national or even local distribution.

Although some of this information has been previously touched upon, we will look closer at the basic strategies professionals use to make a movie. These strategies are written with local producers/directors in mind, but are also useful for the film festival or home video producer. They can be applied to producing with or without a budget, working with a paying client or manager of a division, or even making a comedy video skit. The creative applications are the same, and are adaptable to suit the need. Just because a project is not the dramatic, high-action, special effects extravaganza you may hope to make one day, an industrial-level video project can garner the same artistic satisfaction. From my own personal experience, the feeling you get from creating your first student video project is the same feeling experienced when making an educational or industrial video. An additional benefit is that during a production I often learn something new about an unfamiliar topic.

Keep in mind that in the real working world, whether it is Hollywood or the local media market, you do not always get to work on projects you would normally choose to watch at home in your leisure time. Unless you have a ton of money and great industry connections to produce and direct your latest masterpiece, you will often times be working for someone, on a project you may or may not be personally interested in. On a production, everyone but the producer (or client) is a hired employee, including the director. Even so, the same decision-making and artistry is applied whether you are making a Hollywood movie or a promotional video for a non-profit organization. The basic principals, concepts and creative applications are common in them all.

What do I mean by that? First of all, they begin with a purpose. In other words, what message are you or your project trying to convey to the audience? What do you want your audience to come away with after seeing your creation? In the case of a Hollywood movie the idea is to keep the audience entertained and glued to the screen for the duration of the movie. They want the audience to lose themselves in their visual storytelling. Isn't that what you want from your project, whatever it is? This is achieved by combining a well-written script, logically artistic visuals, talented acting, and creative post-production. These same basic components are used and applied when creating any project. Even if you just want to make a funny video to upload on the web, there is a creative purpose for your project, right? Creative film or video making is more than what words the actors will say, or what action they will take. Those are just the building blocks.

There are many other components in the creative process that must be considered to produce a finished product that meets your objectives. You may find that other people are needed to fill certain functions you may not have time for, or not be experienced with. Just remember, do not allow your personal artistic pride to get in the way. It will only make your job become overwhelming. Select a few key people to closely work with if you can, preferably with some production experience. You can assign them to oversee certain areas of administration or production, known as a production assistant and production manager, respectively. This can help to keep your mental stability and personal demeanor, socially acceptable during a production.

Occasionally you will see a beginner, or 'do-all' video maker going about their craft. They write the script, direct the shoot, set the camera up, and move the lights. After getting the shot, they move the camera, record a second shot, and remember that they need a shot where the camera and lights were in the first place. So they go back and set it all up again. They generally run around like a chicken with their heads cut off, becoming frustrated and leaving the actors standing around waiting for their cues. Delegation of duties is a wonderful tool in making your life easier. It just begins with a plan. Now let us get to the fundamentals.

We will start with the idea for your project. This is not too difficult. Ideas are easy to come by. The trick is developing your idea into an easy to understand script that makes sense. It should be honed down to the critical elements of getting your point across, with written words and visual descriptions. Put simply, you are writing down on paper what you see in your mind, so that everyone involved can see what you envision, just from reading the words. If you do not enjoy this kind of work find someone who does, but you may forfeit a significant amount of the creativity. You could ad-lib on the spot, but that always bogs down the recording process and you usually only end up with limited results. Look, it is nice to think you will have extremely talented actors that can pull off what you envision, but improvisation is an art that takes great skill, and even then you do not get very consistent results. A better question is, are you willing to put your creation in the hands of others? If you still insist on going without a script, or even a plan, think about this.

Try to imagine how this will affect the shooting day, when you finally get everyone to the location, and set it all up to record. You are standing there working with the actors, trying to figure out what scene to do next. Suddenly you are called away to decide at the last minute which camera angle to use. Then you are asked how the scene should be lit. Undoubtedly there will be others just standing around waiting for you to make up your mind. You might be lucky enough to be working with a budget, and crewmembers are being paid by the hour. In which case time equals money, and you will soon have the angry client that is paying for it all, on your back. Even if you do not have a budget, you may be on a strict time schedule because of location, or actor availability. Negotiating how every scene should play out will definitely slow things down to a crawl. If your crew is doing it for free, they will get bored and may not 'feel' like getting up the next morning to volunteer again. You will spend many hours for only meager results to work with in editing, which is the point of all this. On the spot improvising only wastes time, and everyone's enthusiasm in the project begins to diminish. Doesn't it make more sense to have some kind of plan, even for a simple idea?

The major benefit of a script and schedule is that you already know what the actors will say and do, even without rehearsal. You know where the equipment will be positioned for every scene, and the order you will be shooting the scenes. You already know what camera shot to use, and how the scene will be lit. In turn, this gives you the time to focus on how well the actors perform their roles, the reason why you are here in the first place. This is the creative art you are seeking, the art that directors and actors do. It is about the inflection of the voice when the lines are spoken. It is about body motion, facial expression, eye movement, image composition, camera perspective, and how the light affects the scene. Do you really want to do all that AND try to figure out what the actor will say or do, debating over words and motivation? One final thought on improvising. By leaving it up to ad-libbers you will forfeit a great amount of creative control. Your vision of how the scene should look will ultimately be compromised. You must also spend a lot of time negotiating the content with whoever is improvising. Using more than one improviser in a scene results in even more adaptations. Above all, those who are improvising need to be good at it while still keeping the content in context and continuity. How many retakes do you actually want to do? Worse still, will you wind up just saying, "good enough"?

If your film or video is supposed to be meaningful, informative or even funny, it must be these things on paper first. If your story is compelling or hilarious on paper, it will be the same or even better after you see the finished results. The script is also your framework, and is the actual creative output of your idea. Without a script you are leaving your project, your vision, your art up to chance. Try to work with someone who knows how to develop an idea into written word. It is not an easy task, and is an art in itself. Words are tricky to work with. The process will take some time, but this is where the actual creativity begins. While the words are being written, a story begins to formulate with a beginning middle and end. Everything you create in words contributes to the ending or point you are trying to make. Sentences are modified and scenes are developed with the intent of moving the plot towards a conclusion. While this is going on, ideas start to formulate regarding camera angles, scene locations, physical actions made by actors, setting the scene's mood and ambiance. If you can get what you envision down on paper into a screenplay, you are way ahead of the game in terms of personal creativity, whatever format you write it in.

It does not matter whether it is a major Hollywood movie or a homemade video. You will have a better idea of how your finished creation will look onscreen before you even set up the camera, if you have some type of a script. With the words, actions and visuals already decided on, then you can concentrate on refining the scenes when you finally film or record them to video. You can now focus on the little movements, facial expressions and voice inflections of the actors. The camera is already in position and ready to capture the scene as the set is being lit, according to your production schedule. You do not even have to be there to help. You have more time for any last minute rehearsals with the actors, and setting the scene up just how you want it.

One more thing about scripts, unless you are formally submitting your script to people in the industry, use whatever format you want. As long as you and others working on the project understands it, who cares? Even so, you should still use standard abbreviations and terminology (see my AC article on A/V scripts) for efficiency. The script should also appear organized, polished and professional. On a local level, formal script submissions are rare. It is not like you are after producers hoping to fund your latest artistic achievement. A local producer/director is usually hired or assigned to any given project. Most of the time you only have to submit scripts for content approval. What I mean is that the 'idea' has already been decided upon and initiated by the client. Sometimes a script is even partially written in draft, or completely composed.

The client may be someone who will financially back the project with personal, grant, or departmental funds. The client may even be a manager in a large organization where no money is exchanged. In most cases the client often has little or no experience in how to make a video or film. Usually their main concern is the content, not the abbreviation you use for a medium close up. As long as the script is organized, easy to read and understand, then the format of the script is up to you. I have never taken a scriptwriting class, but have had several scripts accepted by clients. Script formats and technical requirements are industry standards, when you are submitting to the industry. If you are hired to make a safety video, who will ultimately be the one approving the final script format?

Once you begin to understand that a good portion of the 'creative art' in film and television programs is in the script process, the actual method of capturing your work on film or video is simple. The technical applications of making movies can be easily modified or adapted to suit your own needs (see my other AC articles). The production process is even more simplified provided that you have good management skills, and are extremely well organized. With script and schedule in hand, the actual procedure of recording or filming your creation is mostly mechanical. Which leaves the favorite duty of a director, now you get to work with the actors. If the project has a big budget there are usually auditions, previous rehearsals or script readings, Budgets on smaller projects, especially industrial videos, normally only cover production expenses, and actors are usually volunteer employees with no rehearsals.

Personally I have never had the pleasure of directing a paid professional actor, other than local anchors, personalities, and politicians (pun intended). I hope to do so one day, but the director's objective of getting what they want from an actor is still the same. The only difference is how a director goes about doing it. There is psychology involved, and an ability to physically demonstrate with words what you are trying to achieve visually. Different directors have different approaches in how they work with actors. There is no standard formula for the process, because the actor also brings another perspective into the mix. We have all heard the tales of directors chomping on a cigar, loudly cursing, and who are overbearingly demanding on the set, the tales usually recalled by actors. We have also heard about the sweet hands-off, diplomatic approach of other directors, and everything else in between. The technical know-how is the same, but the psychological techniques a director uses will often vary. In my experience, a director's 'bad attitude' is normally the result of working with an inexperienced crew, and sometimes from just being an unorganized director.

Working with volunteer, inexperienced or amateur actors brings on other challenges for a director. These actors often do not have the experience or artistic skills needed to portray what you are trying to achieve in the scene. If you are doing comedy, good luck. Comedic actors must have greater acting skills than dramatists to pull off comedy and make it appear natural. In the case of non-acting volunteer employees, the talent pickings are even slimmer because you usually do not have many volunteers to choose from. Oftentimes you have no choice at all, and you work with whom you get. Have you ever wondered why safety and industrial videos are mostly narrated? It is not because they are intentionally trying to bore you to death. It is because their funding normally only covers technical production costs, a condition in most federal and local grants. Actors are usually considered 'gratis' (free) in a grant, and are part of what a producer contributes when applying for approval of one. A producer may appropriate funds for a professional host or voice actor though. As a result the script is intentionally written with narration in mind because they know ahead of time that many of the actors appearing onscreen will not be paid professionals, By doing this, it helps make the eventual production phase run smoother and efficiently.

I usually try to persuade a client making an industrial video to mostly use narration, or a single host. I suggest this because of past experience. Giving too many lines to inexperienced actors often results in taking up a lot of time in retakes, even with prior rehearsals. Once the camera is in their face and the bright lights are turned on, things can change very rapidly. The pressure to perform may affect their confidence, and can occasionally be too much for them. Every so often a volunteer actor may even freeze up on me when they hear "action". It takes great patience and reassuring to direct inexperienced actors. Even with great patience the results are usually mixed, and you must often compromise on what you can get out of the actors. On the other hand, a combination of narration, a host, and actors with speaking parts does help to break up the monotony. Long as what is spoken moves the storyline along, and adds to the overall continuity. So I will combine these elements in the scriptwriting process. What I will do is give one or two lines of dialogue to an actor for one shot, then cut to another shot if more spoken lines are needed. Over the shoulder, close ups and wide shots can be very useful for breaking up a long paragraph of spoken dialogue. .

If you knowingly will be working with non-professional actors, this will influence the script. So if the volunteer performer only has to worry about 'acting' one or two lines at a time during a shot with minimal rehearsal, this makes them more comfortable and much easier for the director to get what they artistically want from them. It helps to cut down on a lot of retakes and still get what you need. The consequence of putting in a lot of camera shots is that it adds more scenes to the production, and makes scheduling the shoot more administratively demanding. Hopefully you will be working with a production schedule, which is a script of sorts. It is a disjointed schedule of scenes broken apart like a newly opened jigsaw puzzle. Your only guide is the script and this production schedule, which breaks down every shot according to location, time restraints, availability of the equipment and actors. Remember that there are a lot of things going on during a production with equipment and setup, and your agenda will no doubt be full.

Is this all starting to sound complicated? Maybe, but whether you want to create a professional industrial or informational video, a work of significant or social importance, or even a homemade video movie, you want it to be something that is visually appealing and entertaining, don't you? Much of the effort described in this article can be applied for the simplest of projects. Such attention to detail may not seem necessary if you are only making a video comedy skit, but think about it this way. Almost everything you see or hear on a movie screen, television or even the radio is scripted and planned out to the very last detail, well ahead of actually creating it. Your favorite movies or music videos are your favorites because of the planning and calculations that were involved in making them appealing to you. The creative art that is the result of their organization and efficiency, helped inspire you to pursue your own creativity in this field. Doesn't it make better sense to create your art in the manner of those who inspired you?