________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
1.Motivation
2.Budgets
& Breakdowns 3.Producer
Stuff 4.
Editing & Actors 5.
Festivals & Distributors
6.
Clean Up 7.
Dealing With Agents 8.
Production Checklist Proletariat
HomeACTORS & EDITING
ACTORS
NO ONE can tell you how to work with your
actors, you will have to discover what works best for you and your style of filmmaking.
Every director I've ever talked to has a different
way of working with his actors and his crew. I've known directors who love actors
and don't know how to direct them or have any idea where to put the camera or why.
I've known directors who simply hate actors and tolerate them simply to get what
they need for the performance they want. This is what happens in Hollywood with too
much money, formula scripts, and the power commerce brings to "product"
no one really cares about. You've all heard stories about prima donna's that demand
great script changes and simply refuse to do scenes they don't like, or walk off
sets for almost anything. I saw one actor stop production because he wanted a bigger
trailer, wouldn't shoot unless they got him what he thought he deserved.
I suggest before you start shooting that you
get in front of the camera and see how difficult it is to take direction from someone
that does not know how to give it.
I started acting in films to learn just that lesson and believe me, it's an eye opener.
I also suggest never giving an actor a line reading unless it's the absolute last
resort. It's very insulting and shows your weakness as a director, or more importantly,
your weakness at casting the right actor in the role. If you've cast your film exactly
the way you want it, have faith in your actors, allow them what freedom you can,
they should be able to know what kind of performance you want by your guidance and
the character. Let them discover the character on their own, it's more fun for you
both, more interesting for the character, and good actors enjoy that discovery as
much as you do. If you expect some anal adherence to each inflection you intended
in the script without allowing the personality of the actor you cast in your
film to bleed into the character, you're doomed to disappointment and spending more
money in footage than you have.
I have great faith in, and loyalty to my actors,
and give them as much freedom as I possibly can.
But that's what I look for, the kind of filmmaking that interests me is the kind
in which the person I cast in the part can bring both the truth I know about the
character on the page, and his own truth about that character to the screen. That
means I try to cast the right actor, and right person for the roles.
No matter what you think about acting and actors, the truth is, good actors (and
not so good ones too) are involved in bravery, going someplace they may not like
to go over, and over again. Whether it's emotional turmoil, or psychological hell,
they willingly go back for a character, over, and over again. We're all human, how
brave people handle that is sometimes difficult to take, but, if they are delivering, Mr. Director, you better be supporting
them in exactly the way they need.
For instance, in casting one of my films I had an actor that was perfect for a
very important role and I wanted to give him the part, but his "I'm doing you
such a huge favor by being here" attitude would have been such a detriment on
the set I didn't even consider him even though he was probably much better than the
person I hired. Because one young actor had a family problem (alcohol), I could not
give that part to that actor, the problem family member would have been an enormous
liability on a fast moving guerrilla set and who knows what would have happened.
One actor whom I did cast in a role called up at 1 AM. before his 9 AM. call for
his big dialogue scene and said he had to visit a friend in jail and would try
to make it. I cut him out of the scene and shot around him, even after he showed
up at 11 AM. Two young actors in another film were very good, but one had both hidden
legal and ego problems, and the other had severe emotional and psychological problems
and both had recently quit drugs which resulted in some testy moments over the course
of shooting, but they were so good in the parts and dedicated to the roles that we
finished and made a very good film. I will always have nothing but good things
to say about them.
If you're a guerrilla filmmaker and have maybe
3 takes total to get a shot and you know that the actor you want dislikes
you, or has a reputation for being difficult, or dislikes the script, or is only
doing this "for my reel", or is a prima donna: by the fifth day of shooting
that actor has you by the short and curlies and can demand or do what he likes because
you have all this footage with him in the part. It happens. That's the nightmare
and is probably unlikely, but more subtle issues of control like coloration,
intent in the performance etc., and dissention on the set can creep in and weaken
your film. Remember, this is a collaborative process, you and your actors are creating
together, collaborating, to bring your script to the screen. Involve them
in the process, barking commands is never a way to get what you want. I wouldn't
be above doing almost anything to get a performance from an actor that might be having
a problem, but breaking through all those barriers is part of the process, for me.
Good actors usually just need good characters to work from, psychological motivation
for their actions and encouragement from the director. At least that's the best place
to start.
In one road film I knew I a lot of crew members and actors were walking off sets
around town, it's was like some weird virus or the hip thing to do at the time and
I could not let that to happen to me, so, I took everyone on the road in two vans
and we ripped off locations along the way. Basically I hijacked everyone to the middle
of no where where "sleeping in that morning rather than working on this film"
was not an option. It worked for me because I planned it that way, and it
was a road film. You may have to find another strategy that will work for you but
try to plan for as much as possible, and include whatever happens as part of the
film.
EDITING
You've probably all heard about, if not actually
used a non-linear editing system and heard how fast, how small, and how good they can be. Although
much of that is true, there are a lot of hidden costs that no one involved in just
one part of the process will tell you about, and it may not be a viable option for
the guerrilla filmmaker. Keep in mind, you're trying to complete your film and survive
where many, many others have not. Just because it's the latest thing, does not mean
it can work for you. The old style of editing usually meant a screening of all the footage printed to
film and screened in theater with or without sound, then taking that footage to a
flatbed to edit both picture and sound 1-2 tracks at a time. The non-linear style
means you get your footage back on videotape, screen it on a monitor then put it
into the computer to edit, or some combination of the above.
Non-linear editing
is computer editing in which the negative is transferred to tape, usually with sound
and entered into the computer, or digitized both for picture and audio. Once in the
computer you can move scenes and 4-8-32 tracks of sound instantly, save a number
of versions with great ease, only limited by time, cost, and how much disc space
you have. The computer will digitize your footage at different resolutions for different
purposes, the higher the resolution the more storage you will need. At a very low
resolution you can store almost any feature on 18 gigabytes. A low resolution use's
less pixels and therefore looks very "pixilated" but uses less disc space.
High resolution (some systems claim better than broadcast quality) uses a lot of
space to store the added information, most people would only use this for the last
out-put to tape. The advantages of non-linear are obvious: Speed of
editing and amount of variations you can have; The small
space in which you need to edit; Sound editing
capabilities: Instantaneous
output to tape to show people dailies; On
some computers the ability to see effects, titles and various other things not available to the die hard on
a flat bed-among a whole host of other things.
The draw backs are not so obvious: Looking at your film on a monitor instead
of the screen allows flaws in the "digitized" footage that you would certainly catch
in a screened work print to pass unnoticed; Editing on a monitor inhibits the pacing that
will finally get on the screen: Trusting what the computer gives you as a negative cut list, rather than it
being a simple work-print to negative match up: You're post mixing costs are
usually higher; Added post expenses.
For the non-linear editing process here are some of the post production things
to consider when budgeting: Cost of transfer to tape (telecine time),
and cost of tape stock (usually betacam), cost of editing at post house
in which you must include the cost of disc storage space not included with
your system, and what quality of computer you are working (some non-linear systems
are not easily transferred to a cut list for your negative and could incur an obvious
tragedy or tragedies for your film if you rely on them), after you've edited the
cost of having your negative cut and another telecine (could be a very
cheap one) so you can do your post music, cost of hiring a audio house to re-sync
your footage to the second negative cut transfer, cost of the audio mix, cost
of final telecine to tape. Except for the negative cut, and final telecine
above, these are all extra costs, and you still do not have a optical track, an answer
print of your film, or have ever seen it screened, only on a video monitor.
Some added things to consider about telecine for non-linear are: When talking to
the transfer house find out what their transfer ratio will be. That means
that for every running hour of footage what will their maximum time be to transfer
it to tape and get it in writing. A telecine operator has to line up time-code numbers
from your audio tape to the sync slate on film for each one of your takes, that takes
time. 4:1 is fine, but, whatever ratio you get, count on it being the maximum for
your budget, then add 10% for the sleaze factor. You might want to consider not transferring
sound at the telecine, and doing it in the computer, but you will have to be sure
that the non-linear system you are using will accept time code from your tapes, that
you have the time and expertise to do this properly, and have added the extra expense
of time spent on the computer to input it plus rental of the audio source machine
against the time of the telecine operator to do the same thing. If you don't use
time code on your set you may have to finally transfer it anyway, but, you've saved
the cost of a time code audio machine, used less film because time code should have
a 10 second pre-roll, and if you're using a mono 4.2 Nagra, you've got superior audio.
If you plan on using the audio from the telecine and using the computer output mix,
you will have to use betacam tapes, not 3/4. 3/4 is supremely inferior to betacam
for sound, and beta tapes are much more expensive than 3/4, and the telecine time
costs more. As telecine progresses the operator will store all his information on
discs and include them with the tapes, these discs will then tell the computer how
to input the audio, log it for your as you watch. Maybe. Keep an eye on what's being
input, if the operator screws up, doesn't include scenes or cuts them off, you have
to be sure to get it, you can't edit what you don't have.
If you decide that you want to use a flatbed and get a work-print here are some of the post production things to consider when budgeting:
Cost of renting a flat bed and a space to edit: Cost of work print:
Cost of audio transfer to full coat (35mm audio film): Cost of negative
cut: Cost of audio mix: Cost of answer print: Cost of optical
track: Cost of final telecine to tape. You have seen all your footage
on the screen, you can usually get a lab to give you a dual screening of WP and Audio
track so you can see it with sound, and the negative cutter will surely never have
a problem matching the negative to the work-print for accuracy, and that huge worry
is out of your hands.
You can rent a flatbed straight out for about 450 a month these days. For the latest
Avid Film Composer list from post houses is usually 500-2500 a day. Even if you can
get a non-linear system for free, you must work in the cost of getting a editor that
really knows his stuff or major problems can occur, which, of course, brings you
back to casting the crew. If you can
get a editor for free can you
afford all the extra expense's of editing non-linear?
If you can afford all the extra expenses can you handle not seeing your film on the
screen and falling into the "TV editing mode" when editing your film? By
that I mean that editing on a small screen is much different than on a 40 ft screen,
pacing in your film is very important and if you've been cutting on a small screen
do your cuts seem jagged and like a TV sitcom on the big screen? And if it does and
you've made a terrible mistake and your negative is cut, now
what? Are you sure what the computer is giving
you is the right numbers for the cuts you want?
Here's my experience. First time non-linear, everybody told me how great, how fast,
and how the cost was virtually the same, or less than editing the work print, no
body bothered to tell me about all the hidden costs because they either didn't
know, or they were on the button clicker band wagon that swept up editors and post
people a few years back. The computer I was editing on crashed a number of times
and I had to rebuild my film from scratch 3 times, every cut including 8 tracks of
audio (100,000 cuts, approximately), that had the effect of burning me out on my
own film. I had to go to a number of different house and move the media around to
different versions of the software which meant problems later, and the negative
cut list from the 80 thousand dollar Avid was as much as 48 frames off of what
it was supposed to be (2 seconds): I couldn't see the soft focus shots that my DP
did not tell me about in the digitized footage or on tape and the whole process
cost thousands of dollars more than it should have. However, I did get to see how good the film was and where problems were immediately,
I had a rough edit in 1 week, (working 20 hours a day). If I had it to do over again
I would have certainly gone for the flatbed, it would have been cheaper by far, and
much more informative about the negative information that actually made it to the
screen. I was very paranoid about the negative cut and before I delivered the negative
I went through every cut, front and back, in and out, and checked the number on screen
against what the print out from the computer gave as the negative cut list. A real,
two day pain in the ass. Then I went through every roll of negative and checked each
one head and tails to be sure it was jiving with the computer, the discs from the
transfer lab, and the negative cut list. Like I said, good thing I checked before
I cut, it was way off on many, many occasions and the negative cutter may or may
not be good enough to catch any of that, it's not really their job, it's yours.
I have also heard very positive stories about people succeeding in doing a rough
mix in the avid and out putting it to an optical track, a rough mix for sure but
far better than you think and that's a huge savings in the end. I've only heard this
once, but, it happens. What you can do, and your luck or skill with these
systems may be much different than mine.
You'll have to decide on your own what you can afford and what you can't. Think survival. Think completion. If you've decided that you can show around the digitized output of
your film to companies and that's as far as you can hope to go without finishing
funds, good luck. Again, finding finishing funds is very difficult, and if you finish
the film you can enter it in festivals and hope it does well, and if it does you
at least have something to talk to distributors about. If it does well the distributors
will be talking to you.
Flatbed
= Cheaper, much slower, see film projected on screen, more secure about negative
cut and sound sync.
Non-Linear
= More expensive, very fast, never see projected film, insecure about negative cut
and sound sync and pacing.
The intangibles: How many variations on a scene can you see before it's counterproductive
- too many choices? If you've never cut a film and seen your work on screen what
will you think when it's on tape and how will it affect your editing style? Looking
through 400 trim boxes stacked ceiling to floor searching for 2 frames of the scene
you want to change in your apartment in which you haven't seen your dog recently?
1. Get your deal from the editing house and transfer
house on paper, signed, before you commit any of your negative, or deliver any of
it to them.
2. Talk to your negative cutter before you decide to edit non-linear, his quote may
have been for work print, his quote for non-linear may be thousands higher.
3. Question your audio post house extensively about costs, and get quote in writing
before you commit, or deliver anything to them. Get a guarantee of sync, if they
won't give it to you, smile, and leave as soon as possible. Get references.
The audio post house I went to knew from my lips exactly what I had to do, exactly
how much I had to do it and agreed to the deal. I had an Avid output to DA88 (8 track
audio tape) that I needed to mix. They spent all the money on some twerp to re-sync
the audio (probably did not need to be done), and he did a terrible job if he actually
did anything and then would not guarantee sync! On top of that it did fall out of
sync a number of times and the idiot tried to tell me 4 frames out of sync is acceptable,
hell simple gunshots were off. !
All this stuff is variable. Your particular situation may be perfect for non-linear,
or perfect for work-print type editing. Just be sure to figure as many variables
as possible before you start, remember, your goal is completion, survival.
NEXT:
Festivals & Distributors
or
Now What?
________________________________________________________
1.Motivation 2.Budgets
& Breakdowns 3.Producer
Stuff 4. Editing & Actors
5. Festivals & Distributors
6.
Clean Up 7.
Dealing With Agents 8. Production Checklist
Proletariat Home