Filmmaking Basics

by Bob Gillen

  This painting served as inspiration for several scenes in the movie Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks. It’s a violent story with Hanks as a member of a crime group in 1930s Chicago. After some of his family is killed in retribution for the crimes he has committed, Hanks flees the city with his surviving young son. Driving through rural areas, they come on a diner at dusk. Conrad L. Hall, the cinematographer, found inspiration for several shots in “Nighthawks.” If you have the DVD, go to scene 19. The cinematographer evokes the image of “Nighthawks” without actually copying it.

  Photographer Robert Polidori is well known for his photos of building interiors. One of these photos, “Calle Cardenas 27”, captures a simple living room in a building in Cuba. The color palette is soft, pastel, muted. Bojan Bazelli, the cinematographer on the movie Hairspray, used this photo as he created a color palette for the lead character’s apartment in 1960s Baltimore.

  Are you familiar with the European soccer player named Zidane? A documentary film highlighting his performance in a single soccer match captured the change in his mood as the match progressed. Cinematographer Darius Khondji had his camera crew study the artist Goya’s “black paintings” as inspiration to reflect the dark mood Zidane morphed into as the match progressed.

  Okay, so how do you use this in your own project? Here’s an example that may inspire you. Let’s say you’re doing a film that centers on a skateboarder who has died in a tragic accident. You can do the familiar scene where all his schoolmates gather around at a memorial service, pile flowers in front of his picture, and sob on one another’s shoulders. A normal reaction, yes, but you want a different slant on the subject.

  As part of your school work, you recently did a museum tour with the class. You saw an exhibit of “The Mourners,” a collection of 40 small alabaster figures that usually line the tomb of one of the dukes of Burgundy in Dijon, France. The figures, all clerics in long hooded robes, are mourning the duke’s death in a long, somber procession. Something about the figures captured your imagination. Maybe you even researched online and bookmarked several sites about the figures.

  That art work can now serve your filmmaking imagination. Let’s say, as a response to the skateboarder’s death, all his fellow skateboarders mourn him by going to the site where he died, all dressed in hoodies, carrying skateboards, kneepads, helmets. Your scene focuses on a long line of mourners, all dressed almost alike, faces obscured, all filing past the spot where their friend died.

  You have no doubt had experiences, even in your young life, that stayed with you. A favorite vacation place, a secret spot you retreat to when you need time alone, the image of a person you saw silhouetted in the setting sun at the beach.

  You get the idea. Let your imagination run free.

  Tapping into Resources:

  Watch the clip titled “Director of Photography” from the Luhrmann Set to Screen series, labeled #4.

  Lighting

  Practical Lighting

  This refers to any light already existing at the location, such as a lamp, a street light, flashlights, candles.

  Reflectors

  Reflectors (bounce cards) will fill in shadows on a subject’s face. Reflectors usually come in white, gold or silver. The white simply adds fill light. The gold provides a bit of warmth on an actor’s face, while the silver offers a cooler tone. (See the Equipment section for tips on making your own reflectors.)

  Scrims

  Scrims are fabric sheets that are used to diffuse a bright light source, reducing brightness and glare and producing a softer light.

  Gels

  Sheets of colored plastic called gels can be used on spotlights to alter the color or mood of a shot. You can purchase a small piece of gel material at a film production or theater supply company. Many sell the Rosco brand. Amber, for example, will often render a more mellow tone on actors’ faces.

  The gels can be cut and fitted to the light’s frames, or simply cut into larger squares and clipped to the light’s barn doors with wood clothespins.

  When using gels, be sure to re-check white balance on your camera.

  Avoiding Backlight

  When you shoot a subject in a room, be sure he is not standing in front of a window or an open door. The light streaming in will fill the shot but put the subject’s face in deep shadow. Move the subject away from the door or window.

  Outdoors, avoid lots of bright sun behind your subject. Her face will be in shadow. Move the subject and camera, or use a reflector to fill in the shadows on her face.

  And while we’re talking about shooting outdoors, watch for overlighting the shot so much that your subject is washed out entirely. Some better cameras will have a neutral density filter built in. Simply speaking, this control switch allows you to set for indoors, bright light, or glaring sunshine.

  Dimmers

  It’s possible to build your own dimmer switch if you are using shoplights as your lighting source. Be sure to have an experienced electrician do this work to ensure safety.

  LED Lights

  Hollywood studios and professional videographers now make wide use of LED lights. They are ideal for small filming situations, and could easily serve your purpose more than the usual professional spotlights.

  LED lights are portable, cool to the touch, battery or electrically operated, and come in a variety of sizes and dimensions. Some are small enough that they can be mounted under a car dashboard, for example, if you’re shooting in a car interior. They will illuminate an actor’s face with relative ease.

  LED lights are not inexpensive, but if you shop around, you can find some that may fit your budget. Litepanels and Sima are two recognized brands. The more expensive lights come with dimmers - worth the price if you have the budget.

  Lighting Your Actors

  Take care to light your actors as consistently as possible. If you have two men in a scene, one with dark skin, the other light skinned, you risk exposing one of them incorrectly. Separate them somewhat if you can, then light one and use a reflector or an additional light source to boost lighting on the other.

  Lighting an Interview

  Interviews will look good with three-point lighting. The key (main) light will be set up to the left of the camera to provide full light on the subject. A fill light will be set up to the right of the camera and closer in towards the subject. Dimmer than the key light, the fill light will fill in shadows on the side of the subject’s face away from the key light. A third light, also smaller than the key light, shines on the backdrop to illuminate it and separate the subject from the backdrop.

  If you have only one light, use it as the key light. Then use a reflector as a fill, and use a window to light up the background.

  If the lights look too harsh on your subject, apply dimmers if you have them. Some professional lights come with an optional soft box, a diffusion screen that lessens the brightness of the spotlight.

  Tapping into Resources:

  Inspiration for Lighting

  Observe the Rembrandt painting titled “Philosopher Meditating.” Note the sources for light. Your cinematographer may find it helpful as a guide to composing shots. Where does the light come from? Where does it fall? How can it help focus the viewer’s eye on the subject?

  Go online to the CBS Television website to see a sample episode of CSI Miami. Can you see how this color palette differs from many other TV shows? Can you feel the brightness, the warmth, the heat that characterizes Miami?

  While your crew won’t have access to the lighting resources that most TV and film productions do, they can nevertheless profit from knowing about good creative lighting (Resources).

  Production Design

  Sets and Location

  Set and location are the “canvas” which your story moves across as it progresses.

  Set simply refers to the placement of a subject within an appropriate setting. A news anchor reads news from a desk or from a stand-up position reporting from a school game or a hall. A TV sitcom almost alwa
ys sets itself in a living room.

  Location refers to a site where a movie’s scene can be shot. If the shot calls for a hiker facing peril on the trail, the location should be both rugged and visually appealing. If possible, it should be someplace unfamiliar to your audience.

  Of course, location can simply be a classroom, the parking lot, the school lunchroom. If it’s a familiar location, look for camera angles that make the shot more interesting.

  Look Book

  If you have time, ask one or several of your crew to create a “look book” for your movie. Assemble photos, sketches, color swatches, anything that might help to create the look of the film.

  Set Construction

  As a low or no budget production, you probably do not have the ability to build sets for your projects. Check out the howstuffworks.com site for background information, if you need it.

  Clearance and Permission

  When you’re shooting, be sure to ask permission of other people when you wish to interview them or shoot in their area. Don’t assume that they will be agreeable or available. Maintain good working relations with your interviewees.

  Your movie may call for shooting at the local mall or a fast food restaurant. Request permission first. Many shops and stores don’t like having their signage or logos filmed. You might think that they would be happy to have some product placement. Don’t assume. Ask.

  ProFile – Randy Hillman

  Production Design

  When it comes to set and production design, artist and scenic designer Randy Hillman recommends following the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid. You want your sets to pop, without overkill.

  On any project, especially a large one, a good storyboard is an invaluable tool. Share the storyboard with your design staff. This will prevent sets and props from blocking camera angles. The storyboard becomes your game plan, tracking movement and placement, entrances and exits. “The storyboard,” Hillman says, “can be your best friend and save you time and money.”

  If you have the time and budget, Hillman recommends constructing 3D models of some of your set designs. It’s an additional step, but it can help with camera movement and make the blocking of actors easier.

  Television and film sets are more stationary than live performance sets. When deciding on a set, remember that you will probably want more than one camera angle. On professional sets, a wall can be removed for different camera placement. Not likely your project will have that kind of budget. Plan for camera movement – be ready to move furniture, shoot from a patio doorway or a window, or squeeze into a confined space. The more you plan ahead, the easier the shoot.

  Hillman offers three tips:

  Incorporate the production designer into the film team. The production designer does not do the work alone, needs to be able to take criticism and advice, and has to leave any ego at the door. Take the advice given by your team players and if their ideas work better, use them. Everything about this business is team oriented. Your team will make you shine, NOT your ego!

  Know your budget restraints. A lot can be accomplished with little money. Junk yards and garage sales can provide a goldmine of materials and props that your creative talents can turn into something totally different from its intended use. Be creative in the materials brought into play, a lot can be done with less, stay away from overkill. Hillman says that, as much as you rely on and want to utilize your talent, remember that “the business of entertainment is business.”

  And speaking of business, know and follow all pertinent laws, codes, union rules. On a small production, this may not be much of an issue, but certainly when you work in a theater or a studio, you must consider insurance, safety (fire retardant materials, for example), protection of cast and crew. If you’re working with unions, know their codes and rules, and follow them. Ignoring codes and rules will get you shut down.

  Randy Hillman began his career by studying with famed illustrator Norman Rockwell. He apprenticed in major cities across the United States. Hillman worked in art direction for corporate projects, then moved to the entertainment field. For a number of years Hillman created theme party props for some of the biggest hotels and casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

  In San Diego he produced scenic sets for Stu Segall Productions. His credits include: Renegade, Silk Stalkings, and Pensacola: Wings of Gold. Movie credits include: Titanic, Speed, Casino, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, King Kong. He’s currently Associate Producer on an original musical “Cole and Porter”.

  Hillman is also VP, Financial Development for Blue Rose Entertainment, LLC. which handles live-stage concert productions worldwide.

  Tapping into Resources:

  View the clip titled “Production Design” from the Luhrmann series Set to Screen, labeled #8. Show also the two clips titled “Location I” and “Location II” from Set to Screen.

  Encourage your location scouts to take photographs at some remote locations that could serve as interesting settings for the script you’re working on. They could also create a file of photographs that subsequent projects could use. Set up a computer file for these photos, and don’t forget to back them up.

  Costume, Hair and Makeup

  Costume

  Even with a no-budget shoot, you’re smart to have someone work as costumer on your production. The costumer can ensure the right look for your actors, make all the decisions in which you don’t need to be involved, and ensure continuity from shot to shot.

  ProFile – Brianne Gillen

  Costume Design

  Costume designer Brianne Gillen (disclaimer – Brianne’s our daughter) offers some tips on working with costume.

  Costuming

  The costumer’s goal: meshing character with the costumer’s own vision and with the director’s vision. Gillen says costumers should not be so married to their own vision that a costume becomes unworkable or impractical. A costume may have the elegant look of a museum piece, for example, but if the actor can’t move in the piece, it won’t work. The costume exists to enhance character and creative vision.

  The designer needs to be adaptable enough to blend with the director’s vision of the scene.

  As with production design, the costume designer would benefit from creating a look book for the project. Gather anything that inspires, anything that offers a glimpse into what the designer is going for. This could include pictures clipped from magazines (any magazines, even food periodicals), photos captured by the designer, fabric swatches, color chips, anything found online, sketches.

  Some directors can work with ideas verbally expressed by the costume designer. Others will want to see sketches or pictures. An elaborate, fantastical, or period piece will of necessity require sketches and pictures.

  Costume Choices

  Since most of your early film work will be short films, probably set in contemporary times, you’ll have the actors bring costumes from their own closets. The actors should have the costume designer review all the choices.

  On many films, the director will discuss the character development in each role with the actor playing the role. This is an important discussion for each actor. And as part of character development, the actor will select costumes she thinks are appropriate to the role.

  When the costume designer is reviewing wardrobe choices, Gillen says, he should not be quick to dismiss an actor’s choices. Talk to the actor, discover what she is thinking about her character, and why she has chosen a particular outfit. It’s very possible that the actor will perform better because, as part of her own character development, she has selected outfits she thinks are right for the character.

  Color and Patterns on Camera

  Especially when working with an HD camera, colors and patterns can show up strangely on camera. Always test patterns on camera, Gillen says, before you begin your shoot. Have the actor move around and see how the outfit looks on camera. If it creates unusual blurrings and flarings on screen, find another outfit that will work. Smaller patterns are especially pron
e to causing distortion on camera.

  Continuity

  For costume, continuity is critical. Have your costumer or wardrobe person take pictures of each actor in their first scenes. Use the pictures as reference for later shoots. The costumer and the script supervisor can ensure the actors are wearing the same articles of clothing, all arranged and accessorized the same way, from shot to shot. Pay attention to jewelry, scarves, hats.

  No Logos!

  Take special care to avoid any costuming that has a company or brand logo on it. You’ll save a lot of trouble later. You may think that a company would be pleased for the product placement, but they see it as an infringement on their branding. Stay away from it.

  This goes for your sets and locations too. Stay away from store names, logos, branded signage.

  Historical Research

  Research becomes important when your project is set in an historical period, or if there’s a flashback to an earlier generation. You can rent costumes if you have the budget and the time to shop or search online. Depending on the time period, you may be able to browse through thrift shops to find a few pieces to serve your needs. Do your homework. Look for vintage clothing catalogs online. Research photos or artwork that depict earlier decades.