Shooting a feature length film is a lot like setting up and managing a small artistic factory. Each member of every department needs to be in sync with all the others and ready to work on cue. Shooting a feature film requires that you organize and plan for every contingency so that the shoot stays professional, on time and within budget. Follow these steps to accomplish this difficult task.
Instructions
1. Pick the right location. Picking your primary shooting locations might be the most important step of the whole movie shoot. While there is always a temptation to shoot on prime locations, using a studio or an alternate location might make things a lot simpler and cheaper. Look to up-and-coming shooting locales such as San Diego, Italy and parts of North Africa for inexpensive, alternate filming locations.
2. Make sure there is close interaction between the director and director of photography. The director of photography, the "DP," determines nearly every technical aspect of the movie shoot, from film stock to camera angles to color filters. Working closely with the DP will ensure a level of technical accuracy that helps keep a film shoot realistic and high quality.
3. Do morning read-throughs and rehearsals. Getting the core cast and crew together each morning for a read-through of the day's scene gets everyone on the same page and instills an element of routine and discipline to the shoot. After the read-through, conduct detailed rehearsals before shooting so you don't waste valuable film stock on small slip-ups.
4. Monitor expenses and resource expenditure daily. Shooting just ten percent more film than you expected to can result in a drastically altered budget. Other incidents and problems such as inclement weather, sick or injured cast members and local labor issue can also wreak havoc on the budget. Make sure you keep an eye on the budget, schedule and film supply on a daily basis to avoid mid-shoot disasters.
