Dylan's blog
Posted: 1 month ago
Two weekends ago, I helped out on a film shoot for my old
film school. We were under extreme time pressure to get everything done. Although in terms of preparation
everything was going very well, in terms of our shot list however, there was no
doubt we were being very ambitious.
In “professional” terms, you would
generally do one set-up (i.e. one shot) an hour. We were looking to do around
ninety in two days, which roughly averaged one every ten minutes.
Inevitably, we ran over schedule. That is to say, we didn’t even come close. This meant on the Saturday we had all got up at roughly five o’clock in the morning, and finished at half past twelve at night. The next day, it was another five o’clock start, all knowing we had to do exactly the same the next day if we wanted to get it finished.
This was very, very tough. As usual we were all doing it for no money, only for the experience. Although you would be letting a lot of people down, contractually any of us could walk away at any moment, and there is not a thing that could be done. Nobody did, and on Sunday evening the film was complete, but had taken a massive toll on us all.
Yet on the Monday, once the dust had settled, and the vast majority of us were lying comatose on various sofas around Brighton, it had still all seemed worth it. We had got the film shot, and although there nowhere near as much done as we had planned, nothing had been sacrificed in terms of quality or narrative. It is the strangest thing how the stress of a shoot just melts away once it is done, and so far, it has never not been worth it.
Also, a couple of emails came in from some of the actors, saying how much they had enjoyed doing the film, and how well looked after they had felt. This was a really nice boost after our exhaustion, and I would really recommend sending an email like this to whoever was in charge if you are ever in a similar situation- it really is appreciated!
But what I really learnt on this shoot is that it is so crucial to a) maintain a professional attitude if things are going wrong, and b) realise if you’re doing a film for free, everyone is trying their best out of the kindness of their hearts to get it done. There is no reason why if you are running behind everyone should panic and fly off the handle. As long as those in charge know the situation, and can work out a path through it, everything will be worth it in the end.
Filmmaking can get stressful, but there is reason why people do it for free; it is still enjoyable, and still a massively rewarding creative experience, even at five am on a winter morning.