Shooting a Feature in 65
Hours!
Mike Cecotka
DIRECTOR PROVES THEORY:
"10 EASY STEPS TO SHOOTING A FEATURE IN 65 HOURS!"
January 29, 2001 -
Toronto, Ontario - Producer/Director Mike Slawomir Cecotka's perfect
formula for first time filmmakers with an ultra low budget has proven
successful. It took 5 months of pre-production and almost six days to
shoot the Hollywood Sunrise Studio feature "Schizophrenia".
The concept "From script
to screen in 60 days" was born in August 2000, when he started the
adaptation to screenplay. His objective: to finish entire feature in 60
days. "That's (both) the shooting and editing with custom sound FX and
original music score," says Cecotka.
"I have 7 more projects,
which I want to direct, and I don't want to spend next 14 years doing
that," he illustrates. Instead of 4 weekends as planned in
August, he was able to finish the feature in 2 and a half, averaging
12-13 pages of script per 12-hour day.
He attests his success
thus far to following his "10 easy steps to shoot your film in 65
hours!":
A Simple Script
& Sticking to Schedule
1. Your script has to be simple - up to 5 speaking parts,
2 locations max. Shoot your movie in sequence.
2. Stick to your
schedule for pre-production, shooting and editing. In August I made a
decision to start principal photography on Jan 5, 2001 and I did. This
also builds great credibility for your future project with investors.
The only time you break this rule is when somebody gets sick.
3. The "Two Take Only"
Rule. You must have good actors to pull next rule - "Two takes only".
This will apply for long scenes, so you will start with Over the
Shoulder and Close Up and Reverse on the next actor. Remember,
typically the best takes are the first and last ones anyway.
4. The Blue Screen
& Making Use of All Technologies. If you have any special FX
like blue screen footage, shoot it on first day, so animators can start
work right away.
5. Save live footage
directly from your set to your hard drive. This will give you the
security of having a master on your hard drive plus a back up on the DV
tape. Also use 100 feet firewire cable...yes, I know that every web
site about firewire cables tell you the maximum length you should use
is 15-20 feet,and that you have to use replicators. I've done it with
100 feet - single cable no problems. Have an assistant capture scenes
with page numbers and characters, as this will speed up your editing
later. It took 12 Mini DV tapes for raw footage.
6. Use clamp-on lights
from Home Depot. I became big fan of this lights during my last short
movie. They stick to almost anything, they are cheap, and with
professional black aluminum foil you can create the most flexible
barndoors in the world. Use the 100 watts bulbs (also from Home Depot)
called "Director". After the manual white balance, I didn't see any
problems with skin color.
7. The Trailer, the Web
Site, & Cinematography. Shoot trailer and design web site for
your movie (with title as domain name). It's a great test for equipment
and actors who will meet for the first time. Things will go much
smoother during real shoot. With the website you can attract more
actors and crew or even sponsors.
8. The director has to
be his or her own cinematographer. You know already what you want on
the screen.
9. Organization,
Strategy, & Good Relations On Set. Organization and strategy is
a key to successful shooting and finishing in time, however remember
it's not worth it to end up with heart attack, go easy: 12 hours per
day with breaks.
10. The last rule
applies to the relationships between you and the actors and crew. Quite
simply - don't be a jerk.
Cecotka fully
anticipates postproduction on "Schizophrenia" to be completed on March
6, 2001 - on schedule; 60 days from the January 5 start date.
Copyright 2001,
Hollywood Sunrise Studio, Mike Slawomir Cecotka,
Producer/Director http://www.schizophreniamovie.com
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