PRACTICAL DV FILMMAKING

Practical DV FilmMaking

• Overview
• Inside video
• Films and how they work
• Pre-production
• Production tools
• Production aesthetics
• Post-production tools
• Post-production aesthetics
• Careers and distribution
• Mapping the industry
• Glossary of film and video terms

Project 2. In-camera edit

What this project is for: to learn about basic shooting and assembling sequences Time: allow a few hours

What this project is about

In this project, we are going to use the camera alone to construct a film, without the need to edit. The purpose is to show in a very short space of time what you can achieve on camera and get through some initial skills fast. Before you can visualize how your ideas will look on the screen, we need to find out how the camera sees the world. It is better to work this out now than when you are starting to shoot a larger production. This project enables you to learn quickly about camera use, taking short steps quickly.

What's an in-camera edit?

The in-cam edit is a simple idea: it involves shooting each scene of a film, in the order in which it occurs. If it goes well then at the end of shooting you can take out the tape and play it as a finished film. This is the most basic method of making a film, but is an unexpectedly instructive way to learn about filmmaking and in a compressed way it takes you through the whole process of making a film, illus­trating how the various elements interact. For example, while shooting this project you quickly realize that every movement of the camera counts, that you have to arrive at decisions fast and that there is little room for mistakes. One of the problems about video as a format is that it discourages decision making by allowing you to shoot just about everything and decide later what to use. The in-cam edit film asks you to work in a fast, concise way.

It also introduces a vital concept in a film: the sequencing of shots. This is an idea central to the whole filmmaking process, and the way in which you decide to order a sequence of scenes is best experienced for real, rather than as a paper exercise.

Finally, this method is a great morale booster; it takes you out of the still waters of paper development and into the fast lane, where you can discover quickly whether your ideas will work as you had intended. It also means that you can use this method for other films; an idea for a movie can be tried on for size before you go ahead and make it for real.

Stage 1: Find an idea

Although this film has a basic kind of narrative, it is simple enough to not lumber you with too much detailed storytelling. As with every project, simpler stories allow you much greater opportunities to focus on the way you are shooting the film, with less information to be conveyed.