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When preparing for your next Orlando video production, you should allow yourself plenty of room for creative ideas and expansive brainstorming. Before heading out on location, however, you need to ensure that your shoot will be streamlined. Disorganization leads to wasted time and unnecessary shots, which will be both stressful and costly. Those unnecessary shots are known as overshooting or simply filming too many ideas, locations, or filler shots. All of the different shots you take can add up to an overly long production day, followed by countless hours in the editing room. To help avoid overshooting your next production, use these following tips:
Preparing to Prepare
Deliberate preparation will help you avoid “winging it” the day of the shoot or asking for too many excess and unnecessary shots. Trying to include an abundance of locations, interviews, and scenes may seem like a good idea, but doing so actually dilutes your ideas and core message. This makes it much harder to deliver clear, consistent content.
Before embarking on your production, first determine who your audience is and why you are making the video. Is it a corporate training video, a 30-second television commercial, a longer infomercial, or a tradeshow video? Next, establish what outside sources are needed for the film. Will your shoot involve actors, voiceovers, or props? Do you intend to showcase your facilities, products, or employee-customer interactions? Finally, decide where you want to film and scout those locations out ahead of time. Unexpected background noise, lighting problems, or space constrictions could cause unwanted moves and reshoots.
Brainstorming
The best way to avoid overshooting in your Orlando video production is to make sure that your ideas are not scattered. You do not need to include every creative idea, angle, or shot in your 60-second spot ad. Be creative and open to ideas throughout the brainstorming process, but then trim excess ideas in this stage. Limiting the ideas you actually shoot will help keep your production cohesive. It is also better to cut concepts early on rather than to film everything and have to cut major clips and ideas in post-production.
Developing Core Content
As you brainstorm, come up with your main idea or message. Keep this goal in mind as you consider every other detail about the shoot, including location, lighting, the script, typography, and special effects. To help you develop your core content, consider how you will relate and appeal to your audience. Include a call to action, with simple contact information on-screen. If you are creating a production for purposes other than a commercial, the rules of core content still apply. Music videos, trade show videos, and corporate productions must be focused and consistent.
Storyboarding
After brainstorming, storyboarding is the process of taking your ideas and drawing them up in a linear fashion. You can include very clear, specific visuals along with any text. Have you ever watched behind-the-scenes footage from Pixar Animation Studios? While creating animated films, Pixar employees are diligent about creating elaborate storyboards and meeting in large groups to discuss them. Storyboarding is the key to making the day of filming (or in their case, animating!) a breeze because your storyboard will include a list of the shots you need as well as their locations. This helps you keep your footage en pointe, which saves time in the moment and in the editing room.
Creating a Day-of Shooting Schedule
Long shoots will take more time and money, and will be extremely tiring for your crew and participants. Many productions lose the most time during transitions, while setting up new shots or moving to a new location. Make sure you have accounted for everything ahead of time, from lighting specifications and props to actor arrivals and built-in breaks.
Preparing Actors
By being ready for your video shoot in advance, you avoid being bogged down by last-minute logistics such as word choices in the script or placements for the actors. This will save you valuable time on set and will help keep you and your camera crew from having to reset and reshoot multiple scenes.
If you have hired actors, give them the script well in advance as well as any details about how it should feel or sound. If you are instead interviewing individuals, brief them with a list of your questions but maintain a natural feel by avoiding letting them write out and memorize scripted answers. Either way, make sure your on-screen performers have signed the proper contracts or consent forms and understand what to wear for the production.
Staying Flexible while Filming
After following the above suggestions and creating an organized day-of plan, the next step is making each take as good as possible. Keep in mind that preventing overshooting is only about limiting the different scenes, set-ups, and various locations you film. You can still reshoot or do multiple takes as needed because you and your editing team can simply choose the best one and discard the rest. If you film a scene and are not happy with it, take what went wrong and make adjustments as necessary before filming again. There are many reasons you need to stay open and flexible while on set, such as unexpected background noises, shifted lighting, or suddenly stilted dialog.
Including Cutaways
Cutaways are the built-in transition shots for your production that also support your message with additional information. This could be your physical location, attractive exterior shots, sparkling facilities or new equipment, friendly-looking employees, and more. Cutaways can be used to help create seamless segues and transitions in your production, giving you a more polished look overall. The truth is, however, that you only need so many of these shots for a single short production. Bear this filmmaking tip in mind as you create your list of locations and desired scenes.
Trying to do everything in a production on your own, from filming to editing, could be time-consuming, costly, and unnecessarily stressful. A professional camera crew from NG Production Films will be prepared and efficient on the set, giving the best possible results for your production. Call us today at 877-203-2895 for a free consultation or fill out our contact form for a prompt reply.
