Pre-Production

Pre-Production is the first step in making the film. Meetings, scriptwriting, scheduling, casting, getting this step right is crucial for the rest of the process.

Light Meters In The Digital Video Age

Why Use A Light Meter In The Digital Video Age?

in , , , , /by

As digital cinema cameras become the norm on set, people often ask, “Do cinematographers really need a light meter? Isn’t digital imagery simply ‘What You See Is What You Get?’” In this post I discuss how incredibly valuable a light meter is in speeding up your shoot, helping you communicate effectively with your gaffer, and increasing your abilities as a filmmaker.

Read more
"Easy Day" Action Short

Three Lighting Tips For Your Next Action Film

in , , , /by

Filming an action film is a daunting task even under the best of circumstances. More overwhelming is when you only have three in your lighting crew and you’re cramming two days worth of set-ups into one day. That was what we had to pull off for the short film, “Easy Day” (2013). In this post, I’m going to share how we did it, and then give you three lighting tips that will make your next action film look amazing.

Read more
Save The Cat: Chapter 2 Summary

“Save The Cat!” Screenwriting Book: Chapter Two Summary

in , , , /by

“Save The Cat!” Screenwriting Book: Chapter Two Summary [This is a continuation of “Cliffs Notes” of the Blake Snyder book “Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need” ~ Tim ] Chapter 1  |  Chapter 2  |  Chapter 3 |  Chapter 4 Chapter 2: Give Me The Same Thing…Only Different The script, the […]

Read more
Lighting Diagram for Film

Part 05: Creating A Lighting Diagram

in , , , /by

Part 05: Creating A Lighting Diagram With our storyboards in hand, it is time to figure out how to light our locations. Although this may seem like a daunting task, it is not as complicated as you may think. This is where the leg work we have done so far starts to pay off. We […]

Read more
Cinematic Commercials & Small Budgets: Storyboarding

Part 04: Storyboarding On A Small Budget

in , , , /by

Part 04: Storyboarding On A Small Budget After completing the leg work of location scouting, the next step we take in our preproduction process is to Storyboard. It is unfortunate that storyboarding can often times get overlooked as an laborious step that costs too much for a small budget production. But we think it is […]

Read more
Cinematic Commercials & Small Budgets: Scouting

Part 03: How To Location Scout

in , , , /by

Part 03: How To Location Scout We have landed the client, submitted the budget, and our proposal has been approved. Now it is time to start the leg work of preproduction. But where do you start? Our process begins by location scouting. Finding the right location, and maximizing it on screen is 70% of creating […]

Read more