And we've just finished shooting 'Dollhouse' on Sunday. Yay!
So how is this in relation to 'Exposed!'? A lot!
- Shooting 10 screen pages a day, complete with perfect lighting & involving multiple scenes, is pretty much impossible.
- We'd better get people to take care of art direction, wardrobe, props &... food! We can't possibly be able to handle everything ourselves and expect perfect results. But we'll have to worry about costs.
- Think of the post-production solution waaaay in advance. Especially shooting on HDV... 720p or 1080i at 30, 25 or 24 frames, etc. Currently not all editing systems support all these different formats. Yes, it sucks! Also, whether you're going to put the stuff back onto 16 or 35mm film... the list goes on.
- Time... have lots of it as much as possible for the pre-production process. This probably ties in with having enough people to work on the project. We didn't have the luxury of having assistants helping out during the pre-production period. What happens is, at 2 am in the morning on the last day of our shoot, we are still preparing props. Exhausted is just a mild word to describe our state of mind.
- Storyboard is extremely helpful. It communicates so visually, as a film should be, what the story looks like. It helps to come out with the imagery so that everyone, especially the camera & lighting people, will have a very clear idea of what the director is looking for. Afterall, most people watch movies, not read the scripts!
A little update about "Exposed!" before I end this entry:
We're thinking of casting a wider net (across Asia) in search of an actress for our main lead. We also thought that we probably have to extend the filming days to 15-20 days. So all these add up to more cost.... and we wonder when this film will get made!
