The process of the film making is a very long process; it’s very well thought out and
I think you can’t plan for everything because when you get there at the time, things will
change, but you should have a good pre-production.
Off the top of my head I would say that firstly you have a good script, a solid script, the
right script; re-draft it, re-draft it, re-draft it until you are happy and it’s locked.
Find your locations, go to places to take photos and first of all does it fit visually
with the idea of your script. Then does it fit logistically? Can we do sound here, are
we going to have trouble with background noise, can we get the cameras in here, can we get
lighting in here? Casting, you might want to use different actors. Rehearsals, do a
read through of the script so the actors know what’s going on.
At the same time you will be doing shot lists; the technical crew will be doing shot lists
and maybe story boarding, it depends on how you work, but that’s the kind of standard
way of doing it.
Then once the technical crews are happy and they know what they are doing and the actors
are happy and they know what they are doing, the locations are set. At this level we didn’t
pay people to come and act in our film so we have to look after them, make sure they’ve
got food, drink, travel expenses, they are happy, they are warm, they are not freezing
cold and wet all day long. Then go for the shoot.
Then you are shooting, you break it down into schedules, what’s the most time efficient
and cost efficient way to shoot, what sections we are going to shoot on location one, what
sections we are going to shoot on location two and so on and so on. Check back the rushes
when you are shooting; you might have problems with continuity, you might have problems with
acting, you might have problems with sound, lighting, so you go back and check the rushes
and make sure it’s okay.
The editing process which is another very, very long process as well, a very difficult
process; looking at rushes, paper edit, working out the structure, the edit might not work
the same way that the script was made, you might have to rearrange. Slowly cut the edit
down till you get a fine cut, you are happy with it and then you are going to mix the
sound and make sure the sound effects are right and the dialogue is right and you might
have to do some additional dialogue or you might have to do some sound effects that we
call foley. Eventually you’ll get to a final cut and you’ll take it and if you can get
that right then it’s worth all the time and effort that went in, and even if you can’t
get it right then if you learn from it, then it’s still worth the time you’ve put in.