The DV Rebel Approach
For the budding filmmaker, finding the resources to create your masterpiece can be a daunting task. Even for old hands at the trade, you are expected to do more with less. Money is tight and there is the perception out there computers can make up for any lack of funding, personnel, or planning. The DV rebel approach is geared to create awesome production value on the screen on a shoe string budget.
As with anything, poor planning will get you nowhere fast, especially on a film set. In fact this planning is central to becoming a true DV rebel. I will be outlining a few of the tenants to this approach by Stu Maschwitz. Stu, a filmmaker, effects wizard and author, wrote a book entitled "The DV Rebel's Guide." In it he describes his approach to producing his own personal projects, focusing on action oriented flicks. So I have gleaned much of this information from him, though I do not necessarily recommend all of his techniques, (There is a reason he calls it Rebel filmmaking. Some of his suggestions closely walk the ethical line) All in all, his basic approach has a lot to learn from.
One last caveat before I delve into this. The principals I'm talking about relate to creating the cinematic look, or production value, of the project. I am not talking about story development or scriptwriting. That is another topic altogether, and for the sake of this article we will assume that you already have an awesome script in hand.
Basic Tenants
You begin in reverse, starting at the end and working your way to the beginning. Study a film whose tone is similar to the look you want to create. Grab still frames from that scene and deconstruct how the Director of Photography composed the shot, lit the scene and moved the camera. What is happening with the editing? Sound design? How has the director brought all these elements together to create the mood and pacing of the scene. Once you have isolated the elements, you can create a "preset" for how to achieve the shot. Create a checklist with these elements and find a way to incorporate them into your shot.
Independent filmmaker Eric Escobardone describes this process in great detail in a presentation he gave entitled Plug-ins Won't Save You. Here is the link to that presentation.
A second tenant is creating the illusion of production value. The DV Rebel is typically attempting to make his inexpensive camcorder and crew of two or three to replicate what took a crew of one hundred to accomplish. To achieve this you need a solid plan for what you will be shooting. Develop your storyboards and break down your shots to see what you can achieve during production and how you can enhance it in post. Remember that anything just outside the frame will never exists for your viewer. It may seem to be an obvious point, but having a grip wave a large piece of cardboard just outside the field of view of the camera to gently blow your actress's hair could add that extra punch, converting a lame shot into a cool one.
Stu Maschwitz gave a presentation at NAB a few years ago titled A Million Dollar Look On A Thousand Dollar Budget that addresses this very issue. Here is a video of that.
The DV Rebel approach is also a post production heavy process. Please note that this does not mean we "fix it in post," but that the DV Rebel understands what they can achieve in post to enhance their project. It also means understanding how to use the tools in post to compensate for elements that can not be filmed practically during production or to help overcome the other shortcomings of the gear you use to film it. Tools such as Adobe's After Effects and Apple's Final Cut Pro will be the primary arsenal to attack this part of the process.
Production Value
So how do you increase the production value of your projects? While perhaps not an exhaustive list, here are a few elements that go into creating images with high production value. For every rule there is an exception, but here are some of the basics.
What's in the Frame:
Composition - Draw your viewers eyes through the frame by focusing their attention on what is most important in the frame as it relates to the scene. The Rule of Thirds is a good place to start.
Lighting - Sculpting your scene with light. With lighting you can help add dimensionality to your 2D image. This also greatly effects mood.
Depth of Field - Creating shallow depth of field, where only the part of the frame you is in focus, draws attention to what you as a filmmaker want your viewer to see. A typical shot is of an actor in the foreground nicely in focus, while the background blurs out of focus. If you have a deeper depth of field, the background elements in the frame can compete with the foreground action. Unless having the background in focus is important for the scene of course.
Movement - Movement of the camera or action within the frame. Panning and tilting the camera on a tripod works well, but is not very dynamic. Moving the camera on a dolly can add energy to a scene, as well as add emotion. If you dolly in closer to a character, it amplifies the performance or emotion of the actor. If you dolly away from the actor, it can convey a feeling of isolation or detachment. But please, no zooming. I mean, seriously, don't touch that zoom control. Zooming during the shot is very unnatural and will pull the viewer out of the story. We can't zoom our eyes. If we want to see something closer we walk up closer. Do the same with the camera.
Performance - Capturing great performances of your actors.
Color Grading - The final stop for your image. This is more than balancing out the exposure between shots in a scene. It can be a subtle (or very blatant) method of creating the mood. This could be warming up your image to reinforce a joyous moment, or desaturating the image to reflect a depressed character's actions. This is an incredibly powerful tool.
What's outside the frame:
Sound Design - This is huge. Sound is fifty percent of the experience. A viewer will more readily forgive bad composition on a shot than a muffled recording of your actor. As this is a huge topic, we will save it for another day.
Don't make shots, make movies:
Editing - Everything should flow together.
So there is a quick run down of the DV Rebel approach. Every element in production is vital to the success of the project. But there can be no better way than digging into it and getting some practical experience for yourself.
For more information you can check out Stu's blog at prolost.com.
Posts
