Movie Making Manual

Movie Making Manual
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Current revision (unreviewed)
Preface: How you can contribute - How to navigate this book - Hierarchical category
index - Thank yous - List of contributors

Filmmaking Overview: Wikipedia article on film - The Basic Basics / Step By Step - Glossary of
Terms / Job descriptions - Teach Yourself Filmmaking

Contents
[hide]
1 Introduction to Movie Making

2 Development
3 Pre-production
4 Production
5 Post-production
6 Film Distribution & Marketing
7 Digital Filmmaking
8 Appendices
[edit]Introduction
to Movie Making
What is movie making?
Staffing & casting
[edit]Development
Writing
Theory
Writing
Rewriting
Screenplay Format
Treatments
Synopsis
Logline
Pitching
Certification
Downloading scripts
Writing Low Budget
Protecting Your Ideas
Funding and budgetting
Funding Plans
Grants
Tax Breaks
"Elements"
Contracts and law
Copyright
[edit]Pre-production
Overview
Budgeting and Scheduling
Pre-production
Acquiring film stock
Storyboarding
Casting Directors
Location Scouting
Funding and budgetting contents
Scheduling contents
Paperwork
Call Sheet
Scene Breakdown
Release Form
Contracts and law
Crew Contract
Cast Contract
Release Form
[edit]Production
Overview
Production Overview
Technical
Cinematography
Cinematography/Filteration
Actors contents
Blocking
Lighting
Power Sources
Sound Recording
Stills Photography
Character Animation
Directing and managing a set
Directing contents
Shooting Styles
Clapper Board and Keeping Notes On Set
Directing Actors
Keeping the crew happy
[edit]Post-production
Overview
Post Production Overview
Audio
Music/Film Scoring
Sound Design
Foley
ADR
Visual: What is Editing
How To Edit a Dramatic Scene
Visual Effects
Animation (for Visual Effects)
Colour Grading
Digital Intermediate
Subtitles
Which format to finish on?
HD Links
For cellulloid
Telecine
[edit]Film
Distribution & Marketing
Overview
Film Distribution & Marketing Overview
Sales, Exhibition & Distribution
Film Marketing
Distributing Direct
Selling Online
Digital Cinema Distribution
Submitting to a broadcaster
Putting videos online
Burning a DVD
[edit]Digital
Filmmaking
Enter the Movie Making Manual Volume 2 The Digital Video Production Manual and see the future
of filmmaking in the 21st century.
Digital Video Production Manual Contents
[edit]
Appendices
Training
Teach Yourself Filmmaking
Work Experience
Online Resources
Part 2 of Teach Yourself Filmmaking
Ongoing
Film Accounting
Low budget filmmaking
Writing Low Budget
Shooting on Film for little money
Deferred Payments
Linux in film production
Digital Puppets
Short films
Why Make a Short
Financing Shorts
Distribution and Exhibition of Shorts

Music videos
Why Make a Music Video
Financing Music Videos
Exhibition of Music Videos
Submitting Music Videos

Movie Making Manual Events
Meetings
Local Resources
Mumbai(Bombay)
London
Los Angeles
New York
Charlotte
Pittsburgh
Toronto
Vancouver (aka Hollywood North)

Watching Films
Cannes Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
Toronto Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
Raindance Film Festival
Berlin Film Festival
Watching Films on the Internet

You the filmmaker
Growing as an Artist
Networking For Filmmakers
Setting up a production company

Tools and equipment
Mac in film production
Windows in film production
Transferring large files over the Internet
Building your own editing system
Video Compression/Decompression CO-DEC's
Equipment and software reviews
Stock footage
Communal Filmmaking
Equipment Timeshares
Case studies
Currently Untitled Studio (Pre-production)
Movie Making Manual-The Art of Flirting
Movie Making Manual/Introduction

< Movie Making Manual
This Module is part of the Movie Making Manual
Filmmaking is the process of making a film. The nature of the film determines the size and type of crew
required during filmmaking. Many Hollywood adventure films employ a cast and crew of thousands and
have complicated computer generated imagery (CGI), while a low-budget, independent film may be made
with a skeleton crew, often paid very little. Filmmaking takes place all over the world using different
technologies and techniques, and is produced in a variety of economic contexts that range from statesponsored documentary in China to profit-oriented movie making within the American studio system.
Contents
[hide]
1 Stages of Filmmaking
2 Development
3 Preproduction
4 Production
5 Post-production
6 Distribution
7 Independent filmmaking
[edit]Stages
of Filmmaking
The filmmaking production cycle consists of five main stages:

1. Development
2. Pre-production
3. Production
4. Post-production
5. Distribution
An entire Hollywood-style production cycle typically takes three years. The first year is taken up with
development. The second year comprises pre-production and production and the third year comprises
post-production and distribution.
[edit]Development
This is the stage where an idea is fleshed out into a viable script. The producer of the movie will find a
story, which may be from books, other films, true stories, original ideas, etc. Once the theme, or
underlying message, has been identified, a synopsis will be prepared. This is followed by a step outline,
which breaks the story down into one-paragraph scenes, concentrating on the dramatic structure. Next, a
treatment is prepared. This is a 25 to 30 page description of the story, its mood and characters, with little
dialog and stage direction, often containing drawings to help visualize the key points.
The screenplay is then written over a period of perhaps six months, and will be rewritten several times to
improve the dramatization, clarity, structure, characters, dialog, and overall style. However, producers
often skip the previous steps and develop submitted screenplays which are assessed through a process
called script coverage. A film distributor should be contacted at an early stage to assess the likely market
and hence financial success of the film. Hollywood distributors will adopt a hard-headed business
approach and consider factors such as: the film genre, the target audience, the historical success of
similar films, the actors who might appear in the film and the potential directors of the film. All these
factors imply a certain attraction of the film to a possible audience and hence the number of "bums on
seats" during the theatrical release. Films rarely make a profit from the theatrical release alone, therefore
DVD sales and worldwide distribution rights need to be taken into account.
The movie pitch is then prepared and presented to potential film financiers. If the pitch is successful and
the movie is given the "green light" then financial backing is offered, typically from a major film studio, film
council or independent investors. A deal is negotiated and contracts are signed.
[edit]Preproduction
In preproduction, the movie is designed and planned. The production company is created and a
production office established. The production is storyboarded and visualised with the help of illustrators
and concept artists. A production budget will also be drawn up to cost the film.
The Producer will hire people to fill the following roles:
The director, who is primarily responsible for the acting in the movie and managing the creative
elements.
The assistant director (AD) manages the shooting schedule and logistics of the production among
other tasks.
The casting director finds actors for the parts in the script. This normally requires an audition by
the actor. Lead actors are carefully chosen and are often based on the actor's reputation or "star
power."
The location manager finds and manages the film locations. Most pictures are shot in the
predictable environment of a studio sound stage but occasionally outdoor sequences will call for
filming on location.
The production manager manages the production budget and production schedule. He or she
also reports on behalf of the production office to the studio executives or financiers of the film.
The director of photography (DOP) or cinematographer creates the photography of the film. He or
she cooperates with the director, director of audiography (DOA) and AD.
The art director manages the art department, which makes production sets, costumes and
provides makeup & hair styling services.
The production designer creates the look and feel of the production sets, costumes, make up and
hairstyles, working with the art director to create these elements.
The storyboard artist creates visual images to help the director and production designer
communicate their ideas to the production team.
The production sound mixer manages the audio experience during the production stage of a film.
He or she cooperates with the director, DOP, and AD.
The sound designer creates new sounds and enhances the aural feel of the film with the help of
foley artists.
The composer creates new music for the film.
The choreographer creates and coordinates the movement and dance - typically for musicals.
Some films also credit a fight choreographer.
[edit]Production
Here the movie is actually created and shot. More crew will be recruited at this stage such as the property
master, script supervisor, assistant directors, stills photographer, picture editor, and sound editors. These
are just the most common roles in filmmaking and the production office will be free to create any unique
blend of roles to suit a particular film.
A typical day's shooting begins with an assistant director following the shooting schedule for the day. The
film set is constructed and the props made ready. The lighting is rigged, the camera and sound recording
equipment are set up. At the same time the actors are wardrobed in their costumes and attend the hair
and make-up departments.
The actors rehearse their script and blocking with the director. The picture and sound crews then
rehearse with the actors. Finally, the action is shot with as many takes as the director sees fit.
Each take of a shot follows a slating procedure and is marked on a clapperboard, which helps the editor
keep track of the takes in post-production. The clapperboard records the scene, take, director, director of
photography, date, and name of the film written on the front, and is displayed for the camera. The
clapperboard also serves the necessary function of providing a marker to sync up the film and the sound
take. Sound is recorded on a separate apparatus from the film and they must be synched up in postproduction.
The director will then check to see if the shot was good or not. The script supervisor, sound and camera
teams mark every take as either good (G or a circle around the take's number) or not good (NG) on their
respective report sheets. Every report sheet records important facts about each take.
When shooting is finished for the scene, the director declares a "wrap." The crew will "strike," or
dismantle, the set for that scene. The director approves the next day's shooting schedule and a daily
progress report is sent to the production office. This includes the report sheets from continuity, sound, and
camera teams. Call sheets are distributed to the cast and crew to tell them when and where to turn up the
next shooting day.
For productions using traditional photographic film, the unprocessed negative of the day's takes are sent
to the film laboratory for processing overnight. Once processed, they return from the laboratory as dailies
or rushes (film positives) and are viewed in the evening by the director, above the line crew, and
sometimes, the cast. For productions using digital technologies, shots are downloaded and organized on
a computer for display as dailies.
When the entire film is in the can, filmmaking lingo for the completion of the production phase, the
production office normally arranges a wrap party to thank all the cast and crew for their efforts.
[edit]Post-production
Here the film is assembled by the film editor. The modern use of video in the filmmaking process has
resulted in two workflow variants: one using entirely film, the other using a mixture of film and video.
In the film workflow, the original camera film (negative) is developed and copied to a one-light workprint
(positive) for editing with a mechanical editing machine. An edge code is recorded onto film to locate the
position of picture frames. Since the development of editing software such as Final Cut Pro or Avid, the
film workflow is used by very few productions.
In the video workflow, the original camera negative is developed and telecined to video for editing with
computer editing software. A timecode is recorded onto video tape to locate the position of picture frames.
Production sound is also synced up to the video picture frames during this process.
The first job of the film editor is to build a rough cut taken from sequences (or scenes) based on individual
"takes" (shots). The purpose of the rough cut is to select and order the best shots. The next step is to
create a fine cut by getting all the shots to flow smoothly in a seamless story. Trimming, the process of
shortening scenes by a few minutes, seconds, or even frames, is done during this phase. After the fine
cut has been screened and approved by the director and producer the picture is "locked," meaning no
further changes are made. Next, the editor creates a negative cut list (using edge code) or an edit
decision list (using timecode) either manually or automatically. These edit lists identify the source and the
picture frame of each shot in the fine cut.
Once the picture is locked, the film passes out of the hands of the editor to the sound department to buildup the sound track. The voice recordings are synchronised and the final sound mix is created. The sound
mix combines sound effects, background sounds, ADR, dialogue, walla, and music.
The sound track and picture are combined together, resulting in a low quality answer print of the movie.
There are now two possible workflows to create the high quality release print depending on the recording
medium:
1. In the film workflow, the cut list that describes the film-based answer print is used to cut the
original colour negative (OCN) and create a colour timed copy called the colour master positive
or interpositive print. For all subsequent steps this effectively becomes the master copy. The next
step is to create a one-light copy called the colour duplicate negative or internegative. It is from
this that many copies of the final theatrical release print are made. Copying from the
internegative is much simpler than copying from the interpositive directly because it is a one-light
process; it also reduces wear-and-tear on the interpositive print.
2. In the video workflow, the edit decision list that describes the video-based answer print is used to
edit the original colour tape (OCT) and create a high quality colour master tape. For all
subsequent steps this effectively becomes the master copy. The next step uses a film recorder to
read the colour master tape and copy each video frame directly to film to create the final
theatrical release print.
Finally the film is previewed, normally by the target audience, and any feedback may result in further
shooting or edits to the film.
[edit]Distribution
This is the final stage, where the movie is released to cinemas or, occasionally, to DVD, VCD or VHS
(though VHSs are less common now that more people own DVD players). The movie is duplicated as
required for theatrical distribution. Press kits, posters, and other advertising materials are published and
the movie is advertised.
The movie will usually be launched with a launch party, press releases, interviews with the press,
showings of the film at a press preview, and/or film festivals. It is also common to create a website to
accompany the movie. The movie will play at selected cinemas and the DVD is typically released a few
months later. The distribution rights for the movie and DVD are also usually sold for worldwide
distribution. Any profits are divided between the distributor and the production company.
[edit]Independent
filmmaking
Filmmaking also takes place outside of the studio system and is commonly called independent
filmmaking. Since the introduction of DV technology, the means of production have become more
democratized. Filmmakers can conceivably shoot and edit a movie, create and edit the sound and music,
and mix the final cut on a home computer. However, while the means of production may be democratized,
financing, distribution, and marketing remain difficult to accomplish outside the traditional system. Most
independent filmmakers rely on film festivals to get their films noticed and sold for distribution. However,
the Internet has allowed for relatively inexpensive distribution of independent films; many filmmakers post
their films online for critique and recognition. Although there is little profitability in this, a filmmaker can still
gain exposure via the web.
Next | Theory
Development
Movie Making Manual/Writing

A Wikibookian suggests that Writing Low Budget be merged into this book or chapter.
Discuss whether or not this merger should happen on the discussion page.
Theory | Previous
Contents
[hide]
1 Writing for the Screen

1.1 Finding a Story
1.1.1 Write what you Know
1.2 The Right Budget

2 Screenwriting Books and Authors
2.1 Syd Field and Robert Mckee
2.2 William Goldman
2.3 Cherry Potter - Screen Language
2.4 J. Michael Straczynski - The Complete Book of

Screenwriting
2.5 Elliot Grove - Write and Sell the Hot Screenplay
2.6 Stephen King

3 Screenwriting Websites
3.1 http://www.wordplayer.com
3.2 The Artful Writer
3.3 http://www.freefilmschool.org
3.4 Screenplay Talk
[edit]
Writing for the Screen
Screenwriting is different from other literary forms. The script is

essentially a "blueprint" that will guide the other filmmakers through
the production of the film. Often, the final film will differ from what
was on the page. These differences can be as small as a few
simple dialogue changes, or as large as a complete change in tone,
direction, and intent. Accepting this process is key to being a
screenwriter who not only writes well, but will work well with the
other people involved in the film's production.
"I like the idea of making films

about ostensibly absolutely nothing.
I like the irrelevant, the tangential,
the sidebar excursion to nowhere
that suddenly becomes revelatory.
That's what all my movies are about.
That and the idea that we're in
possession of certainty, truth,
infallible knowledge, when actually
we're just a bunch of apes running
around. My films are about people
who think they're connected to
something, although they're really
not." - *Jean-Luc Godard
In addition to being the blueprint for the film, the script also serves
as a way to get that film made in the first place. Based on the strength of your screenplay, budget, talent,
and enthusiasm will fall into place. It is the strength of the story that can secure financing and production
talent. It's not innovative and thrilling setpieces or even a smattering of really great scenes peppered
throughout your script, but a cohesive, intriguing story that holds the reader's (and eventually the viewer's)
attention from beginning to end. This is such a basic concept, and yet one that seems utterly lost on some
screenwriters, even those already established in Hollywood.
[edit]Finding
[edit]Write
a Story
what you Know
This adage is always "Write what you know". This is excellent advice as writing from your personal
experience will make the story, characters and tone believable.
The flip side of this is the joke that all first time scripts by writers who have recently moved to Hollywood
are about...the struggles of a young writer recently moved to Hollywood. So write what you know but
choose something of interest to an audience. You would be amazed at how easily a little known hobby of
yours or a quirky friend translates into a scene or a character. Shamelessly mine your personal history
and cut and paste characteristics of your friends together and you will be surprised at how little you need
to spin from whole cloth.
The first ten pages of script are said to be the most important. They should begin to show how the entire
film will work as a whole.
[edit]The
Right Budget
More often than not, the beginning screenwriter will find that his first sold screenplay will result in lowbudget film. This also applies to those writing for the independent film scene.
With that in mind, it may not be a good idea to call for giant six-legged creatures scurrying up the side of a
skyscraper or epic space battles across multiple solar systems in your script. While such effects can be
done on a limited budget, they will not be of similar quality to those features for which money is not a
constraint.
It is not only extended special effects sequences that can break a budget, but also a large cast and/or
sets. For low-budget films, try to keep both the cast and the different locations as few in number as
possible. While this may seem limiting to a writer's creativity, many find the opposite to be true when they
are confronted with the challenge of creating a compelling and memorable story within the confines of a
low budget.
Of course, if money is not an issue, feel free to create a Lawrence of Arabia-style epic with a cast of
thousands and computer-generated graphics that would break Industrial Light and Magic.
low-budget movie tips
[edit]
Screenwriting Books and Authors
Screenwriting books come in two forms: those written by successful screenwriters in Hollywood and those
by, well, other types of people. And while you may be thinking that you would prefer to read a book on
screenwriting by someone who has actually sold a script, both types of books actually have their
strengths and weaknesses. Successful screenwriters have a certain pedigree to their "how-to" books
because they have actually been there and done that. However, success in artistic fields is rarely
formulaic. They themselves may be confused as to what it was exactly in their script that allowed them to
sell it in the first place. These books tend to be slightly muddled in thought and offer a strong temptation
to handle things the way this particular author did (because, after all, he did sell his script). While his
method may have worked for him, it may not work for you for any number of reasons. These books are
worth reading because they do offer a glimpse into the thought-process of a successful screenwriter,
along with the usual samples that you can study, but just remember to take their pathway and alter it to fit
your writing style and personality.
The other type of screenwriting books usually comes from academia: often from a professor who has
never sold a screenplay, but seems to know a lot about the format. These books are useful in learning the
mechanics of the screenplay. It is crucial for a first-time writer to remember that all the characterization
and pathos in the world cannot help a script that doesn't hold true to the basic foundation of what makes a
screenplay a screenplay in the first place. While it is true that there are plenty of scripts that break
convention, knowing the convention is the only way you can break it successfully. The writers of these
books can take a more generalized view of the process and focus in on things like act structures,
climaxes, and inciting incidents, but rarely offer the advice on making your characters and story come
alive. So any good writer will have a library that has at least two books from these two seperate
categories.
[edit]Syd
Field and Robert Mckee
These are the two most well known screenwriting "gurus," though neither has written a successful movie.
This does not mean they have nothing worthwhile to say; both writers are good analysts of structure and
form. However, what you won't find in their books is how to put heart and spirit into your story. What is a
story without heart and spirit? Lifeless. So get their books, read them, and use them to help you with
structure. Just don't take their methods as gospel and don't be afraid to discard what they teach when the
time is right.
[edit]William
Goldman
Goldman won an Academy Award for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", another one for "All the
President's Men" and he has written (among others) two famous books on screenwriting, Adventures in
The Screen Trade and More Adventures in the Screen Trade. The oft-quoted "nobody knows anything"
(meaning you can have all the right elements for a great movie and flop at the box office) is a quote from
"Adventures in the Screen Trade". Although he does not teach structure, as Syd Field or Robert McKee
do, he does provide often funny, sometimes heart-breaking insights into the life of a working (striving and
surviving) screenwriter in Hollywood. His books are no screenwriting manuals, but the life and heart that
are lacking in McKee's or Field's books are abundant in his memoirs. Read McKee once, so you know
what people talk about when they mention "inciting incident" and other McKeeisms, but read Goldman
every now and then, to be inspired, and know that, as hard as you think writing is for you, it is even harder
for him.
[edit]Cherry
Potter - Screen Language
An excellent counterweight to the more structural and formalistic screenwriting guides. Includes inspiring
and original suggestions for approaching the process of generating and elaborating story ideas. Also
contains insightful analyses of a number of classic films, concentrating on the sequence (a series of
scenes) as an essential building block.
[edit]J.
Michael Straczynski - The Complete Book of Screenwriting
The Creator of the Emmy-winning series Babylon Five (as well as other credits too numerous to mention),
J. Michael Straczynski provides a notable tome that marries insider experience with practical tips for
outlining, writing, finding an agent, pitching and more. While his topic is broad (with sections on writing for
movies, television, animation, radio, theatre and the business itself) his grasp and the script examples
alone make it a worthy read. Producing between 2000 and 3000 pages of published or produced material
every year, authors don't get much more credible than this.
[edit]Elliot
Grove - Write and Sell the Hot Screenplay
From the director of Raindance, this book presents a down-to-earth, systematic approach to all the
elements of writing a screenplay, plus a detailed strategy for selling it once its written. It covers a lot of
ground and is therefore inevitably concise, but the clarity of the concepts and practical advice is hugely
valuable. Elliot Grove regularly presents a two-day workshop of the same name, which is well worth
attending
[edit]Stephen
King
Okay, so he's not a screenwriter. He is, however, one of the best-selling authors of all time, so anything he
has to say about writing is probably worth listening to. King's book On Writing is excellent as he tries to
come to grips with what causes us to create and looks at from where the writing comes. Anybody doing
any sort of writing will find this book most useful.
[edit]
Screenwriting Websites
[edit]http://www.wordplayer.com
WORDPLAY / wordplayer.com is a phenomenal resource. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio are working
screenwriters who co-wrote the DreamWorks animated feature SHREK, winner of the first Academy
Award for Best Computer Animated Film in 2002. These guys have written a number of brilliant essays
and articles on the art and business of screenwriting that are essential reading.
[edit]The
Artful Writer
A blog on "information, theory and debate for the professional television and film writer". Lots of useful
info.
http://artfulwriter.com/
[edit]http://www.freefilmschool.org
FreeFilmSchool.Org has extensive articles on all phases of independent film production from developing
screenplay ideas to marketing the finished film.
[edit]Screenplay
Talk
Screenplay Talk is a free community for screenwriters to share ideas and discuss industry trends.
http://www.screenplaytalk.com
Movie Making Manual/Rewriting

Contents
[hide]
1 Rewriting
o
1.1 Top-Down Rewriting
1.2 'Spitballing'
1.3 Script Editors
[edit]
Rewriting
Over 80% of your time on any screenplay will be spent on rewrites. So much of screenwriting is about
structure that you may have the story in the first few weeks while the rest of the time is spent reworking
the script so the story works on the screen.
After you have plowed through and have a first draft script of 90-130 pages the best thing to do probably
is to get a little distance from the screenplay so you can evaluate it objectively. This is probably best done
by laying the script aside for a few weeks and doing something else then returning to it with fresh eyes.
[edit]Top-Down
Rewriting
Beginning writers assume that the rewriting process consists of going through the script line by line and
fixing any typos or grammatical errors. After a couple of such passes they're bored and the screenplay is
still weak.
To be efficient and really make progress requires being more organized and starting with the big picture.
Make a series of passes through your screenplay, each time concentrating on one or two elements.
Start with the most important elements of any story such as: Is the hero really appealing and heroic? Is
the villain really evil? Is there a powerful and credible conflict? Are the characters great, real, alive, right
and consistent?
Strengthening these big elements might result in major restructuring of the screenplay. Only after they
have been addressed is the time right to work down to issues such as spelling and grammar. Take a
break for a few days at any point if necessary to get a fresh perspective.
A detailed rewriting strategy discussion
[edit]'Spitballing'
This rather strange term comes from William Goldman's books. It means getting together with another
writer and discussing your script and coming up with ideas to solve problems you are having.
It's essential to discover whether or not your story, characters, dramatic conflict, is working. A screenplay
is both a sales document for the film and the blueprint, a set of instructions to the director and the actors.
An outside viewpoint is essential if you want to know if your script is going to be successful.
[edit]Script
Editors
A good script editor is invaluable. Professional editors and coverage experts can be located by searching
the web and through ads in screenwriting magazines, however the cost can be prohibitive for independent
filmmakers.
Another option is to enlist friends that are avid novel readers and particularly anal-retentive at spelling and
grammar. Even the most successful professional writers value the feedback of their trusted friends. If the
writing is interesting enough, friends will feel compensated by just getting to be the first to read the new
work and share in the creative process.
Movie Making Manual/Screenplay Format

In the Motion Picture industry, screenplays are usually presented in a standardized format. This format
has been developed over the years in the Hollywood studio system in order to approximate a rule of
thumb of one script page equaling one minute of movie screen time. This "Hollywood Standard" format
has become widely adapted and accepted worldwide due to the proliferation of screenwriting software
such as Final Draft and Movie Magic.
The main characteristics of this standard are:
3 holed Letter size 8.5"x11" paper (US) or A4 paper format (Europe)
Character names and Dialogue should be formatted to appear centered (see below)
Writers submitting their work to US based production companies are strongly advised to follow this
standard as any deviation from it is often regarded as a sign of an amateur screenwriter. Many in the
industry say they refuse to accept non-standard scripts but stories abound of writers with "stunt
submissions" such as the one in 2004 at Cannes. Supposedly someone took a chance and printed their
screenplay up like a paperback novel (bound with a fancy cover and everything) and even though the
screenplay was no good the size was very popular (being less bulky than a conventional screenplay) and
lots of people took copies and read them. So some may conclude that sometimes breaking the rules
works. However, as it was pointed out, the screenplay in this case was no good, so it once again
reinforced the commonly held preconception that fancy stunt submissions are usually done by amateurs,
whereas professionals follow the standard format.
Contents
[hide]
1 Formats
1.1 Screenplay
1.1.1 Elements of the screenplay
1.2 Other Formats

2 Process
2.1 Draft Script
2.2 Locking the Script
2.3 Rewrites
3 Templates
4 Screenwriting Software
5 Lessons in Screenplay Formatting
[edit]Formats
[edit]Screenplay
Although some writers utilize their own modifications on the standard screenplay format, there is a basis
upon which all feature film screenplays are formated.
The standard screenplay format is devised for simplicity of reading by many different departments in
addition to roughly timing out to one minute of screen time for one page of script.
Screenplays should be written in twelve point Courier font. Twelve point Courier is an important
component of the standard format for two reasons. One is nostalgic (Courier font resembles the look of a
page written on a mechanical typewriter), but the other reason is highly practical: Courier is a
monospaced font meaning every glyph is the same width (as opposed to variable-width fonts, where the
"w" and "m" are wider than most letters, and the "i" is narrower). With a monospaced font only a certain
amount of letters will fit on each row and each page, assuring uniformity of the format and achieving the
one page per minute of screen time formula.
Final Draft, the popular screenwriting software has developed their own Courier font, Courier Final Draft.
This font was designed to mimic a PC Courier font on Mac computers to achieve further uniformity
between the platforms. There are no differences between the glyphs of Courier and Courier Final Draft
and the two fonts are interchangeable on those platforms.
Utilizing any font other than twelve point Courier or Courier Final Draft will result in a screenplay that does
not adhere to the standard format, does not approximate the one page per minute of screentime formula
and therefore regarded as highly undesirable by producers. NOTE: The Courier New font alters the pitch
of the typeface, taking up more space on the page and therefore altering the overall page count of a script
document. Courier New font is not recommended for screenwriters.
Margins are generally set as such (spaces are assuming 12 point font at 72 spaces per line):
Scene Number (if used) is 1.25 inches from the left edge or 13 "spaces" in
Scene Heading 1.75 inches from the left edge or 19 spaces in
Action 1.75 inches from the left edge or 19 spaces in (cut off at 55 characters (including spaces)
per line)
Dialogue 2.75 inches from the left edge or 29 spaces in (cut off at 35 characters (including
spaces) per line)
Character name is centered on the page (about 43 spaces in)
Parenthetical direction is 3.5 inches from the left or 36 spaces in (cut off at 16 characters
(including spaces) per line)
[edit]Elements of the screenplay

Screenplays traditionally start with FADE IN in the upper left hand corner of the first page, immediately
followed by the scene heading for the first location.
SCENE HEADING (SLUG) A scene heading always starts with a distinction whether the location of the
scene is indoors or outdoors. INT. signifies an interior location whereas EXT. signifies an exterior location.
These are always abbreviated and followed by a period and one blank space and then the name of the
location where that scene takes place. Scene headings, also called slugs, are placed for each and every
location in the screenplay, including all the various elements of a location. For example INT. OLD HOUSE
LIVING ROOM might be followed by INT. OLD HOUSE KITCHEN if the characters or action moves to the
kitchen. It is not correct to have INT. OLD HOUSE and move characters from one room to the next within
the same scene. Each room is treated as a separate location in the script because when the film is
actually shot these sequences will most likely be shot out of order (all scenes in the kitchen will be shot
together and all scenes in the living room will be shot together, possibly on different days) and, possibly,
in completely different physical locations (the kitchen may be a practical location in an Old House, the
living room might be built on a soundstage). Some writers like to put a hyphen between the main location
and the sub location, IE: INT. OLD HOUSE - LIVING ROOM and INT. OLD HOUSE - KITCHEN, but this is
not required. Following the location name is one or two hyphens (depending on writer's taste) and the
time of day the scene takes place; DAY, NIGHT, DAWN, DUSK, EVENING or MOMENTS LATER,
CONTINUOUS (if the scene is immediately after the following as in the characters walking from the living
room to the kitchen in one conversation). After the Scene heading, there are two carriage returns (one
blank space) and the ACTION begins. Scene headings are always in all capital letters.
ACTION Action is the description of what is happening in the scene, IE: Mark walks into the living room
from the kitchen and picks up his books. Action is always written in present tense (Mark walks, not Mark
walked). Action is in non-indented paragraph/prose form and is the longest element on the page
(spanning from the far left to the far right hand margins of the page). It is generally accepted that action
should not be longer than 10 lines without a break. Action also describes the locations, as much as
necessary. Action is always in traditional English upper/lowercase. There are two line breaks between the
end of action and the name of a character speaking (one blank line between action and character name)
or the beginning of a new scene (one blank line between the end of action and the scene heading for the
next scene).
CHARACTER NAME When dialogue is spoken, it is preceded by the name of the character speaking the
dialogue. The Character Name is placed on its own line and centered on the page. It is always in capital
letters. There are some modifiers that can be placed after the character name in parenthesis (separated
by a single space). Voice Over (V.O.) IE: JOHN (V.O.) is dialogue that is presented on the film's audio
track, but is not spoken by the character on screen. Voice Over can be a voice on a telephone or the
sound of the character's own thoughts. Off Screen (O.S.) IE: JOHN (O.S.) is dialogue that is spoken by a
character in or immediately near the physical location of the scene, but who is not visible on the screen in
that shot or scene. This could be a character speaking from another room. There is only one line break
after the character name before dialogue (no blank space). Character names are always in all caps.
DIALOGUE Dialogue is the actual spoken words by the character. It is placed immediately under the
centered character's name and indented considerably from the left hand side and slightly from the right to
stand out on the page. Dialogue is presented in standard upper/lowercase text (ALL CAPS can signify
extreme emphasis or SHOUTING). Underline and italics can be used for emphasis, but should be used
sparingly.
PARENTHETICAL DIRECTION This is very brief (usually one or two words) of direction or clarification
that is placed within a character's spoken dialogue. It is placed, indented from the dialogue, on a separate
line and enclosed in parenthesis. Parenthetical direction is only specific to the speaking character (not to
other characters in the scene) and should be extremely brief. It can indicate a parawr use, a direction of
conversation to a different character in the scene, a notation on a specific emotion or intent in the
following dialogue. Parentheticals are always in the middle of dialogue - dialogue never ends with a
parenthetical direction. Parenthetical direction is usually written in all lowercase letters IE: (beat). After the
dialogue ends, there are two line breaks (one blank space) between the next character name or action or
a new scene heading.
Some standard format notes:
The first time a character is introduced in action, their name is presented in ALL CAPITAL
LETTERS to point out their introduction. *Sound effects such as a phone RINGS or an alarm BEEPS
are placed in all capital letters to point them out.
Scene transitions such as DISSOLVE TO:, CUT TO:, FADE TO BLACK: are placed flush right, on
their own line. They are placed at the end of a scene with one blank space before a new scene
heading. Generally speaking, they should be used sparingly.
An HTML example of screenplay formatting (incorporating all of the above) can be found at: [1]
More notes on screenplay formatting can be found at: Academy notes on Screenwriting Format
[edit]Other
Formats
Television Sitcom
Stage Play
Radio Drama
movie
[edit]Process
[edit]Draft
Script
[edit]Locking the Script
As part of the pre-production process, the script is going to be accepted and locked. This provides the
basis for keeping everyone on the same page. A locked script means that the page numbers do not
change. Every copy of the script will have the same page 10 because it will never change. As new
material is added, sub pages ("a" pages) are added (10a, 10b, 10c and so forth). If significant deletions
are made as to eliminate all the material on a page, it remains in the script as a blank page merely with
the word "OMITTED" on it. In addition to page numbers, scene numbers are also locked and treated the
same. If a scene is cut from the script, its number remains and the slug reads "OMITTED"; added scenes
are sometimes identified with capital letters 101A, 101B, 101C and so forth. Sometimes additional scenes
are numbered as in 101-1, 101-2 or 101.1, 101.2. Numbering is somewhat preferred as the traditional
system for identifying coverage on slates while shooting a movie is to designate each new shot with a
letter. Scene 101 may be one page in the script, but the final scene may be made up of 15 different
camera angles. On the set, these will be designated on the slate and in continuity notes as 101a, 101b,
101c and so forth, so it can be confusing to see scene 101Aa, 101Ab. Each assistant director or unit
production manager has their own system for locking the script and each script supervisor has their own
system for designating shots on set. It's up to that team to coordinate how these numbers will be
implemented.
[edit]Rewrites
Throughout the production process the script may need to be modified or re-written. Scenes added,
moved, deleted, or changed.
The location supervisor reports that the restaurant location will not be available. The director confers with
the writers and decides that the scene can take place in a park instead.
This means the casting director doesn't need to cast a waiter for the scene, but a hot dog vendor and a
street entertainer will be required.
The scene has moved from indoors to outdoors, different lights/film may be required. The DoP will need to
know this.
The costume designer no longer needs to dress 40 extras in evening dinner attire.
It's very important for everyone to be on the same page; changes are usually printed on different color
pages. If everyone else is carrying light-blue scripts and you've got a pink script -- uh oh.
[edit]Templates
Scriptsmart MSWord templates from the BBC
Snoozeletter MSWord 2002 + 97 + 2007 templates
OpenOffice.org 2.x/3.x Screenwright(R) screenplay formatting template (FREE!)
OpenOffice.org 1.x screenplay template
ScriptTeX a free macro package for TeX users
Screenplay mode for Emacs
John August's CSS formatting for Webpage screenwriting
[edit]Screenwriting
Software
Final Draft Screenwriting software
Movie Magic Screenwriter
Movie Outline Scriptwriting Software
Montage Screenwriting Software
Writer's Cafe
Celtx screenwriting software (FREE!)
Wikimedia screenplay extension
Cinergy Script Editor (FREE!)
Plotbot Online Script Editor (FREE!)
Zhura - Features online collaboration. (FREE!)
Linux
Mac
Windows
[edit]Lessons
in Screenplay Formatting
Wikiversity has a free lesson in Script Formatting for a very short motion picture. The lesson uses
the free demo version of Final Draft (Macintosh or Windows version). This lesson can be completed
in less than two hours. And you can earn points!
Note: While many of the lessons of Wikiversity Film School are not complete, this one is ready for
you to begin immediately. And it is fun.
Movie Making Manual/Treatments

"I'm tempted to say, 'Writing treatments is like designing a film by hiring six million monkeys to tear out
pages of an encyclopedia, then you put the pages through a paper-shredder, randomly grab whatever
intact lines are left, sing them in Italian to a Spanish deaf-mute, and then make story decisions with the
guy via conference call.' But no... compared to writing treatments, that makes sense, too." - Terry Rossio
Contents
[hide]
1 Purpose
2 Overview
3 Style notes
4 Pace
5 Music Video Treatment
6 External links
[edit]Purpose
The term treatment is short for "treatment of bullshit" or "treatment of a concept". While standards for
screenplay formats and theories on screenplay structures are ten a penny, it's quite difficult to find any
agreed-upon approach to treatments. One person's treatment is another's "synopsis", while some people
write treatments that look like written-down pitches. What your "treatment" looks like depends on its
purpose.
In Scr(i)pt magazine (Mar/Apr 2005), John Hill offers "a sample synopsis/treatment" which reads like a
written-down pitch. It's about 1500 words (or 5 pages) and it does a great job of explaining the movie. But
Hill then says this:
"So, why write a synopsis or a treatment? YOU SHOULDN'T. [...] Why not? Because they are the worst of
both worlds for a writer with a new movie story to sell. They expose the idea but not in a form where a
deal could be made (unless you're an A-list screenwriter already)."
I guess the not-so-subtle implication here is that if you're "an A-list screenwriter", you can ditch your
subscription to Scr(i)pt. Hill's point is that people who are already well-established in the industry can get
hired on the basis of a treatment, but for people trying to break in a treatment isn't going to do the
business.
Well, it's an opinion. Producer/director/writer Cauri Jaye points out that producers just don't have the time
to read every script that comes their way, so a treatment can help them decide whether or not to invest
the time reading the full script. Arguably, if you can't sell your script via a treatment, then why should
anyone believe your script sells a story? And at the very least a treatment gives you a hell of a lot more
room to show what you've got besides a bare logline.
I asked Hollywood script consultant Craig Kellem what he thought of Hill's position, and Craig said that "it
depends on the situation - sometimes it's needed". To develop that idea: where it's needed is where
someone asks for one, and is very clear that they won't read a script as an alternative.
Where writing a treatment might do you actual creative harm is when you start your passion-project spec.
If you're writing a spec script, a good treatment may create a gloss that gets in the way of your creative
process. The glare of your sales vehicle can make you botch your craft. (Okay, so it happened to me, you
can tell.) Hill recommends that for your own script development purposes you create a simple step outline
rather than a treatment.
[edit]Overview
A treatment (or script outline) should adhere to the following:
take the reader through the story of the film. It must bring across the characters and events as
they will appear in the film.
it must not give more information than the audience of the film will have.
it should go through each sequence, but does not have to contain every scene.
it should come to about 10 pages for a 90 minute feature film (double spaced, 12 pt courier font)
You can separate it into acts and sequences (with titles) if it helps.
A treatment sells the film to both creative and financial minds, therefore it must:
grip the reader in the first line of the first page.
make the reader want to turn to the next page at the end of every page.
move the action forward and not linger on descriptions
[edit]Style
notes
Take all of the language into the present tense. i.e. not "We cut to the Police Sergeant Joe
Rawlins who is muttering under his breath" but rather "Police Sergeant Joe Rawlins mutters under his
breath"
Remove any camera instructions to maintain the suspension of disbelief, this also means get rid
of lines like "The final scenes include" and "We are now deep into the third act" for the same reason
Generally 1 paragraph = 1 scene and you can link them with CUT TO:
Use dialogue now and again to help develop the characters and reveal plot points. put dialogue in
novel format, i.e. quotes and paragraphs
Take out any unnecessary items: for each scene/paragraph ask "does this express conflict" and
"does this move the plot forward" if it does not either insert conflict or remove the scene from the
treatment (and probably the script)
As an addendum to this, keep the most dramatic scenes. This means skip the transitions and
skim over the back story. Try and let the background come out as the plot reveals it to the audience
Determine the point of view(s) of the story and try to tell it all from that point of view, i.e. do not
reveal anything that sHe does not see or will not know very soon.
Start on action, not decription. This goes for the treatment as a whole as well as each paragraph.
Do not use details about the funtional characters. In fact you can probably remove them
completely from the treatment as you should only reveal the broad strokes. Remember that we want
to tease the reader into asking for more detail, i.e. the full screenplay.
Remember make it dramatic, dramatic, dramatic. We want to hear Beethoven's 5th in the
background as we read, da da da daaaaaaa :-)
[edit]Pace
It should flow approximately like this (this comes from a textbook on treatment writing, it summarizes what
I have learned pretty well, so use what you can)
Pgs 1-2 act 1 - Introduce protagonist - Let us know (his/her) mission - Set up the mood - Give a hint of the
protagonist's conflict - Introduce the subplot, the plot-line that conflicts with the protagonist's misson Introduce antagonist - The huge event that changes (his/her) life around
Pgs 3-6 act 2, part 1 - Protagonist reacts to (his/her) new challenge, and the decisions made lead
(him/her) into action - Protagonist starts to develop along (his/her) character arc - Give the reader an
inkling of what's coming
Pgs 7-8 act 2, part 2 - Protagonist's reversals continue, until (S/he) begins to make headway - Around
page 8, new information that turns everything 180 degrees and forces (him/her) to face an even greater
obsticle than the reader imagined
Pgs 9-10 act 2, part 3 - The characters converge - A hint at the moral of the story. Maybe a place where
all seems lost, where protagonist feels maybe (S/he) should give up. Here the plot and subplot begin to
break up and we get to protagonist's darkest hour - Suddenly something happens and everything
changes. The universe gives (him/her) a break. (S/He) siezes the moment and goes for it. - By page 10
(S/he)'s standing at the crossroads of action. (His/Her) next move will be definitive, the climactic turning
point. Will (S/he) win or lose?
Pgs 11-15 act 3 - The crisis is the sequence of scenes in which the final outcome of the story is
completely determined by the protagonist's actions. At this point it's like a separate story with its own
beginning, middle and end, here we put in all the twists and turns. - The climax is the end of the crisis The resolution: the final moments (keep this short end quickly and with a dramatic punch)
These are just guide points to help you pace a treatment. It will guide you in where you need to reduce
the detail and scenes to make things shorter and where you need to add some meat. The screenplay will
follow a similar pacing (just with more pages per act of course)
[edit]Music
Video Treatment
A treatment consists of a written condensation of a proposed film or TV dramatic production. It covers the
basic ideas and issues of the production as well as the main characters, locations, and story angles.
In part, its purpose is to sell the proposal to financial backers and major stars. Treatments should be
attention-getting and interesting to read. They are written in the present tense, using active language and
often read like a short story.
Treatments cover the full story sequence. They typically contain some key scenes that help to entice the
reader and sell your idea.
Here is an example;
Leap Year Music Video
This music video is all about time and friendship, losing friends and those who never loose hope or stop
waiting for those that matter. We begin by focusing on a boy, pondering a picture on a window-sill
(digitally), the picture flies from his hand in a gust of wind, music begins. An montage of urban scenes
flash by, starting with a sun rising very fast, mixed with short flashes of character remembering his two
friends. There are three main shots that remain constant scenes. One, a candlelit room with a large
frozen clock taking up the entire background, where the boy occasionally sings along with mixture of
mystery, longing, and sadness. Next, a simple framed shot of the boy centered between his female and
male friend, both facing them, only the backs of their heads and shoulder blades are visible as the stand
halfway outside the spotlight . The boy now sits up in an old, grey tree, centered in a gated off abandoned
schoolyard. Numbers of a clock circle around him and certain things hang on the branches like a
Christmas tree. These very fantasy like, slow motion; whimsical, a little detached from reality shots of the
boy striving to find the true friends as he remembers but not clearly enough. The girl friend is a manikin
through most of the video, symbolizing how girls grow less honest of themselves around old friends in
awkward meetings, and at the climax of the song she becomes real as he finally finds the way to see her
the same again. Now the climax of the song and at an abandoned closed down establishment the two
stand together, Just beginning to speak, suddenly a car turns towards them, the headlights blinding bright.
From this point on, several flashes, like camera flashes, creating a sense of the clock getting faster and
slowing down to normal at the end of the video. Finally, we see a close up of the character's hands
reaching for on another, silloutted by a bright headlight. This image fades to The End written in
Christmas lights.
Summarizing
A music video treatment is the starting point of every project. It allows the production company to
communicate its ideas to the artists and it allows artists to make decisions regarding the direction of their
video. The treatment also helps production companies to write production budgets that are accurate and
that give artists a complete view of what to expect when embarking on the production of their music video.
[edit]External
links
Writing A Treatment and Treatment Example
Writing Music Video Treatments
Movie Making Manual/Synopsis
An Example

"To envisage The Art of Flirting,

imagine Buster Keaton playing Don
Juan directed by the Farelly
Brothers. It is very funny, yet at the
same time covers the full gamut of
flirting techniques. If you can't pick
up any useful flirting skills from this
film - you are probably too busy
getting laid to make time to see it.
Shot as a black and white silent
comedy, TAoF is an instructional
guide showing us how to flirt. TAoF
is contemporary but uses the silent
movie style to emphasise flirting as
primarily non-verbal and to
demonstrate flirting is a classic and
somewhat neglected art. TAoF is
also a homage to the silent comedies
of Buster Keaton."
A synopsis is the kind of brief summary you might read on the back of a video box, and generally doesnt
run for more than one page. Without going into any great detail, it describes the main character and what
they are up against, as well as the major turning points in the screenplay. A synopsis is a useful pitching
tool, but its also a very useful way for screenwriters themselves to articulate what the story is basically
about.
Category: Writing movies
Movie Making Manual/Logline

A logline is a very short, catchy summary of the story, usually not longer than one sentence. It serves as a
way to communicate with great efficiency what a story or script is about. Typically a logline is used to help
industy people quickly determine whether the story in question is one which a producer, director, or studio
wishes to make. The logline first came into being in the script vaults of the old studios. Loglines were
often written on the cover or even the spine of a screenplay, allowing a producer or director of a certain
genre to quickly scan hundreds of scripts and narrow their search to just scripts which were in the genre
they wished to produce. A good logline contains the following three parts:
Who the Main Character is (MC, also known as the Protagonist).
What the Main Conflict is (i.e. what the MC wants and who or what is stopping them).
What is at Risk, if the MC fails.
Writing a good logline is very difficult for most people because of a failure to understand the three basic
tenants of a good logline as outlined here.
Movie Making Manual/Pitching

A reader has identified this page or section as an undeveloped draft or outline.

You can help to develop the work, or you can ask for assistance in the project room.
Making a film is a group endeavour. You cannot do it alone and you will need to convince others to come
along for the ride. Sharing your idea for the film and the story of the film is called "pitching" and if you
want to be a filmmaker you need to get good at it.
[edit]Hook
Describe your film in a sentence. Few have done better than the Alien description of "Jaws in space." But
beware - "movie x in setting y" or "movie a meets movie b" descriptions (known as "High Concept") are
becoming cliched. Don't try and force your one-line description into one of these if it doesn't fit.
[edit]Use
Descriptive language
Be as precise as possible with your language. Which is better?

1. Amores Perros opens with a shot of a dog.
2. Amores Perros opens with a shot of a slavering pit bull terrier.
When pitching a film you need to use visual language. Make the audience of your pitch "see" the film you
are describing - sell the sizzle not the steak.
Movie Making Manual/Certification


Please beware - this page lists some rude terms

Silly as it may seem, the rating boards of various countries have lists of words and screen content that
determine the rating of a movie and whether one can broadcast it publicly. You may want to keep these in
mind when writing.
The ratings in the US, Asia, the Middle East and Europe vary, and are mainly based on sexual content.
Europe remains the most liberal, followed by - respectively - Asia, the United Kingdom (separate from the
rest of Europe), the United States, and the Middle East (which is extremely strict, with the exception of
Israel).
Here we have a list of some of the general rules of language and content that helps writers/producers
avoid the 17 years and up rating in English language films in the US (accepted by most other territories):
The standard regarding violence is that there cannot be any blood movement. This means no blood
dripping, exploding or in any way moving from a body if shot, stabbed or hurt in any way.
No nudity allowed including: no visible nipples or genitals, though nowadays the occasional shot of the
buttocks or the side of a breast may slip by unnoticed.
UNACCEPTABLE TERMS
dick head
shit, eat shit, shitting me, etc
Jesus, For Christ Sakes or any other insulting refrence to religions
Brass Balls or any other reference to testicles
fuck, motherfucker, etc
cunt
piss
cock
tits
ass-anything (though "ass" is deemed acceptable)
ACCEPTABLE TERMS
ass
son of a bitch (though not in excess)
hell
kiss my ass (when used sparingly)
oh my god (acceptable since "Friends")
Movie Making Manual/Writing Low Budget

< Movie Making Manual(Redirected from Movie Making Manual-Writing Low Budget)
So, you want to create a low budget film, therefore the script has to follow certain guidelines. Some of
Get all the background story, ground laying and introductions done in the first 20 pages.
Keep the story moving forward, no unnecessary tangent or parallel stories.
Keep the hero a hero: think cartoon.
Likewise keep the antagonist an antagonist.(The antagonist is usually the villain)
No overt, unnecessary amounts of blood. In fact, no moving blood at all, that means no blood
splattering on walls, or flying out of people's chests or flowing uncontrollably from someone's chest.
Once again, think cartoon. Moving blood raises the rating and the lower the rating, the more you sell.
No cursing. It raises the rating.
Bring the story to a close. Do not leave loose ends, or big things for people to ponder on, tie it up
with a bow.
100-110 pages maximum. If you write a lot of non-action descriptions in your script you can write
a few more pages. The end movie will come to about 90-100 minutes.
Now a few producer notes about the distributors notes:
If the character has to swear, then make her swear: you cannot replace the right word with any
other word. But keep in mind that any swearing you write, the producer will need an alternative that
will shoot at the same time, so distributors can have a "cute" version for tv.
Good writers hate plastic characters so even if they say keep the good guy good and the bad guy
bad, you should still write characters with depth. Make the characters real instead of plastic, unless
you are shooting plastic dolls and/or action figures.
Have free reign with special effects, producers can adapt them or replace them later.
Action does not mean a sacrifice of character.
And finally a few pointers to help us keep the budget down:
Keep locations to a minimum.
Keep the number of characters to a minimum.
Write for day time where possible.
Write in sequences that can shoot on digital (security video cameras etc).
Stay away from expensive specialised props and sets.
Keep driving scenes to a minimum.
That about covers it. Keep these notes at the back of your mind as you write. If you find yourself faced
with something that "feels right" but you think might make the script too expensive or breaks one of these
guides: write it. You can discuss it with the producer later. Remember everyone still wants the best script
possible.
[edit]Maximizing Resources
You don't want to spend all of your money on actors, and you don't want to spend it all on the quality of
your film. The key is finding a balance between these two. It might be wise to lean on the side of spending
money on things that will improve the quality of your content if your focus is a character-based story. On
the other hand, if your focus is mainly visual you might want to lean towards higher quality equipment.
[edit]To Script, Or Not To Script

Depending on the type of film you are making, you may not want to write at all. Sometimes the best
scenes result from raw footage that you shoot when there is no script. This can be especially true if you
are writing with a low budget. The aspect of your film that will distinguish it from higher budget films is
your ability to capture events that are not scripted.
In terms of scripting for scene changes, special effects, or other events, sometimes during editing you will
find that no matter how you scripted the event, you are limited by your raw footage in some way. This may
lead to changes in where you decide to place the event.
A few pointers to help keep the budget down:
Keep locations to a minimum

Choose locations as close to each other as possible
Keep the number of characters to a minimum
Write for day time when outside where possible
Write in sequences that can shoot on digital (security video cameras etc)
Stay away from expensive specialised props and sets.
Keep driving scenes to a minimum
[edit]Low Budget Action

We want to create a low budget action film, I believe that means we have to write a low budget action
script, therefore the script has to follow certain guidelines. Some of these come from the distribution
companies, and others come from personal experience. Remember that I mean them as guides and not
as rules:
Start with a hang-jaw, kick-in-the-ass, adrenalin-pumped, blow-it-up, speed-boosted, high-octane,

take-breath-away, holly-cow-how-did-they-think-of-that action sequence.
Get all the background story, ground laying and introductions done in the first 20 pages.
Keep the story moving forward, no unnecessary tangents or parallel stories
Keep the hero a hero.
Likewise, keep the bad guy a bad guy.
No overt, unnecessary amounts of blood. In fact, no moving blood at all, that means no blood
splattering on walls, or flying out of people's chest or flowing uncontrollably from someone's chest.
Once again, think cartoon. Moving blood raises the rating and the lower the rating, the more we sell.
No swearing. It raises the rating.
Bring the story to a close. Do not leave loose ends, or big things for people to ponder on, tie it up
with a bow.
100-110 pages maximum. If you write a lot of non-action descriptions in your script you can write
a few more pages. The end movie will come to about 90-100 minutes.
Now a few producer notes about the distributors notes:
If the character has to swear, then make her swear: you cannot replace the right word with any
other word. But keep in mind that any swearing you write, we will need an alternative that will shoot at
the same time, so producers can have a "cute" version for tv.
I hate plastic characters so even if they say keep the good guy good and the bad guy bad, you
should still write with depth. make the characters real instead of plastic.
Have free reign with special effects producers can adapt them or replace them later.
Action does not mean a sacrifice of character.
That about covers it. I do not want all this to scare you, but you need to have it at the back of your mind
as you write. If you find yourself faced with something that "feels right" but you think might make the script
too expensive or breaks one of these guides: write it. You can discuss it with the producer discuss later.
Remember everyone still wants the best script possible.
Movie Making Manual/Protecting Ideas

It is not possible to copyright an idea - you only get copyright in the expression of the idea eg the script,
the film or even the synopsis.
Screenwriters can sometimes be overly paranoid that someone else will steal their ideas. The U.S.
Copyright Office[1] offers one way to ensure your copyrights are protected for life, for a fee $45. Another
way is to register your script with a script registration service, like the Writer's Guild of America Registry.
Depending on your country of origin, there is also the poor man's copyright. This action of mailing your
material to yourself is not necessarily admissible in a United States court of law, as it is easily spoofed;
however, in many European countries it may or may not be admissible, but will most likely be accepted
with some form of "recorded delivery", as opposed to regular mail. In any case, if you fear your intellectual
property may be stolen, it is well worth the money to register it with local copyright officials.
Another suitable means of protecting your work is to use a notary service (available at most banks). You
can have the notary date and sign your documents to serve as a proof if your work is ever stolen.
See the section on Copyright for more information.
Movie Making Manual/Funding Plans

If you are raising any kind of a large budget, you are unlikely to get it all from one source. A funding plan
is a strategy for how to get the money. Here is one funding plan:
1. Total Budget: $25 million.
2. Convince Charlize Theron and Brad Pitt to be in your film.
3. Take to studio.
Admittedly, this is a longshot. More realistically, you will have thought about what money you can get from
where, and how to go about obtaining it. Your funding plan will have headers like "UK tax break financing
15% of budget" and "Advance from US DVD distributor". You will then outline in the plan exactly how
certain this money is as well as what you need to do to receive it.
A completed funding plan with half of the money confirmed is a powerful way to leverage additional
funding. There is no surer way of making investors feel comfortable than showing them that other
investors feel comfortable.
For some specific ideas on raising funds via film grants, private investors, hedge funds, and other film
financing sources visit the Film Funding Blog here: Film Funding
Movie Making Manual/Grants

One of the most difficult parts of making a movie is the acquisition of adequate funding for production.
One method to receive the requisite monies is to bring your script concept before an entity that grants
funding to third-party production houses.
Movie Making Manual/Tax Breaks


Ah, the glamour of films! It is such that many countries wish to encourage film production; both in local
production, and in the use of their country as a filming location. So many nations exist that wish to
encourage filming that an entire industry exists in making use of the various film tax breaks on offer. Many
European feature films are financed using pieces of tax breaks from various territories, along with a dollop
of equity funding.
Tax breaks tend to change with new administrations and finance ministers. Your best bet in getting up-todate information regarding tax breaks is to directly contact the finance department (or visit the website) of
the country in question and investigate how the tax break works. Then - and only then - should you
consult a tax-specialist for the country in question, as that way you will know what is actually available.
I
The New Horizons of UK Film Finance, a Life Jacket for the UK Film Industry? - A discussion of what
2006's budget means for UK filmmakers
Movie Making Manual/"Elements"

[edit]What
is an "Element"
Remember that seventies band Earth, Wind & Fire? Actually, in film parlance, an element is not one of the
four classical elements - nor one of the 101 modern elements. It is, instead, a well-known cast or crew
member. Jude Law is an element, as is Yuen Woo-ping, the famed fight director.
If you have an element, studios and independent investors are inclined to give you money. You will get
more money if you have signed Jude Law than if you have signed Yuen Woo-Ping, but both are enough
to make your project a "go".
[edit]How
to get an Element
The Harvey Keitel Part

This phrase was coined by Affleck and
Damon and the method was explained
First, you need to decide who would be great for your part. A small
by Peter Biskind in his great book
part for a crotchety grandfather who used to be a cop? Try Clint
'Down and Dirty Pictures' and
Eastwood. Once you have decided who you want, you need to
expanded upon during the launch of
attempt to contact them. Direct contact is always best; if you know
this book in the UK. Here's Peter:
anyone who knows them, or if you can arrange to bump into them,
"You really have to have a good script
take these options. If direct contact is not possible, make contact
and a fairly bankable star attached,
with their agent or manager. Here are some resources for finding
just like Jack Nicholson in 'About
managers or agents.
Schmidt'. That's a little bit of an
Who Represents
exaggeration. The paradigmatic story,
IMDB Pro
I think, is the way Matt Damon and
Categories: Movie Making Manual | Directing | Actors
Ben Affleck went about getting

financing for 'Good Will Hunting' they
knew the story of Quentin Tarantino
attracting Harvey Keitel for 'Reservoir
Dogs' and Harvey Keitel being the key
factor getting Live Entertainment to
finance the film for $1 million. So
they wrote what became the Robin
Williams part and they used it in
'Good Will Hunting' and used to refer
it as the "Harvey Keitel part".
That's what they did. They wrote a
very self-contained part that a major
actor could do in a week so it wouldn't
interfere with his or her schedule, and
they gave - I think Robin Williams got
30% of the gross for doing that tiny
part. They got their deal based on the
script and when Miramax got hold of
it, they started to do what they often
do which is the film went nowhere.
But when Robin Williams committed
to that role, it got made in a minute."
Movie Making Manual/Copyright
So the key to attracting a big star for a

small film is to write a self contained
part which you can shoot in one
location in under a week. This they
can easily fit into their schedule and so
it becomes attractive to them.


[edit]COPYRIGHT
Probably an area of major oversight, especially by short filmmakers.
The law regarding copyright is fairly simple: If you've created it then you own it. However, what you
create must not contain content that has been created by someone else who retains copyright. However,
this must be in the context of originality.
[edit]Basic
Example
If you go outside and film a bird flying in the sky, that piece of footage belongs to you, and nobody else
can use it without your permission. If you add a soundtrack created by someone else then you must
obtain permission from the soundtrack artist before using it, and, in most cases, you will have to pay them
a small royalty fee.
You can film anywhere within the public domain without obtaining copyright permissions; however, if there
is music being played and it is picked up in your recording then you must obtain permission to use that
music. Permission must be sought when filming on Private Land, National Trust areas, land owned by the
Ministry of Defense and similar type areas.
[edit]A
Common Mistake
Many people believe that if you are not making a profit from your video then you don't have to seek
copyright permission. This is not true. You can be prosecuted regardless and whether or not you are
making a profit. Profit only determines how much you are fined.
There are various different types of copyright such as Performing Artists Copyright which is when you are
recording a live band and Master Recording Copyright which is when you want to dub in a particular piece
of material (such as a CD) which source must not be altered or re-performed.
Pre-production
Movie Making Manual/Overview

People often think of filmmaking as the everything that happens from production onward, but getting
ready for that first day of filming is incredibly important and a lot of work. This phase of prepping for the
shoot is pre-production which usually referred to by the shorthand prep.
Pre-production is the first, very practical step in the filmmaking process. Whereas development is
somewhat amorphous with every film or TV show having a different story of its development process, preproduction is straight-forward in approach if not execution. This is not to say it is easy, nor that different
projects deal with different problems, but the basic work that needs to be done can be clearly broken
down with allowances for each project's unique characteristics.
The steps in pre-production have a rough order of execution, though they may shift a bit and certainly
overlap. As in production and post, there are departments, each dealing primarily with one aspect of prep.
Below will be a breakdown of the steps in pre-production by department in their rough order of start (very
little is 'finished' in pre-production and nearly every aspect continues on at least into the beginning of
production).
Movie Making Manual/Budgeting and Scheduling

The first step of pre-production is creating a budget and schedule for the production and post-production.
While the budget and schedule will change constantly throughout prep, into production, even up to
delivery, you have to start somewhere. The initial budget and schedule will be source of much discussion
and compromise, but it gives all the department a common ground from which to plan. It also informs the
studios or other interested parties (bond company, investors, etc.) what is the plan.
[edit]Budget
A production budget covers not just the production portion (when film is exposed, videotape recorded, or
other storage media used). It must cover pre-production and post-production as well. Often, at least some
of the costs of development and/or distribution and marketing are also in there.
[edit]Schedule
Whereas the budget will cover from pre-production through post, the schedule will only cover the period of
production, images are put to film, video, or other media. There will be another schedule drawn up to
cover post-production, but that is often done later and is considered part of the post-production process.
Pre-production
Movie Making Manual/Film stock

Since the rise of digital cameras film is not always needed.

Contents
[hide]
1 Types of Film stock

o
1.1 8mm
1.2 16mm
1.3 Super 16mm
1.4 35mm
1.5 65/70mm
1.6 Buying Film stock
1.6.1 Kodak
1.6.2 Fuji
1.7 Storing Filmstock
[edit]
Types of Film stock
[edit]8mm
Amateur film gauge introduced by Eastman Kodak. In the camera, it was the same size with standard
16mm film but with double perforations. At the picture area of a typical 16mm film, four frames of 8mm
were recorded, two in the first run and two when turning the film cassette to the other side to expose the
other half width, much like audio cassettes are used. When processed, it was slit lengthwise to produce a
double length (usually 50ft) Regular 8mm film for projection. A better variant, Super 8mm was introduced
by Eastman Kodak in 1965. This had smaller perforations which allowed for 50% increase of the image
size and hence more detail could be recorded. The larger frame also allowed for larger projection sizes
than were possible with standard 8mm (called Regular 8mm) film. See also respective sections in
Wikipedia and Kodak's web site.
[edit]16mm
[edit]Super
16mm
Super 16mm film is physically 16mm wide, however, when compared to standard 16mm film one will
notice that 16mm has perforations on both edges of the film, whereas super 16mm only has perforations
on one side. This allows for a wider frame on the film and provides greater resolution to that achievable
with standard 16mm film stock.
[edit]35mm
35mm Film Stock is regarded as the industry standard when it comes to professional productions. There
are a few different types of 35mm film, including:
Two perf
Three perf
Four perf
Super 35mm
[edit]65/70mm
This type of film stock is the largest format made, it is generally used for IMAX productions. It is the
highest quality film available.
[edit]Buying
Film stock
[edit]Kodak
You can purchase Filmstock directly from Kodak by calling them. Information is at http://www.kodak.com
[edit]Fuji
Consider using cheaper Short end and Re-can stocks.
[edit]Storing
Filmstock
Shameless Plug for Kodak... http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tib/tib5202.shtml
ovie Making Manual/Storyboarding

Storyboards are drawings of the sequence of shots for a script. It helps to pre-visualize how the director
wants the screenplay to be shot. As an image says more than a thousand words it is very useful as a
basis to communicate the director's ideas to the crew and the producers. Some directors will storyboard
every scene and camera angle to save time and money when they are on set. Others however feel that
this can inhibit their creativity and will have very few graphic representations done before shooting
commences.
Contents
[hide]
1 Getting Started
2 Animatic
3 Software
4 Lessons in Storyboarding
[edit]Getting
Started
To get an idea of how you can storyboard your movie, grab a comic book off the shelf at a bookstore.
Many large productions will have storyboards that are somewhere between stick-man quality and full
comic book illustrations. If you can draw fairly well yourself, it may seem tedious, but you will gain a lot
from trying to draw out a few of the most complex sequences. Every time you storyboard you will take that
moment to see the shot through the camera. It's a heck of a lot less expensive than having a cast and
crew waiting for you to "discover your vision" right there on the spot.
For the definitions of some of the concepts please refer to cinematography. Storyboarding is mainly there
to get a first idea of what the film will look like. It gives indications of the size of the shot, the camera angle
and the sequence of the shots. It is rarely followed exactly but it is a helpful guideline during the shooting
of a film. It's very common while a crew is tearing down all the lighting rigs and moving to the next shot,
the Director and DP will be looking at the storyboard trying decide what is best before everything needs to
be placed. Since they have those plans, they are more capable of improvising.
The main areas where storyboarding is regarded as essential are in the planning of elaborate stunts,
special effects sequences and designing make-up and costumes.
[edit]Animatic
An animatic is a movie which has been edited from the storyboards. Animatics are useful for determining
the timing of a shot, particularly an expensive shot such as an effects shot.
[edit]Software
1. Thumbnails are storyboards no bigger than a thumbnail. There is little detail in thumbnail storyboards.
Each person's head is represented by a circle. Thumbnails are done with pencil and paper.
2. There are 2D storyboard programs such as StoryBoard Quick and StoryBoard Artist. They are fast
ways to make high quality storyboards.
3. There are 3D storyboarding programs such as FrameForge 3D Studio, Antics and SketchUp Pro.
Designed for creating storyboards, these programs can be faster than the other kinds of 3D animation
software. Free limited demo versions of FrameForge 3D Studio and SketchUp are available.
4. There are many kinds of 3D animation programs which work for creating accurate shots such as
Blender 3d, Maya, 3D Studio Max, and Lightwave 3D. There is a free version of Maya for non-commercial
use called Personal Learning Edition.
5. There are specialized 3D animation programs such as Poser and DAZ Studio which use 3D figures
called digital puppets or Poser models. Use predefined figures is much faster than creating your own
figures. Digital puppets that work with Poser and DAZ studio are inexpensive ($12 to $100). The
advantage of creating storyboards with these programs is you can use the same lens that the camera will
use. That can be valuable for effects shots.
[edit]Lessons
in Storyboarding
A screen shot of FrameForge 3D Studio for a project at Wikiverity Film School.
Wikiversity offers a free lesson in creating storyboarding for a short motion picture. There are also
new lessons for 3D storyboarding.
Categories: Movie Making Manual | Writing movies | Directing | Pre-production | Scheduling
Movie Making Manual/Casting Directors

To help you to get some actors for your movie, you're going to need some Casting Directors. Casting
Directors are the people who help pick out people to act in your movie. The Casting Directors hold
auditions to get actors to act out a snippet of the script and the person who does it best gets picked for
the movie.
[edit]Where
do I get actors?
One of the best places to announce auditions, is of course institutions like drama/theater schools. Also
use online community forums like IMDB Pro.
Drama students can often be convinced to do a movie very cheap or for free -- especially if it's their first
and it's a low budget film.
Movie Making Manual/Location Scouting

Theres no great mystery to scouting good locations for a film. Theres no template that tells you exactly how to do it,
either. Many of the requirements for a location will be in the script. Finding them is down to marshalling your
resources. If you know the area where you are looking, you are well on your way, If you dont, a good starting point is
people who do know it well.
Start with the local film commission. It is their job to attract films to their area and not just big budget films. You may
be shooting on a shoestring today, but what about next time? Film commissions are keen to generate future film
spend, so they will always be willing to help you stretch todays pennies so you will be keen to come back. Their
collective body is the Association of Film Commissioners International, found at http://www.afci.org/ Their website is a
mine of location information and their on-line magazine Locations is packed with features on places where film has
been shot all over the world.
When we were locating Kings Ransom in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northern Film Commission were delighted to assist.
From notifying them of what we had in mind to the day we wrapped at the last location, they did everything we asked
of them and more. They emailed photographs of possible locations from their photo archive before our first recce and
then spent recce days with us getting firmer and firmer ideas of what we were looking for. You will find them at
www.nsc.org.uk
Their suggestions were always pertinent and they would follow up with calls to local estate agents to establish
baseline property rental costs for us before we negotiated with location owners. Until we got a local production office
established NFC acted as local referral point for everyone contacting us. Nearer the shoot they also helped us find
local crew.
Other people who can come up with useful location suggestions include tourist offices, jobbing builders, delivery
people and local council officials. When we needed to find a tidal watersplash scene for a pursuit sequence involving
4X4s, we asked the local Landrover club. They not only knew the places where you could drive Landrovers safely
through the tide, but they knew which rivers you could drive up with a Landrover as well! Useful people to know. Their
members also have 4X4s for rent as picture and action vehicles.
Draw up a standard location form on which all essential information can be recorded. It is a good idea to attach a
sketch plan showing the location layout, access points, fire hydrants, water main, parking areas and so on. Also
space for all the phone numbers of contacts people for that location. You will also need to make a risk assessment for
the location, of which more later.
Having homed in on some likely prospects you have to consider aesthetics.
The location has to be able to meet the needs of the scene. Will it shoot just as it is, or will it have to be dressed for
the part? In Kings Ransom, Mr Brights antique shop was in a former cinema and the entrance we needed to use
looked like the emergency exit from a cinema rather than the entrance to an antique shop. The broad pavement
outside dressed nicely with large antique pieces like a huge wooden mangle. A fresh painted trading title and a couple
of pavement advertising boards turned the place into Brights antique warehouse and the location exterior looked fine.
[edit]Location
checklist
Sound
Will the location be quiet during your shoot dates?
Check with the local authority to ensure no building work will be running whilst you're filming.
What are the acoustics like?
If unsure, ask the sound recordist to check out the location.

Available light
Daylight?
Can you clean the windows?
In which direction do the windows face?
During which hours of the day do you get direct sunlight through the windows?
Can you swap out the flourescent tubes for colour-corrected tubes?
Power.
can you tie into the local mains powersupply?
is it OK for you to use a generator?
check out the legal requirements for storing fuel.
Will people mind the noise of a generator?
where can you get fuel from?
Will the generator run on red diesel?
Parking
How much will it cost?
Where can you park the vehicles so they wont be in shot?
Check where you can and can not put gaffer tape.
And, most importantly, does the location suit the script?!?
Movie Making Manual/Call Sheet

Call sheets give the broad and essential details of a day's shooting. Typically, you would send a call sheet out to
every member of the cast and crew as early as possible. During production, this usually means the night before!
[edit]What
a Call Sheet contains
Project title
Date
Day out of days (e.g. "day 3 of a 5 day shoot")
Location(s) for the day
Parking details
Contact details for (at least) the principle members of the crew (e.g. Producer, Production Manager, 1st AD,
Location Manager)
Recommended clothing (e.g. "wear black" or "wear full waterproofing")
Scenes to be shot for the day
Broad schedule (the call sheet doesn't usually include the shot-by-shot schedule)
Call times
Makeup and wardrobe times
Scenes
Travel
Breaks
Estimated wrap time
Weather forecast
Details of the local hospital
Details of the local police
Equipment details
Hire company details
[edit]Downloadable
templates
http://www.sonnyboo.com/downloads/downloads.htm
Movie Making Manual/Scene Breakdown

A Scene Breakdown Page may be useful information if your play is structured in a series of formal Scenes in
changing locations and time periods. It's also a good way to make a complicated Time Structure clear to a reader. But
if you have fewer than 6 Scenes, it works as well to list them under each Act on the Setting & Time Page. And it's a
clear way to indicate what kind of demands you're really putting on the Scene and Lighting Designers. If what you're
doing with design is out of the ordinary, it's also a good idea to add a brief statement about this to your description on
the Setting & Time page.
Here's one way of doing it . .
SCENES
ACT I
Scene 1 A Lecture Hall Now
Scene 2 The Forest 1635
Scene 3 Nate's Place Now
Scene 4 The Town Square 1635
Scene 5 The Forest 1635
Scene 6 Hester's House Now
Scene 7 Nate's Yard Now
Scene 8 A Field 1635
ACT II
Scene 1 Nate's Office Now
Scene 3 The Town Square 1635
Scene 4 The Forrest 1635

Scene 5 A State Park Now
Movie Making Manual/Release Form

(call me professor jim)

RELEASE FORM
I, hereby confirm the consent therefore given you with respect to your photographing me in connection with the DVD,
and I hereby grant to you, your successors, assigns and licensees the perpetual right to use, in any manner or in any
media currently existing or which may be developed in the future, as they may desire, all video, still and motion
pictures and sound track recordings and records which you may make of me or of my voice, and the right to use my
name or likeness in or in connection with the exhibition, advertising, or any other use of such motion picture or
recording.
I understand that I might not be provided with a copy of the film on DVD for my personal use only. I will not seek
compensation from the creators/producers for my involvement in this project. I will not sell said copy or use it for any
commercial purposes such as broadcasting, streaming online or Home Video-DVD releases.
I also understand that it takes a significant amount of time to complete a film and in some cases projects are
abandoned and not completed at all. If the filmmaker has promised a tape of the film I agree to allow a reasonable
amount of time to elapse after the performance for completion. I agree that should the DVD not be completed I will
take no action against creators/producers.
signature : _______________________________
name (print) : _____________________________
phone number : ___________________________ e-mail:________________________
date : _____________
release form revised 11/05/09
Movie Making Manual/Crew Contract

" Berrian/Switzer Productions"

CREW RELEASE FORM
I, __________________________ do hereby confirm the consent heretofore given you with respect to your
photographing me in connection with your motion picture/video: Title: "Fame Deadline" Production Number: 1 and I
hereby grant to you, your successors, assigns and licensees the perpetual right to use, in any manner or in any
media currently existing or which may be developed in the future, as "Berrian/Switzer Productions " may desire, all
video, still and motion pictures and sound track recordings and records which you may make of me or of my voice,
and the right to use my name or likeness in or in connection with the exhibition, advertising, exploitation or any other
use of such motion picture or recording. I understand that "Berrian/Switzer Productions " will provide to me a copy of
the film on DVD or other media for my personal use only. I will not sell said copy or use it for any commercial
purposes such as broadcasting, streaming online or Home Video- DVD releases. I shall receive a limited license to
use the copy for personal promotional purposes, which shall be limited to using a maximum of 30 seconds of the film
on my personal website. I also understand that it takes a significant amount of time to complete a film and in some
cases student films are abandoned and not completed at all. If the filmmaker has promised a tape of the film, I agree
to allow a reasonable amount of time to elapse after the performance for completion (i.e. one year). I agree that
should the film/tape not be completed I will take no action against "Berrian/Switzer Productions " or its Owners.
I am over eighteen years of age. (initial here) _____
I am under eighteen years of age. (initial here) _____ Parent/Guardian signature required.
signature : _______________________________ (Parent/Guardian if under eighteen years of age) name (print) :

_______________________________ home address : _______________________________ phone number :
_______________________________ character name: _______________________________
date: _______________________________
release form revised 2/8/09
Movie Making Manual/Cast Contract

[edit]Non-Union
Contract
"Wake-Up" Entertainment Company
RELEASE FORM
I, __________________________ do hereby confirm the consent heretofore given you with respect to your
photographing me in connection with your motion picture/video: Title: Foolishness Production Number:0002 and I
hereby grant to you, your successors, assigns and licensees the perpetual right to use, in any manner or in any
media currently existing or which may be developed in the future, as "Wake-up" Entertainment may desire, all video,
still and motion pictures and sound track recordings and records which you may make of me or of my voice, and the
right to use my name or likeness in or in connection with the exhibition, advertising, exploitation or any other use of
such motion picture or recording. I understand that "Wake-Up" Entertainment will provide to me a copy of the film on
DVD or other media for my personal use only. I will not sell said copy or use it for any commercial purposes such as
broadcasting, streaming online or Home Video- DVD releases. I shall receive a limited license to use the copy for
personal promotional purposes, which shall be limited to using a maximum of 30 seconds of the film on my personal
website. I also understand that it takes a significant amount of time to complete a film and in some cases student
films are abandoned and not completed at all. If the filmmaker has promised a tape of the film I agree to allow a
reasonable amount of time to elapse after the performance for completion (i.e. six months). I agree that should the
film/tape not be completed I will take no action against "Wake-Up" Entertainment or its President.
I am over eighteen years of age. (initial here) _____
I am under eighteen years of age. (initial here) _____ Parent/Guardian signature required.
Signature : _______________________________ (Parent/Guardian if under eighteen years of age) Name (print) :

_______________________________ Home address : _______________________________ Phone number :
_______________________________ Character name: _______________________________
Date: _______________________________
release form revised 11/04

[edit]Union
Contract
The contract above is for non-union actors. For actors who belong to a union (in the USA and Canada, the Screen
Actors Guild), you must talk to a SAG representative (lawyer). For low budget movies, there are special agreements.
But understand that when you sign most of the SAG agreements (which appear very simple), you also agree to the
SAG Basic Agreement which is not simple and is not available to the public. There are restrictions which are not
obvious. Signer beware!!!
Production
Movie Making Manual/Production Overview

You have your script, hired your cast and crew so now you are ready to begin the marathon called Motion
Picture Production.
Contents
[hide]
1 Who Are These People?

2 The Daily Grind
2.1 Filming Procedure
3 Visiting the Movie Set

o
3.1 Hollywood Studio Tours
3.2 Japan
3.3 India
3.4 England
4 Visiting the Movie Set by Watching Film Dailies
4.1 Watching the Movie Set - Film Dailies on eBay
4.2 Watching the Movie Set - Digitized Film Dailies

5 The Different Tasks of Production
6 Animated Motion Pictures
[edit]
Who Are These People?
First there is the movie's producer. The producer hires the line producer to be in charge of the crew but the
producer is still going to be hanging around the movie set each day.
The line producer must hire all the people on the crew. And the line producer must also worry about keeping the crew
happy!
The producer hired the movie's director. Over the years, the role of director has changed. And depending on how the
deal was set up, the director can have other titles and duties as well. In the simplest case, the director simply controls
the performance of the actors and focuses the actors. The director must be good at directing actors. The director will
do the blocking for the scene. Each director has his own shooting style.
The cinematographer is in charge of everything related to creating and capturing the image on film (or digital video,
etc.). Therefore, the cinematographer must worry about lighting, the camera, the lenses, film stock, cameras and
formats, power sources, the film, filteration etc. and everything which effects the look of the movie. The
cinematographer is in charge of the camera crew and renting a camera, no matter if it is film, HD and DV. If your
movie is low budget, guess who worries about Shooting on Film on a low budget? One way to save money is short
ends. The cinematographer is responsible for monitoring and measuring exposure. The cinematographer must do all
the in-camera special effects such as filming or faking rain or shooting underwater. For more information on learning
to be a cinematographer, here is a list of books. Other things to consider are HDV vs. DVCproHD.
To do the sound recording, the sound mixer records the dialog while the boom operator holds the microphone over
the actors but out of sight of the camera (hopefully). The slate person operates the clapper board and quietly through
this entire process, a still photographer takes the stills.
[edit]
The Daily Grind
Each day, according to the call sheet that was distributed the night before, the actors arrive very early in the morning
for makeup and costumes. Last night, the actors have memorized their lines for today based on the scene list in the
call sheet.
In the meantime, the director, producer and studio executives are looking at the film dailies from yesterday to see
what went right and what went wrong.
At the same time, the light people are finishing the rough setup of the lighting. And the construction crew is finishing
any last minute changes to the movie set.
Finally, everyone gets together and begins blocking the scene and final rehearsals (if any.)
If lighting adjustments are needed based on the blocking, the actors go to their trailers while their stand-ins stay to
help with the lighting.
Finally the filming of the scene begins. Long before now, the director has broken down the scene into a series of
shots. For each shot, the cinematographer positions the camera and the boom operator positions the microphone.
[edit]Filming
Procedure
When everyone is ready, the Cinematographer yells, "Set" to mean that the everything on the set is ready.
The tape recorder for the boom microphone is turned on when the director yells, "Roll Sound".
When the audio tape recorder has reached the proper speed, the sound mixer yells, "speed" or the more classic
"rolling".
Then the director yells, "Roll Camera". The camera is started. The camera is turned on after the audio tape recorder
because the film is more expensive than the audio tape.
When the Camera is rolling, the camera operator will yell, "Speed" or "speeding" or sometimes the more old
fashioned "rolling."
Then the 1st AD will yell, "Slate" and the slate operator will announce which scene this is (having first gotten that
information from the script supervisor). This same information is written on the slate of the clapper board. The reason
for announcing the scene number is for the lab technician who will listen to the audio tape to find the start of the
correct scene when the lab operator syncs the audio to the picture that night.
Then the slate operator will close the clapper sticks with a loud clapping sound so that the camera sees the closing of
the clapper sticks and the audio tape records the noise of the sticks hitting together.
Then the 1st AD will inform the actors that they can begin the scene with "action".
When the director feels like it, the director will yell, "Cut". If the movie is being shot on 35mm film which is very
expensive, and the director likes the actor's performance and the cameras performance, the 1st AD will also yell,
"Print" which means that this is a good take and everyone including the script supervisor, the sound person and the
camera assistant will circle this take number on their logs or notes.
If the director feels like it, he will ask everyone do to this again. If the director is satisfied, then director will yell, "Next"
and everyone will set up for the next shot. If the same scene will be filmed from a different angle, the script supervisor
will create a number Take Number usually by adding an alphabetic letter to the take number. Take 32A is will be
roughly the same as Take 32 but from a different camera angle.
If there are multiple takes,
If the slate is not at the beginning of the shot, it will be at the end of the shot but upside down.
If the movie has a really low budget and the audio or the camera are not running accurately, there might be two
slates, one at the beginning and one at the end so the audio can be stretched to fit the video. (This is very rare but
realize it is possible.)
[edit]
Visiting the Movie Set
The best way to see all of this is to visit the movie set. If you don't have the time to become a Production Assistant,
take the tours of movie studios. Some tours can be very interesting.
[edit]Hollywood
Studio Tours
While the Universal Studio Tour is more entertainment than actual examples of filming, you can pick up tickets to
filming as you leave Universal Studio Tour area. Most are for Sitcoms which are filmed totally different from a motion
picture. Yet they are very educational and entertaining to watch.
At one time, the best tour in Hollywood (and the most expensive) was at Warner Bros. Their website is does not work
well but you can try it at Warner Bros. If you have been on this tour recently, please tell us.
NBC Studio has a ticket office which gives out free ticket. However, these are mostly for sitcoms. If anyone has been
to the filmings in LA, please give us a list of where you go to get tickets and what is available currently.
[edit]Japan
Don't overlook the studio tours in other lands. Eiga Mura, the Toei Studio Movie theme park in the northwest part of
Kyoto is great fun. Years ago, you could actually see post production if you waited and watched very carefully in one
of the distant buildings. If anyone has gone visited this movie village recently, please describe what you saw. Here is
an article on this movie village in 2005. Many of the movie are filmed in plain sight of the crowds of tourists. Great fun!
[edit]India
Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad does have a tour facility. The main hub of Indian Cinema is Bombay - A unguided tour
of Film City, off the Western Express Highway in Goregaon (E), Mumbai is a good place to start off with. Spread over
acres and acres of lush green forests on mountains there are sets of various film and Tv productions at any point in
time with shoots going on. One of India's largest film processing labs, Adlabs is located here along with sets of Balaji
(India's tele soap factory) and many others. One can also move from here to Mehboob Studios, bandra where there
are often lavish sets of various film songs are set up. Then on its a process of ask the locals and try your luck.
[edit]England
I believe that |Pinewood Studios has a studio tour. Anyone been there? Please tell us more.
[edit]
Visiting the Movie Set by Watching Film Dailies
You can also get an understanding of the way that movies are filmed if you watch film dailies. You see everything that
the camera sees for all of the circle takes.
[edit]Watching
the Movie Set - Film Dailies on eBay
Sometimes these tapes (given as souvineers to the cast and crew) become available on eBay. If you also plan to edit
the scenes for practice, be sure to get only originals, not copies.
[edit]Watching
the Movie Set - Digitized Film Dailies
If you have no other way to watch what happens on the movie set of television dramas, look at Disk #2 from the Star
Movie Shop which shows how 24 different scenes were filmed from a variety of television dramas. It is amazing to
watch how perfectly the actors repeat their lines. After only one night of memorization and one mornings rehearsal,
they hit their mark perfectly. Note: If you shoot your own movie, the dailies will never look as good as dailies from a
television drama which is filmed fast and efficiently after years of practice for both the cast and crew. Your first day of
filming on a low budget movie with a new crew and inexperience actors will look more like a disaster movie than a
motion picture set.
[edit]
The Different Tasks of Production
This section will be expanded shortly. It will include such wonderful jobs as "Craft Services". Guess what that is!!!
[edit]
Animated Motion Pictures
If you are making is an animated movie, the production is done differentlly. Animation for an animated motion picture
is done during production (not post-production) and is very different from the animation which is done for visual
effects in post production.
Movie Making Manual/Cinematography/Filteration

This Module is part of the Cinematography section of the Movie Making Manual
Contents
[hide]
1 Polarisers
o
1.1 Linear vs Circular
1.2 Shooting angles

2 Links
[edit]
Polarisers
Light moves through the air in waves. These waves actually have an orientation in space. They can move
horizontally, or vertically or any angle in between. This angle is known as polarization.
For the most part polarization does not matter to a photographer, any polarization will expose the recording medium
the same way, but when a polarizing filter is employed it allows one to select which polarization of light is allowed to
enter the camera. The practical upshot of this is that a polarizer can:
Enhance saturation.
Remove reflections and glare.
"See through" humid air.
[edit]Linear
vs Circular
Circular and linear polarizers for imaging applications are virtually the same in how they function in polarization
effectiveness and image quality. After all, the circular polarizer is at its heart a linear polarizer to which has been
added a clear retarder layer that makes it into a circular polarizer. The retarder does not degrade the image in any
noticeable way.
General imaging rule of thumb...a linear polarizer has many applications but may not work best in all...a circular
polarizer can be used in any application. When in doubt, go circular.
If your viewfinder has a partially silvered mirror or prism in it, it may be susceptible to being hard to see through with a
linear pol. Check your manual for this equipment, as it may be an issue.
[edit]Shooting
angles
The key issue you face is in panning with a polarizer in general, realizing that it doesn't matter whether it's circular or
linear. The degree of polarization effect changes as you change your angular direction relative to the sun in the sky.
So if you are panning to follow a plane as the angle changes the sky will go from lighter to darker and back again.
This may (or may not) be visually objectionable. The way to minimize this is to try to set up your shots, as much as
possible, so that the camera's viewing angle stays perpendicular to the line-of-sight of the sun in the sky. This will
maximize the sky-darkening effect. If you find that your pan causes too much change in the sky, then turn the
polarizer so that it isn't at maximum effectiveness so that the image will be improved but not be so dramatically
different from where it isn't affected at all.
Note that either type of polarizer has no effect when aimed directly toward or away from the sun. And that you need a
blue sky to start with...and that you want to be sure that the change in sky darkness is not causing your camera to
change exposure as you pan...you will want to use the recommended filter factor for exposure compensation with a
fixed iris if that is otherwise acceptable for your situation. Typical pols use a 1-2/3 stop increase.
[edit]
Links
WikiPedia article on electrostatic Polarisation
Movie Making Manual/Blocking

Blocking is the act of walking the actors through the scene before it is shot in order to make sure the lighting is
sufficient and the camera is able to get the desired focus required. That's close: Blocking is for all departments to be
sure that they are prepared for the scene to be shot. Taking the extra 3-5 minutes to block a scene can save you
time, money and patience later. It's not uncommon for blocking to last days for a big scene, such as the scene in
Jarhead where the soldiers all met in a tent "in country". Sam Mendes blocked that scene for 4 days before they shot
it. Still closer: Blocking a scene for film also must afford the camera the most aesthetically interesting compositions
that flow before the lens. It is not only the movement of actors and props to achieve optimum efficiency on the set.
Blocking is simply working out the details of an actors moves in relation to the camera.
Movie Making Manual/Lighting

Contents
[hide]
Lighting Conventions
1.1
Electricity
1.2
Terminology
Lighting equipment
2.1
Bulb Types
2.1.1
Tungsten
2.1.1.1
Redheads
2.1.1.2
Blondes
2.1.2
Halogen-Quartz
2.1.3
HMI
2.1.4
Fluorescent
2.1.5
LED
2.2
Light Control, Quality, and Appearance

2.2.1
Lighting Shape/Area
2.2.1.1
Barn Doors
2.2.1.2
Gobos
2.2.1.3
Flags & Cutters
2.2.1.4
Blackwrap
2.2.2
Lighting Intensity
2.2.2.1
Focus
2.2.2.2
Neutral Density Filters
2.2.3
Lighting Quality
2.2.3.1
Gels
2.2.3.1.1
General Lighting
Lighting Digital Video
Lighting HD
Lighting Film
Attaching
6.1
Within the Movie Making Manual
6.2
Lighting Equipment Manufacturers
[edit]
Lighting Conventions
Broadcast, Video, and Film Productions share common lighting conventions. Due to the fact that most lighting tools
were originally developed for film, with a few tools introduced for video, the equipment carries ratings and
specifications are standardized for film. All the lighting tools found in a decently equipped video production studio
have direct relatives (usually just larger, brighter and more expensive) in a film production studio.
[edit]Electricity
Every lighting fixture uses electricity. How much it requires and in what form varies on the application of the light(s).
The electrical description consists of Voltage, Amperage, and Wattage. Commonly studio lights use 115(plus or
minus)5 Volts (V) or 2255 V. The amperages (ampres or amps) and wattages (Watts or W) vary depending on the
fixture, bulb type, and light output. 115V lights range from 10W (LEDs) up to 2000W-2500W (Halogen-Quartz), 225V
range also from 10W to 4500W-5000W.
[edit]Terminology
Bulbs
Refers to the actual light source. Most bulbs consist of a filament, insulating gas, and a glass encasement.
Also know as "lamps," or "globes."
Fixtures
The cases or enclosures that hold the bulb, and often serve the purpose of directing the light. Fixtures range
from simple bulb holders, to elaborate mechanisms. Also known as "heads," or "instruments."
Mounts
A device that holds the light where you want it to be. Some clamp to overhead lighting grids, while others are
stands.
Power
Or power source/supply. Where is light getting its juice?
[edit]
Lighting equipment
Lighting kit just after it's been loaded off the van. More production stills here.
Lighting equipment consists of a great deal more than just sockets with bulbs. Lighting
equipment (briefly) consists of bulbs, fixtures, dimmers/power units, mounts, light
control/quality.
[edit]Bulb
Types
Video/Film recording lights use many different bulb types. Some are standards from Edison
(tungsten) but others are cutting edge of the 2000s (LED). Most bulb types use a filamentignition process to produce light. A wire of some electrically excitable material is put under
voltage in a oxygen-depleted environment, causing it to 'burn' without lighting afire.
Flourecent bulbs and LEDs function rather differently from filament bulbs.
[edit]Tungsten
A tungsten light is basically a more powerful version of a common household lightbulb. While
a household light bulb may only take a few hundred watts at most, lights that are used to light
film sets are easily 1000 watts (1K) and often over 20,000 watts (20K). The tungsten light
bulb naturally produces an orange hue, similar to indoor lights. Tungsten lights have a color
temperature ranging from 3200 to 3400 Kelvin. One typically uses a CTB filter to balance the
color temperature with outdoor or HMI light.
[edit]Redheads
Redheads are a specific type of open-faced light made by Ianiro. They are very compact and
come in 600 and 650 watt versions. They are also known as Mickey-Moles (when made by
Mole-Richardson). The term is often used to loosely describe smaller, open-faced lights.
[edit]Blondes
Blondes are a 2k open-faced light. Because they are open-faced, they tend to put out more
light than a 2k fresnel.
[edit]Halogen-Quartz
Halogen-Quartz bulbs, often known as "Halogens" or "Quartz" are a staple of lighting.
Halogens rarely posses a color temperature outside of 3200K. These same bulbs are often
used in car headlights, portable worklights, and recently in house-decor lighting. The bulbs
come in wattages ranging from 15W-3500W. Additionally the are manufactured in a wide
range of enclosures, bases, and connectors. Common are the "T", and bayonet base.
Halogens emit significant amounts of heat during operation, so much so that oils on the glass
surface of the bulb case lead to un-even heat distribution and rupturing (through thermal
shock to the glass) or heat build-up and exploding gas within the bulb.
[edit]HMI
An HMI light is used very often to light film sets. One requires a ballast in order to power and
creates a loud noise when turning on, so it is set protocol to yell "striking" in order to warn
others on set to both ignore the noise and avoid looking at the light. The HMI light is a
different type of light bulb than the more common tungsten. An HMI emits ultra-violet lights
and emits a blue hue. HMI lights produce a color temperature around 5600 Kelvin. One
typically use a CTO filter to balance the color temperature with indoor or tungsten light.
[edit]Fluorescent
Fluorescent bulbs were not used for lighting film and video until recently. This was because of
problems with flicker and a tendency to emit more of a greenish hue. The Fluorescent lights
used in film now are made to be flicker-free and come in both daylight and tungsten balanced
bulbs. "Kino-flo" is one of the major companies involved in making fluorescent bulbs and
fixtures for film and video production. Fluorescent lights tend to be very soft, but do not put
out much light in comparison to other lighting instruments.
[edit]LED
Until the last five to ten years Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have seen little implimentation.
Recent advances in production costs and chemical advances used in the diode junctions
have led to inexpensive LED 'bulbs' as well as even color temperatures in multiple bulbs.
LEDs are manufactured in all colors, and white comes in many color temperatures; 3200K
being the most common, but ranging from 3000K to 5600K+. Diodes, due to their engineered
design tend to have a very directional light. The front lens is parabolic, focusing the light to a
small dot even several meters away.
[edit]Light
Control, Quality, and Appearance
[edit]Lighting
Shape/Area
There are a number of tools used to control where light falls. Often these are used to prevent
light falling where it is not needed. In other circumstances a pattern created by the light is
desired.
[edit]Barn Doors
Perhaps the most common form of lighting area shaping, barn doors are found around the
front outside of the fixture. Most commonly there are four barn doors forming a square
around the fixture, but the numbers vary for specialty applications.
Basically, barn doors block the light from hitting an area of the set or frame you don't want
them to. They swing towards and away from the fixture opening.
[edit]Gobos
Gobos shape the light. Many gobos appear to be shapes cut in a cookie sheet (and indeed
many are) but they consist of a material able to withstand the heat put out by the fixture, with
shapes cut out for the light to travel through.
Think of gobos as jack o' lanterns.
[edit]Flags & Cutters
A flag, or cutter can be any item that blocks light. A standard flag on set can be of varying
sizes. The standard flag is attached to a small metal handle and short rod that can be
attached to a C-Stand and placed so that it blocks the light from hitting something in the shot.
Flags can be used to prevent light from hitting background walls, for example, leaving only
the central subject/s in the light.
Types of flags include singles & doubles to cut down hard light. Solids to block light. Silks,
though similar, are translucent and used to diffuse, rather than block light.
[edit]Blackwrap
Blackwrap is essentially aluminum foil, but covered in black paint. It is often used to block
light and kill any spill from a light. Blackwrap can be shaped however you like to affect where
the light falls. It is useful in narrowing larger lights to point lights or spots or making lights
non-circular. It is very inexpensive, light weight and more flexible than barn doors. However, it
will burn on too hot a light, so watch for smoke. Blackwrap(TM) is a product from the
company, Gam Products Inc. A similar product, CineFoil(TM) is made by Rosco Laboratories
Inc.
[edit]Lighting
Intensity
[edit]Focus
Adjusting the focus on a focusable light changes the distance between the actual bulb and a
lens at the end of the light. This affects how diffuse the light is. Closer to the lens spreads the
light out more, whereas farther back makes it closer to a spot. Try to do this before the light
gets too hot, so you can adjust it without burning yourself.
[edit]Neutral Density Filters
Neutral density filters are a variety of gel (or camera filter) which reduces all colors of light
equally, making a light less intense without altering its color. This can be added on top of
color gels or used on its own to make a light less intense.
[edit]Lighting
Quality
[edit]Gels
Gels are thin and translucent. They come in rolls that can be cut into a more manageable
size when needed. While a gel can be any color, there are two main colors which are referred
to as Color Temperature Orange (CTO) and Color Temperature Blue (CTB). These two types
of gel are respectively orange and blue, with varying degrees of darkness broken up into 1/8,
1/4, 1/2, and Full. Full is the darkest and 1/8 is the lightest. When asking for a gel, one may
say "I'd like a quarter CTO put on this light."
Gels are attached to a light in order to alter their color temperature. Tungsten lights produce
an orange hue, while HMI's produce a blue hue. If filming outside with tungsten lights, gels
would be needed to match the color temperature of the daylight if the DP wanted all the light
to be the same color temperature. Daylight produces a blue hue like an HMI light, so CTB
would be needed to be placed on all the tungsten lights. Gels are attached to lights with
clothespins, also called "C-47's."
Besides CTO and CTB, to work with fluorescent lights or a "kino flo", there are "plus green"
and "minus green" gels. Since fluorescent lights produce a green hue, a minus green gel
would remove the green hue from a fluorescent light and a plus green gel would help match a
non-fluorescent light to a fluorescent.
[edit]Attaching
Some lights have clips for attaching gels, but the most common method of attaching them is
via wooden clothespins (also referred to as C47s, pegs, or bullets). These clothespins will
begin to smoke before the gels, so you can prevent your gels from being ruined, and they
also don't conduct heat, so they can be manipulated even on a very hot light. They can also
be reversed to give them a longer mouth, allowing you to use them to pull scrims from hot
fixtures. Once reversed, they often go by C-74's or "scrim pullers".
[edit]
General Lighting
Here is the nitty-gritty of the page. Although different formats have varying needs in both
quantity and quality of light, the underlying yet critical concepts of lighting are fairly applicable
to any medium.
[edit]
Lighting Digital Video
Dynamic range. There are many differences between DV and film, but one that particularily
stands out regarding lighting is dynamic range.
Most DV and video cameras have a relatively low dynamic range. (I.ex. the Sony PD150 has
about 4-5 stops, and Kodak's 50D film has up to 11). This means the range between the
completely black and the whitest white is very low. One therefore has to keep this in mind
while lighting. This has been an integral part of cinematography since the beginning.
Controlling so one can see details in the darkest area of an image, and also in the brightest.
One can always adjust thecontrast in post (Colorgrading). This style of working is
called shooting for post. (The DV standard has an ok light intensity resolution, so adjusting
contrast in post is not as difficult as adjusting color.)
White balance. As the DV standard has a low color-resolution, it is important to control and
know how to filter and white balance the image on set. It has been proved difficult to adjust
color in post with a good result, although it has been done. Regarding lighting, be aware of
the possibilities the white balance setting on the camera have, and use gels on the lamps,
and sometimes on windows to create a neutral image.
In return for these shortcomings, DV-cameras can be more light-sensitive than most film
stocks, and therefore require less light intensity, to give the same image. (PD150 is about
320ASA versus Kodak's 50D's 50ASA. One would need about 8 times more light, to get the
same image at the same F-stop). Although high ASA film is available.
Lighting HD
[edit]Lighting Film
[edit]
[edit]Within
the Movie Making Manual
Power Sources - generators, tie-ins, batteries, inverters etc..
[edit]Lighting
Equipment Manufacturers
[Lee Filters] Gels, filters and accessories

[Matthews Grip] Century Stands (C-stands), and other equipment
[Bardwell & McAlister] Manufacturer of lightweight, Green Power Saving Movie Lighting
[ARRI] Lights, cameras and other
[Used Movie Lighting] the largest buyer and seller of used movie lighting & stands
Movie Making Manual/Power Sources

On a film set, the power source is usually managed by the Electrical Department. Depending on where you are
shooting and the volume of power the production requires, many different power sources are used. Typically you are
either using Stage Power, House Power, A Tie-In, or a Generator.
Contents
[hide]
1 Stage Power
2 House Power
3 Tie-ins
4 Generator
[edit]Stage
Power
When filming on a sound-stage large amounts of power are typically provided as part of the facility, although this is
not always the case. Typically, power is provided in the form of 3-phase 110v with Cam-Lock hook-ups.
[edit]House
Power
House power refers to power that is already installed within a location. For example, if you are shooting in a
apartment, House Power refers to existing power installed in the apartment. House power is generally not preferred
because: lighting equipment can require more power than is available, circuit-boxes can be difficult to locate in the
event of a overload, a relatively large amount of power is usually used which increases the power-bill for that cycle.
[edit]Tie-ins
A Tie-In is a method of tapping directly into the power that feeds a building from the city power-grid, thereby
bypassing the limits of the circuits that are installed in the building.
A Tie-In is a dangerous activity which requires experience and skill. Improper methods can result in damage to city
power-grids and death.
[edit]Generator
Generators are used in Motion Picture Production to provide power to all the departments of the production, the most
demanding on which is the lighting department. Typically generators are used when filming on location, as power is
normally provided when filming on a sound-stage.
Movie Making Manual/Sound Recording


Contents
[hide]
1 Types of microphone
2 Electronics you should be aware of
o
2.1 Balanced versus unbalanced
2.2 Grounding
2.3 Shielding
2.4 Phantom power

3 Boom technique
4 Mixing
5 What to record on?
5.1 The video camera
5.2 DAT
5.3 MiniDisk
5.4 Hard Disk
5.5 Portable Devices

6 Wild track
7 External links
[edit]Types
of microphone
Dynamic: Most common / cheapest.
Condenser: Most require Phantom Power. Known for producing more detail, especially in the upper
frequencies.
Shotgun: A subtype of condenser mic that is used in filmmaking to catch dialogue during filming
Ribbon: Was rare, becoming more common. Catching speed as being 'smooth' on guitars.
Also: Mic Patterns
* Omnidirectional: pickup sound in a circle around the mic

* Cardioid: pickup sound better directly in front of the mic, less sound
pickup as you move around the sides of the mic
[edit]Electronics
[edit]Balanced
you should be aware of
versus unbalanced
Balanced audio connections use 3 wires for sending each channel: a plus phase, a negative phase, and a ground.
The sending device sends its output over both the plus phase and the negative phase. But (and here's the clever bit)
the signal is inverted on the negative phase. The receiving device then inverts the negative phase back (to match the
positive phase) and adds it to the possitive phase. Any noise picked up along a stretch of wire will be out of phase
with itself, (once the destination reverts the negative phase) and be cancelled out.
[edit]Grounding
[edit]Shielding
[edit]Phantom
power
Phantom power is used for condenser microphones that need power to run. It is also used to power direct boxes.
Direct boxes turn unbalanced signal into balanced signal for reducing and preventing hum. You will most often see
phantom power in 48v. You can get phantom power from a source such as many sound consoles, especially if you
have a recording console. If you don't have it built into your console, you can buy a portable unit that takes up an
outlet and has an xlr in and xlr out(with 48v power).
[edit]Boom
technique
http://www.cyberfilmschool.com/learn/article_detail.aspx?id=77
[edit]Mixing
As a quick rule of thumb for a TV mix, dialogue should average 3.5/4 ppm on a meter i.e. around -20/-18dB. You
should record it like this and mix at these levels. Peak dialogue shouts etc shouldn't really go above 6 ppm (-10dB). If
you are recording or mixing for TV nothing should peak over 7ppm (-6dB). And those peaks should last a minimal
amount of time. Music is mixed at the dubbing mixer's discretion, so that it works with the programme and fits with the
dialogue, but shouldn't peak above 6.5ppm. A limiter would usually be placed across the output to ensure nothing
goes above 7ppm.
If you are mixing for DVD or Theatre release you would use the full digital scale. Dialogues should still average -20/18dB however your fx peaks can go the full range to 0dB but not over!
So you would have two mixes one for TV and one for DVD.
the BBC's audio delivery specification states:
"Peak sound levels (when measured on a BS 5428 Peak Programme Meter) within the programme must not exceed
PPM 6: that is, no greater than +8dB with respect to the reference level of -18dBFS."
In other words there should be no less than 10db of 'headroom' between the highest level you can record and your
programme's highest peak.
You can find the full document at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/delivering_quality/pdf/tv/tv_standards_london.doc
It is preferable to have sound with "hiss" rather than distortion. Distortion cannot be fixed, background noise can be
somewhat fixed.
[edit]What
[edit]The
to record on?
video camera
I've recorded onto camera quite a few times - the skinny is that you can get great audio from the cameras with XLR
inputs and also:
The Canon XL1 does not have phantom power - you need an external mic power supply.
The DVX-100a has small audio controls which are more difficult to manipulate, a little movment seems to make a big
difference in level
One of the two DVX100a's I've used had a buzz only when the DV tape was installed. Very annoying, but the other
one was quiet.
The Sony PD170 has a good set of audio controls - especially the ch1/ch2 link function when using one microphone
(two channels are better than one!)
The PD100 has needs a +48/XLR hot shoe attachment, otherwise it sounds fine.
It's wise to back up audio, and slate scenes without pausing, when using DV cameras - back up on DAT. On a recent
3 camera shoot, I had a total of 6 audio tracks, one into the DVx100a, one into a Canon Optura PI (fine little camera!),
but with 1/8" connector and one into a Sony tcd-08 DAT - the DAT won as the best overall sound with the lowest
noise and cleanest sound. BM
[edit]DAT
DAT-Heads concerns itself with Digital Audio Tape decks, with an emphasis on their use for the recording and
distribution of live music.
[edit]MiniDisk
ATRAC 3 is a proprietary lossy perceptual audio codec developed by Sony and used for minidisc and other Sony
products such as the PlayStation Portable. Uncompressed PCM offers higher quality, and therefore field recording
with a portable DAT or harddisk recorder is almost always preferrable to a minidisc recorder. Personally, I'd trust a
tape (DAT) more as I have accidentally recorded over material with the minidisk's chapter functions. It's easier to
track down ABS (absolute time code) on a DAT, especially for sound logging purposes. DAT = Digital Audio Tape
[edit]Hard
Disk
Hard Disk recording has quickly become the industry standard (aside from analog tape.) Benefits include: Non-linear
editing - no need to rewind or fast-forward to find different songs. Cost - You can buy a hard drive with well over a
hundred gigs, for around a hundred bucks. 100 gigs can hold 300 hours of uncompressed single-channel audio,
making it a very cheap way to record.
[edit]Portable
Devices
With the advent of mp3 players, portable audio has become a household convenience. Some devices can be slipped
into a pocket or clipped to a belt, but certain recorders are more bulky and cannot be carried as easily. Take this into
consideration and make sure you have, if nothing else, long enough audio cables to allow your recordist to move
around as he captures sound during your shoots.
[edit]Wild
track
When on location you should always record a "wild track". This should be a few minutes of the ambient noise from
your location (the sound of traffic in the distance, birds singing etc). You should ask the assistant director to tell the
entire crew to be quiet so you get an undisturbed track.
Why bother? In the edit it's very useful (and often absolutely required) to keep a wild track running in the background
to smooth over the changes from cut to cut.
A Wild Track is an audio only recording of an actor's lines while the camera is NOT rolling. There are no sync marks
or visible slates. These wild recordings are used to replace dialogue from a filmed take that may be un-usable for
various reasons. Perhaps a plane flew over during the scene. The Wild Track Or Wild Line will be used in part or in
whole to replace the on-camera dialogue. It is also used for Off-camera lines that need to be recorded on-mic. Many
times wild Lines are used to replace compromised recordings made during a Wide master shot where the
microphone could not be placed in the optimal position. Because the shot is wide, lip-sync of these lines is not as
critical and sync errors are not as visible as for a close up.
"Room Tone" or "Presence" is a wild recording of just the ambient sound of a location (no one speaking). It is used in
post production to cover unwanted sounds (like the director's verbal instruction during the take). To record Room tone
you should place the same microphone in the same position as it was during the dialogue take. Record at the same
level used for the actual take but have everyone remain still and quiet.
[edit]External
links
Portable Audio Recording Devices for Filmmaking
Google Group Full of tons of tips/info.
Wikipedia article on Sound Recording.
Sound engineering online course under Creative Commons license.
Movie Making Manual/Stills Photography

Contents
[hide]
1 Introduction
2 Equipment
3 Publishing stills photos online
3.1 Examples of production stills
[edit]
Introduction
Stills photography involves taking photos of the filmmaking process. These are often used for promoting the film and
as a documentary record. This area of film production is often overlooked on smaller budget films or some
photographs are taken by members of the crew, but for promotional and documentary uses; good quality and
professional images are a must. If the film budget can't stretch to a professional photographer, many photographers
will do work to use in their portfolios, and for the experience.
An example of a production still taken on the set of a music video
Alternative names
Production stills
Unit stills
[edit]
Equipment
Both film and digital have their respective advantages and disadvantages. Digital photography provides instant
results, and combining this with a notebook computer means the results can be viewed instantly by the photographer,
crew and cast. The choice often comes down to personal preference, but is sometimes dictated by the stills
photographer's brief. Medium and large format cameras are often used for a higher quality image although 35mm is
usually sufficient, and is often used for speed and ease of use. Large format cameras - considered superior in terms
of image quality - is a slower medium, and often hard to use on a busy set. Generally the equipment will suit the type
of shots required. If the shots are "reportage" style, then 35mm is advantagous. High-quality cast / set shots can be
taken on medium/large especially for very large poster/billboard reproductions.
[edit]
Publishing stills photos online
If you have your own webspace then it's very easy to install a free gallery package and publish your photos online.
Some excellent free gallery packages include:
Gallery
Coppermine
[edit]Examples
of production stills
Scott Krycia - Movie Stills Photographer
Kelly Kruschel - Movie Stills Photographer
Bernadette Truell - Unit Stills Photographer
Ed Araquel - Commercial, Gallery & Unit Stills Photographer
Behind the Scenes with Jason Boland, Movie Stills Photographer
Jack Kelly's film production stills gallery
FiN Photography, Norma Masip still photographer
Alex Bailey - Movie Stills Photographer
Michael Moriatis - Unit Stills Photographer
Movie Making Manual/Character Animation

This is a Digital Puppet

created in DAZ Studio
using the Victoria model
which are both free until the end of 2006.
There are two kinds of animation used in the making of a motion picture. Animated movies have a special produced
and the animation is done in Production. This section covers the procedure for creating an animated movie.
Animation is also done in Post Production as part of visual effects. For visual effects, go to Animation for Visual
Effects.
Contents
[hide]
1 Overall Procedure of an Animated Motion Picture

1.1 Dialog Recording
1.1.1 Dialog Recording Procedure

1.2 The other Steps of Making the Animated Movie
1.2.1 Animatic Creation Procedure
1.2.2 Timing Procedure
1.2.3 Animation Procedure
1.2.4 Editing Procedure
1.2.5 Dialog Recording Procedure
1.2.6 Lip Sync Timing Procedure
2 Types Of Animation
3 More Info
[edit]
Overall Procedure of an Animated Motion Picture
An animated motion picture starts out like any other motion picture. Pre-production is the same... and that includes
storyboarding. The only difference is storyboarding for an animated motion picture is much more intense. In live
action filming, the storyboards are only an approximation. In an animated motion picture, the storyboards eventually
become the keyframes of the animation.
[edit]Dialog
Recording
All text books on making an animated motion picture explain that before the animation can begin, the dialog of the
script must be recorded by the actors. The textbooks say that only after the actor's dialog has been recorded does
work begin on the animation.
The problem is this method does not work. Actors have too much trouble visualizing who they are and their
surroundings in an animated movie. Their performance is terrific when they can see the animation but not good when
they cannot see anything.
Therefore, in almost all cases, the dialog must be recorded a second time after the animation is finished. To see that
this is true, go through the "making of the movie" articles for all the successful animated movies and you will learn
that they recorded the dialog a second time while the actors watch the animation.
Dialog Recording vs. ADR Session
To keep the two recording sessions separate, I will call the first recording of the dialog, the "Dialog
Recording". And the second recording of the dialog after the movie is almost finished, the "ADR Session"
since the second recording of the dialog is very much like a normal ADR session with a few exceptions.
[edit]Dialog
Recording Procedure
There are two different ways to record the initial dialog for an animated motion picture.
One Actor at a Time
The first way is the easy way. This is to bring in each actor, one at a time, and record that persons dialog.
This recording session is with the director who will coach the actor by either reading the other character's
dialog or will explain each scene to the actor.
Multiple Actors
This is much more difficult. Two or more actors are brought into the recording studio and if possible, put into
separate (isolated) recording booths connected to the same recording console. The actors can hear each
other as they record their dialog together. This way, the two actors interact with each other but their voices
are recorded on separate tracks.
If the two actors are in the same recording booth, and if the actors happen to be speaking at the same time
(as people often do in a heated conversation), this become locked into the dialog recording. There can be no
adjustment during the editing of the movie.
Therefore, recording each actor on a separate track is preferable.
[edit]The
other Steps of Making the Animated Movie
Here are the steps for creating the animated movie once the dialog has been recorded.
[edit]Animatic
Creation Procedure
Using the still images from the storyboard, an animatic is created using the recorded
dialog. Another way to explain this is the movie is made using just still pictures along
with the dialog as well as with a temp film score and rough sound effects.
[edit]Timing
Procedure
Once the dialog is recorded and the animatic completed, the dialog must be timed. For
each scene, each syllable of the dialog must be timed from the beginning of the scene.
This is needed for the animators to create the animation and rough lip sync.
[edit]Animation
Procedure
Once the timing of each scene is complete the animation is started. For 3D animation,
each shot is rendered just like a motion picture shot on film with live actors. Then these
shots are edited together.
This is very different from 2D animation where each frame is carefully planned out and
no extra frames are created. In 3D animation, about 10% of the rendered frames are
removed (trimmed off the two ends of the shot) during editing.
If ADR will be used, the actual lip sync can still be very rough or not at all.
[edit]Editing
Procedure
For 3D animation, a regular digital video editing program (such as Final Cut Pro) is
used to edit the movie. The sound effects and the musical score are added now. The
musical score might even have been created before the editing so that the movie will
be edited to match the film score.
[edit]Dialog
Recording Procedure
Once the animation is done and the movie has been edited, all the actors return, one at
a time, to an ADR session where the actors see everything that is happening on the
screen and they react to it.
[edit]Lip
Sync Timing Procedure
Now the final timing of the lip sync is calculated. Then the animation for the mouth
movements is done to match the timing. Some animation software have faster ways to
do this. This is the last step in the animation process.by Mein Hart Joseph I. Santos Philippines sa AMA marami pang secret na ibubunyag sa pag gawa na animation.
[edit]
Types Of Animation
There are two kinds of 3D character animation.

General Purpose 3D Animation Programs
This is done with programs such as Maya, LightWave, and 3D Studio Max. In this case, all characters in the
movie are custom made. All the movie sets and the scenery are created from scratch.
Special Purpose 3D Animation Programs
This is done with specialized programs such as Poser and DAZ Studio. In this case, most all the characters
are purchased off the shelf from companies such as RuntimeDNA. Frequently, specialized programs are
also used to create the movie set. These programs are Vue and Bryce. For low budget animation, the movie
sets will be rendered as multi-layered still images which are composited with the character animation and (at
the same time) animated with Adobe AfterEffects.
Examples of animation motion pictures created with general purpose

3D animation program are Polar Express and Aero-Troopers. Polar
Express uses realistic human figures while Aero-Troopers uses
cartoon-like characters which are easier to animate.
Examples of animation motion pictures created with special purpose

3D animation program can be seen overseas in television dramas.
[edit]
More Info
For more information on creating motion picture with special purpose 3D programs, see the section on
Digital Puppets (coming soon!).
Directing and managing a set
Animation with DAZ Studio - Tutorial at Wikiversity.
Movie Making Manual/Shooting Styles

Contents
[hide]
1 Blair Witch Project/Cloverfield

2 Ken Loach
3 Dogme/Dogma
3.1 The Vow of Chastity
4 Alfred Hitchcock
5 Sources
[edit]
Blair Witch Project/Cloverfield
The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield differ from the standard shooting style in several different ways.
The whole film is presented as if it were an unedited documentary, filmed by the protagonists, and as such
the shooting style resembles that of an amateur documentary or a home movie.

This includes shaking shots when the characters are running and more or less useless or irrelevant shots
when the characters are just fooling around with the cameras.
A large part of the Blair Witch Project is in black and white, as one of the cameras that the protagonists carry
with them only shoots in this format. This adds to the realism of the movie.
[edit]
Ken Loach
The films of Ken Loach have an incredible authenticity and 'realness' to them. How does he achieve this?
Taken from "Loach on Loach"
Never use ADR
Run the entire scene for every shot, don't break the scene down into little "shot length" segments.
Light the entire scene so you're not artificially telling the audience "THIS is the lead actor for this scene, the
others are less important"
Don't give the actors marks (indeed, you don't have to because you're lighting the entire scene)
Actors should have vulnerabilities
[edit]
Dogme/Dogma
From Bright Lights Film Journal: Copyrights lawyers are out of luck. Anyone can obtain a Dogme certificate if he (or
she) shoots a film in accordance with the ten rules known as "The Vow of Chastity."
[edit]The
Vow of Chastity
Shooting on location (no imported props or sets)
Sound and image produced together
A handheld camera
Natural light
No optical work or filters
No superficial action (murders, weapons)
No temporal or geographic alienation
No genre films
Film format must be Academy 35mm.
No signature; the director must not be credited.
[edit]
Alfred Hitchcock
A man dedicated to suspense and intrigue

Emotion is the ultimate goal of each of his shots. Hitchcock believed that emotion came directly from the actor's eyes.
By bringing us closer or tearing us away he used camera angles to jerk us into the feeling of his moments.
The camera should be just like a person looking around for something out of place in a room. This allows the
audience to feel like they are involved the action. Scenes can often begin by panning a room showing close-ups of
objects that explain plot elements.
Hitchcock also loved to keep us on our toes by throwing in shots fast and close after being slow and far...
[edit]
Sources
Bright Lights Film Journal - An article about Dogme films
IMDB Glossary letter: D - Dogme 95 explanation
Movie Making Manual/Slate

The clapper board (AKA Clap slate) is a well-recognized icon of filming, but serves many purposes beyond its
appearance. A clapper board is made up of two parts: the slate and the clapper.
The slate's most obvious purpose is the documentation it provides on what scene is being filmed, when it was filmed,
what take it was, which film reel it was, etc. The "clapper" provides an easily identified audio marker, which is useful
when filming with multiple cameras and you must synchronize them during post-production, and is more commonly
used to synchronize the sound and picture since they are usually recorded on separate devices. The black-and-white
stripes on the clapper provide a reference for setting the white balance on the camera. [Edit -- I have never heard of
anyone using the white stripes on the sticks for white balance. The alternating white & black stripes are to make it
easier to see the sticks against a range of backgrounds and the occasional unusual lighting situation. For color
balance, cameramen will often tack a grayscale strip to the bottom of the slate, or shoot a full size gray card.]
Increasingly in the modern digital age, the clapper becomes less useful as footage can be digitally marked by the
camera and audio synchronization is no longer a problem due to the digital nature of the footage. However, for the
sake of your editor, you may wish to continue using a clapper to make any possible problem easier to fix.
Contents
[hide]
1 How To Use a Clapper Board

o
1.1 Verbal Slate
1.2 A and B Cameras
1.3 Tail Slates
1.4 Any Pulse Will Do
1.5 Wildtrack
2 Re-syncing Sound
3 DV Camcorders
4 Watch Dailies
5 See Also
[edit]How
To Use a Clapper Board
While a clapper board seems simple, its use is more complex than it looks. When motion picture film is developed,
the lab technician who is developing the film, printing the film, and syncing the audio to the film, must have all the
necessary information to sync the audio to the picture. If you want to see your dailies the first thing in the morning and
you want everything to work properly, you must never confuse the lab technician.
[edit]Verbal
Slate
While the clapper board provides information for the picture, there must also be a verbal slate for the audio. This
verbal slate must provide the scene and take number for the lab technician. The verbal slate must also make it clear if
multiple cameras are used. The verbal slate must also make it clear if multiple tracks of audio are used. "Stereo Split"
means one track of a stereo track has the audio from one microphone and the other track has audio from the other
microphone.
[edit]A
and B Cameras
If there are two or more cameras, sometimes a common slate is used. Both the slate and the verbal slate must make
this clear.
Using a common slate is not good because it can be confusing. With a common slate, there is no camera number
("Camera A" vs. "Camera B') and no film reel number. Therefore, each camera should have its own slate. The slate
information for one camera must never be seen by the other camera. The same rule applies for showing the clapper
closing. Therefore, when one camera is slated, someone puts their hand over the lens of the other camera to block
the view of the other camera's slate.
[edit]Tail
Slates
Sometimes, when it is impossible to use a clapper board at the beginning of a shot, someone will yell "Tail Slate" at
the beginning of the shot and at the end of the shot, the slate will be clapped upside down so that the film laboratory
will know that this is the slate at the end of a shot rather than the slate for the beginning of the next shot. The verbal
slate is always done at the same time as the clapper board.
[edit]Any
Pulse Will Do
On shots where a clapper board is not practical, the actors will use their arms as a huge clapper. The film lab can
easily see when the actor's hands come together. This noise is loud enough and concentrated enough to be accurate
for syncing the audio to the picture.
[edit]Wildtrack
If there is no clapper for a shot, then the sound is wild. The lab technician might try to do a rough sync. Or the
technician will create a separate section of the dailies for the audio from wildtracks. When you hear a wild track on
the dailies, you see only a card saying Wildtrack as you hear the audio.
[edit]Re-syncing
Sound
For motion picture film, the closing of the clapper (as seen on the film) must be aligned with the audio pulse (which
shows up on the audio tape as a blip). Since audio travels at about 40 feet per frame of motion picture film (1/24th of
a second), the audio pulse should be less than one frame after the closing of the slate unless the microphone is far
from the camera (and the audience.) Yet, when you watch dailies made using digital slates in Hollywood, you will find
that most film labs sync the audio so it is late by one or two frames because the electronics in the slate are slow.
Therefore, before you begin editing your movie, you must resync each take based on the actual clapper closing and
the pulse on the audio track.
[edit]DV
Camcorders
DV Camcorders often are supplemented with a separate audio recording device in order to record better sound
quality. In this case it is nessasary to use a clapper in the beginning (or at the end if you are tailslating) in order to
sync the sound up with the video.
[edit]Watch
Dailies
If you want to see how the clapper board is used, simply look at film dailies from motion pictures and television
dramas. You can buy motion picture and television drama dailies on tape at almost any second-hand video store in
Hollywood.
[edit]See
Also
Wikipedia:Clapperboard
Movie Making Manual/Directing Actors


Clint Eastwood never shouts "action!", as he thinks it shocks actors and disturbs their concentration. Instead, he waits
until the camera is rolling, and then says, "when you're ready..."
If you have done the casting correctly and your actor has the ability - let them express it. An actor will respond far
better if they are given a degree of freedom to bring their creativity to the process. A good director will encourage this
without, however, letting it go too far. The challenge here is to find the balance between allowing the actor to express
themselves and serving the scene. The scene is part of a greater whole and their performance should be in balance
with the other elements of the film.
[edit]Casting
Actors
Next to having a great screenplay and a clear vision, casting great actors is the best thing you can do to improve the
odds of your film succeeding. Casting good actors is 80% of the directing process because once you have cast actors
who understand what they are doing, the director's job is almost done. External reference on Auditioning and Casting
actors
[edit]Inexperienced
Actors
Inexperienced actors nearly always err on the side of overacting, putting too much into the role. Your task is often to
convince them to be more naturalistic. Be clear and don't baffle them with technical terms. Explain how tight the shot
is and their range of movement within the frame and they should be able to gauge how to behave. One very effective
way to get truthful acting from inexperienced actors is to let them improvise their own lines around a specifically
designed situation. It works! Guaranteed.
Another rule of thumb is to compliment generally, but criticize specifically. For example, telling an actress that you
liked how she flipped her hair will cause her to do it again and again in subsequent takes, and it won't look as natural
as it did the first time. Just tell her how great she did and hopefully she'll unconsciously continue what she was doing.
However, you will want to be precise (but gentle) when pointing out the things you are certain you do not want.
If you haven`t done it already, making a backstory for the characters is always useful.
[edit]Troubleshooting
These tricks should be a last resort; the best way to work is through honest and open communication. Being sneaky
can sometimes lose you the trust of your cast.
There is a great story about an actor who was so nervous he was having trouble remembering his lines and was
getting flustered. The director gave him a coin to flip and asked him to keep flipping it throughout the scene. This
successfully made the actor less self conscious and the scene flowed after that.
If an actor continually overdoes it, quietly start the camera, keep it rolling and do a "walkthrough" of the scene. Some
of the footage might be quite usable.
Another tip: use action words to describe how you want the actor to play the scene. "Play the scene as if you're
begging your son to clean his room" is different than "play the scene as if you're threatening your son to clean his
room".
Movie Making Manual/Keeping the crew happy

A few tips to keep the crew happy:

Contents
[hide]
1 Food
2 Hours
3 Communication
4 Drugs
5 Drinking
6 Dealing with abusive characters
[edit]Food
Never underestimate the importance of good food. If your crew is working for free then you MUST feed them well and
at well defined times. If you're going to overrun then stop and ASK your crew if they mind working for another hour
before lunch. Always try to provide hot food. Sandwiches are your last resort.
Good food needn't cost a lot. See if you can get your Mum involved or your best friend's mate who's an out-of-work
chef. Remember also that some of your cast and crew (especially the clapper-loader) may have to work though their
food breaks and so will need easy-to-eat food. Oh, and don't forget to check on allergies.
Check here for advice on good food which is affordable and works on set - Ultra Low Budget production Recipies.
Also remember to have a snack table (called craft services table in the USA). This may seem insignificant, however,
film sets bring together very different personalities and egos, both technical and artistic, in very intense situations
over a short period of time. Tempers will flare. They always do. Humans when upset or dealing with any extreme
emotion in all cultures like to do one thing: put something in their mouth. A drink, a smoke, a chocolate, a thumb...
whatever. The craft services table provides this option. Coffee, tea, water, donuts, pastries, water, chocolates,
sweets, juice, fruit and water. Don't underestimate it. Try to put the emphasis on healthy food like fruit rather than
chocolates and crisps - junk food may give a quick 'high' but wont sustain that high so your crew will become irritable
as the day progresses.
Another option (if you're lucky) is to get a deal with a local restaurant or pizza place, perhaps exchanging discounts
on food for product placement in your film or advertising in the credits, brochures or your film's website. Local pizza
places are a good first stop. This can get costly if done too often. Some consider this option selling out, which is fair,
however, it's not a bad way to get some grub for the crew.
No matter what your position on set try to offer others a tea or coffee whenever you can. As a runner you will quickly
gain the enthusiasm of others by offering tea and coffee. As a more senior crew member you will show that you aren't
a snobby nosed, status-obsessed fool in it only for the power, but a good natured human who likes to get along with
people and do the best job possible.
But - be warned - never eat in front of a hungry camera crew. Why? The camera crew don't have the option of quickly
picking up a sandwich because their hands must be kept very clean whilst on set and handling camera kit. Once, on
my first ADing job, I was casually nibbling on a sandwich when the DoP gave me a loud and public telling off. You
have been warned!
[edit]Hours
Don't overwork your crew. Your job as a filmmaker is to get the very best out of your cast and crew - as a producer or
director you actually do *very little* hands-on filmmaking. So the best thing you can do is create a productive, exciting
and comfortable environment for your cast and crew. The one thing that will destroy the mood on set (and destroy
your film) is exhaustion. If your schedule demands 20 hour days then cut the script or increase the number of
shooting days.
It is important to remember that the hours worked also include the 'wrapping out' time: not all crew just walk away
when 'wrap' is called, spark (electricians), camera crew, grips, makeup, wardrobe and others still have a lot of work to
pack up from the day and clean and prepare for the next day. So an estimated wrap time of say, 22.00 hours really
means an end of shooting at 21.00 to allow for the wrapping-out. Expecting a 12 hour on-camera day to then be
followed by an hour's worth of putting away the gear is a surefire way to spark a mutiny!
[edit]Communication
Give the cast and crew as much information as possible, especially when things are going wrong. If you can then
print and distribute the schedule to EVERY crew member at the start of each day, if not far earlier. If you're going run
over schedule then first explain the situation to your crew, then ask very nicely if they mind working longer and then
tell your crew the new estimate wrap time.
[edit]Drugs
You can't stop everyone from taking loads of drugs but do your best to dissuade your cast and crew.
Drugs and alcohol on set will void most insurance policies. You must get your crew to never ever take any kind of
extreme mind altering substances while anywhere near set. I would advise firing anyone that does not heed this
warning. This has nothing to do with moral or social issues it has to do with running a business. Until the insurance
contracts change no drugs or alcohol on set.
[edit]Drinking
This is a dodgy one. Going out for drinks every night of the shoot is a good way to get to know everyone. But don't
over do it. What you do as a director or producer is up to you. You'll certainly increase your chances of getting on well
with your cast and crew if you go out drinking with them. But, then again, you've probably got to spend every evening
preparing the next day's shot list.
[edit]Dealing
with abusive characters
http://www.cinematography.net/Pages%20GB/abuse.htm
Post-production
Movie Making Manual/Post Production Overview


Contents
[hide]
1 Post Production
2 Dailies/Workprint/Telecine/Capture/Syncing Audio
3 Logging
4 Picture and Dialog Editing
5 ADR (Automatic Dialog Replacement)
6 Sound Effects
o
6.1 Ambiance
6.2 Walla
6.3 Foley
7 Visual Effects
7.1 Titles and Credits
8 Film Scoring
9 Breakdown into reels
10 Conform the Negative
11 Prep for Distribution
12 Animated Feature Films
[edit]Post
Production
After 20-60 days of filming, you are finished shooting your motion picture. After all that effort, the only thing you have
to show for your work is about 100 reels of film, 60 rolls of audio tape, and a well-worn copy of the script which has
been marked up by the script supervisor. That's it! Other than publicity stills and maybe a documentary and perhaps
some effects shots being done at effects houses around town, this is all you get for your 40 million dollars. So now,
what do you do?
Now you start Post Production. Now you turn the developed film and audio reels into a motion picture for viewing at
a film festival. (Much later, you worry about getting the movie ready for distribution.)
Once the dailies are prepared for editing, the film editor begins to edit the picture and the dialog. The sound
department will get busy creating an infinite number of sound effects and the film composer will create beautiful music
for your movie. If any visual effects are needed, they will get done too at special effects houses... along with the titles
and credits.
Finally, when everyone is happy, the negative will be cut to match the edit of the movie and a print will be made for
showing at Sundance.
Let's look at these steps individually.
[edit]Dailies/Workprint/Telecine/Capture/Syncing
Audio
Each day during production of a feature film shot on motion picture film, dailies are prepared for viewing by the
director, the crew and the studio executives. To save money, the same dailies can be used by the editor to edit the
movie... or at least they can be created at the same time.
Preparing the dailies for editing seems like a trivial task but can be a major headache if not done very carefully. This
is just as true for digital video as for film. Some people think that just because they use a digital camcorder, they do
not have to process the film dailies. Dailies still have to be captured into the computer so they can be edited. And if
you using a separate sound system for recording the dialog, you will still have all the problems of syncing audio to
picture for your digital dailies.
For more information on preparing film dailies for editing and the telecine process, see the section on Telecine in the
Movie Making Manual.
[edit]Logging
If you film and edit only one scene (or a short), you can easily keep track in your head of all the raw footage. But for a
feature film, keeping track of all the different shots is not easy. Walter Murch uses Apple's FileMaker Pro. At Macworld
Expo, there is usually at least one lecture on how he uses this database for during the editing process.
[edit]Picture
and Dialog Editing
When the movie is edited, the editor must think about more than just the picture and the dialog. The sound effects
and the music work together with the pictures and the dialog to tell the story. The sound effects, music, picture and
dialog all interact. The editor must figure out how all these elements work together to tell the story.
In Hollywood, there are special teams what do the visual effects, music, and sound effects. But if you are just one
person doing the edit of low-budget motion picture, you might have to do everything yourself as you edit the movie.
Narrative Films Only
This manual covers dramatic movies with scripted dialog. Be aware that editing a documentary, corporate
video, multimedia or event video is totally different from editing narrative dramas. For more information
about the process of film editing for narrative motion pictures and televison drama see the section What is
Editing in the Movie Making Manual.
For narrative feature films, there are two different kinds of scenes - Action sequences and Conversation. When
you edit a conversation, there are lots of constraints... special the script which dictates the spoken dialog.
Action sequences have few constraints.
There are two kinds of music - Background music and Narrative music. Background music means very soft
music while narrative music is music that gets in your face. At this stage, a temp track is acceptable for
background music but for music which tells part of the story, you really need to use something which will be
close to the final music.
While there are many kinds of sound effects, at this stage you are only worried about the sound effects that
help tell a story, not the sound effects which make the scenery seem realistic such as Ambience, Walla and
Foley. These can be done when the editing is finished. For now, just worry about the sound effects that help
narrate the story.
For more instructions on how to edit a dramatic scene with scripted dialog, see the section How To Edit a
Dramatic Scene in the Movie Making Manual.
[edit]ADR
(Automatic Dialog Replacement)
Once you have edited the movie, you might need to replace some of the spoken dialog. For more information
on ADR, see the ADR in the Movie Making Manual.
[edit]Sound
Effects
Once all the scenes are edited, you begin to add all the little sounds which makes the movie seem real. If a
scene does not seem realistic, you have not added enough sound effects such as:
[edit]Ambiance
The background sounds of the environment.
[edit]Walla
This is the indistinguishable sounds of people talking in the background.
[edit]Foley
The footsteps and the rustling of clothing make your scene seem real. which are so numerous that it is faster to
record these sound effects live while watching the movie. If you have only a few footsteps, you can do this from
sound effects libraries in your editing program. But in general, when you need hundreds of tiny sound effects, it
is easier to do them with Foley
For more information on Sound for motion pictures, see Sound Design in the Movie Making Manual. For more
information on Foley, see the section Foley in the Movie Making Manual. (Note: "Foley" stands for Jack
Foley who pioneered this kind of sound effects creating.)
[edit]Visual
Effects
When doing the basic edit, blank frames or storyboard frames are used in place of visual elements. Once the
effects shots are finished, they must be inserted into the edit.
[edit]Titles
and Credits
Titles can be done any way that you wish. Determining which people to include in the credits can be
complicated. This is a good place to make a lot of people angry. Therefore, you must be very careful to list all
the people who deserve credit for making the movie. Sometimes, the unions decide this. Sometimes your
contracts with the cast and crew decide this. Doing the credits is not as easy as it looks.
[edit]Film
Scoring
Music creates the mood. Once the edit is complete (with a temp score), the temp score must be replace by the
final score. For more information on film scoring, see the section Music/Film Scoring in the Movie Making
Manual.
[edit]Breakdown
into reels
A motion picture must be in manageable pieces for distribution and projection. In the break between reels, there
must be no sound or picture.
[edit]Conform
the Negative
Most of the time, it is not possible to edit at the highest possible resolution. In these cases, up until now, editing
is off-line. If there is no digital intermediary, you need to conform the negative.
[edit]Prep
for Distribution
This should be in the marketing section because it is done after you have a distributor but before the distributor
accepts delivery of the motion picture and all its elements. Therefore, only after you have sold the movie, do
you learn what film formats are required. This is a hidden expense can be rather nasty. If you have not planned
ahead, this can cost you a fortune. Read Robert Rodriguez' Rebel without a Crew which is about the making
of "El Mariachi" This book should be required reading in all film schools.
[edit]Animated
Feature Films
Note that if you are making an animated feature-length motion picture, the procedures above are done in a
slightly different order.
Audio
Movie Making Manual/Music

Putting music in your film can be potentially very complicated. There are several ways to go about this, but each
depends on your skill, experience and budget. It is important to note that most professional composers will charge a
lot of money for you to have their music in your movie. Many people do not understand just how important music is so
you definitely need someone with experience.
Contents
[hide]
Things to consider
Facing The Music
2.1
The professional
2.2
Doing it yourself
2.2.1
1. Old-fashion Analog = DAWs
2.2.2
2. Midi Modules = External Hardware
2.2.3
3. Midi with Software Instruments inside your Computer
2.3
Film Scoring Theory
2.3.1
Music Can Be Just Sounds
2.3.2
Music Must Follow The Mood
2.3.3
Scoring for Background and Dialog
2.4
Practical Experience in Film Scoring
2.4.1
Creating your Demo Reel
2.4.2
Film Editing vs. Film Scoring
2.5
Local Bands
2.6
Public Domain
Spotting Session
Usage of music
Further Reading
[edit]Things
to consider
What kind of film are you making, and what kind of music would fit in best?
How long does the music need to play during the scene?
How loud should the music be? Should it drown out any dialogue, or should it be strictly in the background?
Should it be constant?
What effect are you trying to convey?
[edit]Facing
[edit]The
The Music
professional
Hiring a professional composer would probably be the easiest option in your array. These people know exactly what
they are doing and have resources at their disposal. See the list of popular film composers in Wikipedia's Film Music.
The downsides are that you must choose a composer who has experience in the genre you want. If you want
orchestral music to play through your chosen scene, Trent Reznor would probably not be the best choice. It is
possible that you may not be able to find a professional who will be willing to work on your movie without blowing
most (or all) of your budget, however.
[edit]Doing
it yourself
There are many ways for filmmakers to create a musical score on a personal computer.
1. Live Musical Instruments
One way to create a film score is to use a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) with live musical instruments.
2. Midi Sound Modules.
Another method is to use MIDI with Midi sound modules (audio hardware) which is then recorded into a
computer with DAW software.
3. Software Musical Instruments
Yet another ways is to do the film score totally digitally using software instruments inside the computer and
controlled by a MIDI controller.
[edit]1. Old-fashion Analog = DAWs
You can create a film score with a live musician playing a real musical instrument. Recording live
musical instruments is very straight forward.
Multitrack recording When a motion picture is scored by the London Philharmonic, the orchestra
conductor watches the movie screen and conducts the musicians who play real musical
instruments, live and in sync with the action on the screen. This music is recorded via a
microphone into a computerized DAW which works like a multi-track tape recorder. Later, all the
tracks are mixed down and added to the film's sound track. This is very fast but expensive.
Fortunately, you can do the same thing in a very simple way using your personal computer... if you
have the correct software, a quiet computer, a professional-quality microphone which is connected
to your computer usually through a tiny mixing board (or microphone preamp) which connects to
the computer via USB, FireWire, or analog connection.
Using almost any computer (Windows or Macintosh), you can turn your computer into a DAW
(Digital Audio Workstation) which is a very powerful multi-track tape recorder inside your computer.
As an example, all Macintosh computers come with a free digital audio workstation program which
is disguised as a music program called GarageBand. Try it!
Basically, all you need to turn your computer into a multi-track recording system for film scoring is a
computer program, a professional quality microphone, and a preamp.
1. The Software
The computer program must be able to play a movie clip (usually just one scene of your movie as a
QuickTime movie or a AVI movie) while the program records a single track of audio. (Most modern music
program are DAW programs. Older programs only worked with MIDI but now audio recording features are
included in almost all music programs.) An example of a very simple music program is Apple's GarageBand.
2. The Preamp
This can be a preamp or tiny mixer board which connects to the computer via USB, FireWire or directly to
the analog audio input of your computer. A good example of preamp is M-Audio's low-cost USB
device FastTrackUSB. This works with Apple's GarageBand and is sold at the Apple Store. However, the
reviews of this product at the [www.apple.com/store Apple Store] are not all favorable. Similarly the M-Audio
MobilePre USB Audio Interface also has unfavorable reviews at the [www.apple.com/store Apple Store]. A
more expensive interface for FireWire is M-Audio's FireWire410. A typical analog mixing board is
the Behringer Eurorack UB1202FX Mixing Board.
3. The Microphone
And finally you need a professional microphone with XLR connectors. See Wikipedia's
Microphone. Musician's Friend has a microphone buyers guide. At the Audio Engineering Society's
convention, you can listen to many different microphones. The next AES Convertion is in San Francisco in
October.
One track at a time. Unlike the London Philharmonic which has a hundred
musicians, you will probably have only one musician. Hopefully, that one
musician can play lots of instruments, one at a time. So rather than record all the
musical tracks for a scene at one time like the London Phiharmonic, you will
record one track with each pass through the scene until you build up a complete
musical score. Each time you record a new track, the musician listens to the
previously recorded tracks plus the audio from the movie and adds one more
instrument to the mix.
Side Note
If you are a filmmaker with no skill with a musical instrument, try creating a humming score. Set up your
computer so you can record audio in sync with your movie. You can use programs like GarageBand, Final
Cut Express or Final Cut Pro to record audio in sync with a movie. iMovie also works but it can record only
one track. To create a humming score, you watch your movie and make musical sounds with your mouth...
including humming. If you follow the usual procedures for creating a film score via a multi-track recorder, you
will be amazed how good a humming score you can create. To do this, start by recording a track with the
melody. An alternative is to start by recording a rhythm track instead of a melody. Then simply watch the
movie over and over again, adding more and more tracks as you make music with your mouth. I know this
sounds really dorky but it actually works well for a temp track and a guide for your film composer.
[edit]2. Midi Modules = External Hardware
External midi sound modules were very popular at one time. Unfortunately,
the sounds produced by these modules (such as the Proteus) were not
natural and the external hardware took up a lot of space. Now e-Mu sells a
replacement for the Proteus which is software.
[edit]3. Midi with Software Instruments inside your Computer
Thanks to the advancement of technology, it is entirely possible to simply
create a digital musical score yourself using musical instruments that exist
only inside your computer. The cost of this method depends on what
instruments you want to have in the music. As and example, GarageBand
is free with all new Macintosh computers.
Digital vs. Analog vs. MIDI
Remember that while digital music is very easy to accomplish (using a midi keyboard and a guitar software
instrument), if you wanted to have 'real' guitars or good-quality singing in your song, for example, you would
have to purchase a USB interface, which would allow you to link up your guitar to the computer through it.
You would then require some recording software such as Cubase. But also realize that another alternative is
connecting a midi guitar to the computer via a midi interface (not analog) and use a software instrument
which has the sound of guitar inside your computer. You have lots of choices.
If you wanted to mix digital elements in with this, or even create an
entirely digital song, you would need a program such as Reason and
a Midi Keyboard. This method, while much cheaper than the
previous, will still cost a fair amount of money - for a copy
of Reason, Cubase, a USB Interface and a Midi Keyboard you could
expect to pay around 580/1097, Apple computers are costly as
well. Like most things, however, a lot of money could be saved by not
using things such asLogic Pro (which is the industry standard). There
is no use having brilliant music if your film is terrible, as it is most
likely to be after spending your budget. (Note: Apple's Logic is
designed for musicians... which is great but filmmakers who are not
musicians will find it awkward to use. Robert Purser in Digital Puppet
magazine (Winter 2006) found Logic Express (the lit version of Logic)
to be extremely poor for anyone who is not an experienced musician
with electronic gear.
Fortunately, all Apple Macintosh computers come with iLife software
which has good resources, too, for digital music making and also for
video editing. With GarageBand in iLife 06, you can create digital
music using the built-in software instruments and your music will be
in sync with your movie which you watch on the screen as you create
your film score. One advantage of GarageBand is you do not need a
MIDI interface or a MIDI keyboard. With the feature called "Musical
Typing", you can use the Macintosh computer's keyboard (which is
not velocity sensitive) as you play and record the music, one track at
a time, and then later go back and adjust the velocity of each note
(still in GarageBand). While this seems extremely awkward for
musician, computer nerds who are filmmakers will find it rather easy.
Note: Robert Elliott of Wikiversity's free course in film scoring for
filmmakers recommends getting the optional Jam Pack: Symphony
Orchestra for GarageBand from Apple Computer. The natural

musical instruments of the symphony orchestra are great for making
musical sound effects which sound like a real film score. (There are
similar packages from other manufacturers such as Mark Of the
Unicorn.)
[edit]Film
Scoring Theory
The purpose of adding music to a scene is to create a mood. That is

the purpose of music in a film -- to create the moods that the director
wants the audience to feel. Without the audience realizing it, your job
is to get the audience to react to the movie as the director wants.
Special Note - Music from Speaking Voices
Every dramatic scene has music in it, long before you add a musical film score. The actors' spoken words
have music in them. If you do not believe me, try reading a script in a monotone voice. Gifted actors will
have a three octave range in their speaking voices. Therefore, for many scenes with dialog, you do not need
any music, as long as the actors create the proper mood with their speaking voices.
Look at very old classic movies which have no musical score such as Angels with Dirty Faces. When you
hear James Cagney and Pat O'Brien speak, their voices are very musical... almost like stage voices - both
beautiful and melodic. Listen to how many octaves their voices range in a single sentence. Then look at
more modern motion pictures which have a more natural style of speaking. With the old classics, they do not
need any additional music. But with modern movies with more natural speaking voices, much of the music of
the speaking voice is missing... so much of the necessary mood is missing. The mood can be added only by
having a film score.
Correcting the Mood Also be aware that sometimes,
the actors' dialog creates a mood... but it is
the wrong mood. As an example, an actor might pretend
to be happy but, in reality, he is crying inside. The words
of the actors are the opposite of the mood the director
wants in the scene. You must add music (or musical
sound effects) to correct this and to create the proper
mood. Your music tells the audience what the real mood
is. Without your music in this scene, the audience can be
confused.
[edit]Music Can Be Just Sounds
The most important thing to understand about film
scoring is the music can be just sounds that create the
mood. That is Musical Sound Effects. Music does not

need a melody, a rhythm, or anything special. Since the
music's only purpose is to create the proper mood, just
one, two, or three notes is all you need most of the time.
Try creating the mood with musical sound effects which
has the same impact but a whole lot cheaper.
Try using GarageBand and Apple's Jam Pack:
Symphony Orchestra to create moods. As an example,
you can add a violin trill to a scary scene which give the
feeling of danger, doom, and dread. Just one note played
expressively creates all the mood you need.
[edit]Music Must Follow The Mood
The second most important thing to understand about
film scoring is the mood in a scene changes from
sentence to sentence. When two people are talking and
new information is being introduced rapidly, the mood is
continually changing. When the mood changes, the
music must change to match the mood. Songs cannot do
this because a song has only one mood.
Songs = One Continual Mood
When there is a conversation, you cannot use a song for film score. Songs have only one mood. When the
mood of the scene changes, a song cannot follow the mood changes.
There are only two times when songs are
appropriate for a film score. If you have an action
scene (with no conversation) or a montage scene,
the film score will need only one mood for the
entire scene. In this case, a song is ideal. So if you
wish, you can hire a local band or you can use prerecorded songs... if you can afford it.
[edit]Scoring for Background and Dialog
There are basically two kinds of music in a scene
which has dialog -- background music
and narrative music. Background music enhances
the mood of the scene. Background music must be
very soft and thin. It is heard faintly in the
background. Warning: If you write loud music for a

scene with people talking, when it comes time to
mix all the audio together, someone (usually the
director) will turn down the volume of your music
and no one will hear it clearly. So when you write
background music, make sure it is very simple
(i.e., a single melody which is simple with no
counter melodies and no strong rhythm such as
drums). For background music, it must be just a
simple melody played by only one or two
instruments.
Narrative music is music which tells a story (think
"Peter and the Wolf"). Therefore, narrative music
must be inserted between the dialog of the actors.
Normally, the only way you can do this is to add
gaps between the dialog when you edit the scene.
When people are talking, your music must NEVER
step on the dialog. The dialog is the most
important part of the movie so when there is
dialog, the music must be in the background. So if
you want to add music which helps tell the story,
there must be gaps between the dialog for you to
add the narrative music. These gaps are usually
only one to three seconds long. Once they are
filled with music or musical sound effects, the
audience does not notice the pause in the actor's
dialog. It all seems natural. The music seems to
become part of the conversation.
Therefore, it is best if the editor and the composer
are the same person. With personal movies, this is
not a problem. The same computer which edits the
movie can help create the film score for the movie
just by using different software.
[edit]Practical
Experience in Film Scoring
Currently, there is no easy way to practice film

scoring. You cannot go to a website and download
a scenes which needs a film score you so you can
practice film scoring.
Today, many motion pictures are edited with Final
Cut Pro or other editing software for personal
computers. It would take only ten minutes to
render a scene without music for people around
the world to practice creating film scores with
computer programs such as GarageBand.
This has never been done, even though it would
be terrific publicity for a motion picture. There
could be a dozen scenes on a DVD-Video disk.
When budding film composers have completed a
film score, they can post it on a website for other
people to listen to and compare with all the other
film scores for the same scene.
There is, however, an annual competition open to
composers aged 18-35, in which anyone can
download a one minute scene from an old silent
film and practice scoring. This is obviously not
exactly the same as practicing working around
dialogue and foley, but can be a good place to
start. The prizes aren't bad
either! http://www.turnerclassicmovies-yfcc.com/
[edit]Creating your Demo Reel
If you want a job in film scoring, you need
examples of your film scores to show film
producers just how good you are. That makes
perfect sense. How can you get hired doing film
scoring of movies if you do not have any great
scenes for your demo reel?
Currently, there are no websites where you can
order scenes from television dramas and motion
pictures that are all ready for you to score and then
to put on a DVD-Video disk for your demo reel.

There should be dozens of film distributors who
offer this service. And since you are promoting
their motion picture, they should offer this service
for free.
[edit]Film Editing vs. Film Scoring
The editing of a scene and the scoring of the
scene should go hand in hand. If you are curious
about doing film scoring and film editing
together, Star Movie Shop also sells a disk
called "Blindman's Bluff" which shows how two
scenes where edited and scored using just musical
sound effects. The second scene on this disk is
extremely short. By adding gaps between the
dialog and adding narrative music, the entire mood
of the scene changes and the scene becomes
twice as long, yet all the dialog remains the same.
[edit]Local
Bands
This is more of a sub-method than anything else. If

you have no real musical talent, many local bands
would be more than happy to write, record and
perform music for your film in exchange for credit
and a small amount of money.
[edit]Public
Domain
Finally, it is possible to, like Ed Wood, use music

that is in the public domain. This includes music
from films or songs that were copyrighted before
1923. This site is a good read.
[edit]Spotting
Session
When you are hired as a composer on a motion

picture, you will probably sit down with the director
and/or the producer who will tell you what
emotions they want in the movie. This is called
the spotting session. Never rely on what the
actor's say in the movie. The underlying mood is
usually something different from the dialog. Only

the director can tell you what moods you need to
create.
The biggest problem that a composer has with the
director (and vise versa) is the lack of
communication. You need to ask the director what
mood the audience is supposed to feel. Don't be
surprised if you get a blank stare and the
comment, "Isn't it obvious?". Directors have been
working with their vision for the movie for the last
three to five years. They assume that you
automatically understand. Sorry, it doesn't work
that way. Take a few minutes to find out EXACTLY
what the director wants the audience to feel for
each piece of dialog in the movie.
[edit]Usage
of music
Okay, so you have your materials, your band is

waiting and ready, your fingers are poised on your
midi keyboard. What now? Well, before putting
music into a scene it is important to think about
what you want the audience to feel. Do you want
them to be scared? Excited? If, for example, you
have an action scene in which a juggernaut is
speeding down a highway towards a roadblock,
you would not usually wish to accompany this with
soft classical music. A good idea when planning
the inclusion of music into a movie is:
Watch the movie all the way through.
Stop the movie when you see parts that

require music.
Note down the number of the starting frame.
Plan how long you would like the music to last.
Note down the number of the frame where the

music stops.
Plan what kind of music you would like and

how you would like it to behave - should it be
low and constant, swirling in and out of
earshot? Should it be loud, aggressive,
constant?
If you get stuck on how the music should

behave, go rent out some critically acclaimed
movies and study how music is used.
[edit]Further
Reading
Reason's Site
The Cubase Site
Public Domain Music
Musicrow FX
Wikipedia's Film Score explains film scoring

from a different viewpoint.
Movie Making Manual/Sound Design


llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll was originally referred to as "Sound Editor" but when legendary Film Editor Walter Murch worked
for Coppola on Rain People he was not a part of the union so could not use the standard job description and thus
coined the term "Sound Design".
Since then the two terms have served to identify the distinction between the technical skills needed to work in the
audio strand of Post-production (the editor) and the artistic or academic skills and knowledge used to inform edits (the
designer). Thus an editor would be able to employ equipment, such as a mixing desk, while the designer might
employ Walter Murch's theory, 'The Color of Sound', to create a well balanced mix.
In practise, a working professional must be both a competent editor and designer.

Contents
[hide]
1 The Importance of Sound

2 Sound Effects
o
2.1 Sound Sweetening
2.2 Sound Recording Hardware
2.3 Sound Software
[edit]The
Importance of Sound
The sound in a motion picture is composed of dialogue, music and sound effects. The most important thing that film
students must learn is 90% of a motion picture is sound. The picture is far less important than the sound. Here is why:
The audience can only look at one picture at a time. Yet the audience can hear dozens of distinct sounds all at the
same time and separate and process all that information... if it is done correctly. Therefore, much more information
can be transmitted from the filmmaker to the audience via sound than via picture.
The goal of a filmmaker is to give the audience as much information as possible. Too little information and the
audience becomes bored. Example: If a shot remains on the screen for more than 5 seconds, it becomes boring. For
the younger generation, the average time between cuts is 1.5 seconds where as movies made for an older
generation will cut from one picture to the next on an average of once every three seconds. This is because the eye
can examine and process all the information in a frame in about 3 seconds for an adult and 1.5 seconds for
teenagers. So if you are going to have a shot longer than about 5 seconds, you must find some way to convey more
information to the audience.
When a motion picture is delivered to a distributor (specially for distribution overseas), the sound must be on three
completely separate tracks. The dialogue, music and sound effects must be kept separate on the final mix. But when
you are editing a motion picture, you must always look at all the sound together. If you are doing sound, you cannot
ignore the dialogue or the music. They all tie together. They all work together.
Here is something else you need to know:
1. Sound effects make the scene seem real.
2. Music creates the mood of the scene.
Another thing you need to know is:
3. Sound and music create the continuity for a motion picture.
When you cut from one shot to another, you always create a discontinuity. If the sound remains
consistent from one shot to the next, continuity is restored.
So let's get started:

[edit]Sound
Effects
There are different types of sound effects.

1. Ambiance = Background sounds = Atmosphere
This is the sound in the background. There are two parts to this.
A. One part of ambiance is room tone. This is the background noise on the movie set. When you erase
dialog or unwanted noise (such as the director yelling, "Cut!", you must fill the gap with room tone.
B. After the scene is edited, a background sound is added from sound recorded in the field. If you are editing
a scene of three men in a cafeteria, you have to go to a cafeteria and record the background sounds from
the real cafeteria and put in faintly in the background of the scene.
Many movies do not have background sound. When you watch "The Sound Of
Music" and Maria is singing on the top of a mountain on a green meadow, there
is no ambience sound. This scene sounds as if she is singing in a sterile sound
booth... which she is. If you take that same sound track and add the sound of a
meadow in spring, the audience hears both the singing and the meadow
separately... and entire scenes sounds much more realistic and inviting. By not
having ambiance, you limit the information that you give the audience.
2. Walla
My favorite sound is walla. Where else but in motion pictures do you worry about how people mumble faintly
in the background? Walla is indistinguishable voices talking in a murmer. It seems a bit dorky to record
people mumbling but it really is great in scenes of a crowd. The most annoying thing is I have not found a
good sound effects library with walla.
3. Pre-Recorded Sound Effects
For music, using pre-recorded music is frowned upon. But for sound effects, the fastest and easiest way of
getting sound effects is from sound effects libraries.
4. Field Recording of Sound Effects
Eventually, this is where most sound effects for motion pictures come from. It is not easy to record good,
clean sound in the field.
5. Foley Sound Effects
See the separate section on Foley sound.
[edit]Sound
Sweetening
Sound Sweetening simply means enhancing a sound

effect. This is easy to do if you have the right sound
effects program. All you do is create copies of the sound
and apply various sound effects filters (reverb, echo,
pitch shifting compression etc.) and then combine them

all together until it sounds good. You might have half a
dozen different layers in a single sound effect. Total trial
and error.
[edit]Sound
Recording Hardware
There is no good sound recording device for low-budget

filmmakers. Sony's MD (MiniDisc) recorders have strong
limitations, because they compress the incoming signal
very much like the compression of a mp3 is done. It also
could only record in 32 Khz sampling rate. A good
alternitive is a DAT-recorder, which can record in 16 Bit
and 48 Khz without any compression. Try to record the
signal as loud as you can, without overshooting. This will
ensure that you have a good signal to noise rate. There
are also some hardware recorder on the market, which
are able to record 2 channels at once in high quality 24
Bit 48Khz or 96Khz on a memory card. They are the
best, you can get for the job, because they get the
sounds as clean as possible and without compression.
Some have build in microphones, which are quite good,
but also allow to connect external microphones with
symetric-wireing. The microphone that you use, makes a
tremendous difference. Also, with sound effects, you will
find that you need a wide selection of microphones since
each one is designed for a specific application.
[edit]Sound
Software
There are two kinds of software for sound.

1. DAW software is multi-track recording software which
simulates a digital audio workstation.
2. Sound editing software is a program which can work
with individual sound samples.
Programs such as iMovie, Final Cut Pro and Final Cut
Express include most of the functionality of a multi-track
digital audio workstation. All three programs are useless

for working with individual sound samples.
Long ago, there was a program called "SoundEdit" which
was easy to use, easy to view, totally bug free, and
produced wonderful results. A few years ago, Apple
provides a free copy of BIAS Peak which is not easy to
use, not easy to view and rather buggy in my humble
opinion (r_purser-at-digipuppet.com). There is an
upgrade path for a later version but I see little incentive
in upgrading a program that they could not get right the
first time. If you purchase an older version of Final Cut
Pro, you will still get this program.
Now Apple sells a program called SoundTrack which will
slice and dice any sound in a thousand different ways.
However, first look at the program will convince you it is
not designed for quick and simple sound effects
sweetening.
A fairly simple and effective program for quick sound
editing on Windows is Goldwave
(http://www.goldwave.com). It is lightweight, and
provides many effects to apply, along with options for
volume, panning, and others. It is even possible to edit a
wave on the sample level - you cannot get any more
fine-grained. There is an expression evaluation effect
which can be used for generating background hum,
white noise, and various other frequencies. While it does
not offer multi-track functionality, it's sister product
MultiQuence provides these features.
Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) is
another, totally free, sound editor for Windows, which
provides many of the features of higher-level programs
such as Cubase in a more accessible interface. This
program has received many recommendations and good
reviews.
Movie Making Manual/Foley

Foley sound is the technical term for the recreation of sound effects for a movie in a studio. Named after Jack Foley,
the inventor of this technique,[1] it entails replacement and addition of sound in a film. Foley sound is created by an
industry professional known as the foley-artist. Usually this is done in a recording studio known as a Foley Stage with
the film being played back and interlocked to an audio recording device while the artist watches the picture and uses
sometimes unusal articles and techniques to match picture.
Foley sounds may include as much as a: the dry smack of a punch, the revving engine of a car, or
the crashing waves of the sea.
External link: "The art of Foley" http://atlantamusicgroup.com/foley1.html
Movie Making Manual/ADR

ADR- Automated Dialog Replacement, (also referred to as "Looping"): The replacement of dialog in post-production
of a film or video. This is done with the vast majority of feature sound tracks. Often, the "sync" sound recorded on the
set is sub-par because of ambient noise, set acoustics, or talent deficiency. Sometimes it is requested by the
producer. For instance, all Mel Gibson's dialog was replaced in the original "Mad Max" movie because the distributor
felt his Australian accent was too distracting.
Historically, film stock was spliced into a loop of the segment of the dialog being replaced and this segment was
interlocked to an audio recording device. The actor would then watch the picture and listen to the sync sound while
repeating the phrase ad nauseum until the director was satisfied the take was perfect. This has been replaced
(except the "ad nauseum" part) by computerized workstations which greatly enhance the workflow as well as giving
distinct advantages to further post production audio work such as "sweetening".
Also known as:

Additional Dialog Recording
Contents
[hide]
1 ADR in India - MOS

2 ADR in Schools - DV Camcorder
3 Setup for ADR
4 Facts about ADR
[edit]ADR
in India - MOS
The best place to learn about ADR is India. In southern India (as well as occasionally in some countries in Europe),
35mm motion pictures are shot MOS (German for "Without Sound"). Then all the dialog is added later using ADR.
This meansnone of the dialog is in sync.
Question: Why do they do this? Answer: India has over 30 languages. Actually, India is like a group of countries, each
speaking their own language. Therefore, a motion picture for the Indian market must be dubbed into many different
languages.
In Madras 80% of heroines and 50% heros do not speak the language in which the movie is made. So they are left
with no other option but to do ADR.The dts technology help them to do different language shows with same print.That
is why 60%of theatres are dts ready.
All except one of the dubs would look out of sync... even if they used sync
sound. So why not have them all out of sync by not using any sync sound? The
logic of this might not seem ideal but the economics is wonderful.
By shooting MOS, you do not have to worry about noise on the movies set. That saves you 50% of your time right
there. You don't have to worry about getting actors who can say their lines clearly. You don't have to use movie
cameras which have accurate motors. You don't need a clapper to keep the audio in sync. (Note: In Madras, many of
the profitable, low-budget comedies are filmed with an old Arri "C" camera. You can never get sync sound with that
camera because of the noise and the less-than-perfect motor speed.)
In case you think that this is just one or two movies, remember that in Madras (Chennai), India, more motion pictures
are filmed each year than in any other city in the world... including Hollywood.
In case you think that no professional movie will ever be filmed this way, look at "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly".
Almost all of the dialog shots were filmed MOS. Even the indian people like to watch the later dubbed sound instead
of the sync sound.
The secret of doing movies MOS and adding all the dialog later via ADR is the quality of the actor's voices. If you
have highly skilled actors with good vocal control doing the ADR for the entire movies, the results are more than
acceptable. The voice actors for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" had been doing radio dramas for years when they
did the ADR for this movie for all but the principle characters in the movie, most of whom were speaking another
language.
ADR does not work as well when you mix shots done MOS with shots done with sync sound. Then people can hear
the difference. Some movies get away with mixing MOS shots with sync sound shots by using sync sound only for
close-up shots and using MOS for all the rest of the motion picture.
[edit]ADR
in Schools - DV Camcorder
The future of shooting motion pictures using total ADR never looked brighter. In theory, it is possible to film a motion
picture with a DV Camcorder or an HD camcorder by using the built-in microphone to create a scratch track and
then replacing all the dialog using ADR. Having a scratch track means you have a guide for both the voice actors but
also for the audio engineer who must sync the two together. aligning newly recorded dialog to match a scratch track
is easy. This way, you get perfect sync every time. That is why this method is ideal for high schools when they begin
to make their own, yearly motion pictures. The scratch track can be extremely noisy but the final movie will have
perfectly clear dialog.
Remember: For most motion pictures, all audio except the dialog is replaced in post production. If you also replace
the dialog, you have an extremely clear sound track for your motion picture. So using a scratch track, you can make
acceptable movies.
Naturally, a movie with little talking (a Western) will work better with ADR than a movie which has lots of verbal
emotion.
[edit]Setup
for ADR
Here is what you need to do your own ADR:

The Room
The biggest problem with doing ADR for a low budget motion picture is building the recording studio. Getting
a good sounding room which is totally quiet is not easy in a high school.
The Computer
Most computers, including laptops, are not silent. The noise of the disk drive is enough to ruin the audio.
Therefore, the computer must be outside the room where the microphone is.
The Software
If your budget is extremely low, you can use GarageBand 3 to do ADR looping. You just need a program
which can play the movie while you record the dialog.
A better alternative is a music program. Most music programs now include full DAW functionality. Get one
which is easy to use.
Professional Software titles like Gallery's ADRStudio are widely used for Professional
ADR sessions. Steinberg's "Nuendo" and Digidesign's "Pro Tools" are two audio
software applications commonly used for post-production and are available on both
Macintosh and Windows platforms but these do not have the specialist features of
titles like ADRStudio or VoiceQ ADR. Features such as the script text scrolling on the
screen as the video file plays and audible 'cues' playing without manual intervention.
Gallery's VoicePro software is used for Video Game Dialog Recording.
The Interface
You need a good way to convert the signal from a professional microphone to a digital waveform in the
computer. Many Firewire and USB microphone amplifiers are now available which will accept a balanced
microphone jack.
The Microphone
Good microphones are expensive. And they are fragile. Anything less and you will notice the difference in
quality, although in the last 10 years prices of acceptable models have come down to less than a fifth the
price of the traditionally used high end Sennheisers, Neumanns and AKGs.
[edit]Facts
about ADR
Robert Rodriquez did not use any sync sound for his first feature-length motion
picture. Instead, he recorded the audio immediately after filming the scene. As
anyone in Hollywood will tell you, this is impossible. So, if you are going to bend
the rules in filmmaking, you must understand how everything works. Note: When
Robert Rodriquez makes a movie, he usually creates a 10-minute film school
documentary. Watch these and learn.
Look at any motion picture filmed before about 1980... specially the outdoor
scenes. Anytime you hear completely clear dialog from the actors, it was
probably done with ADR. Once you start looking, you will be amazed how many
movies used ADR that you thought were live recording on the movie set.
Now there are programs such as VocAlign which will take audio recorded in ADR
(even in a foreign language) and reshape the audio to match the lip sync in the
original audio.
ovie Making Manual/Post-production/Editing

Contents
[hide]
1 What Is Editing?
2 How do I edit a Film?
o
2.1 Logging and Assembly
2.2 The First Rough Cut
2.3 The Main Edit
2.4 The Fine Cut

3 How Do I Edit a Scene?
4 Software & Equipment
4.1 Post Production Project Management Software
4.2 Free and Open Source Editing Software
4.3 Commercial Editing Software
4.4 Commercial All-in-one Editing Systems

5 A Short History of the Craft of Editing
5.1 Origins
5.2 As a Special Effect
5.3 Telling a Story
5.4 New Russian Ideas
5.5 The Dominant Style
[edit]What
Is Editing?
Editing is the process of choosing which picture and sounds will go into the finished film. Initially this includes picking
what is good and what is bad, removing the poor material and putting it into script order. Later it also includes the
creation and control of moments that may or may not have been intended during the shoot (see below). This page
deals primarily with picture editing, and the Sound Design module may be found here.
[edit]How
do I edit a Film?
What follows describes the typical process of editing a scripted drama.

[edit]Logging
and Assembly
Watch and listen to all the material. In a notebook make a log of your reactions to them and any ideas that pop into
your head. Use timecode to link your thoughts to specific shots and do not be fooled into thinking you will remember
these thoughts later. For a long project the first edit will be a simple version consisting of all the wide shots strung
together. This assembly will contain the fewest number of edits required to tell the story. The assembly edit allows you
to get a sense of the project as a whole before you begin to focus on the specifics.
[edit]The
First Rough Cut
Now the rough cut begins. Taking one scene at a time begin to work through all the takes so as to find the best, most
consistent material. The scenes may be cut in any order and the point is to let each scene work on its own. When you
have a good working version of a scene swap it into the assembly so the cut gradually builds in complexity. Be sure
to save versions of your edit several times a day so as to keep a record of all choices made.
Throughout the rough cut be careful to keep the sync sound together with its picture. Do begin to mute or delete
unneeded audio, but dont bother putting in any additional sounds yet. The first rough cut is completed when each
scene has been looked at individually, and placed into the edit.
Take the opportunity for a break, overnight if possible, and view the cut without stopping. Afterward take your
notebook and begin to re-view the film, stopping to make notes of changes youd like to try. For a feature film this
process can take many hours.
[edit]The
Main Edit
Now the process of approaching a fine cut begins. Scenes will have individual problems, and now that they are all
part of one film, issues will become clear that are inter-dependent between scenes. This stage of the edit can be
difficult as some problems can seem unsolvable. Be sure to keep moving.
Key sound effects and music may be introduced at this stage, and the complexity will grow. Be sure to try out lots of
ideas, secure in the knowledge that each version is safely saved and may be returned to if necessary. The stage
when a rough cut becomes a fine cut is not exact, but is often when the editor feels each idea has been fully
explored.
Bring in others to watch your fine cut. Merely sitting next to someone new while watching your film can bring out
problems in the edit you have previously missed. Pay careful attention to any questions they ask. Even apparently
casual queries can reveal holes in the storytelling that you and your team have missed or unsuccessfully tried to
solve.
[edit]The
Fine Cut
You havent finished cutting until several new viewers have seen the edit and youve worked with the problems
raised. If there are major issues that are never quite dealt with then now is the time that you must be bravest with the
material and experiment boldly. It can mean going back to rough cut stage with a scene or two.
Fine cutting itself is the process of getting down to perfect frame accuracy for every single edit in the film, of making
sure each moment flows as best it can. Dont bother working at this level of detail until all story issues have been
satisfactorily solved. Once the fine cut is approved the picture is considered locked and no further changes will occur.
The project will move into full sound post and the editors work is done. Back up all the project files. Youre done.
[edit]How
Do I Edit a Scene?
Look at the new section for How To Edit a Dramatic Scene. In this section, you will learn the specific details of
creating the rough edit for a conversation and then creating L Cut and adding Cut Away Shots to obtain the
maximum impact for a conversation.
[edit]Software
& Equipment
Films are edited almost exclusively off-line using computer-based editing systems. These Non-Linear Editors (NLEs)
allow for fast experimentation with ideas and the saving of multiple versions of films. Although the basics of editing
require only cuts and dissolves, commonly NLEs include tools for colour grading, keying, speed effects and sound
mixing.
These programs allow you to import raw digital video footage from many types of files, or to record in from tape. You
can then edit the video using a timeline, which is where the story is built up. The program then allows you to play out
the final edit onto tape, or to export the edited video in the form of a digital video file.
[edit]Post
Production Project Management Software
[1] (Mac and PC - Used to build budgets, supports industry standard tasks, tracks time and costs, schedules
editing suites, equipment and staff, manages inventory and handles billing.)
[edit]Free
and Open Source Editing Software
Kino (Linux Only - Excellent for capturing DV, only basic editing functionality)
Kdenlive (linux only - HD capable, Intuitive interface, A New project under development )
Cinelerra (Linux Only - HD capable, Interface takes getting used to)
VirtualDubMod (Windows Only)
Blender3D (only Linux version with full ffmpeg support- capable 3d modelling)
ZS4 Video Editor (Windows, Linux, and OS X; Not OSS but free for any kind of use)
Avid FreeDV (Windows/Mac OSX)No longer available. Site now leads you to a trial version of Avid.
Cinepaint(Linux,Windows/Mac OSX, deep paint manipulation and image processing)
Article from professional perspective
[edit]Commercial
Editing Software
Apple Final Cut Pro (Mac OSX)
Apple iMovie (Mac OSX)
Avid XPress Pro (Windows/Mac OSX)
Adobe Premiere Pro (Windows/Mac OSX
Pinnacle Studio (Windows/OSX)
Pinnacle Liquid (Windows)
Ulead Mediastudio Pro (Windows)
Windows Movie Maker (Windows)
Sony Vegas (Windows)
Mewa Film (Windows)
[edit]Commercial
All-in-one Editing Systems
Avid Adrenaline
Avid Symphony
Autodesk Discreet Smoke
Useful information:
Build your own editing system
Ken Stone's FCP page A great source of articles about Final Cut Pro and related software (DVD Stuidio Pro,
Motion etc) Good articles on the basics of editing also.
Star Movie Shop Practice scenes for film editing students who want to learn dialog editing for narrative
dramas.
For more information, take a look at these pages:
Mac in film production
Windows in film production
[edit]A
Short History of the Craft of Editing
Editing is unique amongst the creative arts. At the beginning of cinema at the end of the 1800s, there were writers,
actors, directors, producers, set designers, musicians and choreographers all from the stage. Even use of the new
technology, the motion picture camera, was a straightforward step from stills photography. But there were no editors.
Those that share the name, literary editors, share some of the concerns of film editors such as story and coherence,
but in film parlance they are more akin to producers than editors.
[edit]Origins
Then one day a gentleman was filming a street scene and the camera jammed, as those hand-made machines did
quite regularly. After fixing the problem the filmmaker continued to film the street. On developing the film, he
discovered that a carriage in the centre of the road seemed to disappear before his very eyes. Much enamoured with
this trick, he used it to great effect and other filmmakers copied the technique. This was the first known edit.
[edit]As
a Special Effect
Among the finest exponents of this new technique was a stage magician named George Melies who created such
lavish fantasies a La Voyage Dans La Lune. It was the Titanic of its day, of great length, with astonishing special
effects, excitement, laughter and tense drama. In it, cuts are used more often as an effect device than in the narrative
sense that we are used to today.
[edit]Telling
a Story
It was the American Edwin S. Porter who created the first cinematic narrative box-office hit The Great Train Robbery.
Although scenes were still largely played in long shot as if performed on a stage, the scenes of the hero riding to the
rescue were intercut with scenes of the girl being terrorised by the hoodlums. Narrative editing had begun!
[edit]New
Russian Ideas
Russia is our next stop in the history of editing. In Russia in the teens and twenties filmmakers such
as Vertov, Kuleshov and Eisenstein experimented with editing styles. The influence of Vertovs apparently random
connection of images can be seen in modern documentaries such as Koyaanisquatsi and Baraka. Eisenstein's
almost brutal editing of images looked forward to the editing of today's action blockbusters and Kuleshov managed to
codify Russian Montage Theory (or Intellectual Montage) to demonstrate how editing, through juxtaposition, creates
meaning from two or more separate pieces of film.
In a famous experiment, Kuleshov showed how by cutting from a mans face to a bowl of hot food, the emotion of
hunger was conveyed to the audience. These two shots had not been filmed at the same time and so it was entirely
through editing their meaning was created. Now the real magic happened. Kuleshov used a close-up of the same
actor and cut it with a pretty girl, showing affection. It was in fact the exact same shot of the actor that the audiences
were interpreting as two different performances. Kuleshov had demonstrated that control of film's meaning lies in the
control of the edit.
[edit]The
Dominant Style
D.W. Griffith and other pioneers of American Cinema through the 1920s settled into using what is now considered the
Classical Narrative style of filmmaking, in which editing aspires to be invisible to the audience. This style of editing
(also known as continuity editing) has become so dominant across the world that to use other styles is seen as
radical and even anti-commercial.
Movie Making Manual/Scene Editing

Contents
[hide]
1 How to Edit a Dramatic Scene

1.1 Conversation vs. Action
1.1.1 Editing Action Look for the best images
1.1.2 Editing Dialog (a conversation) Keep the natural rhythm between the actors
1.1.3 Example - Selecting the shots in a conversation

2 How do I edit a conversation?
2.1 Step 1 - Study the Dailies for a Conversation
2.2 Step 2 - The Rough Edit for a Conversation
2.3 Step 3 - Adjust the Picture for a Conversation

2.3.1 Rolling Edits and Adding New Shots
2.4 L Cut == Split Edit
2.5 Step 4 - Add Music and Sound Effects to a Conversation

2.5.1 Two totally different kinds of music
3 How do I edit an Action Sequence?
[edit]How
to Edit a Dramatic Scene
There are two types of scenes in a dramatic motion picture. Action sequences and Conversations. This is important
because conversations are edited the opposite of action sequences.
[edit]Conversation
vs. Action
Action = no dialog
Action sequences are scenes (or parts of scenes) where there is no dialog.
Conversation = dialog
Conversations are scenes (or parts of scenes) where the actors continually talk back and forth. (Normally,
a monolog is considered an action sequence since there is no natural rhythm between the actors.)
Golden Rule: When two or more people are talking back and forth, you have a "conversation". The rest
of the time, the scene is considered "action."
[edit]Editing Action
Look for the best images
Action sequences are edited based on the images on the screen. For action sequences, the picture is the
most important thing. Because there is no dialog to worry about, you tell the story visually.
[edit]Editing Dialog (a conversation)
Keep the natural rhythm between the actors
In contrast with action scenes, a conversation is edited based on the rhythm of the dialog as the actors
talk back and forth. The rhythm of the dialog must sound perfectly natural... which is surprising since, most
of the time, each actor's dialog comes from a different shot.
Special Note: The gap between the dialog must seem natural. You must decide how soon to cut from one
actor to the next.
In a conversation, the audio is more important than the picture. Therefore, a conversation is edited based on
the audio, not the picture.
If the picture is bad and the audio is good, the audience will think it is supposed to be that way. If the picture
is terrific and the audio is bad, the audience will complain.
[edit]Example - Selecting the shots in a conversation

A typical conversation between two people is filmed mostly with over-theshoulder shots using a single overhead microphone which points only to
one of the actors.
Sound from the first actor
When the camera is pointed at Actor "A" over the shoulder of Actor "B", you will hear the dialog for Actor "A"
clearly. But the dialog from Actor"B" will not be clear because the only microphone is directly above Actor
"A".
Sound from the second actor
When the camera is pointed at Actor "B" over the shoulder of Actor "A", the dialog for Actor "B", who is now
directly under the boom microphone, will be clear but the dialog from Actor "A" will be faint.
Rule
Therefore, when you edit a typical scene, you use the dialog (sound) of Actor "A" from the shots of Actor "A"
and the dialog of Actor "B" from the shots of Actor "B".
You have no choice. Because this is the only good dialog, you MUST edit the scene this way. However, if
you can seperate the audio from the video you can mix and match the good audio with video that doesnt
nessecaryily go with it. (for example, if you want a shot of Actor B's reaction to Actor A's line, you can use
the dialouge from the actor A clip on the actor B shot).
The only adjustable element
The only choice you have is the gap or space between the dialog. Your goal is to make this gap seem totally
natural. (This might seem trivial but it is not. Also, there is a special circumstance where you will add huge
gaps between the actor's dialog. See Narrative Music below.)
[edit]How
do I edit a
conversation?
Here are the steps for editing

a conversation (scripted dialog from a
narrative drama):
[edit]Step
1 - Study the Dailies for a

Conversation
The first step is to look at all the dailies. On a
motion picture or television drama, you will
be working with the Circle Takes.
Circle Takes
Circle Takes saves money. When the movie is shot on film, it costs a lot of money to prepare the dailies for
editing therefore only the best shots are used.
Circle takes are the dailies that the director feels are worth the expense of doing a telecine, audio sync,
etc.. For 35mm film, when the director likes a take, she yells, "Cut, Print". Just as soon as she yells, "Print",
the script supervisor, the camera assistant, and the sound mixer person will circle that take number on their
notes so the lab will print only these circled takes. That is how these shots get the name of Circle Takes.
The next morning when the director views the dailies, she views only the circle takes. Therefore, if you are
editing a motion picture or television drama shot on 35mm film, the dailies that you receive are usually pretty
good.
Practice Scenes
The Highlander Uncut scenes
are no longer for sale. The Star
Movie Shop is no longer open to
the public. None of the
other unedited scenes are
digitized for editing on personal
computers. And even
the Gunsmoke footage is only
for sale to instructors and only
on tape. Finding good practice
scenes is unbelievably difficult.
American Cinema Editor's
(ACE's) Editing Contest
Deadline OCTOBER.
If you are a film student at a recognized film school, applications for American Cinema Editors' The ACE
Student Editing Competition are accepted in OCTOBER (that is this month only). The first 50 applicants
only. $125. (American Cinema Editors, inc., 100 Universal City Plaza, Verna Fields Bldg. 2282, Room 190.
Universal City, CA 91608) Look at their website for all the rules and details. Three finalists will be guests at
the annual ACE Eddie Awards in February. Each will receive a plaque. The winner will receive a special
Student Award and publicity in the Hollywood trade papers. ACE does not pay transportation or hotel
expenses for out-of-town students. Note: ACE is an honorary society of film editors; not a Hollywood union.
"Overview Movies"
Overview movies are extremely helpful for determining which takes are the best. An overview movie is all
the dailies cut apart and re-assembled so you can watch all the dailies while following along with the story.
Just by watching the overview movie, you can quickly find the best dialog.
The term "Overview Movie" is not a standard term. Sometimes it is simply called a rough assembly of all the
dailies.
When looking for the best audio, you are looking for both good quality sound and the best delivery of the
dialog by the actor. When you see all the clips in the overview movie, you will immediately notice which shot
has the best performance.
Ignore
the
picture..
. mostly.
Since you are looking for the best quality dialog in a conversation, you are basically ignoring the picture (in a
conversation) and concentrate on the spoken word. If you are editing circle takes (the really good takes from
a feature film or television drama), the picture is almost never bad. The image might not be great but it will
be OK. Therefore, when you find the best audio for a piece of dialog, you don't worry too much about the
picture which comes with it. The picture can be fixed later.
Ed
iti
ng
pr
oc
ed
ur
e
Once you have selected the best take for a piece of dialog, the procedure is simple. If you are using a
professional editing program such as Final Cut Pro, you will select a fresh copy of the take. Then you will
trim the clip by setting the IN and OUT points. And finally, you put the trimmed clip on the timeline. You must
do this for each piece of dialog for the entire scene as you follow along with the script.
Ho
w
to
tri
m
cli
ps
There are no rules for how to trim the clips for each piece of dialog however I prefer to cut half way between
each piece of dialog. I look at the audio waveform of the clip and quickly see where one actor's dialog ends
and the next begins. I simply cut half way in-between (in the middle of the silence.) If the actors are talented,
they will repeat themselves perfectly for each take. Therefore, the spacing between pieces of dialog (the
timing) is usually perfect. Therefore, if you always cut half way between, you will retain the natural timing of
the actors. They do all the work for you!
ADR =
Replace
ment
Dialog
The instructions above are very simple. Look at the clips for a scene and select the best sounding dialog
while ignoring the picture. But what happens if you have the ability to do ADR where you replace bad dialog
with good dialog or even different dialog? So before you cast everything in stone, you must stop and think,
"If I take the best looking clips (based on the picture) and replaced the dialog with clean sounding dialog
recorded in the studio, which shots would I select then?" Sometimes the decision is made for you because
the actors are not available. The lower the budget (and the lower the pay to the actors), the less likely you
will be able to find the actors when you want to do ADR. But if the actors are all available, ADR changes
everything!
[edit]Step
2The Rough
Edit for a
Conversatio
n
Check the
gaps
Once you have decided which audio is best (for each piece of dialog == Actor "A" said this, Actor "B" said
that, Actor "A" says this, Actor "B" says that), you assemble all the clips together following the script as a
guide. That means you put the clips on the timeline of our editing program such as Final Cut Pro.
After this is done for all the dialog in the conversation, you listen to the rough edit. All the dialog should flow
naturally from one actor to the other; back and forth, back and forth. If it does not sound natural, now is the
time to fix it. To fix any timing problems, you adjust the gap between the actors' dialog so the dialog sounds
like a real conversation where one person speaks and then the next person speaks, etc.
Visual Discontinu
OK... for now
When you watch the rough edit of the scene, you will probably see visual discontinuities between the shots.
Example: At the end of one shot, an actor is looking in one direction and at the beginning of the next shot,
the actor is looking in the wrong direction. Again, don't panic! This is normal for a rough edit. For now, just
listen to the dialog and make sure it sounds perfects... all the dialog must flow natural like a real
conversation. The dialog is the only thing you worry about now.
Best Audio
Normally, the best audio comes from the close-up shot of the actor. This is because the microphone (which
is usually located overhead) is closer to the actor in a close-up shot. On most single camera film shoots,
there is only one microphone and it is pointed at the actor who is shown on the screen.
Lock the Audio
Once you are finished with the rough edit of a conversation, the audio is basically finished. Then you lock
the audio once the audio sounds perfectly natural in the conversation. Later, you will add sound effects and
music but you will notmake changes to the dialog once it sounds good in the rough edit... unless, of course,
you plan to add narrative music which is explained later.
[edit]Step
3 - Ad
Conversation
The next step is to
eliminate any disco
make it look better
picture, not the aud
I repeat, in case y
Once the rough edit of a conversation is finished, lock the audio. That way, you will never make a mistake
when you adjust the picture. For a program like Final Cut Pro, you simply keep the dialog on separate tracks
and lock those tracks which are dialog.
Let's play tennis..

After the rough edit is done, the picture should look like a tennis match... bouncing back and forth as each
actor speaks his lines. This gets boring very quickly. Also, the scene is not very informative to watch since
you never see the person who is listening. If you never see the person who is listenting, you miss seeing
what people are thinking which is often more important than what they say.
[edit]Rolling Edit
Now we get to the
Rolling the picture
Remember, th
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to make any a
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conversations
The visual images

two ways:
Rolling the Pictur

Once the audio is locked, you can roll the picture edits either forward or backward in time. The roll picture
tool simply makes one clip longer while making the other clip shorter without changing the total length of the
two shots. Therefore, using the roll edit tool does not increase the length of the scene nor does it shorten
the length of the scene.
Most professional editing programs such as Final Cut Pro have a special tool designed specifically to roll the
picture edit (of two adjacent clips) forward or backward. Note: Be sure you have locked the audio because
the roll-edit tool (in Final Cut Pro or Express or Adobe Premiere) will roll both the picture and the audio if
you are not careful. Since the audio for a conversation is perfect when you finished the rough edit, you do
not want to change it with the roll-edit tool. Most importantly: you want to change the picture without loosing
sync or making any changes to the audio.
Adding Cut-Away
Finally, you can add additional shots to a scene for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, this is to hide continuity
problems, (discontinuity problems) or simply to hide a bad frame. Or you can add a new shot (a cut away
shot) simply to help tell the story. Or it can be to add new information for the eye if the shots are too long and
too static.
With a professional editing program such as Media Composer or Final Cut Pro, you simply put the new clip
(the cut away shot) on a track above the other tracks. Done!!! Most of the time, you only add the picture and
not the audio. Therefore, I prefer to add add cut-away shots after I have finished rolling all the picture edits.
When you listen to the DVD commentary of Garry Marshall on his motion pictures, he mentions that he puts
a cat in the movie so he has something to cut away to when he wants to speed up a scene or hide
problems. Look for the cat in the last scenes of Runaway Bride.
[edit]L
Cut == S
L Cuts are the sam
creates a Split Edi
powerful tool for film
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1. Rolling 'Forwar
If you roll the picture edit forward in time (to a later time), you will see the reaction of the actor after he has
finished talking. The camera remains pointed at the actor who finished talking while the next actor begins to
speak. When a good actor finishes saying his or her lines, he will have a very interesting expression on his
face. It is important to see this. (Remember, rolling the picture edit to show reaction is only for conversations,
not action sequences.)
2. Rolling Backwa
If you roll the picture edit backward in time, you will see the anticipation of the actor before he begins to
speak. Before one actor has finished talking, the camera switches to the actor who is about to speak. When
you do, you usually see a very interesting expression on the actors face the second before he begins to
speak. It is important to see this. (Remember, rolling the picture edit to show anticipation is only for
conversations, not action sequences.)
Huge impact
By showing the actor's reaction or anticipation, you change the feel of the scene. When the audience sees
what the actors are thinking, the audience gets a totally new insight into the scene. That is why L Cuts are
so important. It is probably the most powerful tool that an editor has.
This is art, not a s

Deciding how far and in which direction to roll a picture edit is an artistic decision. Translated: you must
use trial and error to find the best possible visual transition'... whatever that is!!! Only your artistic sense
will tell you when it is right.
Hopefully, now you
possibly see. Wha
an action sequenc
Stretching Time in
If you are editing an action shot, you can slow the scene down to show everthing from many different
angles. When the car blows up, you can show it from every possible angle, over and over again.
But in a conversation, you don't have that freedom. But with a conversation, the actors speak at only one
speed. You cannot change that speed in post-production. You cannot repeat the dialog just to slow the
action. The conversation must always sound natural, flowing from one actor to the next. In a conversation,
you are very limited... unless you use tricks!!!!
Cool tricks for co

Actually, there is a trick which allows you to show more of a conversation; Add narrative music (music
which helps tell the story.) With narrative music, you use music or musical sound effects to act like another
actor in the conversation. When you pause to add the sound of music which is extremely expressive, the
pause in the conversation allows you to show more visually. This is a technique editors use to give a scene
more time.
To do this, you place a gap inbetween dialog. Then you add music which fills the space so the conversation
still seems natural. This music cannot be simple background music which plays blandly in the background.
Instead this music must contribute to the conversation. This is why it is called Narrative Music. (More about
Narrative Music later.)
The best visual tr

One of the most important things to look for is Continuity. Example: After you roll the picture edit, is the
actor facing the same direction when you cut from one shot to the next? If not, you must not use it. You have
to find another transition point. That is, you must roll the picture edit to a different point where the continuity
problem has disappeared. Strange enough, even though it is easy to have continuity problems, it is just as
easy to pick another point (roll the picture edit to another frame) and the continuity problem will disappear. It
is amazing.
Watch for Lip Syn

Another important thing to watch is lip sync. Most of the time, when you roll a picture edit, loosing lip sync is
not a problem. Most conversations are filmed using matching over-the-shoulder shots. In all of the shots,
you never see the lips of the actor who is not talking. Therefore, you never have a lip sync problem when
you roll the picture edits because his lips are not visible.
But in some shots, such as a wide shot, the audience might see the lips of both actors. Then you have to be
extremely careful that you do not show the actors out of lip sync when you roll the picture edit. Sometimes,
you have to go back to the rough edit and change the gap between the dialog so that both the clips have
their dialog lined up (so that the two clips are in sync.) Then, when you roll the picture edit, you will see the
actor's lips from one clip and listen to the actor's voice from the other shot and they will still be in perfect (or
nearly perfect) sync. (When you watch a lot of movies, you will begin to see slight errors in lip sync before or
after an edit. This is probably because of an L Cut. it it is not enough for the audience to notice so don't
worry.)
Hey, that's ugly, m

The other use of rolling the picture edit is simply to hide bad frames or ugly shots. Sometimes, you can even
roll the picture edit forward or backward until you eliminate the entire shot. (Remember, the audio is locked
so it always sounds perfect no matter how much you roll the picture edit.)
3. Emphasize one
Rolling the picture edits can also be used in another way... at the same time. You can roll the picture edits in
a conversation to show both the anticipation of the actor before he begins to speak and the reaction of the
actor once he finished speaking. This is a tremendously powerful tool because it draws the attention of the
audience to a particular actor. Therefore, much of the time that the other actors are talking, you continue to
watch the actor you are interested in. This is easy to do since all you are doing is rolling the picture edits
with the audio locked.
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[edit]Step
4 - Ad
Finally, you add mu

Film scoring seem
but it can be... if yo

Mood
The most important thing to remember is music creates the mood of the scene. Music does not have to
have a song, melody, rhythm or anything else. It just needs to create a mood. Think of sounds, specially
orchestra sounds, which create a mood. What sound creates fear? What sounds create horror? What
sounds create happiness?
A five-year-old kid pounding on a piano keyboard while watching a scene from a movie is the ideal film
composer. Most professional musicians cannot think this way because they are trained to create beautiful
songs. So don't be surprised if highly-skilled musicians have no idea how to create a film score. Our schools
don't teach this.
Sources of Music
Film editors work with music all the time. They just don't know it.
Dialog (the spoken word) has music in it. Try reading a script in a monotone voice. You will immediately see
the difference. An actor who is trained for the stage has a three octive speaking voice. In a conversation, the
actor's voice will range 3 octaves.
When you edit a scene, you must decide if the actor's voice creates the proper mood. If not, you have to add
music.
[edit]Two totally
There are two kind
Background Musi
Background music is very simple and soft music which is heard in the background to enhance the mood of
the scene. Background music has no drums, at most only single melody, and never is at the same
frequencies as the dialog. Background music can be a single note held for a long time. It can be that simple!
Narrative Music
Narrative music is completely different. Narrative music is music which tells a story and acts like one of the
actors in the scene. Narrative music can have themes which are very short melodies which are associated
with an actor or an action.
Narrative music can only go in gaps between the dialog of the actors because it is too strong to be placed on
top of dialog. That is why, if you want to add narrative music, you must go back to the rough
edit and add the correct gaps between the dialog of the actors.
How long should the gap be? How long should the narrative music be? You must make the music, and then
create the gap to fit the music. The only way that you will know the correct length of the gap is if you work
closely with the composer during the editing of the scene... or if you are the composer!!!! This is why the
best film editors also are great film composers (or at least understand film score composing). It is really not
that hard so try! (It takes a lot of time though. But it will make your edits better.)
Let me repeat!!!
When you add narrative music to a scene, it is like adding another actor to the scene. Therefore, when you
edit a scene with two actors plus narrative music, the conversation no longer bounces back and forth
between the two actors with a natural rhythm. Now the music also speaks to the audience as well as the
actors. So now, the edit of the scene must bounce back and forth between Actor "A", Actor "B", and the
music. Each has equal weight. When one is speaking, the others must listen. So when the music is playing,
the actors must listen. That is a cool trick since there was no music when the scene was filmed.
The Trick
So how do you get the actors to stop and listen to the music. There was absolutely no music during the
filming of the scene. On the movie set, the actors never hear any music... if for no other reasons that the film
score did not exist then.
Of course, there is a trick to this. If you are lucky (which for most scenes, you will be), you have shots where
the actors are listening to each other. You simply use this footage when you want the actors to listen to the
music. In these shots, the actor is waiting to reply. The audience does not know this. So it looks like the
actors are actually listening to the music.
Actually, this is easier than it sounds. Normally, for close-up shots and over-the-shoulder shots of an actor,
you cannot see the other person talking. The other actor's lips are not visible. So before and after an actor
speaks, you alwayshave footage of the actor listening. That is the footage that you use!
But I hear voices!

Yes, when you watch one actor listening to another actor, you hear the dialog from the second actor. Get rid
of it!!!! Simply replace this unwanted dialog with room tone.
[edit]How
do I
We have spent all
There are no rules
When you edit a co
Movie Making Manual/Visual Effects

Note that this page covers Visual Effects and not Special Effects. SFX are things like pyrotechnics, rain and snow.
Visual Effects (VFX) are the optical tricks that are used, including projection, green-screen, miniatures, etc...
Visual Effects have always existed; they somewhat pre-existed Cinema. Cinema itself, based on the illusion of
movement, is an Effect. Every second of projection is an illusion of movement, a lie told by the director to the
audience, a mandatory preface that brings us to the practical aspects of visual effects. It is not possible to ignore the
revolution in the field brought by the employment of digital software. The digital tools today replace a lot of arts in the
past based just on human skills.
Contents
[hide]
1 Visual Effects are at the core of the moviemaking process.

2 Budget Green Screen Shooting
3 Front Projection
4 Matte Paintings
5 3D Animation for Visual Effects
o
5.1 3D Modeling
5.2 3D Animation
6 Compositing
6.1 8-Bit Graphics
6.2 Rotoscoping
6.3 Tracking
[edit]Visual
Effects are at the core of the moviemaking process.
If you cannot get a special effect in the camera, then you must create the visual effect in post production. With major
motion pictures, each shot can cost thousands of dollars. But for low budget filmmakers, there are cheaper
alternatives.
Do you want to start doing amazing special effects with your small DV Camcorder? Then you have at least two
options: Matte Paintings and Budget Green Screen Shooting.
[edit]Budget
Green Screen Shooting
Green screen is one way of adding beautiful backgrounds to live action shots. Probably the most extreme example of
this is Robert Rodrigues' Shark Boy and Lava Girl. But even if you are shooting with only a DV camcorder, you can
do inexpensive green screen shots.
One can cut the cost of the shot substantially by doing your green screen shooting outdoors using a themonuclear
device (the sun) which is free (on sunny days). This means that all you have to hire is the green screen itself - none
of the finely calibrated even lighting that's normally so essential for the computer to get a good key on the other end.
As an alternative to purchase or rental, one can manufacture a green screen. Commercial lighting supply houses sell
paints specially manufactured for the purpose, but it is probably possible to get by with an ordinary house paint
chosen carefully to be "green enough" for the computer to pull a key.
The most common difficulties with green-screen are:
getting even lighting on the screen.
getting the lighting on the foreground to match the lighting of the (separately shot) background.
By shooting outside, with a diffusion frame hung over the shot you will get naturally even sun-light all over the screen
and actor. This will also match the daylight conditions of the background that later replaces the green. If your intended
background is not going to be normal daylight, or if you get a lot of cloud movement, this may not work for you.
Make sure your foreground actor is a good distance from the screen, so you don't get even a hint of green light
reflected back onto him/her, as this will create problems later - but with your light source being the sun (overhead),
you're less likely to get green spill than if the lights were hitting the screen from the front, as they probably would in a
studio.
[edit]Front
Projection
Front Projection (often abbreviated FP) is a technique which can achieve the same result as green screen, but "in
camera," that is to say, the composition of subject and background is complete as the combined image is acquired by
the camera.
The technique uses a beamsplitter located in front of the camera in such a way as to completely fill the camera's field
of view, and oriented at a precise 45 degrees to the camera's shooting axis. (This rotation from the normal may be
left-right or up-down.) The other components to the system are a transparency projector (still or motion picture), and a
special retro-reflective lenticular screen positioned behind the action.
A beamsplitter acts as both mirror and window, reflecting a portion of the incident light, and reflecting another portion.
Beamsplitters are chosen for a specific application based on the ratio of reflectance to transmission. Common types
are 50R/50T (50% reflectance, 50% transmission) and 70R/30T.
The beamsplitters used in Front Projection cinematography are of the plate type, simply a piece of plate glass with a
special coating on one side designed to reduce the amount of light absorbed by the beamsplitter, and consequently
neither reflected nor transmitted. The coated side faces the action, and is referred to as the "front" surface. The
purpose of this coating is to reduce the loss of light due to absorption by the beamsplitter, which serves only to heat
the glass.
A retroreflective screen is set behind the actors and other set pieces. This screen is not just a typical diffusive
projection screen, which disperses light evenly so that a large audience composed of people sitting at many different
angles to the screen sees a uniformly bright image. Instead, the retroreflective screen tends to send light right back
where it came from.
The classic material for retroreflective FP screens is a made by 3M, and sold under the trademarked name of
"Scotchlite". Scotchlite is used in signmaking and conspicuity applications (nighttime motor vehicle safety visibility). It
is available from commercial signmaking supply houses.
Retroreflection in Scotchlite is achieved using millions of microscopic glass beads suspended in a transparent
substrate bound to opaque vinyl sheeting. It is available in rolls of up to four feet in width.
While constructing the large (40 feet by 100 feet) screen of Scotchlite for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, director
Stanley Kubrick and special effects supervisor Tom Howard initially laid strips of Scotchlite side by side, but found
that variations in manufacturing made the seams between adjacent strips glaringly obvious in the final product. Their
solution involved tearing the Scotchlite into irregular overlapping pieces, minimizing the occurrence of variations of
retroreflectivity large and regular enough to be discernable to the audience. Still, as Martin Hart has observed, careful
examination of the FP scenes of 2001 reveal flaws introduced by variations in retroreflectivity between adjacent
random patches.
A more sophisticated solution was presented in an SMTPE paper: a review of this paper will be presented in a near
future version of this article.
Having discussed the nature of the physical components used in Front Projection, we turn to the preparation and
arrangement of these components in a working FP system.
A still or motion picture transparency projector containing the desired background image, or "matte," is placed so that
the projection axis is perpendicular to the camera's shooting axis, meeting at the place where the camera's shooting
axis touches the front surface of the beamsplitter. (Thus the beamsplitter's orientation is 45 degrees to both camera
and projector.)
When the projector is operating, the background matte is projected onto the front surface of the beamsplitter. A
portion of the image is transmitted through the beamsplitter. In ordinary applications, the transmitted part of the image
is absorbed by a black surface on the side of the beamsplitter opposite the projector, to avoid stray reflections.
The portion of the image which is not transmitted or absorbed by the beamsplitter is reflected through an angle of 90
degrees, and consequently projected over the action along the camera's shooting axis, falling onto both foreground
actors and objects as well as the retroreflective screen behind them.
Retroreflective materials tend to reflect light back along the path of incidence. In FP work, the background plate
image is retroreflected, back toward the beamsplitter. Part of the retroreflected background image is again lost, as it is
either absorbed by the beamsplitter or reflected back into the projection lens. The remainder enters the camera
where it is photographed along with the action.
The only portion of the image not accounted for in the foregoing discussion is that part of the projected background
matte which falls on the actors or other foreground subjects. Foreground lighting, combined with the extreme deficit in
retroreflectivity of the foreground subjects in comparison to the special screen, mean that the part of the projected
image which falls on the actors is so dim as to not be detectable in-camera.
Precise alignment of system components is required to make sure that foreground objects perfectly cover their own
shadows, cast by the projector on the screen. This rules panning and tilting, except in the special case where the
camera is mounted so that either panning, tilting, or both occurs around the rear nodal point of the camera lens: so
called "nodal pans" and "nodal tilts." In addition, the beamsplitter must be large enough, and the camera close
enough, so that the camera does not take the edge of the beamsplitter into view.
Examples of nodal pan-and-tilt camera work in the context of FP can be seen in the "Dawn of Man" sequence in the
film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), particularly the watering hole scenes. (The front projection effects on 2001 were
executed by Stanley Kubrick with assistance from Tom Howard.)
A change of focal length (zoom) does not present the same difficulty as do panning or tilting. The camera can zoom in
or out as long as the edges of the beamsplitter (or of the projected matte image) are not in view at the widest point of
the zoom. In 2001, Kubrick also used large set pieces at either end of some FP shots in such a way as to hide the
edges of his already-gigantic retroreflective screen.
In fact, a special and inventive application of zooming was used by Zoran Perisic, who worked as a rostrum or
animation stand cameraman on 2001, to enhance the FP process for the film Superman: The Movie (1978).
Electronically controlled motorized zoom lenses are placed on both camera and projector, and synchronized with one
another so that both lenses zoom together and at the same focal length at all times. This means that the background
image will not change its apparent size when the camera zooms in, as the projector simultaneously projects a
reduced image. In Persic's phrase, the projector zooms and the camera zooms to "embrace" the smaller image.
However, the zoom causes foreground objects to appear to rush toward or away from the camera. The combination
of the "static" background and the "moving" foreground enabled the visually effective flying scenes which helped to
make the film a success.
To enhance this effect still further, the use of FP in Superman introduced two other innovations: use of travelling
mattes (using a motion picture projector instead of a still transparency projector, in order to project a moving
background); and the mounting of the entire front projection rig (camera, projector, and beamsplitter) on a large
motion-controlled robotic-arm with six degrees of freedom, and using a massive curved screen.
As in the use of travelling mattes in rear projection process photography, the projector's shutter must be synchronized
with the camera's using mechanical or electronic means, in order to avoid background flicker.
The motion-controlled front-projection mount was a masterpiece of engineering for 1978, and used an early
microprocessor for control. Every aspect of the rig's operation and motion could be recorded to computer tape for
later automatic playback, causing the rig to move and operate exactly as trained.
[edit]Matte
Paintings
The oldest and probably the most underrated visual effect is matte paintings. We see these all the time but because
they look so natural, we don't notice.
Originally, matte paintings was done on glass that stood directly in front of the camera. To do matte painting, a partial
set is created which is only as big as the actors and only extends to where the actors will perform. The rest of the
movie set is empty space (or something that you don't want to be seen in the movie.) Except for a tiny spot of the
glass which is clear, the rest of the movie set is painting on the glass. This allows you to add more scenery buildings
as paintings. As long as the actors can be seen through the clear space of the glass, you cannot tell that the actors
are not apart of the painted movie set.
Today, matte paintings are done with both paint and with CG (computer generated visual effects). Rather than filmed
through glass, the actors are filmed normally and later composited into the matte painting. Therefore, now the
distiction between matte paintings and computer generated visual effects is blurred. If the actors are filmed on a
partial movie set (without any green screen, etc.) then the effect is a matte painting... even if you use computer
generated effects to get the effect.
[edit]
3D Animation for Visual Effects
When you start looking at the possibility of using 3D computer generated effects, you need understand the different
types of 3D animation.
1. General Purpose Animation
Programs such as Blender, LightWave, Maya, and 3D Studio Max are general purpose animation programs.
They are very powerful, expensive, have steep learning curves and are used on most high end effects
movies.
2. Special Purpose Animation Programs
Program such as Vue, Bryce, Poser, and DAZ Studio are designed for a specific purpose. Vue and Bryce
are designed to create realistic scenery from nature. Poser and DAZ Studio are designed to work with
special computer models called Poser figures or Digital Puppets. Some of these programs are
even free such as DAZ Studio, Blender and Bryce.
3. Special software Plug-ins
Software modules such as Character Studio work inside of a general purpose animation program to create a
special kind of animation similar to a Special Purpose Animation Program. LightWave, Maya, and 3D Studio
Max can be greatly expanded through the use of plug-in modules.
4. Support Programs
Programs that add in the animation but do not actually do any rendering can be extremely useful when you
have a general purpose animation program which would be more awkward to use for a special task. These
expand the power of LightWave, Maya, and 3D Studio Max without making these programs too
cumbersome.
[edit]3D
Modeling
All elements in 3D animation must be modeled. Programs such as LightWave, Maya, XSI
and 3D Studio Max come with a modeler module built in. Programs such as Vue, Bryce,
Poser, and DAZ Studio do not but in the case of Poser and DAZ Studio, you can buy
hundreds of figures designed for these programs.
[edit]3D
Animation
Animation is done in three parts, the modeling, the actual animation and the rendering. The
actual animation can be:
1. Keyframe animation
Each movement is entered into the computer system by noteing the position of objects at specific frames or
points in time. The movement between these key points is then calculated by the animation program based
on rules set up by the animator (straight line, curved, etc.)
2. Programmed animation
For a flock of birds, rather than record the position and movement of each bird, a computer program
calculates where all the birds go and how they move.
[edit]
Compositing
Compositing is the process of combining various elements, such as 3D imagery,

live action film footage and still imagery, to create a finished shot. All visual
effects that include live actors will require compositing. As mentioned above,
matte paintings are no longer painted onto glass. Rather the live action is
composited with matte paintings using a compositing program such as Adobe
After Effects or Apple's Shake.
Software Compositing Applications
Apple Shake
Adobe After Effects
Autodesk Combustion
Blender
D2 Software Nuke
Eyeon Digital Fusion
Jahshaka
sony vegas pro
Software & Hardware Compositing Systems
Autodesk Inferno
Autodesk Flame
Autodesk Flint
sony vegas pro
All compositing applications provide the same basic tools and there is no hard
and fast rule regarding which applications are for film and which applications are
for commercials. For example, while After Effects has been used on such films as
"The Aviator" it is also very widely used for broadcast and title design. Some
applications do, however, come with specific tools which may prove
advantageous depending on the task at hand.
The primary difference between software based compositing applications and the
combined software and hardware solutions is that the large Autodesk systems
are significantly more expensive but provide near real-time performance at film or
HD resolutions.
Compositing applications typically follow two different working paradigms.
Layer Based
Node Based
Layer based compositing applications may seem more easily approachable to

the novice or beginner compositor especially those who have worked with still
footage in Photoshop or The Gimp. While layer based applications can provide
the same results as node based applications, node based applications are far
easier to composite with when dealing with numerous elements and multiple 3D
render passes. While daunting at first, node based systems may provide the
compositor with greater control over the shot and easier problem solving. Even a
beginning artist may benefit from learning a node based package in that she will
gain a deep understanding of the exact operations which are taking place in
order to create the effect.
[edit]8-Bit
Graphics
Every pixel of an image used in a composite is composed of four color channels:

Red, Green, Blue and Alpha. Each channel has an 8-Bit color depth resulting in a
32-Bit image. Higher color depths include 16-Bit per channel and 32-Bit per
channel (float). These higher color depths allow for smoother display of color
variation, for example, in gradients.
[edit]Rotoscoping
Rotoscoping, or masking, is the basis of compositing. It is the process of drawing
a mask around an element in a frame or sequence of frames. The resulting
image is a combination of the Red, Green and Blue color channels in addition to
an Alpha channel which defines transparency.
[edit]Tracking
Tracking is the process of matching a foreground-element's motion to that of the
background. Basically you pick a decent (i.e. defined, unique, contrasty) point on
your background and tell the computer to follow that point. What you get is the
motion-path of your point, which you can then apply to your foreground.
Tracking is divided into two categories:
2D Tracking:
Described above... (most times referred to only as "tracking", almost all
compositing applications support it)

3D Tracking:
3D Tracking attempts to "solve" or derive spatial relationships between points
you tracked in 2D space and approximate the distance and parallax between
these points in 3D space through the use of complex photogrammetry
algorithms. The end result is an approximation of the motion of the camera used
to film the scene that can be exported to a 3D application or 2D application to aid
in the process of matchmoving. Shots which track most effectively tend to be
those with a constant camera path and a significant amount of parallax.
Many compositing applications can handle 3D tracking data with varying degrees
of proficiency.
Movie Making Manual/Animation

Animation is the process of creating moving images from a series of still images. In film making, this can be used to
create a shot or sequence that cannot be shot on camera.
There are many techniques that can be used, including drawings, photos (pixilation), 3D (model or puppet), and 2D
and 3D computer animation.
Animations can be produced on film or as a movie file or still image sequence. Still images - created at high
resolution and uncompressed (or with lossless compresion) are often prefered as they give flexibilty and high image
quality. In an NLE (Non Linear Editor) a still image sequence can usually be imported as a group, and edited into the
film, with the option of adjusting the indivdual frames.
In modern film making, 3D computer animation (CGI) is most often used as it can come close to matching the look of
the rest of the film, while offering great flexibility.
Animation is by nature a slow and highly skilled process, but the tools are readily available, for example there are low
cost or free trial versions of many animation software packages (expect a steep learning curve). --Peter
strickland 17:21, 25 Feb 2005 (UTC)
Companies also often offer student discounts on their products.
Movie Making Manual/Colour Grading

Colour grading is the process of manipulating each shot in a film in order to achieve a certain 'look'. The job of colour
grading usually falls to a specialist referred to as the colourist. Professional colourist's use sophisticated digital
finishing units such as the Davinci 2k system. The process normally starts with analysis and colour correction of each
shot to fix problems such as unwanted colour casts. Next, the colourist can use a myriad of techniques to colour the
scene to reflect the artistic preference of the producer/director (for example, reducing saturation can give the scene a
bleak look). Once a look is decided upon the grading process for the rest of that scene (or even the whole film) is
generaly routine, as the colourist aims to provide consistency between shots.
Movie Making Manual/Post-production/Telecine

Telecine (otherwise known as "TK") is the process of transferring motion picture film to a video format, such as
television, or a machine used to complete this process. Telecine enables a motion picture, captured originally on film,
to be viewed with standard video equipment, such as televisions and video cassette decks. This has allowed
producers and distributors working in film to release their products on video and allowed producers to use video
production equipment to complete their film projects.
Contents
[hide]
Basic principle
Frame rate differences
3:2 Pulldown
One light, best light and scene to scene
History of Telecine
5.1
Telecine for Dailies
5.2
NTSC Inverse Telecine

5.2.1
Practical Example
Amateur telecine of Super 8mm footage:

6.1
Film Editing Software
Resolutions
2- and 3-perf telecine

8.1
o
9
Facilities
External Links
[edit]Basic
principle
In a simple telecine, white light is shone through exposed and developed motion picture negative (positives can also
be used.) As in a projector, the film filters the white light into different colors, according to the image on the film,
except in a telecine this image is projected not onto a screen, but onto a charge-coupled device (CCD) or vidicon
tube. The CCD converts the light into electrical impulses which the telecine electronics modulate into a video signal
which can then be recorded onto video tape, or broadcast.
The most complex part of telecine is the synchronization of the mechanical film motion and the electronic video
signal. Every time the video part of the telecine samples the light electronically, the film part of the telecine must have
a frame in perfect registration and ready to photograph. This is relatively easy when the film is photographed at the
same frame rate as the video camera will sample, but when this is not true, a sophisticated procedure is required to
change frame rate.
[edit]Frame
rate differences
In countries that use the PAL or SECAM video standards, film destined for television is photographed at 25 frames
per second. The PAL video standard broadcasts at 25 frames per second, so the transfer from film to video is simple;
for every film frame, one video frame is captured. Theatrical features originally photographed at 24 frames per
second are simply sped up by 4% to 25 frames per second. This can cause a noticeable increase in audio pitch,
which is sometimes corrected using a pitch shifter. (Note: frames per second is sometimes refered to
as frame/s' or fps.)
In the United States and other countries that use the NTSC television standard, film is generally photographed at 24
frames per second. (Only programs aimed directly for television in the USA are shot at 23.976 fps.) Color NTSC video
is broadcast at 29.97 frame/s. For the film's motion to be accurately rendered on the video signal, an NTSC telecine
must use a technique called the 3:2 pulldown to convert from 24 to 29.97 frame/s.
Similar techniques must be used for films shot at "silent speeds" of less than 24 frame/s, which include most silent
movies themselves as well as many home movies.
Some High Definition video recorders can record directly to 24fps (23.976fps) or 25fps so no interlacing is required.
You can find out more at High-Definition Telecine.
[edit]3:2
Pulldown
The 3:2 pulldown is accomplished in two steps. The first step is to slow down, or "pulldown" the film motion by 0.1%.
This speed change is unnoticeable to the viewer, and makes the film travel at 23.976 frame/s. (This is done simply by
slowing the projector.)
The second step of the 3:2 pulldown is the 3:2 step (which adds the extra frames needed for the conversion.) At
23.976 frame/s, there are 4 frames of film for every 5 frames of NTSC video:
These four frames are "stretched" into five by exploiting the interlaced nature of NTSC video. For every NTSC
frame, there are actually two complete images or "fields," one for the odd-numbered lines of the image, and
one for the even-numbered lines. There are, therefore, ten fields for every 4 film frames, and the telecine
alternately places one film frame across two fields, the next across three, the next across two, and so on. The
cycle repeats itself completely after four film frames have been exposed, and in the telecine cycle these are
called the "A," "B," "C," and "D" frames, thus:
Note that the pattern in this example is actually 2-3, 2-3. The name "3:2 pulldown" is an archaic reference
to the pattern that was used by older telecine equipment. The modern telecine uses a 2-3 technique.
"3:2 pulldown" creates error in the video signal that can be clearly seen in the above image. This is one
reason why NTSC films viewed at home rarely appear as smooth as when viewed in a cinema. Some line
doublers and most software DVD players are designed to detect and reverse 3:2 pulldown, thereby
recreating the original frames.
[edit]One
light, best light and scene to scene
The color of the frame can be controlled during the telecine process. This section needs to be expanded
to explain one light, best light, and other terms used in the telecine process which effect the coloring of
the frames and the consistency of the color from scene to scene.
Briefly, a one light transfer means that footage is transferred with no regard to variations in exposure on
the original negative i.e, the telecine is set at one value to transfer all of the footage. This is the standard
first step when transferring rushes to tape, it's quicker, since it requires no intervention on behalf of the
telecine operator, and is therefore cheaper. Best light means that footage is graded to look it's best in
every take and scene, matching original lighting conditions and the desires of the Director and DOP.
Finally, scene-by-scene tries to match the light and coloring of each scene, usually after picture editing is
complete. All of the above can be done with either traditional methods (photochemically etc) or digitally.
[edit]History
of Telecine
Before the invention of video tape, telecine was used only to convert motion pictures for
immediate broadcast via television.
After the invention of video tape which can be used to store motion pictures, the telecine process was
also used to convert motion pictures to video tapes or LaserDiscs for distribution.
By 1987, computer editing systems such as the CMX6000 became available to edit motion pictures.
Somehow, the film dailies from a motion picture (or a television drama that was shot on film) had to be
converted to a format that can be used by computer editing systems. In the case of the CMX6000, this
computer editing systems controlled the playback of LaserDiscs containing the film dailies. To get the film
dailies onto Laser Disc, the film dailies had to be telecined. The CMX6000, EditDroid, Ediflex or Montage
did not actual store the images in the computer.
A few years later, after digital video formats for computers (such as QuickTime) were invented, there
needed to be a way to transfer all the frames of the film dailies onto hard disk drives of computer editing
systems so the images and sound for a motion picture or television drama can be edited inside the
computer, not externally as with the CMX6000, EditDroid, Ediflex or Montage. The only practical option
was to telecine the film dailies to video tape (which is a cheap storage media) before digitizing each of
the frames of the video into data files for the computer editing systems.
Only in the last few years, can you telecine dailies directly to computer disks (rather than video tape.) Be
aware that most post-production houses today still cannot telecine to hard disk drives so ask before you
decide which film lab you will use to develop and telecine your dailies.
Telecine Dailies - For Theatrical Release
When movies are edited in a computer editing systems, the film negative for the motion picture must still be
cut so the movie can be projected on film in theaters. Therefore, the computer editing systems must work at
exactly 24.00 frames per second, not 29.97 (in the case of NTSC video) or 25 frames per second (in the
case of PAL video). Unfortunately, there is no video format which works at exactly 24.00 frames per second.
This causes no end of problems. (Note: Cutting the negative is called "Conforming the Negative" so that it
conforms to the edit done on the computer editing systems.)
Telecine Dailies - Direct to Video Tape
Even if a motion picture will be edited on video and release on DVD-Video disk, it must edited at
approximately 24 frames per second, not 29.97 frames per second. All motion picture shot on film and
released on NTSC DVD-Video disk in Hollywood are stored on the DVD-Video disk at 23.976 frames
per second. Motion pictures on NTSC DVD-Video disk are never stored 29.97 frames per
second. This is probably the most common misconception of beginning filmmakers. The reason is motion
pictures stored at 24 frames per second can be much higher resolution than motion pictures shot on video at
29.97 frames per second since a motion picture at 24 frames per second contains fewer frames that must be
compressed into the very limited bandwidth of a DVD-Video disk. (Actually, this is not a great
problem until you add multiple audio track which also have to fit in the limited bandwidth of a DVD data
stream.)
[edit]Telecine
for Dailies
Today, video tape remains the cheapest and (ugh!) the most convenient method of storing
dailies which have been telecined. Therefore, film editors have two choices when working
with film dailies:
1. Do an Inverse Telecine
One option is to telecine to video, then digitize all the frames, but finally do an inverse telecine to throw
away the unwanted fields and frames so that your disk drive only holds actual film frames. In this case, there
is a one-to-one relationship with the original film negative. This is a very clean solution... but most computer
editing systems do not work this way.
2. Software Solution (such as CineTools)
The other option is to telecine to video and then digitize all the frames (even the duplicate frames created
during the telecine process) for storage on a hard drive. Then use a computer program to keep track
of bad frames while you edit the motion picture so you only see the good frames and you never edit on a
bad frame. This is wasteful and confusing but because video tapes are so cheap and disk drives are so
expensive, most everyone uses this method.
[edit]NTSC
Inverse Telecine
The inverse telecine process is the opposite of the telecine process (at least in
theory). Inverse telecine is the process of taking video at 29.97 frames per
second (59.94 fields per second) and converting them back to exactly 24.00
frames per second. In practice, most computer software will inverse telecine
NTSC video back to 23.976 frames per second Computer programs such as
Media Cleaner and Adobe AfterEffects have an inverse telecine feature.
Actually, these programs only do half the job (remove the 3/2 pull down) and
ignore the rest (specifically correcting the audio speed)... which most of the time
is acceptable.
To repeat what is said above, telecine is really a two step process:
1. Slow down the projection of the film from 24.00 to 23.976 (24.00*1000/1001) frames per second.
2. Add extra fields and frames to convert 23.976 frames per second to 29.97 (30.00*1000/1001) frames per
second for NTSC video.
[edit]Practical Example
Computer programs such as Media Cleaner and Adobe AfterEffects
only reverse step 2, not step 1. In some cases, this does not matter.
Here is an example:
Wrong but Easy
The Star Movie Shop creates editing workshops from dramatic scenes shot on 35mm film for film students to
edit with Final Cut Pro at 24 frames per second on a Macintosh computer. After the dailies have been
telecined, the dailies are delivered on either NTSC video tape or NTSC DVD-Video disks. First, Adobe
AfterEffects is used to inverse telecine the footage from 29.97 frames per second (interlaced) to 23.976
frames per second (progressive). Then QuickTime Movie Player is used to compress the movie clips at
24.00 frames per second which means that occasionally (every 1000 frames), the program duplicates one
frame to keep the audio in sync with the picture.
Hopefully, you notice that this is not the correct way to do an inverse telecine. Using this method, any edit
created using these dailies can never be matched back to the original negative. Because of the occasional
duplicate frame, the frame numbers will be wrong. But for training film students, this is good enough.
To do this correctly, the Star Movie Shop should change the speed of the audio from 23.976 frames per
second to 24.000 frames per second as well as change the projection speed of the QuickTime movie clips
from 23.976 to 24.000. Correcting the audio is not easy... so they don't. They just add duplicate frames
instead. (Note: No one has ever complained!!!)
[edit]Amateur
telecine of Super 8mm
footage:
Here is a free way to telecine your Super 8mm
footage for personal use. The method can also
applied to other film gauges with the relevant
equipment. It is based on the initial telecine
method of shooting the projection screen.
However, attention must be given to obtain good
results. If you think that you just point and shoot,
forget it! The result will be very disappointing. You
have to do exactly as described, mainly calibrate
the video camera correctly and eliminate flicker.
History:
My father has a moderate collection of Super 8mm
movies, either bought (mostly cartoons and B&W
comedies) or shot back in the 80's with an amateur
Canon Super 8mm sound camera. In the late 70's,
early 80's when me and my sister were little, video
was rare and expensive, at least in Greece, so our
only source of entertainment was a black and
white TV or cartoons on Super 8mm films. My
father had bought quite a lot of these and made a
good collection of Disney and Warner Bros
classics. He had even spliced some of these in
longer reels to keep us busy for more time. Of
course he shot amateur films in every occasion
(mostly at 18fps, which was similar to the LP mode
in video-cameras), much like we shoot video today.
Back in 1993, I decided to transfer all these
memories to video for easier watching and sharing
with friends. When I asked at our local photo lab I
was astonished to hear a rather high price per 50ft
reel (about 30 which back in 1993 was much
more valuable than today in 2006), and this was
simply transferring the movies to a humble VHS
tape, not any correction included, (and of course

DV tapes and DVD didn't exist back in 1993)!
Meanwhile, I had bought my Sony Handycam TR805E Hi-8 camera that year which was the best
(EISA Award for best camcorder 1992-1993),
according to a popular Greek magazine called
Hitech. Yes it had many features first seen in this
particular model like optical steady shot, 400 lines
resolution, manual controls etc. So I quickly
decided to telecine the films myself, for free, using
that camera. Of course I hadn't done it before, so
first results were not satisfactory. But a tape can be
re-recorded, so I tried again and again until I
mastered the technique. So fellow amateurs don't
worry! If you do EXACTLY what I describe below
you will get good results, even with the first time!
Equipment:
1) Super 8mm (or whatever) film projector with
variable projection speed.
2) Video-camera with manual exposure, focus,
color balance and external mic in socket.
Preferably a PAL version at 25fps which makes
eliminating flicker easier (see below).
3) A good quality matte A4 white sheet of paper
used as screen. Thick paper is better as it is easier
to stretch it to keep it smooth.
4) Tripod to mount the camera.
5) A color monitor, preferably without overscan (so
avoid a TV, use PC monitor if possible).
6) Headphones and other appropriate connection
cables and adapters.
You could clean and lubricate your film if desired,

and then you are ready to proceed...
Setup of the system:

The white A4 sheet of paper should be stuck on a
wall. To avoid adhesive tape showing on the video
you should use tape that sticks on both sides and
put it at the back side of the paper. I use regular
tape but create a little loop so it sticks both sides,
and I place it at the back of each corner of the A4
paper. Thick paper is better. When you stick the
paper make sure it is stretched and looks straight.
If you have a smooth matte white wall you could
use that instead. Avoid projection screens as they
are not white and they are not smooth. Place the
projector directly in front of the A4 paper or white
wall. Make sure it is as centered to the screen as
possible and doesn't project from an angle, either
horizontal or vertical as this will give a distorted
trapezoidal image! Mount your video-camera on
the tripod and make sure it frames the A4 paper as
centered as possible, again avoid any large angles
which will distort the image. If your projector has
sound editing capabilities, it should have a audio
monitor output or external speakers output.
Connect that with the camera's external
microphone socket, using appropriate adapters if
required. Don't load tape or disc to the camera yet.
Most consumer cameras will switch off if not
recording for several seconds. To avoid that simply
don't load the tape/disc so it will stay on as long as
it takes for you to calibrate your setup (see below).
Connect the TV or computer monitor (via video or
TV card) to assist framing etc. Connect
headphones to the camera to assist sound setup

(see below). Needless to say that the videocamera should be mains-powered to avoid
switching off during the process! Don't load the
projector with film yet...
Finding and locking the white balance:
Without film in the projector, project to the A4
paper. Use the zoom function (if applicable) to
make the projected image as small as possible.
This will help enhancing the video dynamic range
(since the image will be as bright as it gets, we will
set the exposure so as not to washout highlights
and leave the camera cover darker tones as good
as it can, see below). Adjust the projector if
necessary so the white rectangle is projected at
the center of the A4 paper. Frame the white
rectangle with the camera, and zoom in enough to
make sure that all the camera's sensor is filled with
white. You may also deliberately blur the image a
little (using the camera's focus control) to make
white appear more uniform. Leave the camera to
obtain the white balance automatically. After
several seconds which ensure the camera has
made up its mind on the white point, HOLD it using
the appropriate control. This will ensure it is not
affected by the scene lighting or color variations
during recording. For cameras that allow manual
white balance in small steps you could fine-tune it
but rely on a good calibrated monitor for this, avoid
the viewfinder or the camera monitor! I would
suggest not to touch the white balance once
locked. At this point bear in mind that some films
(e.g., Disney cartoons) are color balanced for a
Super 8mm projector's yellow light so they might
appear a bit blue if balanced as above, but I
personally don't mind as this can be fixed digitally

later. If you are using a PC monitor, make sure it is
well calibrated so your movie color and brightness
appears correctly. Most monitors allow a "user
color" setting. If you use that and set all three
primary colors to the same value (e.g., 80% or
100%) you will almost always have correct white
balance. The application used to watch the video
image should have its color settings reset to
default. Any errors can be corrected during editing
later. I once had changed the color settings in the
video application for another capture and I forgot to
reset these to default, so the film image appeared
bluer. When I tried to "correct" this altering the
white balance from the camera, I resulted with
yellowish video! So don't touch ANY controls once
adjusted, especially from the camera! For B&W
films you could enable the B&W or sepia effect (for
cameras that support it), but I would rather record
it as "color" to have a more realistic look (B&W
effect would make it look more like B&W TV
broadcast, rather than B&W film). So we have
white balance fixed, let's proceed with...
Adjusting the focus:
At this point you have to load a short film in the
projector. If you are quick enough you can do all of
the rest calibrations before it runs out. While
projecting on the A4 sheet, focus the projector as
sharp as possible. Then zoom out and frame
roughly the camera so it sees all the image and
manually focus it. Leave focus to manual so it is
not affected with scene changes. Using the
monitor frame the camera as good as possible so
you don't crop the projected image, but not let any
annoying black areas either. If the aspect ratio
doesn't match, then make sure you don't crop the

horizontal dimension while centering the vertical
dimension. Focus again if necessary. Bear in mind
that if you change reels you may have to fine-tune
focus of the projector. Also focus may be lost
between spliced sections, if the splicing is not very
good. If you use a computer monitor to avoid
overscan, I suggest watching the video in a
window so to assist perfect framing. If you only
have a TV monitor you could zoom in by one or
two steps to make sure there are no black areas
around the projected image.
Adjusting the exposure:
While watching the image, manually adjust the
camera exposure so it doesn't wash out light areas
(highlights) and let camera cover darker areas as
best as it can. This is because it is preferable to
lose some information of the dark areas (which
might not be that obvious) than wash out light
areas which will be very annoying. Hopefully newer
digital cameras will have greater dynamic range
than my old analog Hi-8 had and should give better
results. Let exposure to manual so it is not affected
with lighting and scene changes. Hopefully the
lighting will be the same for most of the movie, but
in some amateur films there are differences
notably between outdoor and indoor scenes. Don't
worry some of it can be corrected digitally. Don't
touch the exposure! Again, if you are using a PC
monitor make sure is well calibrated for our dark
working environment (brightness and contrast) and
that the video application's
color/brightness/contrast settings are reset to
default. Due to gamma difference between
TV/video and a PC monitor the image might
appear a bit darker. This is normal, adjust the

exposure as described above and don't worry. The
same video played back on a TV monitor should
look normal since it will have the correct gamma
value.
The trickiest part, eliminating flicker:
To eliminate flicker, we have to match the
projection frame rate with the camera frame rate.
For PAL cameras this is relatively easy. We adjust
the projection speed to 25fps for 24fps footage or
to 16.66fps (50/3) for 18fps footage using a
variable speed projector. Audio pitch difference is
negligible and should not concern an amateur. A
different approach is to adjust the shutter speed in
cameras that support it. Mine doesn't so I cannot
tell how good that works. I can tell that I was able
to almost eliminate flicker by carefully adjusting the
projection speed as described above. For NTSC
users you could project at 20fps (60/3) for both
24fps or 18fps footage but the audio pitch
difference might be very annoying, and not all
variable speed projectors support that large
variation of 2 or 4fps (my Chinon 9600 only
supports 1.5fps for example). I only have a PAL
camera model, so I cannot tell how bad audio pitch
difference sounds at 20fps. Later you could speed
up or slow down the movie as appropriate to
restore audio pitch, using a video editing software
which supports this feature (eg Adobe Premiere).
Of course you should rely on your monitor to
eliminate flicker, not the camera viewfinder or builtin monitor! A CRT monitor is preferable since LCD
monitors tend to hide flicker if it is small. Of course
make sure the refresh rate (for CRT PC monitors)
is set to highest possible for the used resolution,
so as not to mistake monitor's flicker as film's

flicker. Color depth should also be at least 16-bit or
higher to assist color balance. Have in mind that
when changing reels you may need to readjust the
projection speed to eliminate flicker again. Also I
am not sure if enabling the steady shot feature will
help, but I do it anyway just to be on the safe side.
Besides, since the video-camera is mains-powered
we shouldn't worry about the higher power
consumption. For new digital cameras that support
it, you could try the 24fps setting (for 24fps films
only), provided the image aspect ratio is not
affected (in some models setting 24fps capture
may also set 16:9 mode). Also enabling
progressive mode (if supported) will improve image
quality, regardless of the frame rate setting.
Unfortunatelly my old analog Hi-8 camera doesn't
support either of the two, so I don't know how
much they help.
Adjusting the audio recording level for sound
films:
It is recommended to use headphones for this as
with speakers you may not notice much of the
noise. Since we will be using the camera's external
microphone input, it is usually boosted to improve
reception, or in our case to distort sound! Using the
headphones lower the volume a lot until you don't
hear any distortion or the distortion is as small as it
gets. Make sure the sound is heard as clear as it
gets albeit if you cannot remove noise 100%.
Usually a small noise is not audible in normal
listening conditions through the TV loudspeakers.
It only becomes audible in a very quiet
environment or using headphones, so an amateur
should not worry too much. Some video editing
applications can also clean noisy soundtracks in

some degree, if necessary, but again I wouldn't
bother if noise is not audible in normal listening
conditions.
What about my silent films?
If you have silent films I suggest that you set the
projector to "silent" mode (if applicable) and switch
off the internal camera microphone. Many will rush
to say this is not possible with consumer cameras.
Don't worry, here is a trick I have used: Connect a
cable in the external microphone input but leave
the other end unconnected. This will switch off the
internal microphone in order to use the "external"
one supposedly connected to the external
microphone input. Always use your headphones to
confirm no sound is recorded as a bad connection
could record electronic noise and spoil the movie
(unless you are willing to mute your TV set when
watching your silent films). Don't forget to switch
back to "Magnetic" or "Optical" mode for your
sound films!
Ready to telecine your films?
Rewind the short reel you used to calibrate your
setup. Load carefully the projector with the actual
film you want to telecine, making sure you don't
move the projector! Load carefully the tape or disc
in the camera without moving it. If there is a
remote control for the camera, it is a good idea to
use it to avoid any accidental movement. Set the
projection switch to THREAD (or similar) position
and make sure the film leader is properly wound
on the take up reel, even if it supposed to do that
automatically, to avoid damage while projection.
Do not thread it too much however, but keep it as
far from the beginning of the movie as possible, so
you won't miss the start! Switch off the projector.

Turn off all lights to make sure stray light doesn't
affect the projected image so the colors will look as
vivid as it's possible (stray light reduces saturation
and makes old films look even fader). If it is
daytime darken the room as best as you can and
use only a very small light (about 2 or 4 watts)
away from the projection screen. It is
recommended that all calibration is done in these
final dark conditions for best results. When ready
start projecting immediately and then start
recording as fast as you can. If you don't mind
leaving some blank seconds on the tape, you
could start recording first, to make sure you won't
miss the film start if the film leader is too short and
the movie is almost starting. Fine-tune the focus of
the projector carefully, if required, avoiding to blur
the image. If you are familiar with your projector
you should be able to know which way to turn the
focus knob to avoid blurring the image accidentally.
Wear your headphones for a few seconds, make
sure sound is recorded as expected (I have had
some bad experiences), or no sound is recorded at
all for silent movies. When finished with one reel,
rewind and change reels carefully without moving
the projector. Refocus the new reel if required.
Never leave the projector unattended as the
picture may jump and you have to press the
relevant release button briefly. If you fail to do so,
the rest of your movie will be jumping and useless
and you may damage the sprocket holes of the
rest of the film. Don't even think about fixing a
jumping movie digitally. It is virtually impossible. It
is better to telecine that again. Other problem that I
have seen is that the framing of the projector is lost
and the upper or lower area of the picture shows
the adjacent frame. This usually happens between

spliced sections (not perfect splices) and can be
corrected with the relevant knob which moves the
projection gate vertically. Once familiar with the
projector you should know which way to turn it to
correct rather than pronounce the error. Usually
the overscan feature of a TV will hide a small
framing error, but I personally prefer to be as
perfect as I can.
Digitizing tips:
If you want to digitally edit your video, of

course you must first import it in a computer.
When using a digital camera, video is already
in digital form and is transferred as is to a
computer (provided you use a DV cable, not
analog cables!) or converted to other digital
format (eg MPEG 2 for DVD authoring). So
with the right software you can edit your
footage in some degree. Remember that if the
recording is not good enough you cannot do
wonders, at least not with consumer level
software.
If you are using an analog camera (or a digital

connected with analog cables for some
reason), make sure film flicker is totally
eliminated or as small as it gets. This is
because when digitizing the video using
consumer level cards (such as TV tuner cards)
the flicker will most likely be pronounced. I
have seen some of my early telecine attempts
that they have only negligible and hardly
visible flicker when watched on a TV, but too
much when the same footage is digitized. This
usually appears like the picture is perfectly
exposed for a moment and then overexposed
and washed out. This cycle repeats about

every half second or faster while watching and
it is very annoying. No matter what settings I
chose to digitize that footage, I could not avoid
this annoying effect. Thankfully newer TV
tuner cards do not suffer that much as my old
Matrox Rainbow Runner I used back in the
90's but the problem still exists! And don't
forget that the best analog connection (that
cameras support) is S-Video, so prefer that
over the simpler composite output. Also if you
use the dual RCA audio outputs, you should
get better quality than the headphones output.
Also for best results I recommend to capture

the video (analog source) or convert it during
transfer from the camera (digital source, DV
connection) using the desired final resolution,
such as 720x576 for DVD or 352x288 for
Video-CD. Using larger resolution and then
resizing could give better results but it takes
more hard disk space and rendering time. If
you don't want to make any corrections other
than cut and merge, using the final desired
resolution will make rendering times much
shorter as scaling is time and resource
consuming. Also make sure you capture (or
convert for DV cameras) directly to the final
desired format such as MPEG 2 for DVD, if
your capture card/software allows. Of course
you should capture at 25fps for PAL or
29.97fps for NTSC, to match the camera rate,
NOT 24fps (unless video was shot at 24fps) or
you will negate any flickering elimination
efforts made!
If you first capture to AVI or MOV/QT for MAC

computers (usually M-JPEG compressed) and
then convert to MPEG (as with older capture
cards that didn't support MPEG capturing), will
make editing easier (most programs work with
AVI/MOV/QT rather than MPEG files) but will
make rendering time larger (conversion
between formats is time consuming). Also if
you compress the video in one format (eg MJPEG for AVI/MOV/QT capture) and then
convert to another, the video is re-encoded,
even for simple cut and merge functions, and
quality degrades. This is also true for scaling,
so use final specifications (format, resolution,
color depth etc) directly. There are several
programs to edit MPEG video, such as
Pinnacle Studio and some freeware too (eg
TMPGEnc, search on the internet with
keywords such as "MPEG editing").
During editing keep changes confined to the

scene concerned (unless most of your film
needs correction) to shorten rendering times
and keep degradation from re-encoding to the
minimum. A clever trick is to cut out the parts
that need corrections or effects or titles, edit
them separately and then merge them with the
rest of the movie using references to the
original video file for the unedited parts. If you
do all of this keeping the SAME specifications,
most programs will merge all the footage
WITHOUT re-encoding (recompressing) the
unedited parts, so there will be no degradation
at all in the unedited parts (since basically
their data will be copied directly from the
original video file, rather than being
processed)! This also saves much time since

copying a digital file is much faster than
creating it form start. (Processor only takes
notice when starting to copy rather than being
involved the whole time, whereas when
creating the file all job is supervised by the
processor).
If you want to make a DIVX video or similar

MPEG 4 format, avoid capturing directly to
MPEG 4 format, since MPEG 4 compression
on the fly is very CPU and memory
demanding and you will most likely get a lot of
compression artifacts. It is best to capture to
high quality M-JPEG compression
(AVI/MOV/QT) or MPEG 2 format and convert
to DIVX later. When you have finished editing
your film in the original format, render it as a
video file of the original capture format using
the same specifications to minimize
compression artifacts, as explained above.
Then convert the final rendered file to DIVX or
similar MPEG 4 format using as large bitrate
as you can (provided the final video fits on a
CD if you want to save it on CD) and of course
select the best possible quality setting (this in
DIVX PRO 5 and above is called "insane
quality"). Conversion utilities include
QuickTime Pro (for MOV/QT files), VirtualDub
and its variants (for M-JPEG AVI to DIVX AVI
conversion), FlaskMPEG, XMPEG Pro (for
MPEG to AVI DIVX conversion) DIVX PRO
Encoder (for MPEG/AVI/MOV/QT to DIV/DIVX
format or AVI/MOV/QT DIVX format) and
many more. There is no need for dual or multipass encoding, if you set enough bitrate (at
least above 700 Kbit/sec for 720x576) and

best possible quality. As a novice guide,
700Kbit/sec video data rate and 96kbit/sec
audio data rate will fit 2 hours of video in a
80min (700MB) CD-R disc. Keeping audio
data rate at 96Kbit/sec, for up to 90 minutes
use 960 Kbit/sec video data rate which will
give far better quality. For up to 60 minutes
use 1500Kbit/sec which will give excellent
quality for standard definition video (720x576
for PAL, 720x480 for NTSC).
For DVD Authoring you have to convert the

final rendered video file in MPEG 2
(MPG/MPEG) if it is not already in this format
(some consumer level DVD Authoring
applications may also accept AVI/MOV/QT
files, but it is not recommended as their
rendering quality is usually inferior to that of a
dedicated video editing application) and as for
the bitrate, 5000 Kbit/sec is the minimum
acceptable quality and will fit 2 hours in a
standard (single layer) DVD disc, while 9500
Kbit/sec is the maximum DVD compatible (not
all consumer grade programs support it) and
will give about 1 hour of excellent quality on
the same disc. Of course you can use
anything between but don't forget to use the
SAME settings from capturing, editing and to
the final rendering to avoid unnecessary reencoding and minimize compression artifacts.
If you had set rather high bitrates and the final
DVD files don't fit in a single layer DVD (about
4480MB), don't worry. You can use Nero
Recode, DVD Shrink or similar utility to
recompress it at exactly 4480MB. To minimise
degradation use dual pass encoding (this in

DVD Shrink is called Deep Analysis). This may
take some more time, but for sizes about 75%
to 100% of the original DVD folder size, you
won't notice any difference.
For DVD audio you can either use Dolby

Digital 2.0 (Stereo) or MPEG Layer II format. I
consider 192 Kbit/sec adequate, so you leave
more space for video data on a DVD disc. Of
course Dolby Digital 2.0 will give better sound
than MPEG at the same bitrate since it is
more efficiently compressed than the much
older MPEG Layer II and it is compared to
MP3 (MPEG Layer III) compression which at
192 Kbit/sec Stereo is almost CD quality. Of
course the audio format for DVD compatibility
is 48000Hz (48KHz) 16-bit per channel, and
Stereo or Mono. Don't make the common
mistake to capture at 44.1KHz (CD quality)
because later you may experience audio sync
problems when the DVD Authoring application
may wrongly suppose audio is at 48Khz (DVD
compatible)! Yes, I have seen this problem in
consumer grade DVD Authoring applications,
for example Sonic DVDIt. Fortunately most
video capturing applications will force the
correct settings if the DVD template is chosen.
DVD Audio Note: Most consumer level video

capture applications do not support audio
capturing directly at Dolby Digital 2.0 format,
even if the DVD template is chosen. Don't
worry, you can capture audio at MPEG Layer
II format and convert it to Dolby Digital 2.0 at
the Authoring stage using a compatible DVD
Authoring application, such as Pinnacle Studio
Pro, DVDIt! etc (degradation in quality from

conversion between audio formats is not
gererally noticeable as it is when converting
video from one format to another). For better
quality you could try capturing at a higher rate
(eg 256Kbit/sec or 384Kbit/sec) for MPEG
sound and then select to encode sound to
192Kbit/sec Dolby Digital 2.0 in the Authoring
application before proceeding with the
rendering step. Don't forget the 48KHz setting,
or you will most likely end up with audio sync
problems which cannot be fixed!!! You will
have to render the DVD data again, provided
the original audio format is in 48KHz,
otherwise you may have to capture the video
again! So take care to avoid frustration! I
cannot emphazise more the need to use
correct settings for the intended final video
format (eg DVD). And don't forget: Using the
same settings (resolution, bitrare etc) from
capturing to rendering will save you time and
provide the best possible quality for the
selected settings, based on your hardware
and software used.
When calibrating your telecine setup as good as it
gets, the results are amazingly good considering
the method used, and best of all it is for FREE!
I hope that this amateur telecine guide was helpful.
Good luck to anyone trying that. I know the video
digitization section should be in another place in
Wikipedia and Moviemaker Manual. Excuse me for
this lengthy reference to video digitization, but I
was trying to help novices.
By: Mr Sotirios Papakonstantinou, Greece,
1993-2006. Feel free to distribute this text or link to

this page, provided you state its source and my
name.
[edit]Film
Editing Software
Apple Computer develops Cinema Tools with Final

Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro (and Cinema Tools) are
purchased as part of Final Cut Studio. You use
Cinema Tools to keep track of all the original
frames for each piece of film before it was
telecined into the computer. 'NOTE: Please explain
the Cinema Tools process."
[edit]Resolutions
4k - 4,096 pixels across
HD - 1920 x 1080 called also as 1080p or

1080i
- 1280 x 720 called also as

720p or 720i
p = progressive, i =
interlaced frame's
PAL - 720 x 576
NTSC - 720 x 480
It's unlikely that your telecine machine will be able

to capture high resolution images in 'real time'. For
example, most telecine machines can only do a 4k
capture at about 6 frames per second.
In comparison, I had once read in a Super 8mm
newsgroup that Kodachrome 40 (discontinued in
2005) had a resolution of approximately
2048x1536 (3 Megapixels). This was determined
experimentally by a poster, and it means that if film
had discrete pixels like digital video, Super 8mm
Kodachrome could capture at 2048x1536
resolution (2K). Super8 mm film is snubbed by

some professional filmmakers, who state that it
can show limited detail (and a lot of grain)
compared with larger formats. But even this
humble format can show better definition than HD
video (currently 1920x1080 maximum).
[edit]2-
and 3-perf telecine
WikiPedia article on 3-perf and 2-perf pulldown

[edit]Facilities
Todd Ao in London will TK 2-perf
[edit]External
Links
Wikipedia's Telecine has a different view of the

telecine process.
Film Distribution & Marketing
Movie Making Manual/Film Distribution & Marketing Overview

[edit]End
of Post Production
Once you are ready to send your movie off to a film festival, you are finished with Post Production. Now, you
must start film distribution & marketing.
So now what happens? And more importantly, who does it?
[edit]Film
Distribution & Marketing
Producers who treat film as a commercial enterprise start the distribution before they even raise the funds
for a film. Distributors want good films to distribute.
Distributors want exclusive licensing rights to carry a picture in their territory for the formats that they
support. A territory may be regional, spanning multiple countries. A format may broadly consist of
theatrical, pay television, broadcast television, home entertainment (VHS, DVD, or Blu-Ray Disc), and
Internet video download media. A distributor may acquire licensing for many formats or just one.
Producers with worthy projects can approach distributors with their screenplay and ask them to provide
a letter-of-intent-to-distribute to at least a minimum release of their film. The producer can then use
these distributor endorsement letters to attract investment capital, above-the-line cast members,
and key production crew.
A typical scenario for independent film and television producers looks like this (highly simplified):
1. You create a motion picture marketing campaign to sell distribution licenses to distributors at a film
and television market recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF),
at major film festivals attended by distributors through either self-representation in person or through the
contracted services of reputable sales agencies and producer representatives. Additionally, you should
create either a motion picture web site or a movie profile with a video trailer hyperlink on a high-traffic
web site such as MySpace.com and Amazon.com's IMDb Pro. Note: When you budget your production
costs, try to factor in that distribution licensing sales will be responsible for a minimum return of a 183% of
your production costs. It is very important that your marketing campaign will sustain your distribution
licensing sales target.
2. Before you find a distributor, you must have a schedule of deliverables to give to the distributor.
Including the film master in an acceptable media and format, the deliverables schedule will also include
marketing elements that you have collected as you created your film (such as movie trailers in different
cuts, poster-sized key art, photographs, a behind-the-scenes featurette, press articles, technical
production fact sheets, music cue sheets, dialog transcripts, etc.) Even though you finished post
production before your movie was sent to the film festival, this step may require both additional postproduction (major, not minor) and potentially lots of legal paperwork with respect to preparing releases
and securing rights for intellectual property, such as music and brand identities, used by the film.
Gathering the deliverables is the key to success for you as a filmmaker: A distribution license sale will
only close if the deliverables are accepted by the distributor in good order. The more quality in the
deliverables, the more likely the licensing sale will close.
3. Then, the distributor creates a totally new local-territory marketing campaign from your deliverables.
This may include a localized movie poster and the movie trailer translated into a local language. Be
prepared to support language translation questions from your distributor. The local marketing
campaign may provide release windows for the title to rollout in different formats on different dates.
Note: Distribution nowadays does not necessarily mean theatrical distribution as digital downloads have
begun to take over the market. Because of digital piracy, traditional distribution release windows by
territory and then by format have become complicated: Recent titles have used simultaneous territory
releases to get a jump on the effects of digital piracy on future sales. The more experienced the
distributor, or the stricter the local copyrights enforcement, the less likely digital piracy will impact the
revenue generated by each distributor's territory.
4. The distributor may create prints - 35 mm film copies of the motion picture from your master
deliverable. The prints will then be delivered to the distributors contracted theater chains and supported
with advertising campaigns in local media outlets.
5. Depending on the licensed territory, the distributor may create local language versions of your motion
picture from your deliverables under your license. Local language versions will either appear as subtitled
motion pictures or as voice-dubbed motion pictures - depending on the sophistication of the distributor.
The dialog transcript and music cue sheet both support this function. When the local licensing rights
expire, the local language edition of your film should revert back to you for future distribution and
archiving. The elements used to create the local language edition should be delivered to the production
company or its delivery agent on expiration of the license.
6. Depending on the licensed home entertainment format, the distributor may create the local DVD
versions of your motion picture from your deliverables. Sometimes, this requires developing a
separate local home entertainment marketing campaign from your deliverables, which can result in
an enhanced or extended version of your motion picture, replete with Internet hyperlinks to contracted
local product and service promotions. Then, the distributor ships the DVD-video to retail outlets within his
territory.
7. The distributor then accounts for the sales of your movie against costs for prints, advertising
campaigns, and other distribution expenses, such as returned home entertainment units (eg. DVD
breakage), local financing costs, taxes, customs duties, and tariffs. Per your distribution license
agreement, the distributor can then return any actual positive net revenue from the distribution license
to the production company directly, or to a legal trust entity created to receive net revenue for the
production company and for its beneficiaries, such as equity investors, creditors, sales agencies, and
talent guilds. Distribution companies will return positive net revenue to encourage producers to provide
early exclusive access to their next motion picture: On the other hand, negative net revenue accounting
reports are very common in the early years of a multi-year distribution license, and generally reflects the
start-up costs for marketing a new motion picture. Such costs can be reduced if a motion picture is one in
a story franchise of multiple motion pictures: The first picture will bear the brunt of the market introduction
costs - and the subsequent pictures will benefit from brand familiarity and mass media awareness with
the story characters and its elements.
8. If you do not use a legal trust entity to manage net revenue, the production company will be
responsible for the producer's net revenue distribution accounting. If there is any positive net revenue to
share, then the production company will be responsible for distributing revenue to your investors and
creditors. It is recommended that an international entertainment accounting firm be contracted to provide
this service over the lifetime of all territorial distribution licenses issued on behalf of a motion picture.
Movie Making Manual/Film Marketing

Note: This section should be called "Film Distribution & Marketing".

What happens to your motion picture once you are finished? How does your movie get into the hands of a distributor?
How does the distributor get the movie into the hands of the exhibitor or in the case of video tape/disks, into the
hands of retail stores? And how does the distributor/theater owner convince the public to attend your movie and to
buy the tape/disk?
All of this is called "Marketing".
Contents
[hide]
1 Finding a Distributor
o
1.1 Self Distribution

2 Delivery of the Film to the Distributor
3 Developing the Campaign
3.1 Get on the Cluetrain
4 Marketing the Movie to Exhibitors

5 Marketing the Movie to the Local Audience
6 Marketing the Movie To Tape Distributors
7 Publicity
o
7.1 Income Distribution Considerations - Publicity
7.2 The Forms of Publicity/Advertisements
7.2.1 TV Ads
7.2.2 Newspaper Ads
7.2.3 Website
7.2.4 Editing Workshops = A New Kind of Publicity
7.2.5 Film Scoring Workshop = A New Kind of Publicity

7.3 Resources for Marketing Independent Films
[edit]
Finding a Distributor
Probably 99% of all the motion picture which are distributed use a distributor. If a filmmaker cannot find a distributor,
the movie will probably never be distributed. Probably 40% of all movies made never find a distributor. So don't
assume that finding a distributor will be automatic.
The distributor uses the economics of volume to market motion pictures as cheaply as possible. Even so, the
successful motion picture will cost 33% of the final gross just for marketing and distribution. If you try to distribute the
movie yourself, the cost can be far more than the income.
Back when you began to make your movie and you went looking for funding, one of the major options you had was
getting a distributor on board early. Be sure to read Roger Corman's books and notice that he always had a distributor
before he began a movie. It make life so much easier.
A good way to interest a distributor is to have a major star attached to your project. Currently, the market for motion
picture is "Star Driven" which means that the public is attracted to movies which have stars rather than good ideas.
If you cannot get a distributor while you are still in the pre-production stage, your only other practical option is to
complete you motion picture and show the movie at film festivals to attract a distributor.
[edit]Self
Distribution
If you want to try to distribute the movie yourself, you must consider your options which are booking directly at a
movie theater (either by negotiating a box office split with a theater owner, or renting it for a length of time - also
known as "four walling"), Distributing Direct, Selling Online, Digital Cinema Distribution, Submitting to a
broadcaster, Putting videos online, Burning a DVD. The process of self distribution is time consuming, requires an
additional financial investment, and is a separate business from filmmaking. However, it permits the filmmaker
maximal control over how their work is marketed and the highest return on the dollar. An initial successful self
distribution of a film can increase the filmmaker's leverage in securing a distribution deal.
[edit]
Delivery of the Film to the Distributor
When you complete your movie and project your movie at a film festival, you movie is not finished yet. You still do not
have all the elements that are needed by the distributor before the distributor will accept your motion picture. These
items are known as deliverables. Now, you have to worry about technical deliverables (such as separate tracks of
music and sound effects, known as M&E Tracks) and legal deliverables (such as obtaining an "Errors and Omissions"
insurance policy.) If you have not planned for this day, you can be in deep trouble. All of this might cost you more than
the cost of filming and editing your motion picture.
[edit]
Developing the Campaign
Finally, we get to the most controversial part of film marketing. To sell a motion picture (with its huge advertising
budget), a campaign must be created to introduce the movie to the public. The basic questions are, "What is this
movie about?" and "Who will want to see this movie?"
In general, many filmmakers and critics at large, do not like the ad campaigns. But then, they are not paying for any
of the millions of dollars that will be spend on the ad campaign. So they complain and gripe and produce meaningless
dribble like this:
[edit]Get
on the Cluetrain
Markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny and
often shocking. Whether explaining or complaining, joking or serious, the human voice is unmistakably genuine. It
can't be faked.
Most film blurbs, on the other hand, only know how to talk in the soothing, humorless monotone of the clever line,
marketing brochure, and your-call-is-important-to-us busy signal. Same old tone, same old lies. No wonder networked
markets have no respect for Studio marketing hype unable or unwilling to speak as they do.
But learning to speak in a human voice is not some trick, nor will studios convince us they are human with lip service
about "listening to audiences." They will only sound human when they empower real human beings to speak on their
behalf.
[edit]
Marketing the Movie to Exhibitors
The distributor must somehow interest the theater owners to exhibit the movie in their theaters.
[edit]
Marketing the Movie to the Local Audience
With help from the distributor, the local theater owner will publicize the motion picture before the opening of the movie
at the theater.
[edit]
Marketing the Movie To Tape Distributors
The film's distributor does not normally sell the tape or disk of the movie directly to the Mom & Pop video store.
Rather, the distributor must get a specialized distributor to put this in their catalog. In the USA, there are three major
tape/disk distributors for movies to video stores.
[edit]
Publicity
There are many ways to publicize a motion picture or a television drama. The most common are a movie trailer and a
behind-the-scenes documentary. The movie trailer is the least expensive and the behind-the-scenes movie can be
very time consuming if not expensive.
Publicity is done by both the production company and by the distributor. The still photographs (called appropriately,
"stills") and the behind-the-scenes documentary are paid for by the production company. But the movie trailer and
movie posters are normally paid for by the distributor. Some production companies in search of a distributor will
create their own trailers and posters but once the movie is picked up by a distributor and the advertising campaign is
determined, the distributor might still hire one of the many companies in LA which produce trailers for most motion
pictures today.
[edit]Income
Distribution Considerations - Publicity
Should a production company help in the publicity for a motion picture? This is a surprisingly difficult question.
In most cases, the distributor pays the production company a small fee up front for the right to distribute the movie.
Then the production company receives a royalty after sales reach a certain amount. Therefore, it is beneficial for the
production company to help in the publicity. Also, the cost of the distributor's advertising can often be charged against
the income due the production company. So is it better for the production company to do as much of this as they can.
But once the distributor creates a marketing campaign, they don't want the production company creating a different
image for the movie. And worst of all, all of the rights to most of the publicity material created by the production
company is now owned by the film's distributor so the production company can no longer use this material in many
cases.
[edit]The
Forms of Publicity/Advertisements
First, you have the tradition forms of publicity and advertisement.

[edit]TV
Ads
Television advertisements are simply the movie trailer. Therefore, the cost is only for the air time. This is often the
bulk of the cost of publicity for a motion picture.
[edit]Newspaper
Ads
Newspaper advertisements (either paid for by the distributor or by the theater owner) are almost always created by
the distributor.
Publicity tours are paid for by the distributor and the actor's contract usually specifies the amount of pay that the actor
will receive for doing the tour. This is particularly useful for film festivals where the movie has won an award.
[edit]Website
All movies now have websites.
[edit]Editing
Workshops = A New Kind of Publicity
Now there is a new way to publicize a motion picture which is half way between a trailer and a behind-the-scenes
documentary. This new form of publicity is a tour of the movie set and the editing room for just one (1) scene of the
movie. To create this, the film dailies for one scene are turned into a movie which shows the filming of the scene in
chronological order showing all the circle takes. That way, the audience can follow along with the script. Then a rough
edit of the scene is shown followed by the adjustments to the edits and finally the finished scene with a film score.
Once people have seen how the scene was filmed and edited, they can participate in the making of the movie by
actually editing the scene on their personal computer.
Currently, there are over 40 million people who have personal computer which are capable of editing digital video but
they have nothing exciting to edit. But this new form of publicity will not take off until computer companies such as
Apple Computer get behind it since half the benefit of the Editing Workshop is for people who use the personal
computer.
To look at this new way to publicize your upcoming motion picture, visit the Star Movie Shop and purchase
their Technology Demonstration disk. This is a fully working example of this new kind of publicity for motion pictures
or television dramas. You can never have enough publicity for your movie. This is one way which is easy to do,
specially if you are editing your movie with Final Cut Pro or similar type of editing program on your computer. You
already have all the elements and you just package them in a user friendly way.
[edit]Film
Scoring Workshop = A New Kind of Publicity
It is also possible to create an entertaining product for people who use GarageBand (which is free will all new
Macintosh computers) which is edited scenes without music set up for scoring with GarageBand. At least 5 million
people have GarageBand but still no one has done this. Look for it in the next year or two.
[edit]Resources
for Marketing Independent Films
4Filmmaking.com has detailed articles on the steps to selling an independent film.
Movie Making Manual/Distributing Direct

DVDs have been with us for some time now yet the impact of the new format is just beginning to be felt and its
potential just beginning to be explored.
The DVD player has entered the Guinness Book as the "fastest growing paid-for consumer electronics format of all
time". There are now 15 million DVD capable devices in the UK and this year for the first time more films will be
watched on DVD than in all the other mediums combined.
"Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" a direct to DVD documentary about Fox News is currently ranked
3rd on Amazon's DVD sales chart, just behind "The Complete Star Wars Trilogy" boxed set. So far it has sold over
250 000 copies on DVD - its budget was just USD300 000.
In the UK Luke Morris found no takers for the great short film he produced, "J'Taime John Wayne" and so packaged it
with 15 other UK shorts to create the excellent Cinema16 UK directors DVD. This proved a such a success it was
followed this year by a collection of 16 shorts by European directors on DVD.[2]
Most independent films lose money in the cinema. Prints cost USD5000 each, advertising with only a website,
posters and postcards will cost tens of thousands and Exhibitors take a large chunk of revenues. When I say "lose
money" I'm even not talking about losing money relative to the film's budget but actually losing money on the release.
DVDs have much higher margins and this is where distributors look to recoup their payments.
The current justification for cinema release is that a high profile cinema release is essential if the film is going to do
well on DVD. Yet most independent movies get anything but a high profile release, going out on a handful of screens
with a marketing campaign consisting of postcards in pubs and posters on a few buses...if you're lucky.
The DVD success of "Memento" and "Donnie Darko" following their lacklustre cinema showings contradict the view
that cinema success is crucial to DVD success. If the purpose is marketing the money spent on the theatrical release
could probably be spent in a more focused way on selling/promoting the DVD. The problem is no one in the industry
really knows how to sell DVDs yet.
For most of us Shooters the viability of a cinema release is a moot point as the budgets we are currently able to raise
probably dictate a straight to DVD release anyway. If that is successful we might just be able to raise the capital for
something which will go first to the cinema. In order for it to be successful the film needs to be good (of course!) but
the DVD release also needs to be handled properly.
This is where the industry is pretty immature.
Contents
[hide]
1 What is still needed

o
1.1 Accurate DVD sales figures
1.2 Distributors/Publishers with accessibility to the retail channels
1.3 Reviews and feedback
1.4 Innovative Marketing Companies
[edit]What
is still needed
Realistically speaking there should be far more direct to DVD distributors than there are. The costs and infrastructure
required for a company distributing DVDs directly are probably similar to those of a small book or music publisher yet
there are far fewer small DVD distributors than small music or book publishers. In fact small book and music
publishers might be just the people to push the next wave of films going out via direct DVD distribution.
In order to truly take advantage of this shift the industry still needs a number of things:
[edit]Accurate
DVD sales figures
Knowing how many copies of a particular movie are being sold would be invaluable, far more useful than the box
office figures. Yet box office figures are readily available while DVD sales figures are not.
Having the sales figures will make it easier to know what kind of budgets are realistic for different films and help
immensely with funding plans for ultra-indie features.
[edit]Distributors/Publishers
with accessibility to the retail channels
Sure we can sell from our website and via eBay and Amazon. But people don't often buy products on a first viewing.
Often we see something and think "That's interesting maybe..." and the actual purchase happens after a few
encounters.
Being able to partner with companies who know how to get our films on the racks at HMV, Virgin, and Waterstones
would be very useful.
[edit]Reviews
and feedback
I touched on this last week. The more films are out there the more people are going to rely on trusted reviewers to
find out what is worth buying/renting. Support of critics and online reviewers will be crucial in selling our films.
[edit]Innovative
Marketing Companies
Are there any small marketing companies using creative means to sell DVDs? I've not seen any evidence of their
work. Is there a company who could actually make something happen on a marketing budget of say GBP30 000?
From what I've heard most of the independent firms marketing firms in the UK seem to be tied to the concept of
cinema marketing and fairly formulaic in their approaches.
We need companies who can help a direct to DVD film get the attention of its audience. Again independent music
promoters (Why have I seen no fly postings for indie DVDs?) and book publishers may have the skills in reaching a
niche audience that film marketers have yet to develop.
I think there are still a lot of blanks to be filled in in the DVD distribution ecosystem and a lot of opportunity here. The
sooner companies start taking advantage of these opportunities the better it'll be for us.
This is currently seen as a niche, but companies like wikipedia:Filmbay are already addressing this.
Movie Making Manual/Selling Online

Marketing your movie on-line is very much like marketing any product anywhere. It will always be easier and less
expensive to market a product that meets the needs of a specific group. If you feel that everyone will want or need
your product, you will show a profit sooner if you market to specific segments individually rather than attempt to
capture the entire market at one time. By addressing a specific segment of the purchasing group you will be able to
tailor your web site to the needs of that buyer more effectively. Single men and women may both need your product
but express their concerns or needs in a different manner. Attempting to meet the needs of both will dilute the
essential message necessary to show the buyer you understand their problem (escape boredom, need to know) and
this product will solve it for them.
Contents
[hide]
1 Fill a Need
2 Identify the Target Audience

3 Product Form, Delivery, and Price
4 Manufacture and Delivery
5 Collecting Payments
6 Advertising
7 Wrapping It All Up
[edit]Fill
a Need
Perhaps the most essential step to moving your movies online is to establish a target audience for your product. For
this to come across effectively, you first must establish what you intend your product to do. For example, you may
wish your product to:
Tell a story
Entertain the consumer
Inform the consumer
Once you have the purpose in mind, you must next select the target audience you wish to embrace.
[edit]Identify
the Target Audience
Now you must design your site to fulfill the expectations of the target audience for your product. Some of these
audiences include, but are not solely limited to:
Adults
Children
Men
Women
Professionals
Particular age groups
Particular ethnic groups
Understanding your audience's expectations is one key to creating a friendly and effective sales environment for your
site.
[edit]Product
Form, Delivery, and Price
Today's distribution media and channels are ultimately limited only by your own imagination. You may choose to
distribute your film by using:
DVD
VHS (or other format cassettes, though VHS is the standard)
Video CD
Direct Download
Online (streaming) Media
You may distribute your film through:
Your own web site (though this is known to meet with limited success)
Distributors (Amazon [1], Barnes & Noble [2], and similar resellers)
Other storefronts, as a "special deal" with other products (a romantic movie could be sold at an online or
bricks-and-mortar flower shop)
Be sure to set a price appropriate to both the distribution medium and channel.
[edit]Manufacture
and Delivery
Now that you have a target audience and distribution channels in place, you must decide how to handle the
manufacture and delivery of your final product. Some options include:
Buy and warehouse stock (though this can be costly)
Keep a small inventory on hand with rapid re-order ability
Burn or reproduce as needed
[edit]Collecting
Payments
There are several methods of accepting payment via the Internet, but perhaps the best is to choose a "shopping cart"
service that accepts as many forms of payment as possible. Among these should be:
Credit card orders (American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover)
PayPal [3]
Check and/or money orders
Cash and/or wire transfers
[edit]Advertising
Once your site is fully operational, you will want to make your product as visible to as many different entities as
possible. To achieve this, you should:
Exchange links with as many acceptable sites as possible
Hand out promotional flyers with your site's address in a prominent position (top-center works best)
Watch for news stories that allow you to offer information and earn referrals where you may mention your
site
Get T-shirts printed to advertise your site - have your friends wear them in public when acceptable
Attend and speak at events of interest to your target audience
[edit]Wrapping
It All Up
Now that your site is functional and your advertising machine is in full-gear, all you need to do now is to establish and
maintain a valid accounting system and prepare for your next movie!
Movie Making Manual/Digital Cinema Distribution

Contents
[hide]
1 What is Digital Cinema Distribution

2 Timescale
3 Image and Sound quality
4 Business Implications
5 The Internet
6 Technical
[edit]What
is Digital Cinema Distribution
Digital Cinema Distribution is all about getting movies from the producers to the viewers using new digital
technology instead of old celluloid technology. It will involve watching movies projected by digital projectors (many
find the term videohaving innapropriate connotations when discussing theatrical motion pictures) instead of
from 35mm film.
[edit]Timescale
The major Hollywood studios agreed a standard in mid 2005, and it is expected to become widespread during the
following three-to-five years.
[edit]Image
and Sound quality
Images will be projected using either a 2k or 4k resoloution. The digital picture will be free from dust and scratches,
and movies originated digitally at high enough resolution (current examples being the Star Wars prequels and 3D
animations such as those made by Pixar) will show no grain.
Sound will change little from the digital surround found across the developed world, except that it will not be prone to
the drop-out and pops common at reel changes.
[edit]Business
Implications
Currently a large amount of the cost involved in getting a film to the cinema is the production and shipping of 35mm
film prints. This cost, along with the cost of promotion and marketing, is borne by the Distributor, and is known as the
Prints and Advertising cost (P&A). With digital distribution all that is moved is a multi-gigabyte file (provided by the
producer) containing picture and sound, so costs are dramatically reduced. This cost reduction is the main reason the
change will occur, since most cinema-goers seem satisfied with the current technology.
Furthermore, digital technology has been shown to consistently reduce in cost over a relatively short time compared
with mechanical technology (i.e. celluloid projectors). Consequently, it will become cheaper and easier to set up small
cinemas over the coming years.
This has led to speculation that the nature of the business will change, including the probable flourishing of specialist
exhibitors and small low-cost distributors. Coming as it does in concert with the widespread availability of moviemaking equipment and the associated surge in movie-making, there is likely to be a fragmentation of the market, with
greater niche exhibition outlets.
[edit]The
Internet
The fast transmission of files across the internet leads to great fears of piracy of digital movies, and no provision has
been made in the standard for the transportation of the authored movie file. Distributors will use whatever means
necessary (including perhaps physical transportation of discs) to minimise piracy.
With greater bandwidth increases there is also the possibility of electronic distribtution of movies across the internet,
which may threaten traditional theatrical exhibition. This is currently seen as a niche, but companies
like wikipedia:Filmbayare already adressing this.
[edit]Technical
The current standard requires that a feature must be authored into a single file, much as a DVD is. This file will
contain not only the picture and sound media, but also additional soundtracks for countries outside the producer's
own. When installed into a cinema's dedicated server, the exhibitor will ensure the correct combination of soundtrack
and subtitles will be played for the audience. The exhibitor may put on a showing for hearing-impaired cinemagoers
and allow the subtitles for the hard of hearing to be displayed.
A dedicated link to a central database allows the distributor to monitor how many times a film has been played, and
with what soundtracks. Metadata embedded in the stream allow for automated dimming of lights and drawing of
curtains.
The standard allows back-and-forward compatibility with 2k and 4k picture resolutions, intending to allay the fears of
cinema owners worring that buying the available 2k equipment will find themselves in need of a further upgrade.
Current digital cinema system specification: Digital Cinema Initiatives Version 1.2 Technical System Specification
Sheet (March 7, 2008)
For the stereoscopic-3D digital cinema system specification addendum: Digital Cinema Initiatives Version 1.0
Stereoscopic Digital Cinema Addendum (July 11, 2007)
For comparison, see the archived specification: Digital Cinema Initiatives Version 1.1 Techical System Specification
Sheet (April 12, 2007)
Movie Making Manual/Submitting to a broadcaster

When submitting to a broadcaster, you should check with them to ask what format they prefer. Often, the required
format is:
DigiBeta
4:3 FHA (full height anamorphic)
clocked
colour bars for 1 minute, 30 sec clock, 3 sec black before the first frame of audio or video
ensure that your colourspace is legal for broadcast
One possible way of configuring your timecode:
09 57 45 00 = Black
09 58 00 00 = Bars & Tone
09 59 00 00 = Black
09 59 20 00 = 40 Second clock
09 59 57 00 = Black
10 00 00 00 = Programme Start
Plus at least 1 minute of black on end.
Movie Making Manual/Sales and Exhibition/Putting Videos

Online
MPEG4-AVC provides the most efficient compression compared to every other codec out there.
There are some opensource H.264 encoders (e.g. x264), and people have used them to successfully compress
video, but they are buggy at present.
Probably the most cost effective way to produce H.264 is to use Apple Quicktime 7 Pro. The video really deteriorates
below about 512kbps but 1Mbps is pretty nice.
Contents
[hide]
1 Encoding H.264 Quick Times from Premiere Pro

o
1.1 Problems setting datarate
1.2 Gamma problems
1.3 Banding
2 Encoding WMV9 from Premiere Pro
2.1 Encoding PAL 16:9 at 1500kbps
[edit]Encoding
H.264 Quick Times from Premiere Pro
First, download the most recent version of Apple Quicktime.
Then take a look at Apple's H.264 encoding guide.

Beware: encoding H.264 using two passes on QT Pro 7.0.3 takes a long time (a 3 minute SD video took 2 hours to
encode on an Athlon64 2.4GHz).
[edit]Problems
setting datarate
For some reason, if you try to use the Adobe Media Encoder from within Premiere Pro 1.5.1 then you can't set the
datarate. So export from PPro as an uncompressed AVI, import into Quicktime 7 Pro, compress as MP4 and set as
H.264. Or, alternatively, change the "export size". In premiere when you look at your transcode settings in the Media
encoder, it is under the Video area. Underneath where you choose the video codec settings, you can tell the encoder
a frame size.
"Can't set bitrate when encoding QT H.264 using Adobe Media Encoder" thread on Creative Cow.
[edit]Gamma
problems
RGB movies can look washed out when converted to H.264. You need to convert to YUV colour space first.
[edit]Banding
There seem to be some serious problems with banding. Any ideas?!
[edit]Encoding
WMV9 from Premiere Pro
[edit]Encoding
PAL 16:9 at 1500kbps
1. Download "WM9 PAL 16-9 1500kbps 720x576.vpr" by right clicking on this link and selecting "Save link as".
2. Save this file to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Premiere Pro 1.5\MediaIO\presets\system
3. In Premiere Pro, go to File > Export > Adobe Media Encoder
4. Select Format: Windows Media
5. Select Preset: WM9 PAL 16-9 1500kbps 720x576
6. Make any changes necessary (note that the datarate, audio format, pixel size and aspect ratio are set in the
"Audiences" tab)
7. Click OK
8. Select a file name and whether or not you want to export the entire sequence and click Save
9. Note that this preset is two-pass so you'll get two "Encoding" progress bars.
Digital Filmmaking
Movie Making Manual/Digital Video/Analog vs. Digital

Contents
Previous | Introduction
Contents
[hide]
1 Analog vs. Digital

1.1 Digital
1.1.1 Why use digital?
1.2 Analog
[edit]
1.2.1 Limitations of Analog
Analog vs. Digital
Digital information recording is a evolution from analog which is most heavily influenced by computers and their
popularity and accessibility. Originally video production had a large gambit of machines and electronics specifically
created for that industry. As computers became more advanced, cheaper, and more accessible applications for the
computer spread to almost every industry. The widespread application of computers for manipulation of video was
hampered because video requires relatively massive storage, processing, and data transfer requirements. As
hardware has become cheaper and more powerful, and storage space in particular has become plentiful, using a
computer to manipulate video has become more economically viable than not. Currently video production is towards
the end of a transition in technology from an analog based system to a digital based system.
[edit]Digital
[edit]Why
use digital?
Digital has advantages and disadvantages like any tool, but the general consensus is that digital is better, and for
good reason. In post-production of analog video, there are basically two editing options. There
is assemble (aka linear) editing, in which the final product is assembled from the various pieces in order from the
beginning to end. If a change needs to be made at any point, then everything from that point to the end of the change
must be recreated from the original source material. This, of course, is problematic if the needs of the production are
the least bit dynamic. Avid was the first popular computer based nonlinear editing application, originally created for
film editing. It was a small step toward moving into professional video editing applications. Non-linear editing allows
the editor to ripple an insert so that everything that comes after the change is shifted to accommodate the shift. As
computer-based editing became more popular, the choices were either staying with the hardware controlled tape-totape linear systems or digitizing the analog footage into a computer for digital editing. Since computers are digital
systems--not analog--the video signal is translated into a digital signal. The evolutionary step was a short one to have
the video signal recorded in a digital format.
[edit]Analog
[edit]Limitations
of Analog
When using an analog system, there are some major inherent limitations that can be problematic. The first is when
youre editing video the process doesnt take the physical tape material, slice it with a razor, and combine it with other
clips as one would with film. Rather a VTP would read the information from the source tape and send the signal to a
VTR, which would record the signal onto a new tape. This is called a "generation" and analog has a tendency of not
making a 100% exact copy during this process. As video is pushed through more and more generations, the signal
degrades until it is essentially unrecognizable. There are tools that help reduce this--like waveform monitors, signal
amplifiers, etc.--but most analog video is unusable after 5 to 10 generations (for professional standards). On the other
hand, as long as the information isnt reprocessed (such as in color correction, transitions, etc.) DV can withstand
dozens of generations and some manufacturers have reported over 100 generations with no perceptible loss in
picture quality. **citation needed** On the other hand, there are limitations to a digital system mainly in regards to
sample rates and aliasing. However as the delivery of the video signal is not analog anyway (pixels) digital
information processing on these discrete units seems to make the most sense.
Next | Production Process
Movie Making Manual/Digital Video/Process

< Movie Making Manual(Redirected from Movie Making Manual-DV/Process)
Contents
Previous | Analog vs. Digital
[edit]Production
Process
The production process in video is very similar to film. This is due to many reasons, but the main one is that motion
pictures have created a workflow process that makes sense and works. Therefore video productions generally
proceed through the following phases: Development, Preproduction, Production, Postproduction, and Distribution.
Movie Making Manual/Digital Video/Development

Contents
Previous | Production Process Overview
[edit]Development
Honestly how many different ways can one put an idea on paper? Scripting is scripting no matter what the recording
medium is. DV may tend to use more AV side-by-side style scripting over the classical movie script, but other than
that the conception stage is not where the differences lie.
That being said, solid development and planning leads to a superior final product. The script is the absolute bare rock
foundation for a project. A bad script can ruin even the best production while even the best script can not save a bad
production. Like a damaged seed will create a damaged plant, a bad script will create a damaged film. Evaluating a
script for quality and production feasibility is the skill and art of a Producer.
To help filmmakers create scripts easier do not use Microsoft Word. Formatting and all that mess is a major hassle.
There are a variety of great pay for software programs out there that will format a script to industry standards. The
following options are presented in alphabetical order:
Final Draft. This is the program I (user:film8ker) but really thats only because I had a friend that shared it
with me. Its very easy to use and works well. The new Final Draft AV looks very promising and I hope to get it
soon.
Movie Magic. Some people swear that they will never use another program and other people hate it and will
never touch it. Personally I think its just as functional as the other programs, however if you pay the extra money
to buy Movie Magic Budgeting, Movie Magic Scheduler, and Movie Magic Contracts, the products work well as a
package.
Page2Stage. Its now FREE! Other than that it looks comparable to Final Draft. You have to have a torrent
client to download it, but you cant beat legally Free!
Introduction to Digital Video Production Manual
Why is this a separate book?
[edit]History
You can't know where you're going until you know where you've been.
[edit]Analog
of Video
vs. Digital
Analog vs. Digital
[edit]Production
Process
Process Overview
Development
Preproduction
Production
Postproduction
Distribution

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Movie Making Manual

From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection

index - Thank yous - List of contributors

Terms / Job descriptions - Teach Yourself Filmmaking

1 Introduction to Movie Making

What is movie making?

Staffing & casting

Writing Low Budget

Protecting Your Ideas

Funding and budgetting

Budgeting and Scheduling

Acquiring film stock

Funding and budgetting contents

Clapper Board and Keeping Notes On Set

Keeping the crew happy

Post Production Overview

How To Edit a Dramatic Scene

Animation (for Visual Effects)

Which format to finish on?

Distribution & Marketing

Film Distribution & Marketing Overview

Sales, Exhibition & Distribution

Digital Cinema Distribution

Putting videos online

Teach Yourself Filmmaking

Part 2 of Teach Yourself Filmmaking

Writing Low Budget

Shooting on Film for little money

Linux in film production

Why Make a Short

Distribution and Exhibition of Shorts

Why Make a Music Video

Financing Music Videos

Exhibition of Music Videos

Submitting Music Videos

Vancouver (aka Hollywood North)

Cannes Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

Toronto Film Festival

Venice Film Festival

Raindance Film Festival

Berlin Film Festival

Watching Films on the Internet

Networking For Filmmakers

Setting up a production company

Linux in film production

Mac in film production

Windows in film production

Transferring large files over the Internet

Building your own editing system

Video Compression/Decompression CO-DEC's

Equipment and software reviews

Currently Untitled Studio (Pre-production)

Movie Making Manual-The Art of Flirting

Movie Making Manual/Introduction

Current revision (unreviewed)

This Module is part of the Movie Making Manual

The filmmaking production cycle consists of five main stages:

The composer creates new music for the film.

Movie Making Manual/Writing

This Module is part of the Movie Making Manual

1 Writing for the Screen

1.1.1 Write what you Know

1.2 The Right Budget