Quarantine Filmmaking Tips - Pre Production

Listen, I know times are tough. We can't go outside or be within six feet of another person. So it's hard to make films right now, but that doesn't mean you can't. So here are some tips on how you can shoot a film remotely starting with pre-production.

First up when casting your remote film, your probably going to want to be savvy and pick talent that already has access to a camera and microphone. And it's even better if they already have a lot of experience using them since they are essentially going to have to shoot themselves. Next, perform multiple virtual table reads using video chats, so your talent can get to know each other and rehearse the script. This is also a great opportunity to work out wardrobe, props, and technical issues ahead of time.

After having meetings with your cast and crew, and you've assessed some of the technical limitations, it's time to decide on what virtual and physical tools you plan to use when shooting your film. If possible, have your talent shoot on a DSLR or mirrorless camera they might already own. If that's not an option, have your talent use the camera on their phone or computer.

Next If your talent doesn't already have access to professional lights, you'll need to decide if you want to either buy them some or use practical lighting. If you choose to buy your talent lights, you can find cheap options for lighting such as the Lume Cube panel mini that's small enough to fit on a DSLR camera.

Now if buying lights isn't in your budget, you can also use practical lights, such as lamps or even daylight. You can also use a mix of both by purchasing daylight balanced bulbs for the actor's practical lights and using daylight from a window to help fill out the scene.

And finally when it comes to tools, you'll need to decide on which video chat service you want to use to monitor the shoot. By using a video chat, you can have your key crew members like the director and producer present to monitor the shoot.

Next up, let's talk about that script. Just like a normal shoot, you'll want to break down your script into various shots. However, if you're attempting to shoot something that involves actors remotely interacting, it can be a little more complicated than normal. For example, for my short film Joining Call, I had eight actors interacting via a video chat as they attempted to unite online to play a game of D&D. The script was 16 pages long, and it involves some actors having to do complicated blocking and juggling of props. So in order to shoot the script, we needed to divide it up into smaller chunks and figure out which actor would be on screen and needed for each shot. To do this, I made a sort of hybrid between a lined script and a paper edit. I lined out each shot and designated how many players would be on screen at once.

And finally, let's talk about scheduling. Scheduling your remote shoot might get extra tricky, especially if there's different time zones involved. So make sure you pad your script to allow enough time for technical issues and human error when it comes to time math. You can do this by adding time for setups in between shots that require actors to hop on and off the video chat. Also schedule each shot for the same amount of time it would normally take to shoot it, minus the time and take to set up camera and lights, unless each shot requires a separate camera and lighting setup. In this example, the actors only had to set their camera and lights up once.

Now that you've got these pre-production tips, your remote shoot is sure to go off without a glitch.

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