We are a Largo Florida video production team

don’t sweat the small stuff

Has this ever happened to you? You decide to get creative and get involved in video production and to shoot a film. It seems that the idea is right and you will end up with a great little video, but many of the shots turn out just plain bad and somebody says “if we only had the right equipment this would of turned out better” well this is not the case. The truth is you can always get a good shot if you approach your project with the “how can I get this done” attitude and use the imperfections to your advantage. Nobody said filmmaking is easy and when you have to create a way to get the shot right, the outcome may surprise you.

Don’t ever let the lack of equipment get in your way. There are many ways to improvise when it comes to getting that perfect shot. When starting out, it’s not the quality of your camera that is important, what matters is the content that is captured and how it portrayed. The first camera I used to shoot a film was a Cannon SD 400 which is a little digital pocket camera with the capability of shooting one minute videos in low resolution. I loved the lack of quality with its graininess. I just edited to the flaws and made the flaws the assets. Let’s say you need a nice smooth dolly shot and you don’t have a dolly or even one piece of track! Experiment with items around you, I solved this one by using a glass top table, some powder, a piece of wax paper, and a small tripod placed on the wax paper and the shot turned out great. Glass is smooth, wax paper is slippery, and powder makes for a nice mix, try it sometime. This is the way to approach difficult situations when you are lacking in resources.

Film is about the experience and the audience, keep this in mind and don’t let the “I need” get in the way. No matter how large you become in your filmmaking career and how much equipment and talent you have at your disposal, you will always experience the “I need” syndrome and you will be expected to create a solution.

See what you can do with household lighting below.

locations and special props

There are so many people willing to help out while you are shooting a film. That known, you will always be able to get the space you want for your shoot with a little compromise on your part. You could get a theater if you were willing to, you could get someone’s home or business and these make great locations. Think about it, people are enamored with film. With enough effort you will find the person who will say yes. The secret is you have to be flexible. What costs money is when the shot has to be one hundred percent to the script (technically speaking) or if you have to stick with an era, otherwise finding a location suitable for the shot can be rather easy. If the shot calls for a certain Italian restaurant to be portrayed and you know it is beyond your reach, be flexible and find the little joint in the neighborhood. After you get your scene and thank the owner for being so nice, shoot other complementary scenes nearby your unattainable restaurant and this will establish the shot better than you might think and add believability to your piece.

This happened to me. Once I was on a set in Anna Marie, Florida where they were filming a feature film portraying Bimini, an Island of the Bahamas, I was there basically in the role of production assistant and I ran around getting things they needed for the movie. I was surprised how many people wanted to help. I could not believe what I ran into. We needed a license plate from Bimini to put on a car that was driving down the wrong side of the street, in Florida I might add, without permission! I actually had the most important job on this set. I was one of two guys standing in the middle of the road about 300 feet from the shoot stopping cars! But anyway, as we were all trying to figure out the license plate problem, we were at gift shops and hardware stores, we finally decided to manufacture a license plate of our own. I let the art department do their thing. I moved on and decided to keep looking. I walked down the street and found a restaurant about one half block away that had license plates all over the walls! I was blown away! I walked in and asked if I could look around, and right before my eyes there it was, a plate from Bimini. They actually let me rip it off the wall, which caused damage, and they were more than happy to help. I made sure they got their plate back and realized that what you need is really not that far away.

So, go the extra mile. People are willing to help everywhere and If you are set back don’t let the lack of what you need slow your film endeavors, video production takes flexibility, even if you have to change the script a bit, do it if production value is important

keep yourself in the game

If you want to make a film be sure to stick to the idea you intended to portray. Many times during armature shoots the idea of the film can get lost. This can be because of the lack of resources or the overlooked plans that only if… All this can be avoided if you stick to your game plan.

Before any shoot you should always collaborate. There is a reason a practice called pre-production exists, this prepares you for the shoot and brings up the issues you may have before you start the film production itself. One thing for sure, you are going to have to deal with issues when you shoot a film. That’s why preparation is the key, the key to success, which leads to the excitement that fills the room as you edit and finally watch your video.

Some good practices before shooting a film are: storyboarding, where you illustrate your shots on paper and actually study how you will get these shots. This practice will open your eyes and get you ready for the shots before you go on location. You can get answers like how am I going to place the camera to get that cool angle, what will I need in the background to add believability to the scene, what type of lighting am I going and not going to use to get that great effect, and the list goes on. You will be surprised how many questions you didn’t even know you had that will be answered. The best thing is that you will have what you need with you when you shoot instead of running out to get it. Reviewing the script alongside your storyboard is also very helpful. While reading, you can look and see how your film will turn out, and if there is a problem, you will know it. The opportunities are almost endless when it comes to this type of preparation and the film will be much better for it.

When beginning, I think it is a great idea to start with fiction because you are freer to experiment with your art form. If you decide on shooting a fictional piece, be sure that what you are filming falls into your line of interest. This will make the hours you spend on the set and in post-production much more enjoyable. This is a good way to start, and as you gain experience in the trade you can then step a little more out of your comfort zone and still create great pieces. You will learn a lot as you begin to make films and in short time you will know what not to do! When it comes to non-fiction you will have to be more rigid, remember you are portraying facts and these facts are the center of you piece.

So when you are ready, be sure to get all the people involved together to hash out the project. You will be much happier with the final product, have fewer obstacles when shooting, and the time spent with your peers prepping will actually be very insightful and fun. So be sure to keep yourself in the game and follow the plans you laid out and avoid the things we often do when things get overlooked.

nothing to it but to do it

If you want to make a video the first step is to believe you are going to do it. We all know there is a little more to it than just starting to film, and some of the tasks can be a little challenging. Don’t let this stop you. The time I decided that I was going to make my own video production was the day I got to grab an Oscar Award out of Ben Shedd’s hand while he was passing his award around for people to touch at an event out west. This man gave me such inspiration; it was going to be impossible not to make a film. I had my little camera that day and captured this grainy video. He was talking about how the filming process came together and I listened intently while holding that Oscar. I was hooked!

Soon after that day I found myself actually filming. I did not have any equipment to speak of, but I did not let that get in the way. I got together with a good friend and the two of us just started. We put together a script and planed out our shots. Later that day we went to the location we picked and started our production. After a day and a half we had our film, a five minute short about God and miracles on a DVD! Talk about satisfaction, we were pumped because we did it.

When I returned home I decided just for kicks to enter my film into a Tampa Bay area film festival. I did not think too much about it because I was a beginner with no real experience in film making, I just thought it would be fun to go and participate in such an event. We were enjoying our meal and watching the award ceremony and then it happened, they called my name. At first I was a little shocked but I got up and walked over to the podium. I actually won first place and a second award to boot! I could not believe that I won, but I did, and from then on I knew that anyone can succeed if the desire is there.

If you have been thinking about making your own video production, all you have to do is start. There is nothing to it but to do it, so get your camera out!

Click the YouTube link below to see our short.