Shooting a scene

Low budget or Amateur video production doesn’t have the same access to equipment that Hollywood has, so we have to make do with what we have. Here is a Step-by-step guide to shooting a scene using a director, camera operator and cast members.

1. The director will put his cast into position as seen on the shooting script and story board.
2. The director will say “quiet on the set” and queue the camera operator.
3. The camera operator will press record on the camera and say “rolling”.
4. The director will wait a few seconds; introduce the “Production title, scene number and take number”.
5. Then he will clap his hands loudly in front of the camera and say “action”.
6. The actors will now start the scene.
7. When the scene is completed, the director should wait a few seconds before saying “cut”.
8. The camera operator should then wait a couple of seconds before he stops recording.
9. If the director decides to stop the scene he may say “cut” and then start the process again

If you learn these simple procedures and use them in your shoot, I am positive all will run smoothly. If not, it will be a long, awkward and frustrating process.

Print this entry