Low-budget filmmaking tip #174
Sometimes, motion tracking doesn’t work. Unless you or someone you know is a total whiz at it, don’t count on motion tracking to make up for what you can fix on set. Look at all signs, glass, mirrored surfaces, visible roads, etc.
A lot of people forget to check glass doors and windows to see what’s showing in the reflections.
Even cars that are clean can reflect unwanted things.
I was on one shoot where reflective cars kept showing traffic going by. Moved a couple of cars in the way and shazam!
Was in another shoot where the whole crew was visible in a mirror in the background dressing of a set. Once we saw that, we moved everything a little bit and voila (or maybe we simply covered the mirror).
In both cases, correcting that in post would have been a real headache.
Low-budget filmmaking tip #85
Blender is a fine way to start producing 3-D and it’s free. http://www.blender.org/
Low-budget filmmaking tip #67
Easy on using the Wilhelm Scream as a sound effect. Ten years ago, it was cute, but nowadays enough people know of it that using it actually distracts from your movie and breaks the story. You don’t want to do that. (and “Primeval,” I’m looking at you…)
Low-budget filmmaking tip #65
Don’t marry your temporary music score. It’s temporary for a reason.
Low-budget filmmaking tip #17
Do not upgrade your system in the middle of a big project. You can wait until it’s finished, and then do your upgrade. This includes OS upgrades, CPU upgrades, application upgrades, etc.
Low-budget filmmaking tip #3
Get it right on set – fixing it in post takes ten times as long and is twenty time as expensive as doing it again right there. Probably more, by the time you read this. Yes, I’m guilty of saying “we can fix that in post.” And for each of those instances, yes, I suck.
This includes things like “Look, just throw a cloth over it, man.”
I could have saved many weeks of digital work with the proper application of cloths, newspaper, sheets, and props on my sets. Hell, even tossing a shemp in a corner could have saved me some grind later.
Ah, live and learn… May you learn from my living!
Watercolor paint can be used in a pinch, or acrylic, to cover something, and then as soon as you’re done shooting afterward, you can hose it right off.
Don’t forget one of the easiest on-set miracles to perform: moving the camera a little bit.
Newspapers can cover things. Posters work, too.
My favorite example of this was a short movie by my friend Christian. They had some sign in a store window that they could not remove (it was inside), and they were trying to film a period piece. So, they threw an extra (aka: Quality Actor Person) into period clothes, handed him a broom and said “Stand riiiight here and just slowly sweep.”