by Hannah Drobir -

Let’s have the Finance Talk – Budgeting in Filmmaking

Finances is probably the most frightening aspect of a movie pre-production. For me, budgeting has always been something that I was happy to avoid. Until now! Today, I want to make friends with movie money. And show you why you should too!

What is a Movie Budget?

When we think of a movie budget, according to Mike Bedard via StudioBinder, most people instantly think of crew and cast costs, money for building sets, make-up, VFX and everything included in a classical production.

However, that’s only half the battle in Hollywood. From there, you need to market the film so that people actually know it exists. For major productions, this is readily apparent in the form of trailers, billboards, radio ads, and everything else you can possibly slap a poster on.

Mike Bedard via StudioBinder

So far so good. But in the case of independent productions or indie films, production managers will not have such a big budget. Therefore, they will have to find alternative ways of marketing the movie. Besides the already mentioned ads on billboards, radio and posters, social media could be a big part of the distribution budget. (Bedard, StudioBinder)

According to Newbie Film School, “an average short film costs between $700 to $1500 per minute.” Of course, this number can fluctuate depending on what kind of short film you are planning to make and how big the production will be. That is why it is smart to make a budget breakdown before you are starting to shoot and actually do work on the project. (Newbie Film School)

How to Calculate a Budget

Newbie Film School goes on to describe how they plan their budgets for shooting short movies (a short movie being anything under 40 minutes). According to them, the most important thing to know is the length of the movie. If you follow the standard way of calculating one minute per script page, you can easily determine how long your film will be. Still, the costs for a 20 minute film can vary between $2000 and $30000 which is a really big range. To narrow this down it might be smart to additionally consider the so-called production value of your movie which is the sum of the following costs:

  • Pre-production cost
  • Production cost
    • Location
    • Cast
    • Crew
    • Types of equipment
    • Art design
    • Other production services
  • Post-production cost
    • Editing
    • Sound design and music
    • VFX
    • Digital Intermediate
  • Marketing and promotion

So, let’s dive into these in more detail. (Newbie Film School)

Pre-Production Cost

These costs include every step of planning a movie from location scouting to visualization in a storyboard. Still, they are manageable and should not exceed $500 but rather be around $250. (Newbie Film School)

Production Cost

These costs are estimated to make up 75-80% of your overall budget. If you want your budget to not exceed in the end, it would be smart to include the following points in it.

Location

Your location needs to have some sort of power supply. For independent productions it is smart to use free locations to keep the costs at a minimum. However, calculating between $250 and $500 is smart to have as an extra for shooting permits you might need.

Cast

Working with pupils from acting schools or freelancers is the smartest for independent productions. That way, you save additional costs for insurances. On average, one can calculate approximately $100 per person per day. However, if you negociate wisely this price can be brought down. Still, calculating with $100 is smart and having a little surplus in the end is not bad either.

Crew

Cinematographers don’t usually charge higher rates for short films. It ranges from $150 to 300 per day. […] The Sound Recordist is vital if you need to record sync sound and hence the costs range between $150 to $250 a day. The Direction team should cost anywhere between $100 and $150 per day. […] The Gripper and the Gaffers should add up to another $200 per day in total. Costume if needed should be dealt with the designer on a negotiated price. If you rent them, it should not add up to more than $100 per day for the entire cast.

Newbie Film School

In total, that makes up for around $750 per day. However, if your script does not require special costumes, etc. these costs can be minimized.

Types of equipment

Equipment will add to your overall budget! In total, cameras, lenses, grips, jibs and lighting will cost an average of $500 per day. The wage for the sound recordists usually already include the gear so at least there is no need to rent this.

Art Design and Other Production Services

This part of the budget can be easily avoided if you are not building sets for your film. For indie productions it is recommended to shoot outdoors (and also use natural light to lower the costs there). Other Production Services might include spot boys or caterers. These can also be avoided easily in independent productions. However, keeping a spare budget of around $300 is recommended.

Post-Production Cost

These costs consist of sound, music, VFX and editing post production processes.

Editing

It is recommended to not hire editors who are paid hourly. Rather “offer them a package between $500 to $1500 depending on the length […].” (Newbie Film School)

Sound Design and Music

This will cost another $750 on average. However, it is recommended to look for talents who have not been recognised yet. Maybe you know someone or could hire given people from art schools.

VFX

If possible, avoid having any VFX in your indie production. Costs for this field are very high!

Digital Intermediate

This service includes the coloring of the film. As this can be very expensive as well it pays off to hire students or enthusiasts who will color your entire movie for an average of $500.

Marketing and Promotion

In order to have a decent exposure after the film is finished, one should think of using free tools to send the movie to festivals. There are a lot of screening opportunities that are free. However, some festivals have an entrance fee which is why an additional $1000 is recommended for marketing and promotion. As said already, using social media to promote your movie is also a great and cheap tool to market your work. (Newbie Film School)

Summary

If one follows the points mentioned above, your average movie budget will be around $3800 for fixed costs plus $100 per actor per day plus $1250 per day for crew and equipment. For a 3 day production with two actors your budget should therefore be:

3800+100*2*3+1250*3=
3800+600+3750=$8150 (or around €7700)

As you see, these costs are immense and no indie newcomer will ever have the dollars to cover them. This is where small productions will need to get creative. One example to do so is using a method called Guerilla Filmmaking. More on that in another post.

Still, it is important for filmmakers to know these numbers. And I believe that having an approximate estimate guide such as this post can help you calculate your first budgets. I will use these numbers to calculate my next expenses for a short movie as well and will keep you updated on how that goes.

However, I will leave you with this for now. I think it is already a big enough pill to swallow.

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Sources

Bedard, Mark: Average Movie Budget — How Much Do Movies Cost to Make? In: StudioBinder, https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/average-movie-budget/ (last seen: 08.10.2023)

Newbie Film School: How much does it Cost to make a Short Film? In: Newbie Film School, https://newbiefilmschool.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-make-a-short-film/ (last seen: 08.10.2023)

by Kris Van Hout -

Blog #1 – Topics thesis question

Recap:
Last semester I ended my design and research with the topic ‘’short form video’’ And with this topic I created thesis questions. Which could help me finding a clearer view of what I want to do in the 4th semester. Which are:

  • Exploring the storytelling potential of short form video content on social media platforms.
  • The impact of editing techniques in creating engaging narratives in short form videos.
  • Analyzing the effectiveness of different video formats (e.g., vertical, square, horizontal) for short form video platforms.
  • The aesthetics of composition and framing in short form videos: Techniques for capturing attention.

For the design and research course this semester I would like to dive deeper in these questions and see how much potential they have and how I can make them worthy as a thesis topic.

To make it already clearer by forehand what short form video is and other terms in these questions. I made a glossary for terms that I think will be very handy to know.

Glossary:

Short form video:
Short form video is to a type of video content that typically has a shorter duration compared to traditional long-form videos. These videos are often created for social media. Short form videos are made to capture viewers’ attention quickly and deliver content in engaging way, they usually are between a few seconds to a few minutes.

Social Media Storytelling:
Social media storytelling uses content on social media, such as posts, pictures, videos or interactive content, to tell a story about your company, product or brand.

Short-term storytelling:
Story telling which lasts for one piece of content.

Long-term storytelling:
Story telling which takes place over multiple pieces of content and over a period of time.

User participation interaction:
The engagement and involvement of users in the content or experience. It provides the chance for users to actively participate, contribute, or interact with the content or the overall experience.

Content Trends:
Content trends refer to the popular and prevailing themes, topics, formats, or styles that are prominent in a particular period.

by Hannah Drobir -

IMPULSE #1 – Production Management with Gregor Wilson – Podcast

For my first IMPULSE session I sat down and listened to one episode of the podcast Team Deakins. Every episode they talk to and with people from the film industry. In this specific one their guest was Gregor Wilson, the production manager of films such as Inglorious Bastards, Man of Steal, Justice League and others. Let’s see what he has to say about his very wide-ranging role.

Initially having studied Urban Design, Gregor got involved in film after a very drunk night out. After working different jobs such as construction coordinator, he finally found his place in production management. According to him, the responsibilities of his position include hiring the crew, getting the people, getting the equipment (which consumes the majority of time), working on the schedule and the budget. He works closely together with the line producer, who is one step higher up the hierarchy in a big production.

Gregor goes on to describing his standard steps when being onboarded as a PM. First he has a look at the script to have an idea on locations, necessary decisions, cameras, … right away. He then goes on to making his own schedule where he creates breakdowns of the script and a rough shooting schedule (even though normally the assistant director is responsible for the final shooting schedule) to determine possible problems. After that, the cast availability needs to be checked as well as location availability. According to Wilson, this gets harder every time. The more shows are produced the less stage space, gear, etc. is available to everyone.

To continue he briefly talks about his favorite part of shooting movies: Outdoor shoots. He particularely enjoys them because everyone has to be more flexibile with the weather and one can get light situations that they didn’t expect (which is always exciting for the DPs).

Another big point during his interview was of course the budget (which I will write more about in the next post). Something I didn’t know was that in big productions there is actually a production accountant who is responsible for that. However, the PM is involved in regular money meetings and they work together very closely. Gregor did not mention indie productions but I can imagine that in smaller undertakings, this is still a responsibility assigned to the PM.

An additional new thing for me was that apparently the greatest sin PMs and accountants can make in Hollywood is coming in under budget. This is due to the fact that as soon as there is a surplus of money, studios lose control over how it is use. Also, most studios take up loans from banks to finance the shoots. If a production ends up not using all the money, the studio has made a huge minus with all the interests they will have to pay back unnecessarily. Gregors approach to that is to “take it out on post” (which he says with a laugh).

The third and final interesting thing he mentions (although just in one sentence) is the fact that even though there are a lot of female production supervisors there are not a lot of female production managers. This is especially motivating for me to further persue this interest and maybe make a carreer out of it someday.

Some other points Gregor mentions very briefly are production reports and bond companies, which I will have to look up and research in more detail.

The final subject he talks about is stress and working hours. According to Gregor one of the biggest mistakes production managers can make is not having a good stress management. When you are responsible for so many different parts of a production, being able to make good and calm desicions is very important in the case of an emergency or something happening. Even though you have to be able to work insanely long working hours (e.g. in the US there is no penalty for having your film crew work too long, the situation in AUT will have to be found out about in a seperate post) keeping calm is something that is highly regarded and respected amongst your crew.

After making a joke about why all movies are shot in California (the good weather) the two hosts Roger Deakins and Isabella James Purefoy Ellis close the interview.

As mentioned above there are some things I will have to find out more about: production reports, bond companies and the legal working hours for film crews in Austria.

Links:

  1. https://www.industrialtrainer.org/production-report and https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/daily-production-report-explained-free-template/
  2. https://www.mediaservices.com/blog/how-to-bond-a-film-a-definitive-guide-to-completion-bonds/
  3. https://www.wko.at/branchen/gewerbe-handwerk/film-musikwirtschaft/start.html/ and https://www.oesterreich.gv.at/themen/arbeit_und_pension/arbeitszeit.html

Sources

Team Deakins Podcast: EPISODE 87 – GREGOR WILSON – Production Manager: https://teamdeakins.libsyn.com/gregor-wilson-production-manager (last seen 10.10.2023) (not to self: not cited correctly yet)

by Hannah Drobir -

Make Production Management Great Again

The posts I published during the last two semesters only delt with production management in general. As this is a very broad topic my goal for this term is to narrow it down to an applicable master’s thesis topic. Today is my first try.

The title might suggest as if I am trying to reinvent production management. I am not! However, I was thinking of making it more seminal. In the approaching AI era, I want production management to be a part of filmmaking that will not lose its importance. And I asked myself: How can I do that?

Well, the answer I found was somehow primitive. I know that production management is already a very important part of filmmaking. A lot of trial and error has been done by a bunch of people before me. Still, I feel like the processes that we follow when planning a movie production are very inflexible and therefore not really viable. What they lack in my opinion is a focus on current topics such as sustainability.

For this reason I have decided to not only work on production management for outdoor movies in general but narrow it down to:

Sustainable Production Workflows for Independent Outdoor Filmmaking

I believe that production management has the potential to be a positive force for this industry’s impact on climate change. And I hope that for my master’s thesis I will be able to unlock it.

The plan is to find out more about the following (adapted) research questions:

  • Which parts of classical production management can be improved in order to be more sustainable?
  • What sustainability measures can be taken by production managers?
  • How does sustainable production management impact a production’s budget compared to classical production management?
  • Does it make sense for independent productions to switch to sustainable production management?
  • How does sustainable production management work in the field?

I am excited to start working on this altered topic even more as I think it could be interesting to people beyond my master’s thesis. For now, I will leave you with this quick update.

by Hannah Drobir -

Chopsticks in a Shooting Schedule?

Just recently I was thinking about how unfortunate it is, that my main resource so far has been a book in German (as I will be writing the thesis in English). While starting a glossary for my future work (which obviously will include terms used in production management) I found out that I don’t have a clue what “Pensen” or “Stäbchen” are called in English industry standards. So here’s a short table explaining what each of them are and how they are called in English.

Spoiler: “Stäbchen” are not called chopsticks.

GermanEnglishDefinition
StripboardStripboardA production document looking like a list in which you can organize scenes by using strips.
StäbchenStripsParts of a stripboard used to plan shoots. There are three different types: scene strips, daybreaks and banners.
PensenShooting OrderThe result after ordering the strips by various parameters like location, actor availability, etc. divided by banners.
DaybreakDaybreakA black strip that marks the end of a shooting day. All strips above the daybreak will be shot that day.
BannerBannerCustom strip that represents time which is not meant for shooting. Might be used for breaks, moves, meals, etc.
FriedhofBoneyardStrips that are non-essential or have been removed due to changes in the skript or delays go to the boneyard. Works like an archive.
DrehplanFilm Production ScheduleThe plan every production follows to ensure a smooth execution. A breakdown of information necessary for a successful shoot.
Drehplan (für einzelne Departments)Call SheetA document distributed to the cast and crew that provides specific details about the shooting schedule for a particular day, including call times, scenes to be shot, locations, and other important information.
Day/Night Ext./Int.:Day/Night Ext./Int.These abbreviations indicate whether a scene will be shot during the day (Day), at night (Night), or both (Ext./Int.). It helps organize the schedule and allocate resources accordingly.
SetwechselUnit MoveThe relocation of the entire cast and crew from one shooting location to another. It involves the coordination of logistics, transportation, and equipment.
The beginning of some sort of glossary

As the previous table states, this is just the beginning and first attempts at making a glossary. This list will grow over time as I read and learn more about production management.

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Sources

StudioBinder: How to Make a Better Shooting Schedule with a Stripboard. In: StudioBinder Blog, https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/shooting-schedule-stripboard/ (last seen June 22 2023)

by Christina Mutz -

Young Children’s Utilisation of Smartphones and Tablets

In the present, the employment of smartphones and tablets among young children has become an area of interest for researchers. The study “Young Children’s Use of Smartphones and Tablets”, conducted by Jenny S. Radesky and her colleagues, explores the intricate nuances of young children’s engagement with technological devices. The purpose of this research is to comprehensively examine the implications of smartphone and tablet usage on the development and well-being of our new generation. By employing a discourse analysis approach, the study looks at different aspects of young children’s interaction with these devices, exploring both the benefits and potential risks.

Previous research has highlighted the increasing prevalence of technology in children’s lives and its impact on various areas, including cognitive development, socio-emotional well-being, and physical health. Radesky et al. maintain that despite the potential benefits these devices offer, there are concerns regarding their overuse, potential addictive behaviours, and negative effects on attention spans.

To evaluate young children’s use of smartphones and tablets, Radesky et al. realized a discourse analysis. This qualitative approach allowed the researchers to explore the language, symbols, and social interaction that children have with these devices. The study recruited a diverse sample of participants, comprising children between the ages of 2 and 6 years, along with their parents or caregivers. Data was collected with interviews, observation of children’s interactions with devices, and analysis of relevant artifacts such as children’s drawings and recorded conversations.

The discourse analysis revealed several key findings regarding young children’s use of smartphones and tablets. Firstly, the study pointed out that technology can be used as a tool for learning, entertainment, and socialization. Additionally, it was observed that parents played a significant role in mediating and shaping children’s interactions with these devices. The researchers also identified concerns related to excessive screen time, disrupted sleep patterns, and the potential impact on language development.

The findings of this study contribute to the ongoing discourse surrounding young children’s engagement with smartphones and tablets. The identification of diverse discourses provides a differentiated understanding of how these devices are perceived and utilized by young children and their guardians. The study emphasises the importance of parental mediation and the need for balanced and mindful usage of technology. Moreover, the findings highlight the requirement for further research and the development of evidence-based guidelines to support healthy technology practices for young children.

In conclusion, this study conducted by Jenny S. Radesky and her colleagues offers valuable insights into the usage of smartphones and tablets among young children. Through the lens of discourse analysis, the research sheds light on the multifaceted nature of children’s engagement with these devices, exposure both the advantages and potential risks. The study emphasizes the relevant role of role models in guiding and moderating technology usage, as well as the significance of promoting balanced approaches to ensure the well-being and development of our following generation.

Bibliography

Radesky, Jenny S. et al. (2020, July 01). Young Children’s Use of Smartphones and Tablets. https://econsultancy.com/brands-vertical-video-social-examples/

by Simon Edl -

Photoshop’s Generative Fill

For this entry I wanted to finally sit down and have a look at Adobe Photoshop’s own text-to-image based AI tool, generative fill. This feature was introduced with Photoshop (Beta) 24.7.0. and works off Adobe Firefly, a group of generative models based on Adobe’s own stock images. It allows the user to generate images based on text prompts to remove, change or add to an image inside of Photoshop. The tool currently only supports english and is limited to the beta version of Photoshop.

Basic functionality

For starters, I wanted to have a little innocent fun with the tool’s primarily intended use, which seems to be photo manipulation. For this, I naturally needed to use a picture of my cat. First, I turned the portrait picture into a landscape version, for which I left the text prompt empty and generative fill gave me three versions of the generated content to choose from:

Next, I gave her some accessories for the summer and some friends. The AI was able to generate convincing fellow felines but struggled with giving the left cat glasses so I changed the prompt to a scarf and it worked more or less. I assume that the AI starts lacking in performance quickly when it needs to reference itself. This is when I noticed that files with generative layers get large fast, this particular file takes just under 5GB of storage, at a resolution of 3000 x 3000 pixels. I want to add that performance is excellent, as the first step of filling out the original photograph to an astounding 11004 x 7403 was a matter of seconds.

After expanding the image even further to end up with a square, I wanted to test the AI’s generative capabilities with a somewhat abstract prompt: I told it to generate some grunge for me:

To my surprise, the results were not only promising but, standing at 3000 x 3000 pixels, usable as well. After a quick kitbash to generate a fictional album cover of the artists below, I stopped myself to examine another possible use case.

Image to Image

The tool seems to work best with real photographs, likely due to the nature of the data that Adobe Firefly is trained on, but I would need to do more research on that to make a valid claim. For this next test, I wanted to see whether generative fill would be able to take a crude drawing as an input and turn it into a useful result.

For this, I expertly drew the schematics of an island meant to represent a video game overworld, with a rough estimation of a volcano, a beach and a castle. I then selected the entire canvas and prompted the AI to generate a stylised island with a castle and a volcano upon it.

The results, while technically impressive, don’t take the original drawing into account very well. The AI doesn’t seem to understand the implied perspective or shapes of the crude source image.

For this result, I specifically selected the volcano and the castle and told the AI to generate those features respectively. Interestingly, the AI was able to replicate my unique art style quite well but failed to produce any novel styles or results.

As a comparison, this result was achieved with Stable Diffusion with very basic prompts similar to the one used in Photoshop. Stable Diffusion seems to be much more competent at working with crude schematics provided by the user.

Conclusion

I am deeply impressed with the capabilities of this new feature built-in to Photoshop directly. I suppose that image restoration, retouching and other forms of photo and image editing and manipulation will experience a revolution following the release of the AI. It does come with its limitations, of course, so it will most likely not be a solution for all generative AI use cases. This development has me worried however that I can achieve something meaningful with my thesis. It seems that the most powerful companies in the world are spending exorbitant amounts of money to develop tools specifically designed to speed up design processes. Nevertheless I am eager to find out how the field develops in the near future and will for one definitely adapt this feature into my workflow wherever possible.

by Christina Mutz -

Des Res – Intellectual Standards

1. Current project idea:

The current project focuses on the exploration of video production in a vertical format. The problem is the growing demand for vertical videos due to the increasing usage of smartphones and social media platforms, which often display content in portrait orientation. The research question seeks to understand the best practices and techniques for creating engaging and visually engaging videos specifically designed for vertical viewing. The project aims to investigate the impact of vertical videos on viewer engagement, user experience, and content consumption patterns. By addressing this research question, the project aims to provide insights and recommendations for video creators to optimize their video production strategies for the vertical format.

3. Questions of different categories:

Clarity

Q: Could you give me an example?
A: The current project focuses on evaluating the impact of including motion graphics in vertical videos for educational content delivery on digital platforms.

Accuracy

Q: How could you verify or test that?
A: I could verify the impact of motion graphics in educational vertical videos through experiments, surveys, or comparative analysis.

Precision

Q: Could you give me more details?
A: I could gather feedback from learners who experienced educational vertical videos with motion graphics. Evaluate their engagement, understanding, and overall learning experience through surveys or interviews.

Relevance

Q: How does that relate to the problem?
A: The methods verify if the created motion graphic improve engagement and comprehension in online educational vertical videos.

Depth

Q: What factors make this a difficult problem?
A: User experience, content adaptation, visual design, pedagogical considerations, and technical limitations, making it a challenging problem.

Breadth

Q: Do you need to consider another point of view?
A: To consider another point of view I could look at the learner’s perspective.

Logic

Q: Does all this make sense together?
A: Yes, all the points mentioned make sense together but it is really important to look at multiple perspectives and do a lot of research. 

Significance

Q: Is this the central idea to focus on?
A: Yes, the central idea to focus on.

Fairness

Q: Do you have any vested interest in this issue?
A: Since I have an education as a teacher I have expierience and interest in finding another way to combine my current education with my former in creating  educational videos.

4. Potential for improvement:

Since I did not know exactly what project I could use it totaly helped me to find one. Educational vertical videos are a “new” and creative way to use videos as  educational programm but is also a complex challenge. Limited screen space, attention spans, user experience, and adaptability are key considerations. To succeed, I should consider diverse perspectives, specific content, and technology for useful outcomes.

by Kris Van Hout -

Short form Video and the Goldfish Effect

In the 00’s the human attention span was measured at 12 seconds. And fast forward to today out attention span has markedly decreased. As a consequence, short form video is now more popular than before.
The average human attention span is now shorter than a goldfish’s, it is estimate to be just around 8 seconds (one second below a goldfish).
TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels among many other similar applications are now trending and showing no sign to slow down that decrease.
For marketer, this has opened up new avenues to reach the consumer. As a result, that short-form videos are one of the most in-demand social media marketing tools in 2022.

In 2021 Google was the most popular website worldwide. However, towards the end of 2021 TikTok surpassed Google. I now even use TikTok as a search engine rather than I use google.

These videos have higher retention rates, making them more likely to capture the viewers’ attention and for longer in comparison to long-form videos’, notes and graphics.
It is difficult to define how short a short video is. As this variates form platform to platform. It differs from 15 seconds long to 60 seconds to 3 minutes. But on YouTube they talk about short-form video when a video is 5-10 minutes long. Research suggest that the length at which engagement is highest is just under 60 seconds.

TikTok
There is a possibility to upload 3-minute videos but all indicators show that shorter videos are still dominant. TikTok’s algorithms compute the average watch time.

Facebook
Facebook is more a sharing platform rather than a place to build original content. But now competing with Instagram, YouTube shorts and TikTok. With possibility of interacting with websites, this has been seen as a viable medium for marketers to reach the consumers.

YouTube Shorts
YouTube has come with a ‘’Short fund” to pay creators for making content for YouTube Shorts. The advantage that YouTube has over other platforms: an extremely wide target group.
Shorts’ content has already yielded success in commercial advertising, with brands receiving a high volume in reach and engagement with their intended audiences.

Instagram Reels
Following the success of TikTok and YouTube also Instagram also moved towards video. With first IGTV but now changed to Reels. And have plans to focus primarily on growing Reels.

Content Trends
User Generated Content
Capturing content from followers and fans gives them to have a voice and speak on their behalf of the brand.

Behind the Scenes
Consumers are seeking personalization and authenticity from brands. A short video of a normal day in a company could provide insights that would otherwise more often be over looked at.

Educational and informational
Tutorials and DIY videos are the key things to consider when passing out educational videos. Short video can provide quick and doable solutions to normal day-to day situations and problems

FAQ’s
Commonly asked questions and various commonly misunderstood industry related issues can be easily cleared up with a short video

New product Teasers
By announcing a new products and service brand can pull more traffic presenting an opportunity to sell the products and or services.

Starting a Challenge
A fun and engaging form of short video. And connects the consumers on a personal level.

Conclusion Short form Videos are all about quick, snackable, digestible content. We are constant learning, and staying on level of improvements, marketing trends and updates to keep the clients ahead of the game.

Resource:
Mwandango, G. (2023). Short Form Video: The Most Powerful Marketing Tool Today. Digital Marketing Content Services | Training Data | Data Management – Reactionpower. https://reactionpower.com/why-short-form-video-is-the-most-powerful-marketing-tool-today/

by Hannah Drobir -

Special Shooting Plan Requirements for Outdoor Documentaries

After writing and learning more about shooting plans during the work on my last post, I found out that a shooting plan can be influenced by several factors when put into practice. These factors might differ when talking about outdoor documentaries rather than a classic film set. Therefore, I want to dive deeper into this special form of work with the shooting plan today.

Disclaimer: Since my main source for this post is a book written in German, the following information will also be in German. The source can be found below.

Was muss ich speziell bei Outdoor Dokumentationen beachten?

Bei der Drehplanung müssen während der Erstellung diverse Faktoren beachtet werden. Zum Beispiel muss sich das Planungsteam auch im regulären Film umfassend mit dem Wetter befassen.

Beim Drehen und Planen von Outdoor Dokumentationen sind Einflüsse, die durch Naturgewalten bestehen, besonders in Betracht zu ziehen. Nicht nur das Wetter, sondern auch andere Punkte wie Sonnenaufgang und Untergang und Logistik sind hier speziell zu beachten.

[Aus eigener Erfahrung] Allerdings kann mit verschiedene Wetterverhältnisse im Dokumentarfilm (entgegen einer Spielfilmproduktion) wesentlich leichter umgegangen werden. Denkt man an die Ansprüche, die die beiden Zielgruppen an den jeweiligen Film haben, merkt man schnell, dass es beim Drehen von Filmen mit Authentizitätsanspruch weniger schlimm ist, wenn es leichte Lichtsprünge oder Wetteränderungen gibt.

Vor allem im Bereich des Bergfilms können solche leicht gerechtfertigt werden. Im alpinen Gelände kommt es schnell zu Änderungen der Bedingungen und jede Person, die schon mal auf einem Berg war, weiß, wie unbeständig die Verhältnisse dort sind. Das Planungs- und Regieteam sollte sich in diesem Fall während der Planung vermutlich mehr auf die Sicherheit des Teams fokussieren, als auf die perfekten Wetterbedingungen. Dazu wird deshalb ein separater Blogpost folgen.

Der Spezialfall Wetter in der Praxis

Grundsätzlich sind Niederschlag und Temperaturen kein allzu großes Problem in der Drehplanung, wenn die Bedingungen dramaturgisch nicht relevant sind. Lediglich die Dreharbeit an sich kann anstrengend und langatmig werde. Allerdings:

Man kann von einem Team erwarten, dass es für alle klimatischen Bedingungen ausgerüstet ist und den Drehablauf bei jedem Wetter bedienen kann, egal wie anstrengend und nervig das sein mag.

Jesper Petzke

Petzke beschreibt in seinem Buch Drehplanung die Arbeit mit Niederschlag als recht zeitintensiv. Im Spielfilm mit fixem Drehbuch muss bei Regen gewartet (sofern er dramaturgisch ungewollt ist) und danach das Set wieder getrocknet werden. Das nimmt sehr viel Zeit in Anspruch und kann leicht den Ablauf eines Drehtages in Gefahr bringen.

Ist das der Fall, gibt es zwei verschiedene Möglichkeiten, die Pensen im Drehplan zu verschieben. In der Praxis plant man dann einen Außendreh nur halbtags und für den anderen Tag ist ein Innendreh geplant. So kann man auf Wetter reagieren und die beiden Halbtage einfach tauschen. Das geht jedoch nur, wenn das ungewünschte Wetter nicht den ganzen Tag anhält.

Die zweite Möglichkeit ist ein Pensentausch zwischen verschiedenen Tagen. Ist absehbar, dass die Pensen des Außendrehs aufgrund des Wetters nicht erreicht werden können, gibt es die Möglichkeit, die geplanten Drehtage zu tauschen. Allerdings muss hier eine frühzeitige Bekanntgabe an die Crew und den Cast erfolgen. Sonst ist eine geordnete und qualitativ hohe Arbeit an den geplanten Bildern nur erschwert möglich, da jedes Department eine gewisse Vorlaufzeit für Einrichtung braucht. Bei Wetterentscheidungen gilt dann: So früh wie nötig aber so spät wie möglich.

Ein solcher alternativer Drehplan (Dispo) nennt sich Wettercover. Von einem Coverset spricht man dann, wenn das alternative Set, welches zur Ablöse von unerwünscht regnerischen Tagen verwendet werden kann, während der ganzen Drehzeit als solches bereit steht. Hier muss jedoch der Nachteil der Kosten in Betracht gezogen werden. Auf der anderen Seite meint Petzke:

Für eine Produktion, deren Gelingen in starkem Maße vom Wetter abhängig ist, kann die Bereitstellung eines Coversets allerdings überaus wertvoll sein.

Jesper Petzke

Grundsätzlich steht und fällt jegliche Wetterentscheidung mit der Art der Kommunikation. Es müssen nicht nur Produktion und Regie mit der Entscheidung im Reinen sein, sondern auch die Crew ist angewiesen auf eine rechtzeitige Kommunikation der Änderungen. Das Ziel sollte hier sein, ein gutes Gespür dafür zu entwickeln, wann eine wetterbedingte Anpassung wirklich notwendig ist und wann man das Risiko in Kauf nehmen sollte. So kann zusätzliche Belastung für alle beteiligten Departments niedrig gehalten werden.

[Aus eigener Erfahrung] Wie oben schon erwähnt, sind bei einer Outdoor Dokumentation solche Tauschs eher sicherheitsbedingt als dramaturgisch bedingt. Oft kann ein Wetterwechsel sogar von der Regie und Produktion begrüßt werden und stilistisch in die Geschichte einfließen. Hier ist eine hohe Flexibilität von Drehbuch und Arbeit am Set nötig.

Even though the production team has a lot of responsibility over decisions which influence the whole team, there are various strategies to avoid stress and pressure on the production during weather changes. For documentary filmmaking, the focus is probably more on safety while a feature film puts dramaturgy first.

After writing this post, I am now eager to learn more about weather related safety measures that can be taken and planned for the production of outdoor documentaries. Afterall, the planning of high-altitude shoots has to include information far more detailed than the planned weather cover.

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Sources

Petzke, Jesper: Drehplanung. Konstanz: UVK Verlag 2015