Everyone who’s done slate has done this at least once. You slate take 3 and while the scene is being shot you erase your 3 and write in a 4. Then the scene is over, you check the slate and forget that you’ve already incremented the take so you erase it again and write 5. […]
When reading the slate at the start of a take, actually READ it. Don’t rely on your memory of what it says. Position yourself slightly in front of the slate and read it’s contents out loud. This will save you valuable time not re-slating things when your memory fails you.
When using letters to denote shots of a scene on the slate, always skip the letters that can be confused with numbers: Scene 47F Scene 47G Scene 47H (Skip the letter ‘I’ – Looks like the number 1) Scene 47J Scene 47K (Skip the letter ‘L’ – Looks like the number 1) Scene 47M Scene […]
In addition to the obvious elements of a creepy location, a frightening bad guy, and copious amounts of fake blood and gory makeup, every horror film ever made needs 2 pieces of equipment to set the scary mood. First is the ever-present blue-colored backlight that mimics moonlight in every outdoor night shot. If you have […]
While some actors have the amazing ability to cry on command many others need a little help. A menthol blower is a specialty device sold at film-centric makeup stores. It’s basically a hollow tube that is loaded with menthol crystals and stuffed on each end with cotton ball material. Blowing in one end by mouth […]
When an object is between two actors in a scene, such as a lamp on a table between two players in chairs on either side, never show the object in BOTH close-up shots. Favor one person’s shot to include the lamp and the other’s to exclude it. Failing to follow this rule results in a […]
The Martini (Or Martini Shot) is the final shot of any given shooting day. Possibly named for Clark Gable’s contractual 5pm end time (in time to get home and have a Martini). The Abbie Singer is the second-to-last shot of the day. Named for Assistant Director Abbie Singer who would often miss-call the penultimate shot […]
A brief guide to the mighty C-stand… C-stand legs open in a variety of ways depending on the manufacturer. Some are spring loaded with a detent and snap into the correct position. Other’s have metal stops the catch on each other as the legs are rotated. The bottom line is make sure the 3 legs […]
To quickly calculate the number of amps of electricity a given light will require use this simple* formula:
