It’s the big day! Time to put the rubber to the road, hammer to the nail, fist to the face – you get the picture. Today we’re talking about the production phase of the video making process. (Click here to read about the pre-production phase if you missed it). Below are 10 things I considered while shooting the Cople’s support video. I hope these ideas will help you too!

1. First Things First

In your mind and/or in your schedule, determine which shots are the most fragile and important. August Cople is a very cute baby and is very well behaved. However, I imagined to myself before the shoot that I would not want to sit quiet for an hour if I was in his booties. To add to the difficulty, the shots with him were the most important in terms of our “why” (see tip #1 of our pre-production blog post). We planned for the fragility and significance of his shots by shooting them first. (As a bonus, this is also a great tip for photographing family portraits).

2. Make it as easy on yourself later (in post-production) by being diligent now (during the production phase)

Having an organized approach during the production phase greatly saved me time in post-production as I sorted through clips and organized them into their final sequence. When filming and directing actors, keep in mind the work you will have to do later. This is why I reviewed the Cople’s script as they performed on camera. I also asked them to repeat rough sections and allowed for baby August to have a break when it was hard for him to focus. What do you need to do now to help yourself later?

3. Our Equipment

Here’s the equipment I used to make it all happen.
Canon 70D (DSLR Body)
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens and Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM Lens
Manfrotto 055 Tripod
1 Light Box with 4 40W CFL bulbs (for TJ’s kicker light)
Rode VideoMic
1/8” Female to Male extension cable (for microphone cable extension)
Zoom H4N Handy Recorder (to capture audio)

4. You Planned, so Execute!

Bring your plans with you. Be organized. Get every shot you will need. You can’t re-film as easily as you can plan well and shoot well.

5. Manual Focus

Your subjects are likely to move while communicating dialogue and autofocus tracking will mess you up. It’ll make you say things that are unkind. If needed, use autofocus to get the initial focus setting and switch to manual immediately after.

6. Aperture

Remember your “why”! A shallow depth of field allows the viewer to focus on the actor. That is why I used a low f-stop for my aperture. Your video may have a different direction, so aperture selection is definitely a case-by-case basis.

7. Interesting Backgrounds

Whoops, I really messed this one up. In the Cople’s video, I should have considered adding interesting elements to the background, because it turned out dark and flat. I may add lighting elements to spruce up the set next time around.

8. Audio Techniques

I recorded my audio separate from the internal camera audio. If you are doing this, spike the audio with a loud clap to help synchronize your clips in your post-production software. Also, let your audio record throughout your shoot, but stop video clips as needed to avoid unnecessarily large files. Finally, split your shots into sections for easier post-processing. I detailed shot types in our script (e.g. medium shots, close up shots, etc.) and used those categories as natural points in the process to stop rolling film. “Sectionize” it!

9. Constructive Feedback

Your actors will get tired. You will get tired. It will start to get too late. Despite the pressures, keep looking forward to the final product and encourage your actors to meet that vision. I kindly showed TJ and Krista what they were doing right and things that we needed to work on throughout the shoot. Keep high expectations with a gentle approach.

10. B-Roll

You should always be on the lookout for b-roll. Keep the camera rolling even if the actors are just chatting after a completed section. This later becomes great footage to overlay at video clip junctions. Balance this technique, of course, with tip #8 to avoid running out of space on your memory cards. Finally, plan to actually shoot b-roll at some point during the production phase. I’m so glad I did! The outside shots I filmed for the Coples came out stunning.

In the production phase of the video making process, it is important to keep your head in the game. Don’t get discouraged or sidetracked by distractions. By keeping these 10 things in my mind throughout the Cople’s shoot, I was able to stay focused for an impactful end product.

What are your thoughts about these 10 suggestions? Do you have anything to add concerning the production phase of the video making process? Comment below and share on our new Facebook page today!