How to get things done is pretty straight forward if you have a strategy for putting your finished film together. (BTW, this is the same method used to get music videos, short films, and creative projects done in a business-like manner since the War!).
Four simple steps:
1. DESIGN
2. PLAN
3. SHOOT
4. FINISH
Every film goes through three phases: Pre-production, production and post-production. All of your preparations and planning and acquisition of shooting supplies occurs in the Pre-production phase. The actual shooting/filming/recording of your media occurs during the Production phase. All editing, finishing, music, etc. occurs during the post-production phase. There's no way around it. Every production goes through these three phases and it is important to understand that there are certain things that need to be done in order to build your project.
The Pickle Method steps you easily through these three phases in such a manner that you are more likely to succeed on time, on budget, and at the highest quality.
Step 1 - DESIGN - The DESIGN phase is a vital piece of your Pre-Production because, it is in design that you make your major decisions. Period. Most everything that you do in the planning process, the shooting process and the finishing process are off-shoots of decisions that you make in the designing process.
Don't let the word 'design' fool you into thinking that you are trying something overly complicated. Design is really about defining exactly what you are trying to create so that you can plan a roadmap to achieve it. To define your project, you need to do the following and ask the following questions:
a. Creative -
*Write the script. If you have not written a script (it is in your head), stop now and write it down. Use an accepted format (software is all over the place) and get it done. We aren't going to talk 'how to be creative' today. Whatever it is you are shooting needs to be scripted.
*Sketch out a storyboard. Even if you use stick figures, you should have a preliminary idea on what camera angles you are looking for.
*References. If you have a certain 'look' you are going for, clip pictures from magazines or the net so that others start to see your vision.
b. Who is your producer? Are you putting this together yourself or are going to trick some poor soul into helpin you? The producer's primary job is to "organize" your entire project.
c. Funding source? Where is the money coming from to pay for this? If you have an idea of budget, document that here as well.
d. Other key players? Any partners or helpers or roommates signing on to help? Is Uncle Charlie providing his farm? Are you 'borrowing' equipment from school? Document a list of key players.
e. Objectives of your project? There's always a reason. Is this for fun? Is this for a career boost? Is this to experiment? Is this to get you noticed? Ias this to make money? Whatever the reason, make sure that you are honest with yourself and those that are helping you and state the project objective.
f. Final product? Is this a short film? Is this a TV pilot? Is this a YouTube video? The nature of the final project often times dictates a production strategy. Define your final product.
g. Major risks? Are you short of money? Is your investor flaky? Does your script require you to shoot in an airplane? Do you have no crew or is your crew volunteer (which means they may not show up)? Document your potential pitfalls.
h. Assumptions / unsure of's - Is there something in your project that you are unsure of? Are you unsure of whether or not the crew will show up? Write these down as well.
All of this information gets written in one place called a project charter. Once you have a charter, you now have a preliminary design document. You've just designed your project! Click HERE for a blank charter document.
Step 2 - PLAN - Now that you have at least a preliminary design for your project, it is time to develop a plan to get it done. A good plan can be broken down into three pieces:
a) Work Breakdown Structure (task list).
b) Crew list (people list).
c) Schedule (sequence list).
d) Budget (how much dough you are spending list).
If you have at least these four elements, you have a tremendous shot at getting your work finished, completed, and done.
a) Work Breakdown Structure (WBS or super task list) - This part is not very complicated but often times requires the most work. You need to develop a task list of everything you need done on your project. Everything. The Pickle Method tries to minimize your chance of forgetting something on your project by creating this WBS. Film project WBS's are organized by phase:
I. Pre-Production
II. Production
III. Post-Production
Underneath each phase, you create 'categories' of work. For example, under Pre-Production you may have the following categories for your short film:
I. Pre-Production
A. Scripting
B. Storyboarding
C. Crew
D. Equipment
E. Location
F. Actors
G. Logistics
H. Financing
Once you've identified each of the major categories of work you'll be doing in each phase, it is time to 'decompose' your WBS until you end up with actual tasks that need to be done. For example, under the category for 'Actors' (see above) you may have the following set of tasks:
F. ActorsCreate a task list from each of your sub-categories, and you've created a good task list. As you start work and other tasks become apparent, add them to the WBS and keep developing it. The more you know and have written down, the more organized you will be.
i. Create character descriptions from script.
ii. Create a list of characters that need to be cast.
iii. Post a call for actors on internet.
iv. Find a place for the casting call & secure it.
v. Conduct casting session, tape the auditions.
vi. Evaluate first round of auditions from tape.
vii. Conduct actor callbacks.
viii. Hire actors
b) Crew List (People list) - We are not talking actual shooting crew here, we are talking about your production crew who are helping you with the project. If it is just you, it is just you. Hopefully, you've convinced, cajoled and beat someone into helping you. At this point you need to assign a resource to each of your tasks from the WBS. If you do not assign a resource, by default, you will be the one doing it. Realize that. Live it. Get people to help and make it happen.
Example from above:
F. Actors
| i. Create character descriptions from script. | Me |
| ii. Create a list of characters that need to be cast. | Me & Betty (my producer |
| iii. Post a call for actors on internet. | Betty |
| iv. Find a place for the casting call & secure it. | Betty |
| v. Conduct casting session, tape the auditions. | Me, Betty, my brother Lou on camera |
| vi. Evaluate first round of auditions from tape. | Me & Betty |
| vii. Conduct actor callbacks. | Me, Betty, my brother Lou on camera |
| viii. Hire actors | Me & Betty |
c) Schedule (Sequence List)
Once you have a list of tasks (from the WBS), you have to put them in some type of order. Especially if you are doing a great deal of the work yourself or are borrowing and favoring people, it is always best that you be as organized as possible in order to get the most value for your time. The easiest way to order your tasks is to use a project network (see example below):
It looks a little more complicated than it really is... basically, you are taking each of your tasks and putting them in order. You are either doing one thing before another or there are some things you can do at the same time. Period. These are called dependencies and concurrencies, which means 'what has to happen before something else' or 'what can happen at the same time'.
One you've identified the flow of your work, it will be easier for you to know when and where you are going to need people or time in order to get your project complete.
d) Budget (how much dough you are spending list) - Once you know what you are doing, who is doing it, and in what order, now is an excellent time to figure out how much it is going to cost. In the Pickle Method, we derive the budget from the work we are doing. So let's return to the WBS and look at the example below:
F. Actors
| i. Create character descriptions from script. | Me | $0 |
| ii. Create a list of characters that need to be cast. | Me & Betty (my producer | $0 |
| iii. Post a call for actors on internet. | Betty | $25 |
| iv. Find a place for the casting call & secure it. | $100 | Betty |
| v. Conduct casting session, tape the auditions. | Me, Betty, my brother Lou on camera | $375 |
| vi. Evaluate first round of auditions from tape. | Me & Betty | $0 |
| vii. Conduct actor callbacks. | Me, Betty, my brother Lou on camera | $75 |
| viii. Hire actors | Me & Betty | $600 ($200 x 3 actors) |
Step 3 - SHOOT - Now it's time to create a little magic! For the shoot day(s), we need to develop two final lists that are equally as important:
- Call sheet - This is the list of your crew, times, locations and relevant information. The call sheet reflects whether or not you are shooting on location, on a stage or somewhere else. One on sheet, every person who is required to be there, knows where to go and how to get there.
- Shot sheet - The shoot day needs to be planned out to the minute in order to efficiently maximize your shooting time. You and your assistant director need to plot out the schedule to account for the following:
*The time it takes to transition from one set-up to another.
*Breaks/meals/set-up and clean-up.
Step 4 - FINISH - Post Production on your project begins the moment you stop shooting...
If you shot on film:
A) Take the film to the processing place.
B) Transfer the film to a digital format.
C) Input the footage into your computer for editing.
D) Edit
E) Edit some more.
F) Add music and EFX.
G) Export out of the computer.
H) Online
A) Take the film to the processing place.
No way around this one. Unless you have a last name of "Kodak", you are going to have to fork over the dough to get this film developed. You can shop around on rates a little bit, but the bottom-line is the bottom-line.
B) Transfer the film to a digital format.
Once the film is processed, it has to be transferred over to some type of digital format like mini-DV in order for you to work with it. This happens at a place called 'telecine'. This is also the place where you can color-correct the footage and make it look spectacular. However, that is another hard cost and you little flexibility here as well. But Pickle Head has been able to get a favor or two in his day. Try to fit the color correction in if you can. The difference between okay and poppin' is a good color correction.
C) Input the footage into your computer for editing.
Depending upon what you transferred your footage to, you'll need a deck or camera in order to import the footage into your computer for editing. This is time consuming but unavoidable.
D) Edit
Most every slob in town has Final Cut or Avid on his/her computer. Get a copy or borrow a copy or find an apprentice. Editing takes forever so favors are hard to come by unless they are really desperate and you are very persuasive. You can learn to do cuts on your own very, very fast. Learn how to do cuts and do as much as you can on your own.
E) Edit some more.
Edit. Let it sit. Show it to people. Revise. Edit again. There are a million ways to edit anything. Pick a direction and go. If it doesn't work, start over.
F) Add music and EFX.
After you are satisfied with your cut, find a cat to score it! Music is the spice of life. Keep efx to a minimum unless you are shooting a space epic. And why are you shooting a space epic?
G) Export out of the computer.
Once it is done, it needs to leave your computer. Get it out and save at least two copies. Disk drives go bad so have at least one copy on something more permanent.
H) Online
If you've shot film, you export your EDL and send it (along with the film) so that you can get your final piece.
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