Shooting for the Final Edit (page 2)

When using a shot list you have a bit more flexibility in staging your scene. Shooting in sequential order is no longer necessary. Instead, organize your individual shots based on location and setup.

Let's use the following scene as an example. A beat up sports car carrying two hoodlums pulls into a convenience store parking lot. Music is blaring from the stereo, and through the passenger-side window we see that the driver seems nervous. The passenger gets out and walks to the payphone. He fishes for some change in his pocket, deposits the coins into the slot and dials a number. Meanwhile, the driver keeps checking the rearview mirror. The man at the phone finishes his brief conversation, walks back to the car, gets in, and they drive off.

You could organize the taping of this scene in the following way. First, shoot the wide shot of the car pulling into the parking lot. Then, tape the final shot in the scene; the car pulling out of the parking lot. Next, take the shot of the passenger getting out of the car, followed by the shot of him getting back in. While you're still set up in that location, you can shoot the driver checking the rearview mirror. Finally, shoot the phone booth sequence. This will save you set-up and tear-down time, especially if you are using lights, wired mikes, tripods, etc.

Clean edits are a key to giving your product a professional look. To help with this, roll plenty of extra tape, or pad, at the front and back end of each shot. Let the camera roll for at least five seconds before the action starts, and keep it rolling for another five after the action ends. A little padding will give you flexibility if you later decide to dissolve or wipe between shots. It also guarantees that you won't cut short an actor's action or line.

To help action match up from one shot to the next, your actor's movements should lead into, and flow out of the shot being taped. The storyboard from the example above calls for a close-up of the man's hand depositing the coins into the slot. When taping this shot, have your actor move through the entire sequence, not just the single shot. Have him fish for the coins in his pocket, pick up the receiver, deposit the coins and begin dialing. Even though we'll only see the coins going into the slot, the extra action at the beginning and end of the shot will keep the movements fluid and give you plenty of clean edit points from which to work. Tell your actor that his actions should be consistent from one take to the next. If he does not do this, continuity problems can occur (see Considering Continuity sidebar).

If you've made a mistake during your taping, and you find that two of your shots don't match up without a break in continuity, you need a bail out. For this situation, it's handy to have cutaways or cover shots.

A cutaway is a shot that relates to the scene, but is not necessarily vital to it. Possible cutaways from our example above could be a medium shot through the store window of the clerk talking to a customer, an extreme close-up of any of the actor's eyes, or an extreme-wide shot of the location. You can use a cutaway to bridge from one shot to another while letting the regular audio roll underneath.

Shoot several cutaways for every scene, and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back if you don't need to use them. If you can get by without cover shots that means your scene was well planned, and well shot.

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