CONTROLLING TECHNICALS

As a film maker you should be always in control of the production. One of the most easily overlooked problems is the quality of the technicals being achieved on your production. There are a lot of submerged areas, such as how good is your sound recording? Are the lenses performing well across their entire field of vision? Has anything changed since production began? Was something dropped or damaged and is it still being used without repairs or checks? You say, "Wait a minute, those responsibilities belong to each department, it's enough I got to worry about directing actors!" Not so; you're the film maker, it's your movie, you're ultimately responsible for everything!

Every day you check to make sure everything is ship-shape before you roll camera. At the end of the day, you with the help of your production manager run an eye over the whole operation. Maintain a happy, family atmosphere throughout as best as you can. "Are we in this thing together or what?" "Great job today!" Wink and smile. Pat your people on the back for doing a good job on the technicals. Everyone needs encourage-ment. You'll get better team spirit and results when you compliment work well done.

Everything should be repaired before putting it to use again. Inform the rental house about every bit of damage to the equipment. They'll send somebody out to your location with replacement equipment, when you act as a professional with them. There's no point in hiding any damage from the rental house. They'll find out when they go through everything at the end of the shoot. They have to, before sending the equipment out on the next shoot, and they'll make you or your insurance pay anyway. And remember, they won't rent you equipment again. So do the right thing and be sure that all the equipment is functioning well and you'll benefit the most.

 Table of Contents

Part I.
The Screenplay.
Story Construction.
Script Formats.
Story-Boarding.

Part II.
Pre-Production.
Script Breakdown.
Budgeting.
Financing.
Casting.
Crew Selection.
Production Manager.
Cinematographer.
Operator/ Focus Puller/Loader/Slate.
Sound Recordist.
Boom.
Continuity Person.
Art Director.
Costume Designer.
Gaffer.
Key Grip.
Prop Person.
Make-Up & Hair.
Production Assistant.
Editor.
Equipment.
Studio & Location Scouting.
Lab Procedures.
Catering.
Insurance.

Part III.
Production.
Producer.
Director.
Hierarchy of Command.
Setting Up the First Shot. 
Procedure for Shooting a Scene. 
Language of Film. 
Long Shot. 
Medium Shot. 
Close-up. 
Aesthetics. 
Coverage.
Sticking to Schedule. 
Sticking to Budget. 
Directing Actors. 
Controlling Technicals. 
Special Effects. 
Special Processes and Genres. 
Finishing Principle Photography. 
Pick-Ups. 

Part IV.
Post-Production. 
Editing. 
Dialogue Cutting. 
Cutting Action. 
Techniques. 
Artistic Considerations. 
Equipment. 
The Editor. 
Editing Music. 
Sound Effects Editing.
ADR & Dubbing. 
The Mix. 
Negative Cutting. 
Printing the Film. 
The Answer Print. 
Release Prints. 

Part V.
Distribution. 
Finding a Distributor. 
Majors' Distribution. 
Mini-Majors. 
Independent Distributors. 
Distributing Your Own Film. 
The Foreign Market. 
Domestic Distribution. 
Festivals. 
Four-Walling. 
Video, TV & Ancillary Markets. 
Building Your Library of Films. 
Business Options. 
Corporations. 
Limited Partnerships. 
Public Offerings. 
Conclusions.