Many low-budget filmmakers have adverse reactions to temp footage. After weeks or months of filming (often under extremely difficult circumstances), deciding to pause post-production to go out and shoot more footage can be a hard pill to swallow… I know, because I’ve been terrified of pick-ups in the past myself. Days, generally speaking, I do everything I can in pre-production and production to avoid going down that path.
But over the years I’ve learned to embrace pickups and now truly see them as an important part of the filmmaking process. I once viewed this as an inconvenience holding me back, but now I view it as a creative opportunity with huge potential.
I realized that pickup shouldn’t just be seen as a means of capturing scenes missed during principal photography, but rather as discovering new material that could further enhance the story.
My current functioning pickup shadows on the road, Just a perfect example.
We’re currently approaching frame lock for the feature, and honestly, we could finish the movie without shooting any footage. While some footage was missed during production (mainly b-roll), and a few minor scenes were omitted due to time constraints, the vast majority of the footage was shot as planned. The full cut of the movie is then put together and can be easily polished as is, and that’s it.
The old me would have left things there… But just because this movie doesn’t absolutely need a pickup, doesn’t necessarily mean it couldn’t benefit greatly from one. On top of that, there are some opportunities to enhance the backstory/character development of one of the main characters, thus enhancing the overall story.
Specifically, I don’t like the way silver (Our second protagonist) is introduced in the movie, and I wanted to clarify her backstory a little bit more. The story doesn’t hinge on these details, but it could still be improved by exploring them more fully, and as we all know – filmmaking is all about the details. It’s the little chunks of information, backstory, visual cues, and symbolism that make up the collective experience of watching a movie. Big moments are important, but so are the small ones…
I think many micro-budget filmmakers neglect to fully flesh out the details of their films during the production process (I know I did in some cases), and much of this comes from working with such limited resources. The challenge comes.
Most micro-budget films are extremely limited in terms of crew, production time, and other important logistical considerations. This means that important details are likely to be overlooked in all aspects – including characters and story – and if there is no willingness to shoot some pickups, the essence of the film may never be fully realized.
So for those of you who want my advice, I’ll boil it down to one actionable tip –
Photograph the pickup after assembly and cutting is complete. This will accomplish two things:
- You’ll get more perspective on your film. Not only will you capture footage that was missed during production, but you’ll also see through editing opportunities to capture new footage that will help better realize your vision.
- You’ll recharge your metaphorical batteries and likely have more stamina to get out there and shoot again instead of arranging a pick-up right after production.
Filming pickup trucks for “Shadows on the Road”
This week we captured one of the most critical pickup days shadows on the road, (We had one more a few weeks later before we finally got wrapped) and it came together in a very simple way.
While I would never recommend that you shoot guerrilla style, and do so at your own risk, this week we have few options for impromptu shoots. In part, that meant we had to keep the cast and crew as small as possible.
I know from past experience that there are some things that really bring attention to our guerilla pieces, all of which we usually try to avoid. These include: tripod/camera support, visible audio equipment, and excess cast and crew.
Finally, we stripped things down to the bare essentials…and when I say bare essentials, I’m not kidding.
First, there were two characters in the scene we shot. One of them is one of our heroines, who is of course there, and the other… is played by me.
The character I played only had a few lines, and I decided to cast myself in the role because doing so would allow me to actually see the moment live rather than having to sit somewhere and listen with headphones on. Come, there will be one less actor to cast and book, and one less logistical issue to deal with. This also meant that I couldn’t operate the camera (as I didn’t for most of the film), so the responsibility fell on another of our crew members (Andy Chin) who shot the day’s All content.
He was using a URSA Mini Pro, which was ideal for this shoot as we were able to disassemble it (removing the top handle, shoulder kit, etc.) to make it as minimal as possible. We also rely on internal ND filters to eliminate the need for matte boxes. I don’t have any pictures of our setup because we shot so fast, but it’s really just the camera body with a side handle attached. No EVF or any other accessories used.
For glass, we used non-cinematic versions of the Sigma 18-35mm and 50-100mm lenses. For the main features, we used the movie version, but to keep our kit smaller and less focused, we stuck with the stills version this time.
For audio, we microphoned ourselves with two RODE Link wireless lavaliers, which fed the signal to a receiver in my backpack (and fed into a Zoom H6 recorder). I purposely chose a backpack that also served as a prop in the scene so I could wear the backpack while filming and have a good range to record all the audio at all times.
After we had all the footage in the can, we recorded the wild lines in the car using a RODE NTG 2 boom mic just to be safe…
In the end, I think we captured some great footage, and as I saw in the edit, there’s no doubt that the movie would have been enhanced by this scene alone.
Here are some samples of what we shot this week –
Our last pickup day is scheduled for later this month and then we will officially be fully packed!
We’re aiming to have the edited feature completed in August to meet some festival deadlines around late summer, so stay tuned for more information on this soon…
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