Let’s recap September of 2018, shall we?

September 2018 recap

Ok, a whole month without one simple post which is not the recap post. But I was busy (and still am) with all the preparations for my short film “Movie Night“.

So let me write a bit where things currently are.

Screenplay

I always wanted to write a Screenplay, then during the whole preparation phase, I thought about skipping it and just list scenes or shots I want to shoot. Then towards the end, I just started to write and within two days I had the first draft. I’m currently in the midst of writing the second and probably final draft.

Storyboards

Not every scene has been storyboarded but I did some for a few key shots in order for me to feel more comfortable and secure when actually shooting the scenes. Some other scenes are visualized in my head and might find their way on paper as well and others will probably stay in my head because they are not that complex. But the complex ones are visualized, or will be in the next few days)

Equipment

Thanks to Kulturbüro in Basel and Zürich I have a solid filming equipment, I just need to pick it up next week. Other things I ordered online, like lighting and some small stuff to help me get the shots I want. But for future projects, I need my own camera. Unfortunately, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (the camera I rented) has a 4K Crop and doesn’t shoot high frame rates in 4K or 1080p and I’d love to have 2 or 3 slow motion shots. Not sure how I achieve that now. Another reason to get my own Camera… soon!

Props

All the props have been bought or are on the way and I think I thought of everything now, at the end of it all I will add together what the movie cost to make and I think I will be shocked when I see that final number.

Cast

The movie has been fully cast and we even had a whole evening where we rehearsed. Thoughts and notes from that evening will flow into the second draft. I’m happy with my casting choice, there was definite chemistry between the actors which will be beneficial for the actual shooting process.

Shooting Plan

Today I made my own shot or better yet set list so that I don’t miss anything when actually shooting. I will also start with a sound record list, sounds I already know now I need to record for mixing the movie. That list will be updated when shooting of course.

What is missing?

Not much actually. Some minor things here and there, food and drinks for the crew, picking up the equipment I rented and then, well yes then, I’m ready to shoot my first short film in over 12 years. The scope is different though, this is a much bigger project but I’m enjoying the whole process, apart from a few moments of crisis.

Shooting starts next Friday, and I try to post some impressions on Instagram during the weekend and write a recap of the shooting process once shooting is done.