How To Shoot A Scene In 5 Steps

This video is sponsored by Squarespace, the easiest way to create a beautiful website. The first time you step onto a film set it'll likely seem like utter bedlam, different people hustling around performing tasks at a speed seemingly at random. It may seem chaotic but there is in fact a method to this madness. Whether you're on a student film or on an industry film set, each production should follow a standard process which can be broken down into five easy steps. Blocking, technical setup, rehearsal, final checks and shooting. Let's go over these five steps in detail to show you how to shoot a scene. Constructing a scene is a very technical process that involves input from multiple departments and shooting multiple camera angles or pieces of a puzzle which can later be assembled into a scene through editing. It's of utmost importance that before you begin shooting everyone on set knows how the scene will unfold and how it will be shot. A classic beginner student filmmaker mistake is to just start shooting a scene straight away. This can become a problem if halfway through shooting you suddenly realize that the actor moves outside of an area of the set which doesn't have any lighting, that a key prop that the actor needs to interact with is missing or that an actor performs the scene very differently to how the director imagined it. To avoid any number of these mistakes, which could mean starting over shooting the scene from scratch and losing a bunch of time, the first step is to perform what is called a blocking. Blocking a scene involves planning the choreography, movements and position of the actors while also considering their relationship and proximity to the camera, prop, set and other elements. Industry sets are run and organized by a crew member called the first assistant director or first AD. They will make an announcement that there will be a blocking and say that it's the director's floor. This signals that all other technical crew besides the first AD, director, actors, continuity supervisor, cinematographer and perhaps the camera operator are to clear the space and be quiet to allow for a creative focus. The director will then explain the scene to the actors and tell them the positions and movement they imagine them making. The actors will then do a run through of the scene, performing their dialogue and moving through the set. During this process the director may interject with ideas for their actions, performance or position. If the actors struggle to remember any lines, the continuity supervisor will be there to cue them. During the blocking the director and DP may also communicate about the different shots and angles they want to film. If there are specific positions that the actors need to land on during the scene, then the second AC will place a tape mark, with a different colour for each actor, down on the floor for them as a reference point for where they must stand. After the key creative crew have viewed the scene, it's time to move to step number two. The first AD will announce that it's now a technical floor. This is a cue for the actors to leave the space and for crew members to enter and begin setting up for the shot. By now the director and cinematographer should have worked out all the shots that they will need to get for the scene, either based on a shot list or storyboard they created during pre-production or based on ideas they got from watching the blocking. The cinematographer will then communicate the technical setups that they require to his technical lighting, grips and camera team based on the planned shots. This will include things like deciding on a position for the camera or type of camera movement and what grips equipment is needed for that. Communicating to the camera team what focal length lens, filters or type of camera build they need for the first shot and what lights they require for the scene and where they need to be positioned and set up. DPs who are well prepared may have already created a lighting diagram or briefed their lighting team on what is needed prior to them arriving at the location. The reason cinematographers will often pre-light is because the time it takes to set up lights will be longer than the time it takes to set up the camera or grips equipment. However if there's a more complex grip setup for a shot that has been pre-determined, like laying a large amount of dolly track, then the grips team may be sent to prepare this prior to the blocking to save on time. In the case that the electrical team has already pre-lit the set before the blocking, at this stage the DP may ask for additional lamps or repositioning of the fixtures now that they've seen the space that the actors will move in. Once a camera is placed in position, DPs will be able to adjust settings like exposure and white balance. They may also ask for a stand-in, someone who will position themselves on the actor's mark so that they can adjust their lighting or camera positioning to them. This stand-in will often be a crew member, although for high budget long form jobs they may even hire a person as a stand-in specifically for each main actor, who has a similar body size and skin tone, so that the exposure and camera height will be matched when the actors come to shoot the scene. Other departments like art, who dress and design the look of the set, wardrobe and makeup will now also perform their technical tasks. Depending on scheduling and prep time, they may have already done the bulk of their setups and will use this time to refine things based on the blocking. Once the camera has been positioned for the first shot, lighting is set up and the actors and set have been dressed, it's now time to move onto the next step. But before we get to rehearsing, I need to thank Squarespace for sponsoring this video. As a working DP I of course have a website which I was able to set up thanks to Squarespace. Their design intelligence makes it easy for filmmakers to build a website customised for showing off your business or portfolio. You can get started by selecting options recommended for you by their Blueprint AI and easily integrate videos or images from your work into galleries, perfect for filmmakers. Or if you have a content business, Squarespace allows you to easily sell and monetise things like blogs, videos or courses. Check out squarespace.com for a free trial and when you're ready to launch your site go to squarespace.com.in depthcine to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. With tech setup out the way, the first AD will call the actors to set, who will now all be in full wardrobe and make up. It's time to run a full technical rehearsal, which is where actors will play out the scene and the camera operator will practice following the action of the actors. Rehearsal also gives a chance for other departments to prepare for the first take. For example, focus pullers will be able to find distances for the various marks that the actors will hit during filming. If any complex actions are involved, such as running, it also gives both the technical operators of the camera and the actors a chance to find a syncing the timing of the performance with the speed of the camera movement. The rehearsal is also a legacy from the days of shooting on filmstock, before high quality monitors for focus pullers, when they had to pull focus by using marks, their eyes and distance perception. Rehearsing and making sure all aspects of the take would be correct before actually starting to film, helped to minimise the use of the precious and expensive 35mm film, as they would get a take the director was happy with in fewer attempts. Now, although this step is pretty vital, if I'm completely honest, it's a step which in my experience is gradually phasing out of productions, which these days almost always use digital cinema cameras and no expensive filmstock. In order to maximise the amount of takes in the edit and potentially save time if technicians get a lucky first take where everything lines up, many modern first ADs will push to immediately shoot straight after the technical setup, which is called shooting the rehearsal. Now everyone should almost be ready to shoot. This is the time to do any final touches which were noticed during the rehearsal and could include things like slightly altering the mark of an actor, moving dressing around in the back of the shot, slightly dimming up or down on a light, or adjusting how the camera will be operated during a take. At this stage the first AD will call for final checks. This term applies to make-up and wardrobe and gives them the chance to make any minor adjustments to the appearance of those in front of the camera before shooting. In most cases these adjustments will be small tweaks, like neatening up the wardrobe or setting the hair in its perfect position. However, for certain specialist shots which involve more extensive make-up, such as fake blood, this will now be applied. With final checks done it's now time to shoot. To start this process the first AD will announce board in, roll sound. This is the cue for the second AC to put their clapperboard into frame and for the recorders to roll audio. Audio is rolled first as, again in the throwback to the old days of film, audio tape was cheap but 35mm film was much more expensive and you'd therefore wait until the last second to roll the camera to avoid wasting money. With the board positioned in the centre of the frame and the sound rolling, the first AD will call roll camera. The focus puller will press the red button and announce speed. The second AC will then announce the shot numbers on the board and once mark is called will give it a clap. The final thing left to do is to call action. Depending on the director they may call this themselves or prefer to let the first AD call it. On this cue the actors will play out the scene until the end when cut is called and you'll have your first take in the bag. At this point either the director will be fully satisfied and ready to move onto the next shot or more than likely would have found an adjustment they'd like to make and would like to shoot another take. Here they will provide notes as to what they want changed on the next take. This could either be a performance note for the actors, a technical note for the crew or notes to both. Between each take the final two steps in the process will be repeated. So after each take the director will give notes, the first AD will call for final checks and then they will shoot another take. Once the director is satisfied with the take the crew can start setting up for the next shot, set up or camera angle. Before everyone begins to move though, the old school AD phrase at this time is check the gate. Another relic from the days of film where after each successful shot the focus puller would check the film's gate to ensure it was free of dust, dirt, hair or any artefacts which would make the footage unusable. If everything is clean the response from the first AC is good gate. Although these days unless you're actually shooting on film this phrase is only used metaphorically or met with a confused look by a younger crew. If it's a very quick simple set up change which should take a couple of minutes, like keeping the camera in the same position but changing to a longer focal length lens or changing to a different angle with a handheld camera, then the actors will likely wait on set. However, if the crew needs time to reposition the gear then the first AD will tell actors to stand down, a nice way of getting them out the way and giving space for the grips to reposition heavy pieces of gear. Between each new shot a condensed version of steps 2 to 5 will be repeated. So a mini tech set up where the angle, lens or camera movement is changed, the second AC slates up their board, the first AC checks their new focus marks and the DP tweaks their lighting based on the new frame. This is followed by final checks and shooting. Once the director has a good take of all the angles that are required to cut the scene together, the first AD will announce scene complete and give instructions about the next scene or location move. Now the next time you find yourself on set you'll have a solid workflow and understanding of how to shoot a scene. A special thank you to all of the loyal supporters on Patreon who get these videos early. Otherwise until next time, thanks for watching and goodbye.