Hear more about what goes on behind the camera in this next installment of exclusive behind the scenes interviews with key members of The Storyteller production.

This video features the talented Linda Rondinella, make-up and hair stylist of The Storyteller.

Another exclusive behind the scenes interview from The Storyteller. Learn more about how the film was made and see footage of the making of!

This video features Bud Osborne, sound mixer of The Storyteller.

Enjoy our first installment of exclusive behind the scenes interviews with key members of The Storyteller production. Learn more about how the film was made and see footage of the making of!

This video features the brilliant Dan Clarke, Cinematographer for The Storyteller.

Where does the edit begin?

The first step is syncing the footage. This means that an assistant editor (or you, should you be so lucky) will go through every video file and every sound file and match them up using the clapboard. When the “sticks” hit, you hear the “CLICK.” By the time the official editor on the project sits down, all of the footage should be synced and organized. In the case of The Storyteller, Director Joe Crump brought in numerous assistants to help sync the dailies.

They went through and they were ahead of me as I was editing… and they synced all the different microphones. There would be some places where we would have three or four microphones and they would sync all of them up so it would make it easier for us to work with. – Joe Crump, Director of The Storyteller

The plan helps the edit

Mad Max: Fury Road is a film that’s been mentioned several times during this series. Not only because it’s one of the best movies to come out of Hollywood in the last 20 years, but because it’s that rare combination of technical achievement mixed with fantastic storytelling. In the below clip you can hear Director of Photography John Seale discuss how his filming of every shot ultimately helped the edit and thus allowed the audience to have a smooth, albeit heart pounding, storytelling experience.

Mad Max wasn’t the only film with a plan. Director Joe Crump made sure he was well prepared when it came time to shoot The Storyteller.

I had a very extensive shot list. It was combined with the script and some maps that I drew. It was about 350 pages long and I broke it up into binders for each location. So each location had its own binder. - Joe Crump, Director of The Storyteller

Writer, Director and Editor

For Director Joe Crump there was no question that he would be the primary editor on The Storyteller. Joe is in very good company with this approach – James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Soderbergh, and many more have all edited – or been an editor on – their own films. (Although some credit themselves with a pseudonym). And like most of these Director/Editors, he brought in a co-editor, his daughter Katie.

Katie was sitting at my side the entire time. She edited sometimes and I edited sometimes so it was a co-production. Joe Crump, Director of The Storyteller

The Storyteller was edited using the Adobe Suite on Joe’s PC. What’s interesting is that he was able to send an EDL to the Special Effects Editor who would then work on a MAC. This was all done using Google Drive (password protected of course). Additionally, Vimeo Pro was used to share cuts of the films for friends/family.

Now, if you’re reading this and thinking: “I can’t edit. I wouldn’t know where to begin. Do I have to know Avid, Premiere Pro, Final Cut? I don’t even know what those are!” My first piece of advice is to settle down; it’s okay. Choosing not to be the editor on your film doesn’t mean you’re walking away. Because let’s be clear: the Director is almost* always involved in the edit. Whether they’re there actually pushing the buttons doesn’t matter. Film is a Director’s medium and that holds true until the film is complete.

*The word almost was included because, yes, there are horror stories of directors being locked out of the editing room by the producers, or even producers forcing the director to change their edit. This is why we have several cuts of Blade Runner…

And speaking of having several people involved in the editing process – Director, do yourself a favor and screen the edit for the writer. Writers understand pacing and good writers put the story above their own vanity. They might be able to see what’s not working better than you do.

Editing is about solving problems, even brilliant ones.

Filmmaking (along with TV) has such a unique artistic journey. This is mostly due to the many forms your film inhabits before it’s completed. Think about it: Words turn into shots that turn into edits. At every one of these stages, you’re making artistic decisions. Artistic decisions that later on can cause you headaches. This doesn’t mean those decisions were wrong. On the contrary, I would argue that it’s this ironic and yet oddly appropriate, even comforting, fact that let’s you know you were doing something right.

Indeed, Director Joe Crump faced these challenges when editing.

We did a lot of longer takes and sometimes that put us up against a wall. I could have played it safer and just done coverage but I preferred to do something that was more interesting visually. So I took a chance and… there were some shots I hated but when I put them into the edit, I was happy with the way they turned out. Joe Crump, Director of The Storyteller

And Joe’s in good company…

Thelma Schoonmaker was Martin Scorsese’s editor before he was MARTIN SCORSESE. She edited his first film and has edited every one of his films since Raging Bull. In the below clip, Schoonmaker discusses the most difficult scene of her editing career. You might think it would be a violent scene from The Departed or maybe a grand scene from The Aviator but in fact it involves two brilliant actors improvising. Her challenge was taking all those brilliant moments and crafting a scene that highlights the energy of the performance while moving the story forward.

It’s Always About The Story

Unlike the writer who can shape, change or even completely restructure the story with the flick of his pen (or keyboard), and unlike the director who can change blocking or direct the actors during multiple different takes, an editor must work with the footage we’re given. Unless working on a multi-million dollar studio movie, reshoots are probably not an option. The footage and the script are our only raw materials.

Bringing those raw materials together in a creative way, that’s the final rewrite and what ultimately breathes life into the picture. An editor’s job is to make sure every moment hits. That the audience feels every emotion that the story conveys. It’s a kind of manipulation, really. We pick the best takes, the best shots. Put them together in a way that’ll make you cry or laugh. A great edit is when choice and timing come together to deliver emotion.

We’re always trying to find the perfect take, the perfect expression, and the perfect reaction shot. So much of the movie is about reaction shots and how people are feeling about what other people are saying. What people are saying is rarely what they actually mean. It’s a process of finding the pieces to tell the story – Joe Crump, Director of The Storyteller

Till next time, here’s a video highlighting some great editing moments on film. Have you seen all of them?

First, a little history lesson. The term dailies simply describes the raw, unedited footage from a film shoot.

Back when filmmaking was solely done on film, the film reel (typically 35mm film stock) from a day’s shoot would be sent to a lab and processed. It would then be synced with the day’s audio and a new film print would be made. This new, synced print would be the daily for that shooting day’s work and include ALL the takes and camera positions (set-ups) from that particular day. If you have a total of 18 shooting days, you will have a total of 18 dailies.

Typically, we’d shoot an average of 2 to 6 takes per set up. We did 346 setups in 18 days of shooting – so an average of 19 setups a day. Most of our days were 10-12 hours of actual shooting. – Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

Wanna sound like a real know-it-all? Dailies is a US term. The UK uses the term rushes, because the film reel was developed as quickly as possible, aka it was a rush.

How Are Dailies Used?

Was that critical shot in focus? Does the man in a suit actually look like a dragon? And of course for Producers/Studio: are we going to make our money back?

These are the kinds of questions that used to plague production. Because again, when film was film, the Director, DP and Producer had no idea whether or not they were getting the results they wanted, aesthetic or performance, without viewing the dailies.

Either before a new shoot day began, during lunch or even after the shoot day has ended, a select group of the crew (typically the Director, DP, Producers and/or the actors) would view the dailies in a theater or screening room, so they could assess how the film’s production was progressing.

The dailies looked great – Our DP, Dan, did a wonderful job of lighting and we were seeing some really pretty pictures. We also had wonderful performances from our entire cast – but we knew that while we were still on set. - Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

Dailies have had a lasting impression on the movie zeitgeist.

Did you know the studio wasn’t pleased with the casting of the then unknown Al Pacino for The Godfather? They actually tried repeatedly to fire him. Francis Ford Coppola, who had total faith in Pacino, eventually moved up a very important scene in order to convince them, while watching dailies. The rest is film history.

Conversely, dailies have been responsible for causing major cast shake ups. The dailies for Back To The Future helped convince Robert Zemeckis that Eric Stoltz wasn’t the right fit for the iconic role of Marty McFly.

The Actor’s Relationship with the Dailies:

I think it might be a problem for actors to watch their dailies and get nervous about their performances – and perhaps, stop listening to their director – although this never happened on this set. There were a few times on the set when we watched a playback of a shot and I’d always invite the actor to come look at what we were seeing. But this was pretty rare simply because there wasn’t much time to do it. - Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

Echoing Joe Crump’s sentiments, many actors actually don’t want to watch dailies, because they don’t want to influence the process. They know that watching themselves might make them self-conscious in a way that they’ll start planning the performance rather than being in the performance. Other actors don’t mind – and actually want that reassurance.

So what do you do?

It really comes down to the actor and their process. As a filmmaker, it’s your job to help the actor do their best work. If that means letting them watch dailies, then let them. If it doesn’t… keep them away.

Dailies In A Digital Age:

Digital filmmaking has turned everyone into a filmmaker. Your dailies are suddenly at your fingertips. This has changed not only the purpose of dailies, but how they are delivered and used.

When dailies were film, they had to be screened in a theater. The onset of tape, and later DVDs, allowed the dailies to be given separately to key crew members. This also meant you didn’t have to sit through each and every take. You could fast forward; skim to make sure you’re getting what you wanted and move on.

Today, dailies can be uploaded to the cloud, a (secure) ftp, or a dropbox. Directors don’t even have to wait until the end of a film day. Footage can be downloaded and viewed almost in real time. So how did The Storyteller view their dailies?

Usually at night after the day of shooting while Katie Crump (our DIT) was transferring the footage to the redundant hard drives. We also watched them on Sunday’s, which was the only non-shoot day in our schedule. – Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

The digital age has also affected the length of dailies. Back in 2012, the senior veep of Deluxe Television, Bill Romeo, told Variety that previously a typical show would deliver “something like an hour a night… now we’re looking at around four hours of material.”

Whereas dailies used to be the only way for the filmmakers to view their film pre-edit, today we have the camera playback and monitors that allow for so much more information.

I had a teradek (handheld) monitor with me all the time, so I was able to see in real time what was going to the camera. Nothing I saw in the dailies surprised me since I’d seen it all as it happened. Dan was also keeping an eye on the waveform monitors so we knew we were within the tolerances of our camera (Alexa Mini) and that we weren’t losing image in the hot spots or shadows. – Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

This instantaneous feedback is great for an independant film that can’t afford to wait even one day to find out they didn’t get that critical shot. However, it also costs you perspective. How many times have you written something, edited something, walked away thinking one thing, only to return with a new perspective? Yes, the traditional viewing of dailies made you sift through footage, but that allowed you to find unexpected surprises! So while there have been great gains, you also have to be aware of the potential losses and missed opportunities when you choose not to view dailies.

As technology progressed, dailies have adapted and some would say struggled to find their place. But they still offer filmmakers a very important commodity: reassurance.

I think I could have done this entire film without watching the dailies at all. But with that said, it’s a source of comfort to watch what you have done and know that you are getting what you set out to get. – Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

It All Comes Down To The Edit.

Most of the takes we circled are the ones in the movie, but sometimes we discovered the tone or mood of a scene was leaning too heavily one way or the other and we found different takes where the performance changed and we were able to tweak the feel of the entire movie because we did those extra takes with a different tone to the performance. – Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

George Miller described his masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road as a mosaic; each shot creating a grander image. Dailies are what the editor uses to assemble this picture. It’s the editor’s job to create the best version of your film and that won’t always mean it’s the exact image you had in your head. Sometimes it might be even better!

h/t Variety for the Bill Romeo quote.

Now, when you’re shooting for editing, you can do so to various degrees. A prime example that’s often brought up when shooting for editing is mentioned, is Robert Rodriguez’ El Mariachi. Hear the director explain how he planned his shots with the final edit in mind.

This is obviously taking it to the extremes. With digital cameras, laptop workstations and powerful editing software, your options are plentiful, even on a budget. So let’s take a look at how director and co-writer of The Storyteller, Joe Crump, approached the shoot – knowing that he would also be editing the footage. Here’s our conversation.

Why did you decide to edit the film yourself? Pros and cons to this approach?

 

In filmmaking, the story is told three times, 1. by the screenwriters, 2. by the director and 3. by the editors. I wanted to be involved in all three parts of this process. I also love to edit and my co-editor was my daughter, Katie Crump – who sat by my side and helped me craft the story.

 

So the pros of doing it myself is that it’s a hell of a lot of fun and I got to spend a lot of time with Katie. I also had help syncing the dailies from Nick Andrews, Saxony Wynecoop and Emelie Flower… which made our job a lot easier since they had to be done manually.

 

The cons – I couldn’t blame anyone else for my mistakes as a director or not getting coverage. I was told by several people that I should let someone else edit it – that I was too close to it – and I suppose that may turn out to be the case, but I don’t think it has. In fact, I think being close to it might have helped.

 

Knowing you would be editing yourself, how did you plan ahead? Did you organize the footage in a certain way?

 

We had a wonderful script supervisor, Michael Blomquist. He kept amazing notes and handed us a very detailed log when all was said and done. We also had a sound log that was very helpful from our sound mixer Bud Osborne. We kept all the camera file names so it was easy to cross reference.

 

After that, we kept track of everything by the day we shot it. We then created sequences that were about 5 minutes in length – we’d break them up by shot.

 

We then nested each of these sequences into one long master sequence. Using nested sequences speeds everything up and makes it much easier to find the shots you are looking for on your timeline.

 

We used an Alexa Mini and our camera original files were ProRes 4444, which won’t play on a PC – so we ended up making proxies to edit picture. While we were editing, (we used Premiere Pro CC), Adobe upgraded Premiere and now we can play the camera original on the PC – we still can’t open those files on a PC in Quicktime without hacking the metadata – and that caused the software to crash… you gotta love Apple and their proprietary codec.

Did the fact that you knew how you would be editing the film inspire any of your choices while shooting? Shot compositions? Long takes vs short takes? Blocking and actions?

 

Yes, absolutely. I spent a lot of time creating a shot list before I started directing. This is my first narrative feature film, so I had a good deal of fear and trepidation going into it – thinking that somehow, when I got on the set, everything would go to hell and I’d forget all the important things I needed to include or watch out for in the film. My shot list was 100 pages of notes, 100 pages of location pictures and diagrams and 90 pages of script. I broke up my shotlist into binders that we broke up by location. That way I wouldn’t have to carry all 300 pages, just the pages I needed for that particular location. Yes, this was probably overkill, but it makes things a lot more relaxing when you are prepared and it made it possible for me to work with my Director of Photography, Dan Clarke to come up with some additional shots that were better than I had planned on my own. As the shoot went on, my expectations of what our shots should look like and do got higher and higher. I didn’t just want to tell the story, I wanted to do it elegantly – and sometimes, you have to be there on the set to see something, an angle, a space, a camera move, the right angle of daylight… and take advantage of it when it appears. This takes a calm set and an fully engaged crew.

 

I was expecting to have a lot more emergencies than we ended up having. I was fortunate to have a great production team keeping things moving, headed up by our Producer, Rachel Noll.

 

We have a lot of live music in the movie, but we don’t just stay on people singing, we tell the story while the music is being played – so Rachel Noll (co-writer) and I designed a lot of the montage sequences around these songs. We freely played with time, location, memory – all that stuff during the songs. We also had to estimate how long it would take for certain images and sequences to play – how much screen time they would take – and I designed the shots so that we only had to shoot the parts of the song that we would actually show. I would like to have had more time to shoot more coverage, but it all ended up working pretty well when we got into the cut.

 

How did the intended use of visual effects in certain scenes affect how they were shot – and how does this play into how you are now editing those scenes?

 

We tried to use practical effects whenever we could. Dan put an LED light on the end of a wand and we floated it into the scene for the fairy effect. Some of the shots we don’t have that effect and you can tell because the light being cast from the LED gives a wonderful look on any object or person near the fairy – when we didn’t use it (usually because of time constraints), we had to fake the glow on their faces in After Effects. That worked too, but it was time consuming in post and never looked quite as nice.

 

We also shot a lot of Day for Night. Our main actor was a 10 year old girl (Brooklyn Rae Silzer) and because we shot under SAG Ultra Low Budget rules, we had to limit the times and hours we could use her. Most of the work we did in the woods was day for night – same with the work we did outside on the Fairy Bridge. Dan Clarke, our DP, also did most of the VFX work on the film… some of the effects have 35 or 40 layers in 3D space.

35-40 layers of effects in 3D space is a far cry from the simplicity of the shots described by Robert Rodriguez in the video at the top, but both approaches share a common goal: Making the best film you can with the means available to you.

For more on shooting day-for-night, check out our article on the subject here. And if you would like to take a peek behind the scenes of The Storyteller and see how some of the VFX shots were created, here’s a video of an early visual FX test.

“Lights, Camera, Action!” We’ve all had that image of being the Director on set: Sitting in the chair, bringing a brilliant shot to life while the actors say your words exactly the way you wanted them to. That’s the dream, but the reality is more of a puzzle… and being on set is where you build and connect your puzzle pieces.

Yesterday’s Prep Becomes Today’s Mission

Every production day has a goal for how much of the script is going to be filmed. Typically, big budget action/adventure movies are lucky if they get through an eighth to quarter of a page. This is because the camera and lighting set-ups take a vast amount of time. Additionally, if it’s a scene that requires special effects, that equals more setup time, leading to less actual filming time. Now you understand why it takes months – or even years – for our favorite super hero movies to get made.

On the other side, independent films, like The Storyteller, often have to get through multiple pages/scenes each day. This is because you generally have a limited amount of time in a location and your entire shooting schedule isn’t three months – it’s three weeks. Because the shooting pace on an independent film is so quick, prep work such as Tech Scouting, Rehearsals, and the director creating a shot list is vital. So let’s talk about the shot list for a minute. It is literally a list created by the director that describes every shot they want for a particular scene. If you type “How To Make A Film Shot List” into youtube, you will get a page of videos detailing how you can create your list in photoshop or use different programs. This is all well and good, but never underestimate a pen and a piece of paper. Here you can see an example: the shot list for my short Lucky Charm.

The capital letters in the linked example stand for the name of the characters, “C” is for Colin, “D” is for Danni. And I use abbreviations for the type of shot, “MS” is for Medium Shot, etc. Example: CU C = I want a close up of Colin.

An excerpt of the final, edited scene can be viewed here.

How Does The Day Begin?

It’s pretty much universal, that a filmmaker’s day starts with a meeting between him/herself, the DP and the AD. They compare the prep work against the specific mission of the day.

As we’ve discussed, the AD acts a liaison between the Director and all the other departments. So once the meeting is finished, they are responsible for making sure that the plan is executed in the given time you have for any location. Basically, while on set, it’s the AD’s job to make sure your train keeps moving down the tracks – even if you’re the one holding it up.

It’s ALWAYS a compromise.

There was a good amount of thinking on our feet. You have to be ready to roll with unexpected delays and curve balls. The location would sometimes change the initial plan, the light, the weather forecast… all kinds of things. – Rachel Noll, Producer of The Storyteller

The scope of any film (or any project for that matter) is made up of three factors: Time, Quality, and Expense. You want to make the best film in the quickest amount of time without spending an exorbitant amount of money.

There’s often this perception that (excluding Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott) there’s no creativity in big budget filmmaking and independent film is where an artist gets to really share a vision. But filmmaking, whether at a studio or on the independent level, is as much about creatively solving problems as it is about being creative.

For my money – time is your most valuable asset in filmmaking. This is because it gives you options. It lets you get coverage from a different camera angle, do another take. It’s because of this that sometimes the answer is not buying more time, but rather maximizing the time you do have.

This was the mindset used on the set of The Storyteller:

We did fall behind. That’s bound to happen, but in my eyes, it bred creative solutions. We started looking at the shot lists and deciding which shots we could lose, what was less important, and how to maximize the time we had left. We didn’t end up cutting any full scenes, but we would cut coverage. Joe and I would talk with Dan and the AD and figure out what shots weren’t essential to telling this part of the story, and we would make a game time decision. You really don’t know how well that kind of snap decision works out until you are editing it together, but on a tight budget and an even tighter schedule, sacrifices have to be made and you do the best you can to make it a creative choice. - Rachel Noll, Producer of The Storyteller

Where Is Everyone?

After the initial meeting between the director, DP and AD, the next step becomes prepping the scene. Blocking is a technique used to help the DP decide how to light the scene. Blocking is essentially this: The actors along with the Director decide where they will be on set in a given scene. You’re planning out their actions. So why take the time to block when time is so crucial, you ask? Well, let’s ask the filmmakers on The Storyteller.

It gives the DP and his team enough time to light and prep, while the actors are getting ready, to maximize our time. The actors would meet with Joe (the director) and block this scene, and then they would go into hair and makeup while the lighting team would set up. Joe would often join them in wardrobe/makeup to talk through the character beats of the scene at this time. - Rachel Noll, Producer of The Storyteller.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – All Happening At the Same Time

While the DP, Production Designer and Sound Department are all prepping the set for their respective needs, the Director and Producer can use the time to run through their plan from yesterday (yesterday meaning pre-production) and continue to prep tomorrow’s.

Joe would often be with the actors, or looking at his shot list to make sure he was clear on what he was doing and thinking the rest of the day. I would usually step off set and move back to my computer to deal with logistics with the locations, with payroll, with SAG… lots of paperwork and busy work to be done on my part that I tried to wrap up as efficiently as possible in between shots since it was important to me to be on set and with Joe at the monitor whenever we were shooting. – Rachel Noll, Producer of The Storyteller

Everyone On Set

The DP has finished setting up, the actors are back from Hair & Make-Up, everyone’s ready for a take… is it finally time to start shooting? Well you can, or you can do a rehearsal. Different than you, the filmmaker, and the actors working privately in a room, a rehearsal on set is as much for the crew as it is the actors. (Actually, if you ask some actors, it can be exclusively for the crew).

This rehearsal allows your crew to practice their moves: dolly shot in, a focus pull. It solidifies the basic blocking. It’s more prep that increases the chance for a technically perfect shot. But again, it costs you time.

The compromise? You can always be like Danny Boyle and shoot the rehearsal – which was actually requested by an actor!

From Action to Cut

The time between action and cut is the time where the actors really get to contribute to your film. It’s when the magic comes alive. You have to respect that it’s that time between action and cut that everyone, not just the actors has been waiting for. Simply getting a take isn’t the mission, nor is getting the perfect take. Because frankly, unless you’re Kubrick, you won’t have the time. It’s about getting the take.

The take can be defined by many different things, but it ultimately comes down to satisfaction. Are you – the filmmaker – creatively satisfied? This isn’t a question I or anyone can answer for you. It’s a gut feeling that’s in a perpetual state of motion and develops every time you make a film.

Thank The Crew!

Whether you’re a PA on the next blockbuster or the director of your own independent short, you will discover that every set has an atmosphere unique to itself. Making a film is a team effort and you set the tone as the filmmaker. You have to be patient but strong with your crew, creating an atmosphere that allows everyone to do their best… not just for you but for them.

On an independent film, a filmmaker’s greatest asset is indeed their crew.

We had a lot of interns and crew members who had never worked on a feature before, given the limitations of Indiana local crew, and they surpassed my expectations far and away. It took us a few days to get into our groove, but everyone worked so hard and I was incredibly proud and impressed by the level of proficiency and passion they all displayed. – Rachel Noll, Producer of The Storyteller

On set is where where drive meets preparation meets sheer luck. You’re bringing a story to life and every day (and I do mean every day) will come with its own set of problems. But you have to make sure that your push to make a film doesn’t make you forget the magic of the story.

Here’s JJ Abrams talking about the magic of the “mystery box.”

Check out this list of crew titles for a better understanding of who’s who on set and why they’re all there. And don’t miss the upcoming Storyteller Series articles on utilizing dailies and how to shoot for editing.

My favorite description of the rehearsal process and why it’s so important comes from Sidney Lumet’s book, Making Movies. Sidney Lumet, for the youngsters in the crowd, is of course the visionary director behind classics like 12 Angry Men, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and many more. In his book he explains that he will ”generally hold rehearsals for a period of two weeks. Depending on the complexity of the characters, we sometimes work longer – four weeks on Long Day’s Journey Into Night, three weeks on The Verdict.” Clearly not a process afforded most independent directors. But the process itself is a master class in directing. Lumet would spend two-three days with the cast around a table, simply discussing the script to figure out it’s central theme. Then delve into each character, each scene, each line. Then the first complete read-through, full of discoveries and spontaneity and instinct. Then breaking the script down even more, with emphasis on important scenes between lead actors, and then another complete read-through. This time not nearly as exciting as the first, because, as Lumet puts it, ”instinct wears out quickly in acting, because of repetition.”

So how do ensure a fresh, emotionally truthful performance take after take? You substitute instinct with technique and use different actions in your performance to get the same response that you got from your first, uninhibited take – all based on the discoveries made in rehearsals.

But how can you make the most of the (most likely) limited rehearsal time available to you on an indie production? In the case of The Storyteller it was a matter of technology and priority.

Rehearsals were always a priority for Joe. He really wanted to have time with the actors well in advance of the shoot to start discussing the characters and building relationships and chemistry and comfort between them, so that when they got to set they would feel fully prepared to jump into the scenes. We initially did Skype rehearsals individually and in pairs. Joe talked with the actors about the character and the script, got into the nuances of character and arcs and story, and then we did one day of in-person rehearsals in LA where we actually stepped through each of the scenes with the actors and got them together and working. – Rachel Noll, Producer of The Storyteller

Skype is a great way to cover great distances without the cost of airtravel. Your producer will thank you for the dollars saved and your actors will thank you for taking the time to get into every little detail in the script ahead of shooting, even if lengthy in-person rehearsals aren’t an option.

The second trick to making the most of your rehearsals is to be structured enough to make time for discoveries. Sound like a contradiction? Consider this: If you put a bunch of strangers in a room and tell them to act, what you get is a noisy mess of personalities trying to find their place in the group. It’s human psychology. As a director you need to take control and make it clear which scenes are being rehearsed and why. Once the actors have a framework to operate within, they can leave their insecurities or egos behind and focus on making those discoveries.

And if you have the luxury of a long rehearsal period – is there such a thing as rehearsing too much?

I dont think so. I come from a theater background where rehearsal is everything, so I may be biased, but I think that preparation and time to think and discover can only help. – Rachel Noll, Producer on The Storyteller

The lesson to be learned here is, that even if your rehearsal time is limited to a number of Skype conversations and one day of walking through scenes, don’t assume that you can just as easily get the same results without rehearsing and while on set. In another anecdote from Sidney Lumet he recalls rehearsing with Paul Newman for The Verdict: ”At the end of two weeks of rehearsal … there were no major problems. In fact, it seemed quite good. But somehow it seemed rather flat …We hadn’t quite reached the emotional level we both knew was there in David Mamet’s screenplay … There was a certain aspect of Frank Galvin’s character that was missing so far. I told him that I wouldn’t invade his privacy, but only he could choose whether or not to reveal that part of the character and therefore that aspect of himself … On Monday, Paul came into rehersal and sparks flew.”

Foregoing the rehearsal process may seem like a bold and spontaneous move, but it actually just allows your actors to play it safe. Instead, force them to discover and make choices before you get on set.

The term was originally used to describe the visual design of a theater production; literally what was on the stage. With the advent of film, the expression was expanded to mean the visual design of everything that’s captured by the camera, including the actors, the sets, the lighting, the framing of the shot, props, costumes, etc. If the camera sees it, it’s part of the mise-en-scène. The physical design of a film’s mise-en-scène is brought to life by the Production Designer.

The Production Designer is the head of the Art Department and works with the Director to design and oversee the visual atmosphere of the film. This includes set building, set dressing, and props. They bring to life the world in which the story takes place. This look is catered to both the story and how the filmmaker wants to visually express that story. Think about it: a Tim Burton period piece will look vastly different from a Joe Wright period piece.

So how does one find a Production Designer? Well in the case of The Storyteller, Director Joe Crump didn’t have to look far.

Joe approached Hamilton Southeastern HS, where I work. I teach history and run a film studies program and film production company where students come together to create completely original feature length films. We met to discuss the project and Joe found out about my side career as a sculptor/artist, so my involvement grew from there. - Jamie Follis, Production Designer of The Storyteller

Check out this featurette on how Director Darren Aronofsky worked with his Production Designer, Thérèse DePrez to create the look for the Academy Award Winning Black Swan.

We met and discussed certain films that had elements we both liked. Joe had some ideas and I read the script and came up with my own as well. I am also well versed in history, art, and mythology as I teach those subjects at HSE HS. Those would come to be strong influences. We met and my ideas were received well; we ran with them in some cases, and in others I found a way to give Joe what he wanted, or we found ways to blend both what Joe wanted and what I envisioned to create something even newer and better. – Jamie Follis, Production Designer of The Storyteller

During pre-production a Production Designer’s duties include:

• Reading the script and breaking down all the visual aspects that will go into the film. These include: locations, set design, and props
• Determine with the Director if there is there a visual theme that is apparent in each location? (As noted in the above featurette: every set took on an aspect of Swan Lake)
• Determine with the Director if CGI should be used to aide in the creation of the design (will green screen be needed?)
• Create designs conveying the mood, lighting, color and indeed texture of the film. These will be distributed to the rest of the art department
  • Once created, technical designs will be generated so that any construction that needs to be completed can be planned

In deciding what the film will look like, all decisions are based on the idea that the Director and Production Designer are on the same page as to what atmosphere they’re trying to achieve. In the case of The Storyteller, that look came together from a lineage shared by both Director Joe Crump and Production Designer Jamie Follis.

The film had a lot of celtic influences which were very personal to Joe and his wife Nancy. I am also of Irish descent so there was no real communication barrier. I understood what they wanted and loved including those things where we could. Joe really wanted that magical fantasy element and I discussed the Romanticism era and its reverence for nature as being potential influences. I liked the idea of a magic that is devoid of the more fantasy elements of today’s pop culture and draws from more of the celtic druidic folk beliefs of magic and the wonder, awe, and nostalgia they held in the post-industrial era; Joe agreed whole-heartedly. – Jamie Follis, Production Designer of The Storyteller

Once production begins the Production Designer:

• Works with those in the Art Department to coordinate schedules and monitor the (art) budget
• Monitors what upcoming locations are being built and the status of those sets
• Arrive on set early to look over the location with the Director and Director of Photography – Assess the camera set-ups and go over what part of the set needs to be dressed and what props will be needed.

Did You Build It Or Did You Find It?

Shooting on a set involves much more work on the designer’s part. You are starting with a blank canvas, in most cases, and you are bringing in symbolism, imagery, color, and textures that represent the mood or character. You have much more control and ultimately a much more personal and specific look. Actual locations are often chosen because of the look they already have. You also have much less control because you can’t move a tree or paint a building (at least on this scale). The canvas is in many ways 90% done, and you can bring in some small elements to emphasize things. - Jamie Follis, Production Designer of The Storyteller

We’ve talked before about Locations and Tech Scouting. A Production Designer’s job differs whether you’re working in a Practical Location - an existing location – or creating your location on a Stage. But regardless of the type of set, the Production Designer always works with the Director of Photography so that the frame has everything it needs. In the case of The Storyteller, this led to an interesting lesson for Jamie Follis.

Our DP, Dan Clarke, has been amazing. I have learned so much from working with him. We talked very briefly before production began. But during production I worked with him a lot as the shots are being planned and set up. We talked about colors and placement of things. We also discussed wanting to fill the negative spaces to not distract the audience, but no so much that we inversely distract by being too busy or looking cluttered. I basically plan the space, place my pieces and props, and then we move them slightly to give the greatest impact. I have learned to always have a few pieces not placed, that I put up after the shot is set up. - Jamie Follis, Production Designer of The Storyteller

Most films involve some set building and some use of actual locations. But just because the location is built, doesn’t mean it can’t have a fantastical element. Check out this featurette (worked on by yours truly) that explores the amazing world created for Joe Wright’s adaptation of Anna Karenina.

By definition a tech scout is an on-location walk-through with your production’s department heads – think director, cinematographer, UPM, 1st AD, production designer, etc. – ahead of shooting at that particular location. This walk-through will give each department a chance to familiarize themselves with the location and the challenges it may bring. In other words, it’s a final preparation of the technical logistics associated with each major shooting location.

So, with terms like “department heads” and “technical logistics” being thrown around you’re probably thinking that a tech scout is something reserved for big budget movies, right? Wrong. They most certainly do it, but if you’re helming a low-budget indie production, you probably have even more incentives to do a tech scout before your shoot. Ask yourself this: Can I afford to rent my location for an extra day, if I encounter unforeseen circumstances? Will my lighting package be able to compensate for any changing conditions? Do I have the necessary means to do extensive ADR on noisy takes? No, you say? Then you better plan ahead.

Typically you will do your tech scout during prep week, about one week prior to the actual shoot, when all department heads are able to get together and finalize their preparations. However, if you have access to your locations even further ahead of time, there are benefits to visiting them.

During pre-production Joe did some initial location scouting and we rewrote scenes once we understood the layout and limitations of the locations available to us, so the script reflected accurately the locations we will be using. – Rachel Noll, writer/producer of The Storyteller

Once you have the script locked in, locations secured and shot lists made, you do the full tech scout of all major locations.

Producer, DP, Director, 1st AD, Production Designer, UPM, gaffer, key grip – they were all there. We wanted to make sure all the heads were clear on the limitations and possibilities of any given location, so we could all plan accordingly. Any limitations on power outlets or lighting sources, etc. we wanted to be able to make a note of, and also have an eye on the production design, possible areas for actor holding, for makeup and hair, and other details, so we were prepared come the day of the shoot. I think all the departments can benefit from a scout prior to the shoot, just to know what they are up against and to be able to plan contingencies or brainstorm creatively if things aren’t ideal or there are any surprises. – Rachel Noll, writer/producer of The Storyteller

Let’s break it down.

Producer – will be working with each of the department heads to accommodate any changes in budgeting due to the limitations or possibilities uncovered during the scout.

DP – will be making sure the planned camera movements will be possible. Are there narrow corners to turn? Will there be shots in harsh light? Your DP might change certain shots to accommodate the locations and retain the overall visual aesthetic.

Director – will be balancing the vision of the film with the circumstances and making any necessary changes in shots to stay as true to the original intentions as possible.

1st AD – is largely in charge of scheduling, background actors, callsheets and script breakdown, so any changes to either of these based on the limitations of the location will be noted and arranged accordingly. Is there a proper holding area for the background cast? Will shooting have to wrap an hour earlier than anticipated due to traffic conditions in the area – and what does that mean for the callsheet?

Production Designer – takes note of anything that needs to be dressed for the shots planned and anything on location that will add to or subtract from the environment she is trying to create. Also pay attention to details like whether the centerpiece executive boardroom conference table that’s been rented for a certain scene is able to fit through the doorframe and whether the colors of the the costumes are going to clash with the wall color.

UPM – the Unit Production Manager oversees all the off-set logistics, as well as day-to-day budgets and production personnel, so if a certain location calls for more lighting than initially planned for, the UPM needs to make sure this can be made available, is budgeted and operable with the hired crew – or make the necessary changes.

Gaffer – is the chief electrician on set and will need to make sure there are adequate power sources for the lights that will be brought in. Will a generator be needed? Are the outlets on separate circuits? What’s the maximum load for each outlet?

Key Grip – will in large part be responsible for making the director and DPs wishes come true, so if there is limited space on set or a shot calls for more equipment than can safely be utilized in a certain location, adjustments must be made in advance.

All of these obviously work together, which is why the tech scout is best done with all department heads at once and not separately. Filmmaking is a collaborative process and the tech scout is the perfect opportunity for everyone to contribute in order to make your film the best it can be.

Not only is it an important part of the final stages of pre-production, the tech scout is also a hell of a lot of fun – it’s great to get a chance to know your crew and to be impressed by what they do. And doing the tech scout also means that we are just days away from shooting – at last. – Joe Crump, writer/director of The Storyteller

In some cases you will need to do your tech scout months in advance, so every single aspect of your shots can be meticulously planned and rehearsed, like for the 2015 Academy Award winner Birdman. Because of the extremely difficult long shots used throughout the film, the crew prepared by drawing up a minimalist (but to scale) version of their theatre location in a warehouse and used that space to rehearse camera movement, cast movement and lighting for weeks before the actual shoot. Imagine pulling this off without diligent planning:

Follow the entire process of making a film – up close and personal – through the trials and triumphs of The Storyteller, as told in our on-going article series.