Picture this, you get home from a grueling shoot and realize to your red-faced chagrin that you have absolutely nothing to work with. The audio is shoddy, the shots are overexposed, the focus is wrecked... Whatever it is, you’ve botched the project and you may never get a second chance to fix it.
Mistakes happen to everyone, to err is human, but there are several crucial mistakes you can avoid to poise yourself to end up with work that you’re proud to share and not embarrassed to think about.
Here are five wicked mistakes made while filming and what you can do to stop them:
- Poor pre-production
While it may seem like a rookie blunder, this happens often enough to make any seasoned cinematographer cringe. Do you know what you’re going for? Do you know how you’re going to get it? What are the scenes, the shots, and what’s the message you’ll portray?
Always provide ample time for storyboarding and identify what you need to capture when the shoot date comes. After all, if you don’t know what you’re supposed to get, how are you supposed to get it?
- Using auto white balance indoors
If you’re shooting outside, the ambient light isn’t subject to drastic shifts. But, what if you’re filming indoors and walk past a window or into another room? With the radical light swings that take place indoors, using auto white balance is a surefire way to end up with odd hues and colors cast from your shoot. Colors will shift and tones will morph and the result is endless color correction for the post-production team. Do yourself a favor, don’t use AWB indoors.
- Not having an audio backup
Never rely on a single audio source, and never put all your faith in a sound guy. Always have a backup. Whether batteries die, the audio is murky, or any range of problems happen you’ll always want a second audio option.
Is the boom mic picking up too much ambient noise? Great, go with the lav audio. Lav was muffled and scratchy? Go with the boom or a shotgun mic. Whatever it is, have a backup and your problems won’t be catastrophic.
- Not having enough batteries or card space
If you don’t have enough batteries or card space you’re sabotaging the shoot from square one. Always bring extras. There’s nothing worse than holding everyone back with dead gear or live gear and no space to record.
Outside of the length of time you’ll be filming, consider the format and bit rate you’ll be filming at. What do you need for the type of shots you’re filming? The subject you are filming also plays a role. For interview scenes, chances are you’ll be recording the entire time to catch that magic moment. This can take more space than B-roll where you’re starting / stopping and grabbing shots one moment at a time. Know what the end product needs to be and how you’re going to film it, and you’ll set yourself up to be better prepared.
- Formatting your card after the shoot is over
The wickedest of mistakes can leave you with absolutely nothing to show for your hard work: formatting your card once everything’s said and done. Whether you format a card accidentally or format the wrong one, you’ll most likely never get that footage back and all will be lost.
Know what you’re doing, protect your footage, and protect your cards.
These five wicked filming mistakes don’t contain every fault and blunder you’ll run into while filming, but they will give you a solid backbone of essential things to avoid when shooting your next project. Always prepare (whether that’s with enough card space or ample pre-production), plan for audio backups, leave AWB to the outdoors, and above all - protect your cards. Do these things, and the world won’t be so scary when it comes to your next shoot.
About the Author
Michael Mogill is the President of Crisp Video Group, a national video marketing and video production company that helps companies get noticed, enhance their brand, and grow their business. With an experienced team of videographers, writers, editors, and marketers, Crisp Video crafts one-of-a-kind video marketing content and strategies for businesses both large and small. Crisp proudly serves all 50 states and has been featured in publications such as Forbes, The Huffington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
