The Step-by-Step Guide of Everything before the Camera rolls.

Enough of the pre-production tips and tricks, let’s get into the 30 minutes right before you hit record. It is orchestrating the entire production team around this one take, so having everyone on the same page is key

1. Blocking

Blocking is laying out the scene with the actors at a slowed pace. Many think that this is where the Director instructs the actors where they need to stand, hit their marks, and how they should interact with their environment. They are 50% right.

The other part of blocking is for the crew. The DP, and camera op, focus puller, gaffer, grip, and even the boom op need to understand the blocking. Knowing where the actors where be in relations to the camera allows everyone else to understand where THEY need to placed in the scene.

As the Director, walk through the scene at 25% speed with your actors, and have the DP and camera op follow the action as if it were a real take. This allows the actors to know where they need to stand and then the 1st AC/Focus Puller will be able to mark their focus wheel appropriately.

Once the sharpies marks and gaff tape have been laid out, it’s time for the gaffer and DP to get to work.

2. Lighting

This will take a decent amount of time but getting the lighting just right is imperative to the look of the scene. The Director has marked to the actors and camera op where they need to be. This is when the DP and Gaffer collaborate on where to place the lights so that they light the proper areas while staying out of frame.

They want to avoid lighting so that the camera op’s shadow appears in frame and that the actors’ marks are lit properly. The Director will communicate the vision to the DP who will relay it to the Gaffer and electric team.