From the course: Video Pre-production for Low-Budget Films

Field testing the concept

- If you have the luxury of accessing and working in your shot locations before the real filming begins, it is a great idea to pre-shoot the project. There's a huge difference between reading a story on paper, and seeing it play out on screen. By pre-shooting our piece we were able to identify where the holes were. During the pre-shoot, we can, and should forget about equipment, shoot it with a cellphone and do a quick rough cut. In this case, we're a two man crew for the two pre-production days and most of the time it was me, in front of the cellphone. While shooting your pre-shoot it is important to stick to your storyboard, but also keep an open mind. And then ask ourselves, honestly, truly, are the perspectives working, is the location working? This is your time to explore different options without the stress of a full crew of people and talent expecting rapid decision making. It was really, really cool to shoot with a cellphone, because we were able to concentrate on composition and the shot sequences. She's scared once, she keeps praying, she's scared twice, she stands up, she looks out the window, she listens to the siren and then she escapes. So we need the POV that we haven't done of her, her POV of the window, like looking outside. Our final film, our final project will rely heavily on lighting and sound design, to create the tension we're looking for. The door first is closed. - [Man] Starts closed - Starts closed, then we see it open. That's why the sounds are coming in. This was a pre-shoot, so we have to leave that to our imagination. Now take notes, and what is the character looking at? What is the character thinking, what is she hearing in her head, or really in the physical space. Take notes of that, all those things when you're on the location imagining what the character is going through, will be very important notes later on in the post-production.

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