Making movies is an exciting and creative process. The result that the viewer sees on the screen is created by dozens and hundreds of people using the most modern equipment and digital technology. As in any other sphere, there are peculiarities and secrets. In this article, I will talk about how they make movies nowadays, from writing the script to promoting the film.
Stages of Filmmaking
From the time the script is written to the release of the film on the big screens takes a long time, sometimes more than 1-2 years. In general, filmmaking is divided into three stages:
• Preparation. Pre-production begins long before filming. At this stage, they write the script, select the cast, sew costumes, plan the schedule of filming, choose the nature, create scenery, decide organizational issues.
• Production. The actual production is the shooting of the film. It is the most expensive and time-consuming stage.
• Post-production. This includes editing, the creation of computer special effects, editing, voiceover and other processing of the footage.
The duration of each of the stages and their magnitude depend on the type of film project. For example, short films can be shot in a short time and a small group of people, while feature films are usually made by dozens or even hundreds of professionals.
Cameras for Filming
What is the best way to capture the feelings and emotions of the characters in a film? The right camera, of course. No one shoots with a film anymore. Since the mid-1980s digital technology has been very much a part of the movie industry.
Shooting Movies
Today they use models with an amazing resolution, zoom, which allow you to create the effect of the presence of the viewer. In addition to standard static cameras, special action cameras are used (such as the GoPro model). They are ideal for filming moving objects. Depending on the scenario, the production may involve waterproof cameras for filming underwater or in the pouring rain.
Film crew
This includes a variety of specialists. In addition to the director’s and actor’s staff, these are also set designers, makeup artists, and lighting technicians.
Screenwriter
The script is the basic story of the film, the idea for the film. The screenwriter is responsible for it – he creates a written version, and it can be unique or written on the basis of published plays, stories, and novels. Screenwriters can write a script to order or on their own initiative. This is one of the most creative jobs of all the stages of film production. Even if it is an adaptation of existing work, it is still a painstaking and demanding work, since what is written in the book is not always suitable for the screen.
Producer
The task of the producer is to control the production of the film or series as a whole, in addition, he is mainly responsible for the failure or success of the project. This specialist is present on the set even at the stage of studying the script and until the very end, dealing with the organization and promotion of the film until its release on the big screens. Even at the preparatory stage, he begins to promote the film, as well as providing funding for the order. He sets certain goals for the project, can adjust the location and cast, is engaged in the rental of premises, makes the production schedule.
Director
The director’s functions include the competent interpretation of the script. He breaks it down as if into separate fragments, but so that the film was unified and complete from an artistic point of view. The director can be rightfully compared to an orchestra conductor – he controls a large number of people, including actors, to create unique works of cinematic art.
Filmmaking
During the movie production itself, he supervises the cast, takes part in the work of the cameraman, technical staff, takes care of the crowd. He is the main responsible person for the set.
Actors
The cast includes not only the main actresses and actors, but also other people involved in the shooting:
• The main characters in any movie are, of course, actors and actresses. The central characters can be already known or beginners – in the first case, the success of the picture can be higher.
• The crowd. Seeing a huge number of people on the screen in the background, for example, at the stadium, you should not always take them for reality. Although the pay for the extras is lower than that of the main characters, sometimes it makes no sense to hire such a large number of people – this has now been replaced by computer technology, which makes it possible to recreate the extras.
• Understudies. They replace actresses and actors in situations where you need to perform a life-threatening task or just a technically difficult stunt – falling from a height, fast car rides, fights, bed scenes. Selecting actors for the next movie (casting) – one of the most important. Here it is important that the main characters correspond to the idea of the screenwriter and were able to embody it on the screen.
Secrets of Filmmaking
There are a lot of tricks used on movie sets that the uninformed viewer can’t even guess about. Here are just a few of them:
• Green Canvas. This is a kind of background, on the basis of which then create computer technology. CGI graphics are heavily used in films today, and attentive cinephiles can sometimes distinguish between real objects and computer-generated elements with even a cursory glance.
• Taboo on set. The cast during filming never drinks alcohol, does not smoke, of course, does not use drugs, even if it is in the script. Also, very often the actors don’t really eat, but spit out food after chewing. After all, there can be a lot of shots, and if an actor or actress eats a meal every time, then by the middle of the movie you’ll have to re-suit.
• The conversation of the extras. In many movies, you can see people actively talking in the background, such as in a cafe or restaurant. In fact, more often than not, they are not chatting nicely, but repeating a certain set of numbers – 29, 341, 45, 119, 1311, 4. Research has shown that while saying them, the movement of the lips resembles normal human speech. And the extras do not say these numbers aloud, but say them to themselves, opening their mouths.
That’s It
The process of creating a movie – a serial, a documentary, a biography, or any other – is much more multifaceted than it seems. Like any creativity, it requires an unconventional approach and full dedication from each of the participants in the filming – only then can you create a true masterpiece of cinematography.