Determining the camera set-ups for the day and its relevant shot list, is extremely important to make sure everything is captured and the team moves in the most logical and speedy order. Unfortunately, most independent filmmakers fly by the seat of their pants instead of preplanning. This causes them to loose numerous hours in shooting time over the duration of a feature film.

Camera set-ups can be drawn on a 3X5 card, or created in an iPad app – I‘ve done both. If the scene requires a lot of movement, I prefer the iPad app so I can demonstrate the camera movement and actor blocking through animation.

The set-up cards are always an aerial view and display camera position and any dolly tracks. It also includes characters, extras and the floor plan – And sometimes action props. All elements include starting and ending positions. Depending on the software app or the amount of room on the paper, the lighting set-up could be added as well.

Arrows and lines are typically used to show camera and actor movement. The shape of the camera movement line reveals if it uses a track or handheld/steadicam shot. Track is always straight or precisely curved, while handheld/steadicam lines move in any shape or follow any contour.

Every camera must be labeled in some fashion that carries over to the shot list. When I use the iPad app, I export the camera information to an excel spreadsheet in the form of a shot list, which takes less than 5 seconds. When I use 3X5 cards, I typically put the shot list on the back of the card or on a second card.

The shot list includes the camera name, the shot type, the lens, camera equipment like dollies or cranes, and any movement, focus or zooming instructions. My experience allows me to rough out the list prior to meeting with the director of photography. Since his expertise is invaluable, I review and update the information as I present my logic for the emotional imagery I need for the scene.

No matter how much I prep during development or preproduction, there are always changes the morning of the shoot, not to mention during creative moments with the actors as we explore variations of the scene. The best way to keep these changes organized is to number every known shot in advance using a numbering system that readily accepts updates and changes.

The numbering system I use gives the DP, editor, script supervisor and me an immediate visual understanding of what scene its from, its shot type and what character it includes. This makes searches quick both manually and online. It also helps the editing team prep the clips for the editor.

By prepping the camera set-ups in advance, the director can save the team a tremendous amount of time during the shoot. It also gives a great foundation for those creative changes that happen on the fly. This allows a more organized freedom that helps the editorial team, rather than the wild creative activities that force the editorial team to suffer through extremely long days.

Copyright © 2013 by CJ Powers

The number one consideration for all stunts is safety. Second is realism. But to achieve these two factors it takes a lot of experience, calculations and rehearsal. The stunt coordinator acts as the casting director for stunt performers and stunt doubles. They are also responsible for overseeing the stunt performance, which is carefully designed and coordinated with the director.

The last stunt team I hired was for a western. The show had a typical corral shoot out with falls, squibs and horse stunts. The team rehearsed in tumbling apparel for hours and then donned their western gear over top the layers of pads they wore. Every fall was perfectly choreographed so the stunt person falling off the roof had more fun than any sense of danger. Everything was captured in one take.

A specialist that verified and counted every blank bullet load handled the guns. He was a licensed expert and made sure each bullet was properly packed. Each actor had to check out their pistols and rifles, being given a quick reminder of the proper way to handle firearms. The entire process was down to a science to avoid injury.

The insurance on the show jumped up significantly. I was surprised at how much the day cost. I hired a stunt coordinator, five stuntmen and the team’s production assistants. The professionalism of the team and their vast experience made for a wonderful day and great cinematic results.

The cinematographer was able to understand the needed placement of cameras to cover every punch and gunshot thanks to the elaborate rehearsal. By positioning the cameras accordingly, the stuntmen could pull their punches, as film is 2D or flat and depth perception is non-existent. The predetermined camera positions added to the realism of the punches.

My role was to make sure the stunt coordinator understood my vision for the action and the look and level of danger I needed to appear on the screen. The stunt coordinator then determined the best way to choreograph the stunts to make sure everyone was safe.

The first stunt team I ever hired was back in the days when I produced and directed shows for the Wisconsin Television Network. We made an undercover cop show that was filled with chase scenes and gunshots. Detectives would jump over cars, fire escapes, rooftops and other fast moving or nerve rackingly high obstacles.

However, due to the safety factor and film being flat, we were able to fake much of the stunts optically. So when it looked like a man ran across a roof and leaped off onto a nearby fire escape, it was actually faked. The rooftop was at ground level. The leap across the alley and into a fire escape wasn’t a 45-foot high location, but rather a 10-foot location with three stories of building optically matted in below it. This was before CGI and moving digital elements.

The stunt coordinator works with the department heads to determine what can be done physically versus digitally. The more physical stunts the more realistic the image appears in the final film. The stunt coordinator works with makeup to ensure the stunt person looks like the character. The production designer, art director and the set dresser help disguise the safety equipment. And, the director of photography or cinematographer helps position the camera for the most realistic look.

Many of the top stunt performers belong to the International Stunt Association, which is made up of stunt coordinators, stunt performers and 2nd unit directors that specialize in stunts. However, the stunt performers are contracted under the SAG-AFTRA agreement.

Copyright © 2013 by CJ Powers

There are a lot of stories created by great authors who have yet to see their books made into movies. This is due in part to the Hollywood standards used to determine what stories would translate well to the screen. Another factor might be based on the dread many authors feel when handing over their title to be reworked into a film format, which may include a change in style, content or theme.

However, most authors who are willing to allow a trusted production team to alter their story may have no idea how to get their book read by the right company. There is no secret to finding the right production company, except for hard diligent research.

A quick dive into research will provide a list of thousands of production companies. As of the writing of this article there are 6 big studio production companies listed. The independents make up the rest and include 242 production companies in Chicago, 66 in Seattle, 516 labeled as Christian, and on the various lists go. These lists do not include companies started for the purpose of making and releasing one specific film.

Once the right companies are found, the story needs to pass the filtering systems to be considered. There are 10 things that need to be in the story to make it past the first cut of titles being considered:

1. PROACTIVE HERO. The main character or the protagonist must be active and the one driving the story. He must be motivated and driven to make decisions, rather than having things happen to him. The character must grow through his journey and overcome whatever held him back in the opening of the story.

2. UNIVERSAL STORY. The story must be high concept and understandable by the average person and be based on common experiences, but from a unique viewpoint. The story needs to be able to capture the attention of the audience, regardless of their specific interests in the issues within the story.

3. FLAWED PROTAGONIST. The main character must be flawed in a way that reveals elements of the human condition that others can relate to. The character must face struggles that he must battle through to achieve his goals. By the end of the story, he needs to figure out a way to turn his flaw into strength, which is the tool he’ll use to save the day or accomplish his goal.

4. GREAT ACTION PLOTLINE. The story must have forward movement created by physical action or life changing decisions. This movement must be strong enough to carry the reader through every aspect of the story. A great action plot is one that can be understood with the audio turned off or the dialog deleted.

5. STORY WITH 7-8 SET PIECES. Set pieces are those iconic scenes that are designed to have an obvious imposing effect on the audience. They are the scenes in a film that are ideal for trailers, which stand out and say this film is unique and special. These types of scenes create buzz, driving people to pay out good money to see the movie. Rarely are films made, let alone promoted, without these conversational moments being embedded into a story.

6. STRUCTURE USING 3, 7 OR 8 ACTS. Most Hollywood films use the three-act structure, but MOWs (Movie of the Week) are further broken down into 7 or 8 acts depending on the network – The difference being in the structure of the first act. If the story is not able to fit this structure, it won’t be purchased or if purchased, it will have significant changes made to it.

7. VISUAL STORYLINE. Motion pictures are designed for movement. While that sounds ridiculously obvious, there are many people who want their talking head story to be on the silver screen. If the story is dialog driven, then it should be considered for radio or theater. If it is thought driven, it is better off staying as a book. But, if it has action, movement or some semblance of motion, it should work on the big screen. The story must be filled with visual action.

8. RAISE AN OVERARCHING QUESTION. It is important in film to have a question raised in the audience’s mind to keep their attention and drive their desire to see the next scene. If the story has numerous scene-by-scene questions answered throughout the main character’s journey and an overarching question that isn’t answered until the climax, then the story is ideal for film.

9. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE. Audiences flock to the theater to have fun, laugh, cry, be scared, stimulated, and other emotionally based forms of entertainment. Books that cause a person to laugh or talk out loud, or draw a tear are truly entertaining and have a shot at being made into a film.

10. PROFESSIONAL AUTHOR. The author needs to be audience minded and professional in his approach. The author, who is more concerned about his content, than the audience, would not be a good fit. The option agreement is a business proposition that takes a story and translates it to a completely different medium, it is not a personal agreement that takes someone’s baby away from them and raises it to be something they didn’t want it to be. If the author can’t understand that difference, then movies are not for him.

Those authors who fit all 10 of the above criteria will find their story selling for top dollar. Some authors will find their books being requested often due to a large number of the above items matching their book, but might not ever see a movie made. And, other authors will never be asked because their stories never matched any of the criteria.

I know one author whose writing is perfectly situated to receive numerous options, but has never had one make it to the screen. He got wise to the circumstances and raised his up front fees, knowing his back end fees were useless. The last time I talked to him he was making about six figures a year and yet, he never had a film made. He always laughed when he shared that no studio had ever ruined one of his stories, but he was rich because of their desires to do so.

Since independent companies develop most options, most authors never see six figures. In fact, they usually laugh at how small their royalty checks are. However, the authors are very excited at the huge jump in book sales the movie creates. I’ve known authors that have seen 2X their sales with the release of the film as well as 10X and 20X, depending on the genre.

One author sold around 40K units a year and after her movie released sales jumped to 150K a year. The notoriety she received from the film caused her next title to sell 350K units in the first 6 months without a film deal. Another author sold 10K books a year and his film deal shot sales up to over 1MM copies in 18 months.

Option agreements are valuable to many authors, but some prefer to write the screenplay themselves and find they lack the mastery of the craft needed for sales. Most screenwriters write numerous screenplays for years before their skill level hits a place of value for production companies. Authors eventually learn that book writing uses a significantly different set of skills, which leaves them working for years trying to develop the new techniques. Other authors realize that they’re core abilities are in writing novels and they leave the screenwriting to the experienced.

Copyright © 2013 by CJ Powers