The burden is lifted

We finished shooting last Tuesday. Unless, Zeus forbid, we wind up missing a shot, we have finished production and entered the post-production phase of the project. I enjoyed the filming process, working with the actors and seeing a story I helped create turned into somethin tangible, but I can't say I'm particularly sorry to be done with it. It has not been a particularly relaxing activity. Between worrying about scheduling, natural lighting, weather, and all the rest, there was hardly any time to be concerned about what was actually going to be seen on screen. It didn't help that every single one of my other classes had a major assignment due the week we got the camera. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it. It just wasn't the walk in the park I thouht it might be.

Something that really surprised me (and I may have mentioned this before), is how long it actually takes to film a scene. My thinking was fifteen second shot = fifteen seconds filming. nuh-uh. Even ignoring the possibility of mistakes, you've ot to get multiple angles, and multiple takes of each angle in case there's something you missed when you were shooting. Dialogue adds another element, since you need to record each line said in multiple fashions to ensure you get it the way you want.

Overall I think I much prefer the pre-production process. The writing was more enjoyable to me than the shooting. When you write, you can have whatever you want to happen happen without having to worry about how to do it. When you're shooting, you actually have to work out the logistics. It's like the car crash I wrote into our script. It sounds cool on paper, but it was really difficult to shoot, and we ended up having to shoot around it without actually showing it. As great as it is to be able to write something and then realize it on screen, I think it probably feels even better to write something and then sit back and watch someone else realize it on the screen.