I found an article on nofilmschool.com where director Rob Blackhurst gives 7 tips for directing a feature film for the first time. Blackhurst has based his 7 tips on his own experiences while directing his first feature film 'HERE ALONE'. I have decided to research this as I believe I ca learn a lot from Blackhurst's advice and experiences. It may give me tips and advice on what I can do as the Director to ensure that the filming process goes smoothly and that the finished product is to a high standard and what I have envisioned.
The tips Blackhurst gives in this article are:
Produce Your First Feature
Rob's first tip was to 'Produce Your First Feature'. He based this piece of advise with his and his colleagues struggles with finding a Producer for other films, he then goes on to say they decided to do it themselves due to their own experiences.
'During those years, 99% of our e-mails and phone calls went unanswered. We don't know why. It just seems to be the modus operandi in the film industry when you're an outsider trying to bang down the barriers to entry. It was frustrating being unable to find any Producers who could or would take on our films, but those frustrating years also taught us key-aspects of producing a film; budgeting, scheduling, casting practices, and papering a film from scratch. After a while, we found that we were becoming adept (or at least passable) producers ourselves, so we decided to do what every crazy director/writer duo who think they're passable producers should do; launch our first feature ourselves.'
Blackhurst's experiences reflect more on a professional level, more than that of a student film. What his experiences have shown though is how tough it can be in the real wold of the industry, and also that even though Mark and I are making this film with just us two calling the shots, it's not like it hasn't been done before by people at a professional level.
Storyboard Your Entire Film
Storyboarding the entire film is something I am already in the process of doing. I am storyboarding every shot that will be in the film, excluding opening title sequences and credits (if filmed footage will be needed for them). Blackhurst stated that he had story boarded every single scene, even though he stated he is not a good artist, but he still created a storyboard that was useable in the filming stage.
'Five months before we started principle photography I sat down and made a detailed shot list for all 211 scenes. I cannot express how helpful this process was. First off, I became intimately familiar with every detail and clue buried in the script, even the ones that the most thorough director may forget about or overlook.'
What this has shown me is that I am on the right track with the storyboard I am creating. I am in a similar situation that I do not have a very high ability in drawing, yet I can still understand what the shots I want will look like. One step he took that I haven't though is hiring an illustrator to re do them with more detail and to a better standard of quality. This is a step I wish I had taken to raise the professional standard of the Pre-Production Plan, but still I am able to see what shots I am preparing to do and it is clear for whomever reads it.
Find Your Tribe
What 'Find Your Tribe' is referring to is finding your crew. Blackhurst comments on his crew for 'HERE ALONE' and how he agreed to give some of the financial profits (if there were any) of the film to them, as well as the general pay. This is how happy he was with them and says that the crew were all hard working because of their passion for the film.
'This may go without saying, but surround yourself with people you trust. Surround yourself with like-minded, egoless, and selfless collaborators. 'HERE ALONE' was successful because our foxhole was full of folks I trusted and who were concerned with the story being told and the bigger picture; how do we tell this story on time, on schedule, and on budget.'
This is something I did consider with my choice in cast. I chose people I knew I could rely on and have a similar mind to when it comes to work.
Let Every Scene Go For 30 Seconds Longer
Letting every scene go on for 30 seconds longer was something Blackhurst did not do. He did do it for some scenes but not all of them and as he says below, improves how valuable it was.
'I wished I would've let every scene develop for thirty seconds past the final words scripted. When I was able to have those 30 seconds, we discovered these 'little moments' that brought magic and well-deserved realism to a scene. In those moments I was able to let go and trust my lovely actors, giving them free reign as vehicles for their characters.'
I was going to allow the scene to go on a bit longer than what is scripted, but I wasn't considering 30 seconds extra. I personally believe this may not be necessary for filming 'Inoculum'. This has highlighted the importance of letting the scene go on longer than what is scripted.
Shoot A Silent Master
A silent master is a scene where the actors do not speak at all during a scene, and just do the movements they would do in the scene.
'If you have the time, shoot the master of your scene without any dialogue. Ask your actors to physically move through the scene, without saying a word, without moving their mouths. This exercise will show you what's most important physically in the scene AND it might give you some of those wonderful quiet moments that you need in your edit.'
This is a new concept to me as I have never heard of it before, but it may be an exercise I may use for the filming stage of the production. It could get more of a performance out of the actors than just filming the scene as standard.
Find The Fearless Multitasker And Empower Them
Blackhurst talks about his friend Trevor who helped out on the shoot. Trevor arrived onto the production as just the Set Photographer, but he took on two other roles as well, Assistant Director and also he became an Art Department Assistant.
'Every film needs someone like Trevor, a multitasker that will show up, wear several hats, and is unafraid of changing dynamics and circumstances. Find them, empower them, and never go to set without them.'
I do not know if there is anyone in my crew who is able to be like 'Trevor', but I will possibly keep this in mind. If theres someone who's enthusiastic and hard working who can do more work, then I shall pass some extra duties and jobs their way.
Share The Spoils
Blackhurst mentioned about how he thanked and rewarded his crew and everyone who worked on the project. He was grateful to how they were willing to help even though it was not a big budget production.
'They believed in the narrative and they believe in me, even before they saw what we were capable of. We felt it important to reward this belief from the get-go and give our key collaborators points-on-the-backend (a percentage of potential profits) for their hard work. This tactic is sometimes referred to the Duplass Brothers Model'. Jay Duplass muses that if you create a scenario where you have a wildly successful film, and have rewarded all those that worked on it for below a standard day rate with back end points, those folks will all want to work with you next time as they all shared in it's wild success (ergo, spoils).'
This was not something I was thinking about as it does not relate to the film directly, but I will be aiming to show gratitude to everyone who helped out with the film and thank them appropriately. It also makes me think about how I must act towards the people I work with to keep a good work environment and to also get the best I can out of everyone.
Even though our productions are different, I have learned a lot from Rob Blackhurst. These tips will be taken into consideration when I am on the film set and in general with this production overall. With how I film and communicate with all people involved with the film. I have started to use some of these tips now with the planning stage and it is proving to be very useful.
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