Notes

Transport and communication: How accessible is the site? Is there a road to transport your equipment? Will your crew and talent be able to get to the spot safely? Is there mobile phone signal in the area?
Space: A survey will help you judge how much space you have for a shoot. If you’re shooting indoors, make sure the room is big enough. For an outdoor shoot, check that the terrain provides sufficient room to shoot the action. The terrain should also provide enough space for the equipment.
Weather: What’s the weather like in the area? Does it change frequently during the day? Don’t forget to check the long-range weather forecast for the day you will be shooting. Can you shoot if the weather changes?
Power: Check the circuit layout to ensure that it can handle the load. Are there enough sockets available for light and camera equipment? Will you need a generator to ensure adequate power supply? Think about where to place the generator so that it will not be in the way.
Catering: Is food easily available? Check whether you can source it locally or have to order a delivery?
Legal: Find out what permissions you need before you can start filming. Does the area require special insurance?

Location manager: Your main job is to identify ideal locations for a film shoot. Your work begins in the preproduction stage. You have to understand the director’s creative vision and be aware of the shooting schedule and budget. You will then use this information to scout for potential locations.

Once you have identified a location, discuss getting permission to use the location with the owners. You will also discuss the cost and terms for using the location. You are responsible for logistical issues. These issues include vehicle access, crew and cast accommodation, catering requirements, and official permissions. Once filming has started, you have to manage the location. You also have to resolve practical or people-related problems as they arise.

It’s important for the location manager to have good communication, negotiation, and organizational skills. You also need problem-solving skills. You need to have some camera-handling skills so that you can take good location photographs and convince a director of its suitability. The job does not require any formal training but having some certified health and safety training

A set is an artificial recreation of a real or imaginary place that an audience sees in a film or television production. The design of a set depends on the script. The set must give the audience clues to the time and place of the action. It also creates a mood and an atmosphere. Finally, a set must be a practical design. It should offer actors a space that is conducive to creatively enacting their scenes.

Types of sets: There are various types of sets. The types are based on the look the set is trying to achieve and how it achieves this look. Let’s briefly look at each of these types.

The representational-supportive set is one that both represents the nature of the show and supports the show. Such sets are usually related to television programs, such as news shows, talk shows, and reality shows. The background and the elements of the set are important to the show. The set of a game show will have a scoreboard. A sports show will include some sporting elements in the background of the set.

The symbolic set hints at a reality without including all the details. This type is only effective in single camera operations that take medium and close-up shots. Placing window blinds on a wall of a set could signify a window, even though no window exists. A background image of a stained glass window could signify a church. Today, directors may prefer to create a virtual set than depend on a symbolic one.

The realistic or replica set creates an authentic look from multiple camera angles. It’s more detailed, expensive, and requires a longer time to build than a symbolic set. Previously, most movie sets and television dramas used replica sets. Set designers would construct a whole street with the building fronts or several rooms of a house. Today, however, many productions are shot on location. These productions do not require such elaborate sets.

The fantasy set is an abstract set used to distort reality. These sets are usually computer generated and so come under the category of a virtual set. However, if the actors interact with the set, the producers may actually construct a set. For example, in the Hansel and Gretel themed episode of Once Upon a Time, the blind witch’s house is a fantasy set. This set depicts a gingerbread house, full of sweet treats.

These physical studio sets are made in sections called flats. A flat is a fake wall. It’s made in sections so that it’s easy to dismantle and move around. The sizes vary. You can use whatever works best in the space you have. You can seamlessly join the individual sections from the back. This process ensures a continuous screen without any divisions showing. You can paint the flats to depict any kind of scene.

The flats can either be hard wall or soft wall. Hard-wall flats consist of composition board or plywood nailed to wooden frames. They are useful for sets where actors may brush against the walls. They are also more permanent in nature. Soft-wall flats have canvas or some light fabric stretched over wooden frames. Since plywood and composition board come in standard sizes, you can only construct hard-wall flats in a limited size. You can make soft-wall flats in any size. They are also comparatively lighter and easier to move and paint.

You can also make flats using seamless paper. It comes in rolls of 9 to 12 feet by 36 feet. The advantage of paper flats is that it can be set up quickly. However, such flats can tear easily and require more caution in handling.

Today, set designers use computer-generated images to create sets called virtual reality sets. News-production sets often use virtual reality sets. The actor performs in front of a plain colored green or blue background. The background is a special curved wall called a cyclorama or cyc. The cyc uses special curved pieces called coves to connect the joints between the wall and the floor, and the wall and the ceiling. The coves hide joints and give the wall the appearance that it stretches to infinity.

A cyc background is essential for creating a virtual reality set. Virtual reality uses the chroma key technique to replace the blank background with another video or image. The technique is based on combining two images. The graphic artist removes the single color of the cyc background from the original image by making it transparent. The transparent region will then show details of the second image placed behind, which acts as the virtual set.

Creating a physical set can be time consuming. Virtual sets allow you to store hundreds of images that you can use instantly as a background. This technique reduces the number of people you are dependent on to create a set. Virtual sets can also be less expensive and more practical to create.

A prop is a visual aid used by the actor or placed in a set to enhance the storytelling. Props provide a sense of realism to a set or to the activity performed by the actor. You can group props into three categories depending on how they are used,. Hand props are those items that an actor handles. Examples of hand props include books, files, a basketball, a baseball glove, or a cup of coffee. Costume props are the props that actors handle and that form part of their costume. A handbag, a watch, a hat, and jewelry are some examples. Set props are the items used to dress the set and give it a sense of realism. They include furniture, wall hangings, and curtains.

The set designer is responsible for designing and creating the set. You have to understand the director’s vision for the production. You also have to supervise the trade people who construct the set. Set designers will usually have experience in interior design. A set designer has experience in graphic design to create virtual sets. The designer reads the script thoroughly to understand the specific requirements. These include scenery, furniture, props, and other set changes as the script demands.

Costumes are the clothes that the actors wear. Costumes also include items such as jewelry, footwear, hats, and inner garments worn to shape the body. Costumes inform the audience of the culture, setting, and period that the actors portray. They can also change an actor’s appearance and help the audience distinguish major characters.

The costume department has two categories. The making wardrobe is responsible for creating or acquiring the costumes during preproduction. The running wardrobe is responsible for organizing and maintaining the continuity of costumes during a shoot.

The costume designer heads the costume department. This person works closely with the production designer and director to understand their creative vision. The job also requires them to create a costume plot. It identifies all the characters and the number and types of costumes. This plot helps identify problems, such as quick changes between scenes. The costume designer usually leads a team of costume designer assistants, costume supervisors, and wardrobe assistants.

An actor’s make-up is an integral part of the costume. There are three different categories of make-up.

Basic make-up: Make-up artists apply basic make-up to make skin color appear natural under various lighting conditions. Skin contains oil that shines under bright lights. It’s especially noticeable in close-up shots and in high-definition video.
Corrective make-up: Artists apply corrective make-up to alter flaws and to improve the actor’s positive appearance.
Character make-up: This type of make-up changes the appearance of the actor to a large extent. It’s used to enhance the character. For example, make-up artists use character make-up to show age. It’s also used for special effects, such as to create wounds and scars.
The make-up artist is responsible for preparing and applying make-up. They must consult the director and the costume designer for the final approval of the actor’s appearance. They must make sure that the make-up is consistent throughout the production. Often, they will have to be on standby to touch up make-up during a break. They must supervise the removal of make-up. They are also responsible for preserving pieces of character make-up for latr scenes.

A virtual set or a virtual reality set uses computer animation and graphics to recreate the surrounding environment. This is the environment within which actors act out their characters. The set is not a physical structure, but a virtually recreated environment. The actors act out their scenes in front of a plain blue or green-colored background. The set designer creates the set after the actors have completed their acting and the cameraperson has finished filming. The designer then creates the background on a computer and merges it with the video of the actors acting. For example, consider an adventure scene in which the main characters have to escape from an erupting volcano. It would be difficult or almost impossible to find an erupting volcano. Secondly, it will not be possible to get your cast and equipment to such a site. So, the actors act out in front of a plain colored background. Later, graphic artists can electronically remove the background color and substitute it with a digital recreation of the erupting volcano.

Virtual sets can also include real settings, such as a room with furniture. An actor can move around on the set with the plain colored background. The virtual set will then recreate the room. Finally, it will appear as though the actor is moving around the furniture. The camera can pan, tilt, or zoom in on the actor. The virtual set will shift accordingly.

The sets of many television programs these days are virtual sets. Even news programs can have virtual sets. Different physical sets do not have to be set up for each type of news broadcast. The studio only needs a single set with a plain colored background (a green screen). The studio can then use different virtual reality sets to depict a news broadcast, a sports program, or an election discussion. Each of these productions has its own specific logos and virtually created props. With virtual reality sets, you can also simulate a screen in the video. Through this screen, you can show presentations and video. The technology also enables reflections of the participants to show in real time on the floor or a sidewall. This makes the virtual set more realistic.

Virtual setsA appear to be the answer to any set design. However, there are several challenges that, if not handled well, can limit the effectiveness of using a virtual set. Virtual reality requires combining two videos, the real life video of your talent with the video of the background. The challenge is to blend the two videos seamlessly. The brightness and contrast of the two videos, the direction of the lighting, the color balance, and the camera angles must all match for the two videos to match seamlessly. Another difficulty is getting your actor to interact realistically with the virtual set.

A studio is the building or space that is set aside to shoot a television or film production. Within a studio, the actual stage or room used to shoot a production is called the studio floor. There may be other fixtures in place to help construct sets easily and quickly. A studio floor also provides a safe and secluded space. Actors can perform in this space without unnecessary attention and distraction from fans and the public. In television production, such as news and talk shows, a studio allows live editing. Live editing saves on postproduction editing time.