The Filmmaker’s Scrappy Bag O’Tricks For Shooting On The Cheap
by BFD PRODUCTIONS on February 28, 2014 in Uncategorized
In Season 1, we introduced “Vicky & Lysander,” a deluded, name-dropping, inappropriate, social-climbing couple of New York City, to the interwebs on LogoTV.com. In Season 2, that premiered on YouTube Feb. 18th, we wanted to up the ante without upping the ultra-low budget. So, when the show’s creators and writers, Damon Cardasis and Shannon Walker, dreamed up a car chase scene through New York City, we paused for a moment, then said, “we’ll figure it out!” Two months later it was 2am in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and we’re shooting a latex clad transexual, behind the wheel of a rented Mustang convertible with Canon 5D Mark III’s mounted on every corner of the car. The ante had indeed been raised. It was truly a “DIY” project for our production company. But, if we really are going to use that wonderful buzzword, “DIY,” then how did we “do it ourselves”?
Let us introduce ourselves. We’re the Director/Producer team Roxy Hunt and Tony Castle, at BFD Productions. Since “Vicky & Lysander” is a passion project for us, the budget had to come from our own pockets, and keeping cost and time down was essential. With two seasons under our belt, we wanted to pass on a few tips to fellow filmmakers on how to increase the production value of your work, without going broke. Here is what worked, what didn’t work, and an explanation as to why our office is filled with Barbie dolls.
Here’s our 6 Tips:
1. Practice everything you can:
It’s no surprise that thorough pre-production will save you time on set and make everything run a whole lot smoother. Rehearsing with actors is always very useful, but it’s equally important to make detailed shot lists and storyboards. Even rehearsing camera moves and set-ups will enable you to have a set with almost 0% downtime.
One shoot day comes to mind when we probably should have followed our own advice. It was a simple jib shot above a bed that started on a close-up of our leading lady Vicky as she recalls the pain staking memory of the time her thoroughbred horse Vanessa, was murdered. All we needed to do was jib up from a close-up to a wide shot above the bed, but it was the crews first time using this particular jib, and something was just off every time we tried the move.
The night was getting late, the set was getting weary, morale was dropping, but we were determined to get it right. Time and time again we tried different tricks to keep it steady, balance it more precisely, but all of this was eating up time on our shoot and making people anxious. In the end, we finally got the move down (and it made for a great shot), but had we devoted time before the shoot day to practicing and perfecting the move with the crew, we surely would have had an earlier wrap time.
Rehearsals aside – shot lists, storyboards, and detailed overheads were always essential for our shoots. The idea was to avoid anyone asking, “Ok, what’s next?” We always kept our vision for each scene handy in order to keep the momentum going.
Quick Tip: If you are, like us, not great storyboard artists, buy a few Barbies for use as “stand-ins” in your storyboards. Simply set them up under the approximate lighting you are aiming for, snap a few pics on your iPhone, and voila! Storyboards in under 5 minutes. Easy and fun!
2. Location, Location, Location:
Set design and location can obviously influence the production value of your work but often times you’re far from being able to afford a sound stage, build sets, or pay for location rental fees. Without much cash to spend on locations, we specifically searched for places that were already dressed fairly close to what we wanted to save cost. Additionally, Shannon and Damon kept in mind early on in the writing process locations we might have access to, and that wouldn’t require very much effort in production design.
The Trinity Boxing Club in the Financial District of NY, which Shannon had been attending for years seemed like an ideal option, so much so, that it was written specifically into the script for a scene in which the characters Lysander and Jenny work up a sweat as they talk through their relationship problems. The space was filled with boxing memorabilia, punching bags, weights, and a large boxing ring in the center, all of which made that scene a lot more realistic and allowed the viewer to become more immersed in the narrative. In lieu of paying a rental fee, the gym agreed to let us shoot after closing time as long as we kept it under 3 hours, paid their front desk employee her hourly wage to stay overtime, and featured the gym’s signage in the episode. Make as many deals like this as you can!
Quick Tip: Instead of opting to pay a location rental fee, offer things you do have. It could be free publicity for the space, featuring their logos in the film, or mentioning them in social media.
3. Don’t skimp on the sound design:
Even though you may not have a ton of resources to devote to post-production, always remember that sound is an important tool to make your work much more cohesive and sophisticated. Films like Catfish, or Blair Witch Project, that did not rely on high-end cameras or lighting, have a lower-budget look, but because their sound design was crucial in telling their stories they kept their audience invested in the narrative. For us, adding over the top, emotionally charged “trailer music” and sound FX to our season 2 trailer, helped pull the piece together, keep the pace moving, and also communicate the humor and style of the show to our viewers.
Quick Tip: Using resources like Audio Network, Vimeo Music Store, and Videoblocks.com are cost-effective, easy ways to add great sounds and music.
Hear the sounds of Season 2 by watching the trailer here.
4. Every dollar you spend should be seen onscreen:
A small jib, a portable dolly, springing for nicer lenses, a cheap fog machine and a nice wig (if the scene calls for a jet-black wig wearing super hero kicking down a door, see V&L Season 2 Trailer and ep. 209…), can easily up the production value of your work.
Quick Tip: Great resources for cheaper equipment that we’ve used are lensrentals.com (where now you can even rent the Movi), lensauthority.com, and even renting from a friend can be a great resource as well.
5. Think on your feet:
This might seem like an obvious point, but it’s worth remembering. Even if you’ve tried your hardest to prepare for a shoot, you’ve also got to be prepared for things to change. Even though we were very committed to the vision of what we wanted the show to be, sometimes our vision had to be adapted. For example, one scene in episode three, called for 30 businessmen around a large conference table as Lysander pitches his ground-breaking new fragrance. It was the night before the shoot, and our Craigslist ad only yielded three responses for these businessmen extras. We were stressed. The next morning, two out of the three had dropped out, and we were left with one very committed middle-aged man named Larry. Suddenly, it all made sense. The joke of Lysander embarrassing himself by pitching his ridiculous idea to 30 powerful investors, became an overly confident Lysander conducting what he thinks is a life-changing meeting with one docile man in an over-sized conference room, fit for 30.
6. Just say, “Yes!”:
So, there we are speeding down the quiet streets of Sunset Park in a rented convertible for our epic car chase climax. We called on a fellow filmmaker friend, Zack McTee , who provided the expertise for the car mounts. We lit the inside of the car with handheld LED lights bought from a hardware store, and we loaded up on sandwiches from a local deli. Of course, we got a flat tire before the night was over, but it was 4am by that time anyways, and we had what we needed. There were definitely times when we had no clue what we were doing, and of course we were barely awake by the end of it, but because we just said “yes” to the idea, Season 2 features (among many ridiculous premises) a convertible speeding uptown in the cover of night, racing to cross 14th street, in order to escape the evil free thinking artists of downtown Manhattan.
The first three episodes of Season 2 of “Vicky & Lysander” premiered on February 18th on YouTube. Visit our channel to watch new episodes every Tuesday, and catch up on all of Season 1.
Visit vickyandlysander.com and follow Vicky & Lysander on YouTube,Facebook,BuzzFeed, and Twitter (@realRealVicky, @TheRealLysander)
Follow Roxy and Tony at BFD Productions on Facebook and Twitter (@bfdnyc). Visit bfdnyc.com for more info on us!