I have compiled a series of hints and tips for directing or producing amateur and professional films. You can check them out HERE.
I will add some more as i can recall them.
good stuff, even though i'm not sure why everybody is aginst useing the zoom, there are good uses for a slow zoom, sometimes, you have to zoom, but then thats me.
I may seem like an a**, but oh well. I don't think you used the zoom good in your film Foxwood, not at the right moments, not during the right time, and the zoom was shakey. But that is just my 2 cents.
I used to like zoom until i made my first serious film, that soon changed my mind as it really does let the film down (BIG TIME). The only time it should be used is to make a certain visual effect.
You can't say the tips are wrong, but I think they are a bit generic, and some are quite obvious. But its good to see people helping each other out like this.
I never said they were wrong, I just had to coment on Zoom.
One that was left out was you are a director not a camp counciler. Don't bady your actors and let them know that you are incharge, but don't beat them over the head with it, and lission to them. Thats my advice, and don't think in just special effects, but in charator and plot.
Originally posted by TommyPollock
I think zooming is fine as long as it is either super-duper slow of super-duper fast.
I agree. Many movies have slow zooms, which csn compliment well, but a fast zoom has to be at most a half second in length (this can be accomplished by simply zooming and sppeding up the video in your video editor) in which case you can get a really nice special effect
i respectfully disagree with the part about transitions. it just depends on the kind of movie you are making. if it is a serious movie then you will probably only be using fade in, fade out, and cross fade. but comedies are completely different. some great comedies use wipes and stuff. and if i remember correctly i think pulp fiction even used wipes.
Pulp fiction got away with a lot of things, if done in the right setting, then you can use cool fades, they do it in star Wars they have the spin fade.
I never said that you can't break these rules as they are just guides. Many film maker break thousand of film making rules and become fantastic film makers. But you need to gain experience in the industry before you can break these tips. Following them will assist you to reach the top. You should track or dolly instead of using zoom because it does look heaps better.
"They're people who only want to be involved in filmmaking to get rich, get famous, or get laid. They know as much about filmmaking as George W. Bush knows about hand-to-hand combat"- Jim Jarmusch
I personally always have my camera zoomed in about halfway. It gives it a slightly "unreal" look like real film cameras (with long focal lengths) produce.
