Shooting an Action Short on a Shoestring Budget
by Alfredo Quinones
Shooting a movie, whether it’s a short or a feature, is no
easy task. Now, throw in the mix of “Action.” Guns blazing,
fight choreography, falling, and so on. You, the filmmaker,
can be easily overwhelmed. So, my main advice to you is to
prepare, prepare, and prepare some more.
Your first task, of course, is to make sure your story takes
place in one location. Before writing your script, make a
list of things and places that you can get your hands on for
no money, i.e. location, props, fake blood, mats, elbow
pads, camera (preferable two), sound equipment, etc.
I know you’ve been told this many of times, but it’s true.
Just like a horror movie where the villain chops up everyone
at the sleep away camp (one location), your hero is going to
beat them up, all at one location, like a bank or warehouse.
Keep your stunts simple. No fire burns, no high falls, and
no car chases. Just fighting, and basic falls. Now fashion
your story around everything you’ve begged and borrowed
from.
Once you’ve secured your location visit it as many times as
you can. You may also have to rewrite your story to fit your
location. If you have a digital still camera, take as many
pictures from every angle where you feel you will be placing
your camera. These pictures will accompany your shot list as
a reference point. You will also use them when it comes time
to editing.
Now, for casting your short. If you ever have the
opportunity, take a class in stage combat. This is a great
place to network with people who know how to deliver a punch
and react to it in front of the camera – it’s also a great
place to add a new skill, whether you’re a director, writer,
or actor.
Have your cast meet at a place where you can rehearse. If
any of them take classes in martial arts quite possibly they
can ask their instructor to use the dojo, if not, meet at
your local park and rehearse on the grass. Video the
rehearsal and study it. Come up with ideas on how you can
make the action exciting. Bear in mind, as a director you
must not only think of story and performance, but now you
have to think of safety. You don’t want anyone getting hurt.
Once you have your cast and crew, now comes the daunting
task of trying to schedule everyone to show up at the
location. If anything, this is where you will pull your hair
and your patience will wear thin. Remember, you have these
people coming over to shoot your movie for free, so be nice.
In my case, by the time I had a commitment from everyone on
their available days, my location was going to be torn down
in one week – giving me only Friday night, Saturday, and a
Sunday to shoot. Lucky for me, I did my homework, and was
able to scale down my shot list, and I scheduled everything
to be done in that weekend.
Your first shots should be of all the action, the fighting,
the running and the shooting. You’ll want to get all the
physical stuff out the way. This is where having two cameras
in your action movie comes in handy. Use one camera for your
master, the second one to catch all your medium shots and
close-ups. Leave dialogue for last. Don’t go shooting a
fight scene then go shoot a dialogue scene. Actors/fighters
will have to go and clean up, and your scenes won’t match
and you’ll waste more time. I’ve worked on independents were
they have done that and all it’s done is extended everyone’s
day.
Now the most important thing you need to remember is that
you need to feed your crew. This is where your action movie
budget goes. So besides buying tape stock and some
expendables, you need to feed your crew, and feed them well.
Go to your local pizza shop or deli. If you did your
homework, you should know how long it’s going to take you to
get everything in the can. Get a head count on your cast and
crew. Get a price on a six foot hero, and a tray of
whatever, most likely chicken. Trust me, no one will
complain. I had a five man crew, and if I included my cast
it would have been around more like twenty. They were all
helpful in carrying equipment to the next scene.
Now that you have your short in the can, there are two more
words besides “Action” and “Cut” that you should use for
your cast and crew, and that is “Please” and “Thank You.”
Remember, they went out of their way to help you get your
short off the ground. And make sure when you’re done cutting
it, that they are the first ones to get a copy.
To see my short “BUSTED,” here is the link. Feel free to view
it, vote, and make comments. Hope you enjoy.
http://www.ifilm.com/video/2926967
And at
http://www.myspace.com/roninfilmstudios
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Alfredo Quinones is a filmmaker and owner of New York based
Ronin Film Studios, Inc. He has worked on independent movies
and commercials as a director, camera operator and fight
coordinator. He has a background with over 20 years in
martial arts and 17 years in film and video. He has trained
with stuntman/effects coordinator Brian Shuley who he has
worked with as a fight coordinator and stunt safety.
http://www.roninfilmstudios.com
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Copyright (c) 2008 Peter D. Marshall / All Rights Reserved
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