ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXIdeal crew for a short doc? And time frame?
10 years, 2 months ago - Jinan C
Hello Shooters,
Any advice on the ideal or minimum crew necessary for a short documentary (i.e. 20 mins) focusing on one main subject (an older, established artist), similar to a film portrait?
I will be "directing"/producing the film, and am thinking of hiring, at minimum:
DOP
Sound recordist/Boom operator
Editor
Given the subject in the film, I'd like to keep the crew small and intimate, but any advice on what an ideal crew for this kind of project might look, would be much appreciated.
Also, what kind of time frame should I be thinking of roughly, from research and development through to post and delivery? I know there are no absolutes, but a rough idea would be helpful.
Thanks in advance!
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10 years, 2 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin
It'll depend on how much access you have, I guess. Will the subject require all day, every day for a week or will it be a half day each week for 2 months? The story you're telling will decide what you need too - a huge oil painting might have an arc from sketching to all the layers going on to acceptance to sale, an cartoonist might have their entire process over a day but you follow many days of story. Maybe, like the current BBC4 series, you follow a craftsman making (say) a knife over 16h. Maybe you have talking head stuff, maybe you don't. It's unanswerable.
Crew requirements - travel light or heavy - that'll depend on scope and access. If you're shooting close-ups and cutaways and can position a reflector, you might self-shoot. If you have to get a mass of material in a short window, you might alternatively take several cameras (close-ups and wides, interview suite, etc), soundie and a load of runners to shift kit. Maybe you want a crane shot, so you get a grip in. Maybe you get a drone company and need a genny to charge all their batteries. ONLY YOU CAN TELL! It's your story, your film, and you're being commissioned as a creative so you need to answer these questions to be able to quote.
Edit might be days or weeks, that's entirely up to you, too :-)
Response from 10 years, 2 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin SHOW