Five Essential Steps in Digital Video

Denise Ohio is a writer, producer, director, DP, location audio technician, editor, and composer, and often does all of these jobs on her DV projects. In 1996, she made one of the first digital video features in the world. Amazing World has screened in film festivals in Montevideo, Montreal, Toronto, Paris, London, and Philadelphia. Ohio sold the home video rights to Northern Arts/Naiad in 1997 and pay-per-view rights in August 2000. Between gigs as a marketing consultant, writer, DP, and camera operator, Ohio made Family Business, a documentary. Working as producer, director, DP, location audio mixer, grip, gaffer, editor, and soundtrack composer on the project, she shot DV and 16mm, and handled postproduction in her home video-editing suite. In addition to making movies, she is a published novelist and has been compared to William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams. Currently, she is in preproduction on her next documentary/book project, Verona. To find out more about her work, please visit http://www.holytoledo.com

Introduction.
STEP I. DEVELOPMENT: HUNTING AND GATHERING.

1. Who Does What: Job Descriptions.


Producer. Writer. Director. Director of Photography. Name Talent. Publicity and Business. Distributor. Consider This.

2. An Equipment Overview.


You Need It When? Buying Equipment.

3. I Mean Business.


You Have the Right to an Attorney. Forming a Production Company. Insurance. See and Be Seen.

4. Don't Tread on Me: Intellectual Property and Other Thorny Issues.


Patents and Trademarks. Copyrights. People: Private and Public.

5. Who's Buying What: Surveying the Market.


Market Segments. Aspect Ratios, Filmlook, and Tape-to-Film: Planning Ahead. Aspect Ratios. Filmlook. Tape-to-Film.

6. What Do You Got and What Can You Get?


Borrowing Cool Stuff. Financing. Business Plans. Preliminary Budgeting: If Money Were No Object….

7. Searching for a Script.


Life Story Releases. Optioning a Book, Story, Script, or Other Property. Spec Scripts. The Great Original Idea. Hiring a Writer: What to Ask for and What to Expect.

8. Writing a Script YourselF.


What Makes a Good Script? Show, Don't Tell. Screenwriting Phases. Format.

9. Checklists.


Development Personnel Checklist. DV Camera Kit Purchase Checklist. Contracts You May Need. Bank Checklist.

STEP II. PREPRODUCTION: PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS.

10. Locking and Prepping Your Script.


Preparing Your Script. Script Analysis.

11. Production Design.


Blocking. Framing. Lighting. Props, Sets, and Set Dressing. Hair, Makeup, and Wardrobe. Stunts and Special Effects.

12. Script Breakdown.


The Joy of Colored Pencils. Breakdown Sheets. Generating Lists.

13. Locking the Schedule.


Schedule As Logic Problem. Eight Days a Week: Realism in Scheduling. Getting It All Together. Interiors, Exteriors, and What to Do When It Rains. Generating Callsheets.

14. Locking the Budget.


Money: How Much You Need Versus How Much You Got. Budget Tips: Sometimes You Have to Be Tough. Planning the Money Flow.

15. Scouting and Locking Locations.


Assessing the Possibilities. Existing Versus Creating Sets. Learning to Hunker: Multipurpose Locations. Permits.

16. Build the Ensemble.


Postproduction. Making Contact. Judging Résumés, Headshots, and Reels. Interviews and Auditions. Hiring and Firing: Compensation and Contracts. Building the Ensemble. Destroying the "Maginot Line" Between Cast and Crew.

17. Storyboards, Shooting Scripts, Shot Lists, and Rehearsals.


Storyboards. Shooting Scripts. Rehearsal. Preproduction Contracts and Releases.

STEP III. PRODUCTION: ACTION!

18. Executing the Plan.


Getting Coverage. Setiquette. Starting the Shoot Day. Block, Light, Rehearse, and Shoot. Ending the Shoot Day.

19. Making Video Digital.


DV Formats. Playing Your Video.

20. The DV Camera.


Viewfinder. Focus. Exposure. Contrast. Color Temperature. Image Stabilization. Other Image Controls. Audio. Multicamera Shooting. Monitors. Power Supplies. Tape Stock. Add-On Lenses. Filters. Camera Mounts. Techniques. Paperwork. Checklist.

21. Lighting for DV.


Characteristics of Light. Tools. Controlling Color Temperature. Controlling Light and Shadow. Expendables Checklist. Gels and Diffusion Checklist. Electrical Lighting Equipment Checklist.

22. Lighting Techniques.


Separating the Subject. Lighting for Movement. Common Problems and Solutions. Lighting Guidelines.

23. Rigging.


Stands, Mafers, and Other Grip Equipment. Dollies and Jibs. Sash Cord, Sandbags, and C-47s. Car Mounts. Gaffer's Tape and Snot Tape: Other Handy Tools. Making the Move. Watts, Volts, and Amps: How Much Power? Stingers, Cheaters, and Other Electrical Doodads. Inverters. Other Rigging Equipment. Expandables checklist. Rigging Equipment Checklist.

24. Capturing the Sound.


Crew. Audio Issues for DV. Microphones. Mic Mounts. Mixers. Booms. Headphones. Cables. Wireless. Audio on the DV Set. Location Audio Tricks. Other Audio Gear. Expendables. Paperwork.

25. Renting Gear.


Making Contact. Pricing and Deals. What to Get, How to Get It, and When. Managing the Gear. Drop Off.

26. Props, Sets, and Set Dressing.


Props. Sets. Set Dressing. Expendables and Tricks.

27. Hair, Makeup, and Wardrobe.


Every Day Is a Good Hair Day. Straight Makeup. Special Effects Makeup. Keeping Track of Wardrobe. Expendables.

28. Explosions, Gunplay, and Fistfights: When to Call In the Experts.


Stunts. Special Effects. Atmospherics. Cloud Tanks. Mattes and Miniatures. CGI.

STEP IV. POSTPRODUCTION: DIRECTING THE MOVIE.

29. Postproduction Systems: Things to Consider.


Video Software. The Computer. DV on the Computer. Audio Software. Audio Hardware. Best Practices.

30. Cutting Picture.


Are You an Editor? Working with an Editor. Editing Yourself. Organizing the Material. Working Order. Digital Visual Effects. Polish. What to Do When It's Just Not Working.

31. Post-Audio.


Working with a Sound Designer or Post-Audio Tech. Sound Design. Post-Audio for DV. Dialogue. Effects. Music. Mixing.

32. Finishing.


Copyright. Video Sweetening. Videotape-to-Film. Transferring to Different Formats and Standards. Duplication.

STEP V. SELLING: HOW TO KEEP YOUR SHIRT.



Overview.

33. Whom You're Selling To.


Self-Distribution. Finding a Distributor. Buyers and How to Research Them. Literal Negotiating.

34. Festivals and Markets.


Festivals. Planning a Festival Strategy. Markets.

35. What You Sell: The Shape of Distribution Agreements.


Territory. Licensing Period. Media. Consideration. Expenses. Accounting. Warranties and Representations. Deliverables. Copyright. E&O Insurance. Remedies. Termination. Other Rights.

Resources.


DV. Moviemaking. Market Trends and the Business. Markets. Cable and Network Broadcasters. Unions. Grantmaking Information. Grantmakers. Business and Legal. 501(c)(3) Sponsorship Information. Press Contacts. Intellectual Property. Screenplays and Screenwriting. Preproduction. Production. Lighting. Sound. Props and Propmaking. Hair, Makeup, and Wardrobe. Special Effects Makeup. Special Effects. Special Effects Suppliers. Editing Picture. Editing Sound. Finishing. Festivals. Distribution.

Appendix A. Business Forms and Licensing Agreements.


Script Breakdown Sheet. Budget Sheets. Production Schedule Estimating. Location Scouting. Audition Sheets. Actor Information Sheet. Callsheet. Callsheet. Camera Log. Life Story Consent and Release Agreement. Location Release. Personal Release. Technical Services Contractor Agreement. Actor Services Agreement. Amendment to Agreement. Master Recording License Agreement. Sync Rights Agreement. Master Recording and Sync Rights Agreement. Soundtrack Licensing Agreement. Exhibit A-Credit Sheet.

Index.