Field Production, at last

After all the planning meetings, unfilled requests for storyboards or outlines, unfilled requests for pre-shoot location scouts, and unreturned phone calls, the project goes into its first day of production.  On the morning of the shoot day, talent produces a “script” of stiff “officialize” language that contains concepts never discussed in any of the planning meetings.  Forty-five minutes later, with two editors rewriting the script, we have something that is almost readable but still contains new topics requireing additional cover shots that have to be planned and scheduled.

Off to the location and the production crew swings into action setting up equipment.  Or at least that was my hope.  I’m working with two people still quite new to the concepts of video production.  I provide instruction on how to hold and aim a shotgun mic on a pole to one person and how to position a reflector to the other crew member.  This instruction appears to be quickly forgotten.  All this time “talent” is suppose to be learning their lines.  Comes time for the first shot and our non-professional tallent looks like he’s standing in front of a fireing squad.  Is this the same person who told me that for two years he was responsible for producing an hour of training videos per week?  And so it begins.