Things to Remember When Filming on Location

Filming on location is a very demanding type of video production, mostly because you have so many elements that are out of your immediate control. No matter what, you are trying to get a few clear objectives completed, and this may be harder than you had planned for. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are filming on location.

Even though there are a lot of things vying for your attention as the digital video producer, make sure to never rush what you need to get. Plan the location shoot well and note every shot, angle, and take that you would like to get. Do not try and over shoot, and only go after spontaneous images or B-roll once you have gotten what you came for. Do not let people rush your process, because this is the fastest way that you are going to fail at a location shoot.

Make sure to always stay out of the screen and the events that are taking place. This is true whether you are shooting a home video, documentary, or narrative film. You are there to record what is happening, not to involve yourself in the story. This can be very hard if you are recording something that is important to you, but the main goal has to be getting video that is as pristine as possible.

Always physically chronicle what you are doing while you are doing it. This means putting notations on your shot list, altering the storyboards, filling out the shot log, and correctly labeling the tapes. This is going to help you stay organized afterwards and know exactly what you are getting. Without a clear record of what you are doing it is almost impossible to do anything with the footage.

The most important thing to remember is that you have to be patient. Do not speed things up unless you absolutely have to, and be selective about what you capture. There is nothing worse than heading to your computer to edit and realizing that everything you just filmed is worthless.