Filmmaking / Directing : Pre-Visualization!! How do you approach Pre-Viz for your Horror feature film?... Are you being lackadaisical about it and rely on instinct on the shoot? Or you give every aspect of it your maximum attention? by Daniel Latteo

That's a very interesting image, compositionally, how the eye is led down to the man, who is surrounded, essentially. I do this as well, but I look for a DP who understands classic painters and of course the history of film. It's the DPs job of course to create this kind of visual, and if they are not conversant and capable, then all my previz isn't going to get the look and feel. And if they are superior, they inevitably have their own ideas which are even better than mine. Unfortunately, the inexpensive access to high level equipment has made it harder to find DPs of that caliber - anyone with a few bucks and the ability to hold a camera calls themselves a DP even though they've never opened a book on lighting and camera angle...

Shadow Dragu-Mihai I agree with you 100%!! That is why I'm evaluating the choice of my DoP with painstaking attention. Possibly, after various meetings, I'm going to have Italian artist Gino Sgreva on my film, who is known precisely for his level of knowledge of painters, the creation of beautiful images and compositions, in combination with the use of natural lighting.

Thank you so much for your insight! Keep following our film's progress if you like... on FB, Linkedin &, of course, here on Stage32.

Hi I'd never rely on shoot on the day, even if instinct is instant certain tools may not be available at hand immediately. Prep is crucial. I plan with story board and a mixture of photographs, drawings or graphic image and decide lenses and color palettes. I'd not thought of the idea of using a classic painting, that's food for thought thanks. You are both so right about DOP, painstaking homework is needed, years back I once asked for a distorted camera angle and they could not do it.

Debbie Croysdale You don't know how right you are Debbie!... I may be young, this may be my first film, but I've already had my fair share of struggles with DoPs during the several videos & short films I''ve made. Anyway, lessons learned, to be applied now in my new venture.

Bring on a post-production Colorist and do tests with DoP.

Dan MaxXx That is certainly part of the plan... Thank you Dan!!

Daniel, that image belongs in a look-book for a production. There are often a number of different look-books for a given production; the original one used by the producers to raise funding and distribution. Directors often have reference images and notes of the look they want for the picture and specific parts of it. The DP may have a book that is similar to the director’s but likely differing in the content of the specific notes that are jotted down about the images used.

My look book for a picture is all about the feel of the images. The references I use will often be paintings but also photography and stills from motion pictures. The feeling and emotion those images give me are what I wish to get across on a given scene in the picture, not the specific framing or lighting or palette. Paintings are interesting in that the color palette was often based upon the dye colors of the clothing from a time period as well as the paint that was available for the medium used at that time. Cultural differences also play a huge part in the palette, consider the range of what is worn at weddings and funerals around the world. Paintings also treat light sources rather interestingly since there is no movement of the POV or the characters, the lighting on each character might be from a different angle creating the look and emotion the artist wanted as opposed to capturing what it actually looked like. My reference images are often totally unrelated to the story I am doing but they raise some aspect of the emotion in me that I wish the audience to feel in a specific scene or sequence.

As a DP, I am ultimately delivering the Director’s vision of the Producer’s movie. There may be some discussion with the producer but a lot with the director in order to get into their brain and see the story through their eyes. As a result I need the artistic emotion I want to create, to work within the Director’s vision and the Producer’s framework for the picture.

I am shooting their movie not mine.

Shadow, to repeat a question I hear all too often, “ is there an app for that”? :-)

Having dealt with all too many Film course inmates and victims over the years, there is one observation that is sadly far too common. They want the title to get the respect that accompanies the title instead of working to gain knowledge and skills to earn the respect and then growing into the title when they deserve it. I’m beginning to think that the many dark sides of the (badly titled) “democratization” of the industry far outweigh the little good that may have come from it.

Andrew Sobkovich I hear you for sure. I used to get frustrated with the sheer number of people on the one hand assuming it all comes down to the right button, and on the other hand being so inexperienced that they try to re-invent the wheel. The upside is that there is a much wider world of ideas and presentation angles coming out than we get in the increasingly narrow and cliche studio fare. So it's not all bad.

If I'm directing something that I've written myself, then I always make sure that the script has enough detail for me to then be able to visualise what the film should look like. The only trouble with this approach is that you have to be really good at describing what you want to the rest of the crew!

Jason Parker Thank you for your thoughts Jason!! The purpose for this pre-viz (at least as far as I'm concerned) is to build a creative bridge with the other depts- moslty with DoP & camera dept, but also with Set design& Special Fx. The scope should be to facilitate things and help them to better understand my vision through images, colors and even pre-existing set-pieces... (especially considering this is the first time I'm going to be working with most of them). Bringing them close to my vision, will bring us closer in the shoot, I think. Please, keep folowing us if you like!