Blog
Articles on filmmaking technique, production planning, and industry knowledge.
Showing 12 of 160 posts (Page 7 of 14)
How to Build a One-Page Call Sheet That Works: Department by Department
A call sheet is not a formality - it is the document that allows 20 people to show up at the right place, at the right time, ready for the right work. A complete guide to every section, every field, and the mistakes that produce crew confusion on day one.
The Math Behind a Shooting Day: How Many Setups Can You Actually Fit in 12 Hours?
Most indie film schedules are built on optimistic setup counts that collapse on day one. A practical breakdown of the math behind a 12-hour shooting day: how many setups are achievable at each budget level, what variables compress that number, and how to build a schedule that holds.
High Frame Rate Video for Non-Action Shots: When 60fps and 120fps Work for Narrative
High frame rate is not just for sports and slow motion. A practical guide to using 60fps and 120fps in dialogue scenes, emotional close-ups, and non-action narrative - with the technical settings and creative conditions that make it work rather than look like a soap opera.
Overcranking vs. Undercranking: A Cinematographer's Guide to Speed Manipulation Beyond Slow Motion
A complete technical guide to overcranking and undercranking - covering the frame rate math, shutter angle implications, storage consequences, and the specific narrative uses of each technique beyond the obvious slow-motion athletics shot.
Time Lapse on a Budget: Calculating Intervals, Battery Life, and Card Space Before You Leave the House
A complete pre-production calculation guide for time lapse photography - covering interval calculation for any desired playback duration, battery life estimation, card capacity planning, and the gear decisions that prevent arriving at a location without enough resources to complete the shot.
How Many SSDs Do You Need for a Feature Film? A Pre-Production Calculation Guide
A step-by-step pre-production calculation guide for determining exactly how many SSDs or hard drives a feature film production needs, covering acquisition volume, backup redundancy, proxy storage, and the timing of drive purchases versus rentals.
RAW vs. ProRes vs. H.265: The Storage Cost of Each Codec in Real Numbers
A line-item storage cost comparison for RAW, ProRes, and H.265 acquisition across a full feature film production, with real bitrate figures, drive counts, hardware costs, and the workflow implications that make cheaper codecs not always cheaper in total.
How Much Data Does a Documentary Actually Generate? A Real-World Breakdown by Shoot Day
A data-driven breakdown of how much storage a documentary generates per shoot day, organized by camera format and shooting style - from solo BMPCC to multicam observational with Sony FX9 - covering raw acquisition, proxy, and backup overhead.
Building a Data Management Workflow for a Small Crew: Who Backs Up What and When
A practical data management framework for productions without a dedicated DIT - covering card offload sequences, checksumming, drive labelling, proxy creation, and how to structure responsibilities across a 2-3 person crew so nothing gets missed.
Anamorphic Squeeze Factor Explained: How to Calculate What You Are Actually Shooting
A practical breakdown of anamorphic squeeze factor - the math behind 1.33x, 1.5x, and 2x squeeze, how it changes your actual field of view and captured aspect ratio, how to monitor correctly on set, and exactly what to hand to post before editing begins.
Shooting for Multiple Aspect Ratios: How to Frame for 2.39:1, 1.85:1, and 16:9 Simultaneously
A practical framing guide for productions that need to deliver in multiple aspect ratios: covering safe area calculations, on-set monitoring solutions, in-camera frame guide setup, and the specific compositional decisions that affect all three deliverables.
How to Pre-Visualise a Location Scout Using Your Lens Calculator
A step-by-step workflow for DPs and directors who want to leave a tech scout with confirmed lens choices, camera positions, and frame sizes locked - using field of view calculations tied to real distances measured on location.