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I work on a sitcom where we regularly shoot 40 pages a day. Today we& #39;re scheduled to shoot 52 pages - 1 whole episode PLUS 4 scenes from other episodes. It& #39;s ambitious, even for us.
If I remember, I& #39;m going to chronicle how we do it in this thread.
If I remember, I& #39;m going to chronicle how we do it in this thread.
The first step to moving fast on our set is table read/rehearsal days. We rehearse most scenes several times on non-shooting days, and film the blocking for actors to watch OTD (On The Day). Sometimes it changes once the props and extras are in, but it speeds up the process.
Like most multicam sitcoms, we shoot 4 cameras on mobile pedestals. Sound is recorded by 2 large booms, also on movable pedestals. No lavs. All pre-lit standing sets. Camera/sound/lighting are all ready for the next shot in minutes. Art/costumes/HMU take longer.
The order of operations:
1) Read-through on book
2) Rehearse off book with blocking
3) Shoot 3-4 takes, maybe a PU.
4) Send actors to HMU/Costumes while we move Camera/Sound to the next set
While we& #39;re shooting, Art dresses our next set.
1) Read-through on book
2) Rehearse off book with blocking
3) Shoot 3-4 takes, maybe a PU.
4) Send actors to HMU/Costumes while we move Camera/Sound to the next set
While we& #39;re shooting, Art dresses our next set.
Today we shot out a 4 5/8 scene in 30 minutes. 3 takes with a couple of resets so camera could catch rises or entrances and exits. Any time an actor forgets or misses a line, I& #39;m always on book to holler it out.
A wardrobe change set us back after our first scene, but our second was just 2 people seated, so we only did 2 takes, and now we& #39;re caught back up. 6 pages down and on schedule.
It& #39;s lunch! We& #39;ve shot 18 2/8 pages. That& #39;s roughly 13 minutes of material & 5 scenes. We& #39;re on schedule.
Lunch is 30 minutes.
Lunch is 30 minutes.
Some of the x-factors that allow us to move as fast as we do:
1) Our boss has been at this for a VERY long time. He& #39;s a legend. He owns this little studio, he& #39;s the showrunner, & he directs every episode. He uses the same crew over & over, so we know the system.
1) Our boss has been at this for a VERY long time. He& #39;s a legend. He owns this little studio, he& #39;s the showrunner, & he directs every episode. He uses the same crew over & over, so we know the system.
2) The writers are here - usually the whole room. If there& #39;s a question or something isn& #39;t working, someone can just grab them and ask.
Multicam sitcoms don& #39;t have a traditional DP. The person who runs the cameras is actually the "associate director". They sit next to the director at monitor and instruct the camera ops where to point the camera through their headset. Cam ops pull their own focus.
Most multicam sitcoms don& #39;t shoot at our speed. It& #39;s normal for a show to do a week per episode: 3 days of rehearsals/table reads/ network runthroughs, then 2 shooting days. We do it faster than the norm.
We have 4 scenes left to shoot and two hours left in our day. We& #39;re about 30 minutes behind. Will we make it to 52 pages in 12 hours? We& #39;ll see.
We have an hour left in our day and 2 scenes left to shoot, but we already completed an entire 30 minute episode of television today.
