S | 7 | Short Film

Everything from Unit 7 becomes real today. Bring your script, storyboard, call sheet, releases, and budget, you’re either filming or editing against them, not starting from scratch.

Project Briefing (~10 min)

A call sheet only works if everyone actually checks it. Review today’s before anyone touches a camera: which scenes, which cast/crew, and what needs to be done by the end of the period.

Camera Setup

  1. Download the Blackmagic Camera App for your phone, and configure it for compatibility:
    1. Set the codec to H.264 for compatibility with your editing software.
    2. Set the resolution to 1080p (not 4K). 1080p is more than enough for every project in this course, and keeps your footage files 4–5× smaller.
    3. Turn on the guides so that you can frame your shots using the rule-of-thirds.

Project Work Time (~23 min)

  1. If filming today: follow the call sheet’s scene order. Apply deliberate camera technique (not default framing) for every shot on the list.
  • Offload footage DAILY to your Google Drive to ensure that the footage is maintained.
  • Assign a team member the role of DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) to offload footage and begin organizing files for your final edit. If there are enough available resources, allow them to begin putting the footage together as the rest of your team continues shooting.
  • Assign a team member the role of Script Supervisor to ensure that every clip needed for your project is captured.
  1. If editing today: assemble footage already shot into your sequence, following your storyboard’s shot order.

Organize

  1. Ensure that Google Drive for Desktop is syncing to your computer.
  2. Create a Project Directory (Folder) in your Google Drive Google Drive/My Drive/Digital Design/YYYY-MM Project Name
  3. Try to keep all of your project files for the explainer video together, so your work is not interrupted due to technical difficulties.
  4. In your project directory, maintain subdirectories for every category of resource you will be using.

Storing all your files in the /Downloads folder in your computer is a BAD idea. If any of these files are lost/deleted you will have to reconnect them. Put them in your project folder directly. This will also be helpful in the event of any computer issues.

YYYY-MM Project Name
📁 Source Footage
📁 Graphics
📁 Sound Effects
📁 Music
📁 Script
  1. It’s also good to include directories for related files
📁 Project Files
📁 Exports

  1. While editing your project, it will benefit you to right click on your project folder and select: “Make Available Offline”. This will keep your files stored on the local computer while you are editing. When you are finished editing the project, you can deselect this to free up space on your harddrive.

  2. Continuity check: before moving to the next scene, verify props, costume, and character position match the previous shot of the same scene.
  3. Update the plan-of-work log: what actually got filmed or edited today, versus what the shooting schedule planned.
  4. Once picture lock is reached (a later production day):

1. Prepare

  • The Draft: Ensure your work is exported or ready to view. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Placeholders for missing pieces are okay!
  • The Plus/Delta Chart: Create a simple T-chart on a piece of paper or a digital document:
  • Plus (+): What is working well? (Strengths, clear storytelling, strong technique).
  • Delta (Δ): What should be changed or improved? (The Greek symbol for “change”).

2. The Review Process

  • Silent First Pass: Experience the work all the way through once without speaking. This allows the reviewer to experience the “flow” of the piece.
  • Second Pass: Go through it again, but this time, the reviewer should jot down specific notes in the Plus and Delta columns.
  • The Golden Rule: Feedback should be Specific, Objective, and Kind.
  • Bad: “I didn’t like the ending.”
  • Good: “The ending felt abrupt because the music cut off before the reporter finished speaking.”

3. Giving Feedback (The Reviewer)

  • Identify the “Pluses”: Start with what is successful.
  • Suggest the “Deltas”: Instead of just pointing out a mistake, offer a solution.
  • Example: “The transition at 0:45 is a bit slow; maybe try a simple cut instead of a dissolve.”

4. Receiving Feedback (The Creator)

  • Listen Without Defending: It’s tempting to explain why you made a choice, but for now, just listen and take notes. If a peer is confused, a general audience likely will be too.
  • Ask Clarifying Questions: If a note is vague, ask for the exact timestamp or location: “Can you show me exactly where the audio got too loud?”

5. The Revision Plan

After the session, look at your Delta column and prioritize your edits:

  1. Level 1 (Critical): Technical errors (missing audio, black frames, typos).
  2. Level 2 (Message): Pacing issues or confusing sequences.
  3. Level 3 (Polishing): Color tweaks, fancy transitions, or extra effects.

What changed between today’s plan (the call sheet) and what actually happened? How did the group handle it?

GMetrix/BrainBuffet (~30 min)

Continue this term’s Premiere Pro GMetrix module.

Deliver, Export & Submit (~5 min)

Log today’s progress. On the production’s final day:

Deliver

  1. Finalize your timeline.
    • Delete out any spaces in your timeline.
    • Mark Ins and Outs (Best Practice)

Export Finished Project

  1. Go to File>Export>Media>
  2. Specify your export settings
    • File Name: YYYY-MM Project Name-Lastname
    • Location: Google Drive/My Drive/Digital Design/YYYY-MM Project Name/Exports
    • Preset: Match Source (or use a High Quality Preset to reduce file size)
    • Format: H.264 (The most compatible format)
  3. Choose H.264 from the Format menu. This will create an mp4 file on export.
  4. Click Export. The export script will run until finished.

Strike

Film sets “strike” (tear down) the set when shooting wraps. Editors do the same with their drives. Once your final export is delivered and your portfolio page is published:

  1. Delete the raw footage from the project folder on your computer. Your final export and project file are all you keep.
  2. Empty the Trash. Deleted footage still takes up space until you do.
  3. Confirm your final export plays from Google Drive before you leave class.

Publish your work to your Google Sites Portfolio

  1. Create a new page on your Google Sites Portfolio to catalog your work.
    • Your work should be exported in a web-safe format in a manner that allows for the work to be embedded without requiring Google Drive permissions
  2. Your work should be accompanied by a detailed project description
  3. Submit the published portfolio page to your LMS (Schoology)

🗂 Organize: Put your group’s updated plan-of-work log in your binder. Save today’s footage or edited sequence in the Project Files folder of your Digital Design project folder on Google Drive.

This site uses Just the Docs, a documentation theme for Jekyll.