Staying Organized

As much as I would love to just get started with shooting the film, the logistics needed to be worked out first because there is a lot of moving around of furniture. I once heard someone say that 90% of independent filmmaking is moving around heavy furniture, and they are definitely not wrong.



I want to use my time as efficiently as possible and also I need to make sure I keep continuity for certain shots. I needed to get organized, so I started by numbering all of my shots.

Some shots are virtually the same and only require me to change outfits quickly and then do the same shot again so I would label them like "8, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3.



Then, I took all the shots and put them into Excel into a shot list. I've used a template before that I stole off of Celtx or StudioBinder or something. I'm not a big fan of it because there is so much going on and most of the columns are made very clear on the storyboard. This stuff is more for big shoots with a crew, so everyone is on the same page (especially the script supervisor.)

I created my own simplified shot list. It helps me understand how long it will take me and check off when I finish them.

This project is quite the undertaking because of the immense number of setups that I have to do and the fact that I have to film myself. The total time that it should take to shoot is about 1035 min or 17.25 hours. That time includes set up times but it doesn't include how long it should take me to design the "set" which is going to take probably a day or two.

I divided the shoot into four sets with different shots to maximize efficiency and then split the sets up over three days.