A little guy's on-screen debut
December 12, 2009 1:28 PM Subscribe
Any tips in directing a toddler in a homemade short film?
I'd like to have fun with my son, who is a playful, energetic two and a half year old. I'd also like to learn how to take and edit better videos with my new camera and computer. I've taken lots of basic home movies, but I thought it might be fun to make up a premise and have him do things that would move a little story forward. It's a project just for fun--nothing I intend to do anything with professionally.
What kind of plot do you think would work best with such a wiggly, distractible young protagonist? Has anyone done anything like this? If so, any tips would be welcome regarding how to make it a good experience during the filming, and how to make an entertaining final product.
I'd like to have fun with my son, who is a playful, energetic two and a half year old. I'd also like to learn how to take and edit better videos with my new camera and computer. I've taken lots of basic home movies, but I thought it might be fun to make up a premise and have him do things that would move a little story forward. It's a project just for fun--nothing I intend to do anything with professionally.
What kind of plot do you think would work best with such a wiggly, distractible young protagonist? Has anyone done anything like this? If so, any tips would be welcome regarding how to make it a good experience during the filming, and how to make an entertaining final product.
Does umbuzinho have any particular favorite bedtime stories, or characters from books he identifies particularly with? I'd say give him as much directorial freedom as feasible and you might just get one of those rare movies that's better than the book it's based on.
posted by dr. boludo at 2:54 PM on December 12, 2009
posted by dr. boludo at 2:54 PM on December 12, 2009
Patience. LOTS of patience.
Storage. LOTS of storage.
Shoot a metric assload of raw material, get a pad of paper (for note taking and time stamps), go through all of it, and select the 1% that's worth keeping. Then cut 1% of that into the finished product.
At least that's how I do it with a professional video crew, a $30k budget, and 2-1/2 days of shooting to produce an 8-minute video for my company.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:08 PM on December 12, 2009
Storage. LOTS of storage.
Shoot a metric assload of raw material, get a pad of paper (for note taking and time stamps), go through all of it, and select the 1% that's worth keeping. Then cut 1% of that into the finished product.
At least that's how I do it with a professional video crew, a $30k budget, and 2-1/2 days of shooting to produce an 8-minute video for my company.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:08 PM on December 12, 2009
Bribery works wonders. We rewarded our daughter with a single M&M each time she told us she needed to go pee-pee and she was potty-trained at 18 months.
Repetition. If there is something you are trying to get him to say or so, turn it into a fun game and do it a few hundred times. He'll eventually repeat what you say exactly like you say it. Just have the cameras rolling, so to speak. Here is where digital video is your friend.
posted by camworld at 5:18 PM on December 12, 2009
Repetition. If there is something you are trying to get him to say or so, turn it into a fun game and do it a few hundred times. He'll eventually repeat what you say exactly like you say it. Just have the cameras rolling, so to speak. Here is where digital video is your friend.
posted by camworld at 5:18 PM on December 12, 2009
Maybe you can get some useful tips from watching this video, The Landlord Out-takes.
posted by lizbunny at 9:40 AM on December 13, 2009
posted by lizbunny at 9:40 AM on December 13, 2009
Response by poster: These are all great answers. Thank you so much.
posted by umbú at 10:03 AM on December 13, 2009
posted by umbú at 10:03 AM on December 13, 2009
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posted by oinopaponton at 2:35 PM on December 12, 2009