How do people actually film their short film major works? (1 Viewer)

[avocadosandmoles]

So I've decided on doing a short film for my extension 2 major work, and I'm trying to figure out how I'm actually supposed to film it. I've done films in the past for school assignments, but how do I get the best end result for this one? Mainly I'm looking for how I can actually get decent audio and visuals. I have a camera which shoots fine as well as access to a film-camera from school, but I'm not 100% sure on how to get the best results for a video on them. Tutorials online talk about white balance and colour grading which I'm not super familiar with, and then I have no clue what sort of microphone I need to actually get decent audio like a lot of the examples of major works on youtube. Any help at all with this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Elephant157]

I helped edit a friends ext 2 so i've got some advice your way

1. find a film director with an obvious film style - i'm thinking wes anderson, edgar wright, tarintino, Danny Boyle, david lynch - this is your style you are trying to emulate, learn everything about this director, how they shot them, what colours they use, experiment and perfect this
2. your idea has to always be obvious to the audience - ALWAYS - a small child must be able to understand - don't double down on literary theories and flex too many fancy concepts
3. analyse the past hsc works like crazy - often some will tell you their marks in the descriptions, so check this. Look for the good ones and note what sort of film editting they use and the level of complexity in their work
4. experiment - youtube is your best friend for editing, and i'm crazy for it. but don't get sucked in the rabit hole of prcrastination, you have to get started and use this 6 week holiday to test shots you want to perfect and colour the way you want (your edu account should give you access to light room, after effects, primerier pro etc)
5. back everything up to an external drive - your files will be LARGE, i have a seagate 1 terabyte SSD (faster but more expensive then a harddrive)
6. story board and be exact - we had sticky notes with each shot drawn up and stuck down in a diary, easy way to move scenes and change their order

as for equipment i can't be too certain so i might through that over to someone else (soz buddy)

p.s don't do a short film unless you know for certain you have the school facilities to do so ( teachers who can edit and shoot to a high quality, with experience on audio and visuals + have the equipment required to shoot). I say this as someone who dropped extension 2 (its very time consuming) and was considering a film at a public school. You will be competing with private school students many of whom have a strong support network of teachers to aid them through this process. Many people who have attempted films often don't end up submitting them for this reason. One of the best pieces of advice i got from my visual arts teacher was the fact that this is your year to shine and show NESA your best, if you are learning on the go and its isn't something you have been given fromal training in then maybe won't be your best bet. Stick with your guns and what you have avaliable for you skill wise, don't acquire the skills as you go.

best wishes with your major work