Nacorama · On Set
Fifteen years on commercial sets: what we do in the first hour of every shoot day
The day is won or lost before the first take. This is the routine we bring to every set.
After fifteen years of commercials, the thing I'm surest of is that the first hour decides the day. By the time the camera rolls, most of the problems that cost money have either been caught or been booked in for later. This is how we spend that hour.
Walk the call sheet out loud
Everyone hears the same plan at the same time: the order of shots, who is needed when, and the one shot we cannot leave without. It takes ten minutes and saves the hour of whispered "what's next?" that a quiet set otherwise turns into.
Shoot the must-have first
The shot the film can't live without goes first, while energy is high and nothing has overrun. Nice-to-haves come later, when we know how much day is left.
Schedule around the light
On location the sun is the most expensive crew member, because it won't wait. We plan the order of set-ups around where the light will be, not around what is easiest to move.
Check sound before the first take
Bad picture can sometimes be graded. Bad sound usually means a reshoot or a voiceover nobody wanted. A minute of room tone and a test line from the talent happen before we roll.
Back up twice, from the first card
Every card is copied to two drives before it is wiped, and one named producer owns that job from the first card to the last hard drive. It is the least glamorous part of the day and the one we never skip.
None of this is secret. It is simply what fifteen years of call times, overruns and good days have taught us, and it is the reason our shoots finish on time.
