What is the minimal number needed for a shoot so far i got...

director

camera man

sound recordist

actors

any one or anything else needed....


cheers duffy

i normally have when i can:


make up/hair artist

assistant director/script supervisor

clapper loader/grip

sound recordist

director of photography

director

production assistant

and actors,

however this is a tad expencive catering wise but makes my job (normally producer and dp)and the directors job a lot easier, and creates a better production

Minimum? Director & actor.

i agree with JW, you don't need all of those people, but adding any of them to the shoot is one less thing for you to worry about. The more you plan out what you are going to do in advance, particularly on location, the easier it is to tackle multiple jobs. While we're at it, don't forget to add lighting somewhere on that list.

Usually you need a somewhat larger crew to make the picture look good. You dont want to have one person focused on so many jobs he cant get each one perfectly. On a shoot there are a million different things that get done, and is much more efficient if you have people that know what to do and when to do it. The director really shouldnt have to worry about the dolly tracks being set up properly. The camera operator shoudlnt have to worry about whether the bounce cards are held properly. The actor shouldnt have to worry about balanced lighting. Its best if every person has 1 job. That way the can focus on it and make it perfect.

Braininabox has a very good point there and I agree with him.

But If it's going to cost you a lot of money, you may want to keep it to something really simple.

I'd suggest maybe having:

-Director
-Production Assistant (very useful)
-Camera Man
-Lighting man
-Actors
-And your producer may want to be there. If so, he can maybe help you out with tasks.
-It's nice to have a DOP, but a lot of the time, for smaller, student films, the director can usually take care of that by himself. So i wouldn't worry about a DOP.

But again, if you don't have the money, you gotta make do with what you can!

quote:

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Originally posted by braininabox:
Usually you need a somewhat larger crew to make the picture look good. You dont want to have one person focused on so many jobs he cant get each one perfectly. On a shoot there are a million different things that get done, and is much more efficient if you have people that know what to do and when to do it. The director really shouldnt have to worry about the dolly tracks being set up properly. The camera operator shoudlnt have to worry about whether the bounce cards are held properly. The actor shouldnt have to worry about balanced lighting. Its best if every person has 1 job. That way the can focus on it and make it perfect.

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I agree completely. But he asked about the minimum, not the ideal.

Well, if you want bare minimum theres always the option of filming yourself. (A grand total of 1 person)

Sometimes you dont need every single crew member listed in the responses above for various reasons. (ex. if you are only using one camera, you dont need a sound mixer, etc.)

quote:

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Originally posted by the parnell:
i normally have when i can:


make up/hair artist

assistant director/script supervisor

clapper loader/grip

sound recordist

director of photography

director

production assistant

and actors,

however this is a tad expencive catering wise but makes my job (normally producer and dp)and the directors job a lot easier, and creates a better production

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This is a very wierd list. It gets into the really fine details, without touching some of the basics.

If you have a grip, why dont you have a gaffer or a cinematographer? No camera operators? If you dont have a camera operator why the heck are you doing a shoot? Sound recordist? Do you mean mixer? Usually the camera records sound. Oh well...

Cinematographer and Director of Photography are the same thing. And they're generally the camera operators on student film shoots.

To me the cinamotographer IS the director, at least on student films. If your trying to get the least amount of people thats first off. With film I see why youd NEED a few people taking care of the cameras movement, operation, focus, ect. No sound guy? Get some wireless mics and a mic input splitter, set the levels yourself. Some mics have lots of hiss but Noise Reduction software goes a LONG way. No one ever brings up the advantages of those little mics.

You don't have to know everything to light a shot or frame the camera, most of that is gained from experience. And since our films are learning experiences why not do it all yourself, unless youve got actors waiting around who dont have much time or patience to give, then it can get ugly. So then you'd need a person willing to help you in any way. Anyone can move stuff around or set up extension cords. Some actors want to help speed things up but that seems to cause other problems with them.

Sometimes I just use a camera, headphones, 3 wireless mics, a tripod, and a light only when necessary. I have a boom mike and other eqiupment but this setup makes the actors and I more natural and spontanious. Sometimes it looks like they dont even know they're on camera! It won't look great all the time but the film can have an energy to it that's hard to get any other way considering you and your actors can use the extra space to move around.

Where's Tizzy? He's a fan of a certain Texan without a crew if you know what I mean, and it ain't me

the dop typically on small shoots looks after lighting and camera operation,

the sound operator is the mic boom operator, and checks levels, checks for any unwanted atmos noise (planes flying overhead), very important dude.

I think the only help you'll get is the help you take with you.
And the only problems are what you take with you.
Unfortunately, when you take people along on shoots, both those scenarios apply as people can be help and can be a burden.
Take only what is absolutely necessary. Sit down for a ggod long think and come out with a list of who you will positively need. Then go through that list and come up with who you will ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NEED.

quote:

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Originally posted by JW:
Cinematographer and Director of Photography are the same thing. And they're generally the camera operators on student film shoots.

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Oh, a student film... That changes everything around.

Actually in most films, the DP has a crew of three under him. (including the Camera Operator)_

me, the camera, a shotgun mic, the actors, sometimes an assistant. my style is more gung ho and far less professional.