A one person short film? Cast AND crew? Seems like a feasible project. But I would love any film tips anybody has for camera work. I’m looking to do a small portion that is a video log.
Working title is “Hours Ago”, focusing on subtle things in life that are unsettling simply because they exist. Like a park you enjoy during the day, that’s invisible because of the pitch black around it at night.
Acting tips are also greatly appreciated, as I’m looking to become a better performer whether it’s a one man show, or a 400 man show.
I think one thing that really sticks out when it's a one-person production is that generally the camera is locked down - no zooms, no pans, no movement. Which can be boring. So if you could get another person to help with that... OR... if you could rig something for the camera to move (a dolly at a VERY slight angle so it automatically dollies in via gravity as you're acting), or some other way to get the camera to move (is there a remote control for the dolly you could hold in your hands off screen, while also looking at a video feed off-screen?). Also... I've seen people filming at night and their setups were just... terrible. Also - Yes, you can get the idea of "pitch black" across without everything being black. If you set up one light (even with an iphone light or flashlight) illuminating one object, and the rest is black, you get across the idea of "pitch black" while still retaining visual interest. Especially if you keep the rule of thirds (the one illuminated object is 1/3 of the way horizontally in the frame).