Top Tips to Filming in the Great

Keith Partridge is a multiple award winning action cameraman and his successes include 'Touching The Void' which won a BAFTA for Outstanding British Film, 2004.

He has made over 60 climbing and adventure films for broadcast or cinema release winning over 20 international awards. Keith travels throughout the world to work in some of the most exciting and dangerous places. He works mostly on documentaries and features, and has specialist knowledge of remote location work, adventure travel, abseiling and rope-access.

Keith has over 20 years industry experience and is a tutor to the BBC's National SONAR training centre, the 'Adventure Film Academy' and Banff Centre For Mountain Culture in Canada. If you are planning film-shoot in the great outdoors, take note of Keith's top tips.

You can also check out his website www.adventurecamera.co.uk

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Support

We'll be glad to provide you with help and support as you make your short film. There will be workshops available in scripting, filming and editing. Some of the top industry professionals in Scotland will also be on hand to provide you with advice and guidance. To start with, though, here are a few easy tips:

Ideas

The first thing you need is an idea. Then you need to think about how you want to communicate this idea to people: possibly through a documentary; maybe by making people laugh; or perhaps by something more thought provoking, like a drama… Then again, you could always do something completely different! The best films use an original idea. Although this is harder to come up with, it makes your film stand out more.

Script

A strong script is important for a successful film. Keep your target audience in mind whilst writing: what do they want to see? The story should follow a basic three step outline – beginning, middle and end. With short films, the introduction has to be quite fast in order to draw viewers in quickly. Don’t try to cram too much into a short space of time as the pace will be confusing. When writing, imagine what the characters will be doing and what the camera shots will look like. Some directors find that drawing storyboards is helpful at this stage.

Filming

Before filming, make sure that you are well prepared. If everyone already knows what they are supposed to do, the filming will be a lot smoother. Also make sure that you have all the correct equipment, so that your film looks as good as possible. If you have to hire out equipment, ensure that the filming schedule is planned efficiently so that you don’t have to pay for more time than you need.

Other factors

A great script won’t make a great film on its own. Other factors like the sound and light quality, the performance of your actors and the editing are just as important. Always get the opinions of other people and allow their talents to improve your production. It is a good idea to identify strengths of the individuals in your production team at the start of the project so that responsibilities can be divided effectively. This way, your final product will be as good as it can be.

Watch out!

Your film will be viewed by a wide audience and must be rated U/PC according to BBFC guidelines.