What’s the Ideal Shooting Ratio for Short Film Projects?
If you’re thinking about producing a short film, you’ve probably been wondering how much footage you will need. Just how much B-roll should you capture in addition to the A-roll that you have planned? How will you know if you’ve given your editing team enough footage to get the finished project just like you wish for it to be? Determining the ideal shooting ratio for short film projects is really all about determining the total desired length of your final cut and then using an average to decide just how much film stock you’ll need to submit to your post-production crew so that they can work their magic.
Shooting ratios really vary quite a bit between productions and even between production companies. Some will tend to have a higher ratio than others and many have more of a “you can always use less, but you can’t always get more” attitude.
So, how do you know if you’ve got enough footage for your short film project?
Shoot More Than you Think You Need!
The key to always have enough footage is to always shoot more than you think you will need. It doesn’t matter if you’re producing a long film, a short film, or a medium length film. Always shoot more than you think you will need so that you know you will have enough!
Sure, this means that some footage is going to be wasted, but that’s just how it works! It is perfectly normal to shoot more forage than necessary and it’s equally normal to have a plan for just how much “waste” you’ll have – this is your ideal shooting ratio.
Shooting Ratio for Short Film
So what’s your ideal shooting ratio for short film projects? It really depends on your needs. Let’s consider a few examples to help you get a feel for how you’ll determine the appropriate shooting ratio for you:
Case-By-Case Basis
First, consider the fact that different projects will have different shooting ratios. Even two different short films might have two different short film shooting ratios. So for example, if you want to produce a simple social media video that’s 5 minutes long.
And does not include any special effects, you’re probably going to have a shooting ratio that’s pretty low meaning that you will not need a lot of extra footage to get it “just right.”
Perhaps a 5:1 ratio in which you shoot 5 seconds for every 1 second of final cut footage or a total of 5x60x5 would be your final footage or 1500 seconds of footage or the equivalent of 25 minutes of total footage required to get your 5 minute video.
Special Effects
Likewise, if you’re trying to establish a shooting ratio for a short film that is going to have a lot of special effects. That same 5 minute short film might be laden with retakes, takes from multiple angles, multiple different shots, etc.
You might come up with a shooting ration for short film projects of this stature that is something like 300:1 or 300 seconds of footage for every 1 second of final cut.
In this case, your 5 minute short film would require a total of 5x300x5 for a total of 7500 seconds of footage or the equivalent of 125 minutes of footage for that same 5 minute finished film.
Factors Influencing Shooting Ratio of Short Film
So what’s the “normal” shooting ratio for short film projects? It really depends on the type of finished project and the complexity of the project. It’s hard to fully define the short film shooting ratio. Without having the individual factors that relate to the project together and in order.
For instance, if you’re shooting a short film for YouTube it’s going to be a lot less invasive and minimally complex. Compared to if you’re shooting a film for Television Broadcast.
Thus, you would most likely have a lower shooting ratio for this kind of project but not if there are a lot of complex special effects involved for the YouTube film versus the Television film.
Budget
Your budget could also play a role in the shooting ratio of your short film. While you might like to have a shooting ratio of 300:1, your budget might call for something more like 200:1 or less.
Lower budgets are likely to have lower complexity productions. And should generally have lower shooting ratios but it’s possible for a lower budget short film to have a high shooting ratio if other factors relative to the production call for a higher ratio.
Producers
A great producer doesn’t want to waste too much time, but they also know the importance of catching all the footage during production. So as not to have to plan and coordinate a costly reshoot.
Therefore, expect your shooting ratio for a short film to be a bit higher than you might have initially considered. Unless you’ve been in the industry for some time and understand how shooting ratios and the necessary amount of film stock works for a film project.
How Much Film Footage Will You Need?
As you determine the shooting ratio for a short film project that you’re working on.
Consider the following to help you decide on the most suitable ratio for your needs:
- Budget.
- Skills of your production crew.
- Complexity of the project.
- Total desired finished length.
- Where the film will be distributed.
- Individual circumstances relative to the day of production. (see below)
Individual Circumstances
What do we mean by individual circumstances relative to the day of production? Just like it sounds, circumstances may change the day of production or during production. Which may result in your shooting ratio for a short film being adjusted at the last minute.
For instance, you might think that based on complexity, crew skill, desired quality and other factors that your shooting ratio should be 200:1.
But then the day of production you might find that the crew struggles with a particular scene or that the lighting isn’t ideal or that weather isn’t cooperating and because of this you decide that you might need a bit more footage than previously thought. It happens!
The Takeaway
What’s the ideal shooting ratio for a short film project? The estimated total number of seconds of raw footage that you intend to share with your post production crew in order to produce the desired finished project.
Your shooting ratio for a short film is going to vary, greatly, based on your individual needs and the features of your project!
