Pick Ups(last blog / next blog)
by Michael Neel & Greg Ansin

So you've put your footage together, and things are shaping up. You can see your story emerging from the raw material. But a few things are missing – some shots that you didn't realize you need until you started editing.

What do you do? Pickups.

Getting the things bloody for the shot.

Pickups are your second round of shooting, and they are should be much less extensive than your main shoot. Every film does pickups. Ideally, you should be able to do your pickups with a much smaller crew than your main shoot. For example, if you have a scene in your film with two people talking at dinner, and there is a point in the scene where you can't cut the footage without creating a “jump cut” (a distracting cut that takes the audience out of the scene), then you can film a closeup of what they are eating to cover yourself. This closeup can be filmed with a minimal crew, since all you are showing is the food and the actors don't need to be there (you probably don't even need your primary location).

Another reason you might need to shoot pickups is if you are working with a lot of special fx, and weren't able to get all your fx shots during the main shoot. Sometimes it makes sense to shoot some fx shots later (especially closeups), but make sure to discuss this with your special fx artists first!

Pickups can save you in post production. However, you don't want to lean on them during your main shoot. It can be tempting during your main shoot to think that if something goes wrong you can save yourself later with pickups, but resist the temptation!

So go get your pickups!

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