tricks of the Trade
HAIRY SURF SCENE, TAKE THREE. AND... ACTION!
PHOTO: VIRGINIA MARSHALL
Expert advice on shooting your own adventure opus Sound Advice
Talent, Not Tools
“The tools are not what make you a great filmmaker—it’s your creativity and how you use it,” says Bryan Smith. “If you have a good idea, you can make a great film with an inexpensive DSLR.”
Spend Time Storyboarding
“You can't write a script beforehand for an adventure film but it's useful to think about what style your film will take,” says Justine Curgenven. “Are you telling the story through the eyes of one of the people on the trip? Is the history, geography or culture of the place part of the story?”
Embrace Spontaneity
“Be honest and organic,” advises Josh Thomas. “Keep an eye out for those real moments. Sometimes that’s the hardest thing—those moments might not be something you want to share with everybody. But people see that honesty and they appreciate it.”
Slow Down
The beauty of shooting your own expedition is that you’ll have a lot of time on your hands. Experiment and try different angles, techniques or equip- ment. “Some of the things I learned filming Paddle to Seattle I still use in filmmaking today,” says J.J. Kelley.
Good audio brings the characters and landscapes in your story to life. Scratchy, tinny sound can leave your film dead in the water. Invest in a de- cent shotgun and lavalier mic kit before a fancy lens.
Get Committed “You can’t be half-assed about filming,” says Frank Wolf, “it has to be an all-
consuming part of the expedition.” And don’t expect the hard part to be over when you get home, he cautions. The immersion continues through weeks or months of editing and production.
The Story is King
Rarely do amazing visuals make an award-winner. “You can have a really good story and mediocre visuals and people will love it,” says Smith. But without a strong story, he warns, an audience will take it or leave it. Ask yourself: Are the characters good enough? Are viewers going to relate to it?
Miss the Shot, Miss the Story
“Make sure you have enough relevant and varied shots to tell your story,” cautions Curgenven. “If the story is that you are tent-bound in strong winds, then you need to get some shots of the tent blowing in the wind, the sea looking wild and maybe film yourself describing how this impacts your trip.”
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