The Fox and the Pivot

Today I discovered that I must plan for the unexpected! I’ve finished recording the last scene, and what did I learn? Foxes eat rabbits! How did I not know this?  I knew that wolves ate sheep and foxes ate chickens, but rabbits?! It’s pivot time…again. Time to re-tweak the script, as I can clearly not have foxes and rabbits in the same scene, especially if what I’m creating is something for all ages. The carnage is too much for such a sweet little story.

So, I re-tweak, I remove the rabbits, keep the foxes and record the scene once again. I’m pretty proud of myself for taking care of this with barely an issue, that is until I noticed that the time of day was now inconsistent and my tool bar was showing. No big deal, but it’s honestly all of the little things I have to remember when trying to shoot a scene that can turn into bigger things later in editing. Is my hand empty? Is my tool bar visible? Are my animal friends in the same spot? What time of day is it? It’s crazy to think that one unexpected incident led to a chain reaction that I wasn’t really prepared for.

 How do I make this easier for my self, what can I do? It’s not the end of the world, but sometimes in my head, these things feel like the end of the world, and guess what I usually do? I walk away because it’s no longer fun. So what DID I do? I made a small list for each scene with time of day and who was in it. I had to add where they were and set myself reminders to make sure my hands were empty or, the tool bar was off. These little checks and reminders helped. Is this how the pro’s do it? I don’t know, but its how a complete noob does and it’s working so far…I think!

Todays’ takeaway? Foxes are snacky little guys and continuity is a huge filming challenge, but with a little flexibility in the script and some well times reminders, it is manageable.  I can only imagine how it will be post production!

Comment below on how you pivot when things don’t always go as planned.