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January, 1951
HARRIS : PRE-PLANNING PRODUCTION
25
saving if the average number of takes can be reduced (without altering any other condition) is given in Table I.
It will be seen then that even if the average number of takes per slate is reduced to 2 (below which it is surely impossible to aim) the saving of time on the floor is 6%. It is then just worth examining if there is a way of effecting this reduction.
Reasons for Additional Takes
The following table shows the reasons for additional takes on two typical productions:
TABLE II Analysis of Causes of Additional Takes
Limitation of Takes
It is sometimes said that takes should be limited by " front-office instruction." If they were limited to 3 the saving on the floor would be little more than a couple of days in ten or eleven weeks, assuming no other adverse effect on production time which the change might cause. Such an effect might for example be the increase of " dummy takes " between real ones, and the final effect might be to spend more time than is at present spent in snooting on such tentative rehearsals.
Production A
Production B
No. of Takes
%
No. of Takes
%
SATISFACTORY TAKES : including those which were printed and held
1,174
45.4%
1,362
51.7%
UNSATISFACTORY ACTION : including bad action, missed dialogue, missed positions
964
37.3%
9J2
35.0%
CAMERA: including bad following or focus ... including technical faults
70 71
2.7% 2-8%
82 10
3.1%
0.4
SOUND : including noises outside the unit's control such as aircraft overhead, arc noises and technical faults ...
146
5.7%
145
5.5
LIGHTING : including flickering arcs, mike shadows, matching and technical faults ...
101
3.9%
39
1.4
COMPOSITION : including unsatisfactory set-up, failuie of special effects
32
1.2%
66
2.5
BACK PROJECTION: including unsatisfactory plate
4
0-2%
1
o.o%
NOT KNOWN
19
0.8%
10
0.4%
The first impression is that many takes could be saved if artistes were more thoroughly rehearsed before the cameras begin to turn. This might or might not save total time on the floor. It clearly requires more rehearsal time, but this might be found while lighting is going on, or be spent in a less expensive place than a full soundproof stage.
The second impression is that no substantial saving can be made by improving technical equipment with the object of reducing takes. (Of course there are other good reasons for such improvement, but effort bent in this direction will be iilre warded in terms of time saved.)
The analysis from which these brief notes were extracted also considers tiie saving of film stock and processing costs if the number of takes is limited. Neither saving is significant compared with production costs.
On the whole, therefore, an attempt to reduce the number of fakes per slate in any formal way appears to offer little prospect of great saving. If, however, a personal view may be permitted, it is thought that there is a " perfectionism " in picture making which is costly in many ways: to know when " good enough " is achieved instead of striving for the ideal, especially in mere routine work, might lead to an attitude of