From the course: Creating a Short Film: 07 Cinematography

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Scouting locations

Scouting locations

- As mentioned previously, preproduction is a really important time for you as a cinematographer to work with the director in establishing a visual style for the film, as well as a game plan of how to shoot the film. Also in preproduction is the location scout, where key crew members go to potential shooting locations to determine their viability. This is important because sometimes locations are chosen because they're cheap, or because they will be empty on the shoot day, or any one of a number of reasons that have nothing to do with the way the location looks. If the location is really cramped, meaning it's really tiny and small, you're going to have a tough time using anything but wide-angle lenses, and it might be equally difficult to avoid light that looks too sourcey. Low ceilings can also make light look sourcey. You might also have a difficult time shooting in locations with a lot of open windows because it will be difficult to maintain continuity as the sunlight changes…

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