The most common thing I get asked is some version of “is it even worth booking you for something this small?” The honest answer is that small jobs are the ones where a single filmmaker makes the most difference, because there is no minimum crew to pay for.
Two hours, sequenced
Here is what a quarter day looks like when it is planned rather than improvised:
- 0:00 – 0:20 Arrive, look at the light, move two things.
- 0:20 – 1:10 The main sequence. Whatever the film is actually about.
- 1:10 – 1:40 Cutaways and detail. This is where films are won.
- 1:40 – 2:00 Stills, and a vertical pass of the best two setups.
What that turns into
One main cut, a vertical version, and a folder of stills pulled out of the same footage.
The limit on a short shoot is almost never the camera. It is how many decisions you can make before the light changes.
When a quarter day is the wrong answer
If the film needs more than one location, more than two people on camera, or any kind of setup that has to be built, book a full day. Cramming a full day into two hours produces a film that looks exactly like a full day crammed into two hours.