It’s crazy to think back on the first handful of movies I made and realize I didn’t create any look books before shooting. I would generally write a script, make a shot list, create some rough storyboards, and then wing it on set. The results would vary. Some times things would be very stylized and more often than not, I would fall into shooting traditional coverage to make the day.
By the time I got around to making my second feature film, Oliver, Stoned. I was pretty well versed in all the wonderful programs available on the iPad. I started using my iPad to watch hours and hours of content, and would simply use the screen capture function to grab still frames of things I liked, whether it was framing, lighting, wardrobe, etc.
With all the screen grabs captured, I started using Evernote to create little brainstorming sessions. I would label folders by different categories and would dump images into the folder with small descriptions of why I liked each shot. I could then choose to share each folder with whatever department I wanted. It seems like such a simple and easy process, but it really took me a while to discover it and make a habit of collecting and sharing references.
This process gets further refined with every commercial I direct. When working with a client and agency there is a much larger team of people that need to be on board with the vision. Usually before I even get booked for a job, I’ll have to spend a week creating a treatment. This will contain all my ideas of how I plan to bring the spot to life, from the story, to the lighting, to the casting and beyond. I’ll spend about one week putting this treatment together, and use photoshop to assemble a deck that is good to go over to the client and agency. But more on that later.
Here is an example page from when I was collecting images for Oliver, Stoned. and sharing them with cinematographer Nick Piatnik. If you’re bored you can check out the movie today on iTunes!!!