Note: One way to support everyone having a good time making this movie is to keep things organized and running smoothly. The planning and preparation - like this page - is a key to keeping everyone coordinated. This project is designed to allow for many October Country fans to participate as a fun learning experience while requiring only small commitments of their time. Many small jobs add up to one huge result and no over-burdens for the crew.

The stages of scene production are:

1. Second Unit work
2. Scene pre-production
3. Scene setup & shoot
4. Scene post-production

All stages require knowledge of the script (everyone on the crew must read the script). Each stage of production involves different folks and happens at different times. Let's look at each stage individually. (The term "film" used below means the video capture function built-in to the SL client viewer.)

Second Unit work

The Second Unit shoots all the film that doesn't not involve the actors. Establishing shots, external building shots, object close-ups, some special effect shots, and background for titles and credits are all the work of the Second Unit.

The Second Unit shots required are described in the script for each scene. They may be marked as "2U" or "2nd" or not.

The Second Unit director can manage the camera work themselves, if they like. You must coordinate with the Camera Operators, however, to be sure your viewer settings and rendering parameters match those used to film the scenes so all teh footage can be spliced together without resolution, color and distance changes. One benefit to Second Unit work is that it can take place almost any time; it isn't dependent upon the schedules of the actors or scene shoots. Second Unit work can be done before or after the scene shoot, but usually not during the shoot because the location may be full of crew at that time.

The Second Unit director coordinates with the Location Scout and Director to plan the shots, then takes the shots anytime. Some shots may require coordination and consultation with the Props Master and possibly the Artistic Director, but again, these can happen ad-hoc and don't have to be locked into a shooting schedule.

The Second Unit director should be pretty handy with the SL camera controls and able to work with other crew on their own.

Scene pre-production

All of this happens before the shooting of the scene, hopefully days or even weeks before.

Location Scout: Selects the set Location to be used for the scene and presents it to the Director. Sometimes there will be two or three possible locations, and the Director and Artistic Director will select the one to be used for the shoot. The location selection has to happen early on so the rest of the crew can do their jobs.

Costume Coordinator: Helps each of the actors with their costumes and any hand-held props. Each actor will create their own outfit and appearance for each scene, and if they need help finding, creating or choosing clothing, hair, shoes, etc., they can contact the costume coordinator. The costume coordinator should be a "shopping and freebie whiz" in SL, and a large inventory of transfer/copy/mod clothing and accessories is desirable. Final costumes are approved by the Artistic Director and Director anytime before the shoot.

Props Master: Chooses, gathers, builds, mods or borrows the props and objects needed for the scene that aren't already part of the location. The Props Master test-fits the props on the Location set to be sure they are the right size, find good placement, etc. and then get the approval of the Artistic Director or Director.

Gestures Manager: Each scene lists the known-needed gestures and/or poses for the actors to use, and it is the Gesture Master's job to locate, obtain or create these gestures/poses and make sure each of the actors have what they need for the scene. This may also involve training new actors and extras on how to set up and use their gestures/poses during the shoot.

Actors: Select their costumes and appearance for their scene, including any special avatar effects (transformations, blood effects, etc.). Actors work with the Costume Coordinator to get the right clothes, accessories and "total look", then shows their outfit and appearance to the Artistic Director and Director for final approval.

Artistic Director: Checks the entire scene over for consistancy, color use and overall artistic look for the movie. Approves props, costumes, any special lighting and set dressings. Checks over the set, props and costumes individually before the shoot (can be anytime before).

Director: Coordinates, organizes and approves all of the above results. Can request changes, re-do's, etc.

Scene setup & shoot

All of this happens ont he day and time of the actual filming of the scene. Activity begins 30-60 minutes before filming begins, then we film, then we tear down and clean-up. Most of the crew and all of the actors for the scene are required to be at the shoot.

Location Manager: Manages the area in and around the shooting location during the set-up and shooting of the scene. This sometimes may involve putting up temporary marker-tape or walls and signs to mark off areas that non-crew should stay out of during the shoot. The Location Manager also "holds a perimeter" and keeps non-crew avi's out of the shoot, answering their questions, giving them a project T-shirt and movie poster, and keeping them happy (and off the set). The shoots are designed to take less than an hour each, so the job shouldn't get too tedious or overwhelming. If help is needed, the Location Manager can bring on PA's (production assistants) to help do the job for large or busy set Locations. After the shoot: take down any tape barriers, signs or walls erected to protect the set.

Props Master: Rezzes, places and manages the objects used in the scene. At the end of the shoot: picks up the objects and, if appropriate, returns them to the appropriate owners.

Artistic Director: Checks the entire scene over for consistancy, color use and overall artistic look for the movie before rolling cameras. Is on-set for the shoot set up and filming.

Actors & Actresses Control their avatars and take direction for movement, activating gestures and animations to act out the scene with the timing necessary to support good voice-over later. Will re-do the scene several times as the cameras film from different angles.

Camera Operator: Actually films the scene. Requires mastery of SL camera controls and a machine fast enough to record the video to hard disk while smoothly moving the camera about. Also, a decent graphics card is required for quality rendering. Camera operators will have to coordinate their SL viewer settings with each other to get the settings identical so the footage from all cameras looks the same. Camera operators are required only at the shoot and report to the Director. May require Windlight viewer (check with the Director).

Gestures Manager: Might be on hand to adjust or replace any gestures as needed. Check with the Director to see if you are needed for the scene shoot (will vary by scene).

Director: Coordinates all the crew, sets the shooting schedules, directs the scene from the actors to the cameras, lighting, timing, and anything else needed. Often picks up any task assignment left unclaimed, and might also be a camera operator during the shoot (in some cases, may be the only camera on the shoot).

Scene post-production

After the filming is complete and the footage has been delivered to the Director, the post-production work can begin.

Score / Music: Selects or composes and records the music and sound effects for all scenes of the movie. Verifies that we have rights to use the music and sound effects (Creative Commons license, etc.)

Editor: Cuts and edits all the video together for each scene, then assembles the entire movie. Also places the soundtrack, music and sound effects, working with the recordings from the voice talent and the the Score & Music crew.

Titles & Credits: Creates the opening credits as desired by the Editor. Creates the entire credits sequence (except for music), ready for the Editor to just paste in.

Director: Coordinate, approve and support all of the post-production activities, including publicity, premier and distribution (uplaoding to youtube.com, etc.)