Underestimating The Time Required For A Shoot

We all do it. We make a set schedule, list all of the shots out, time perfectly when talent is showing up, making sure things are set up just the way you want them, then you actually check your watch. Even last year helping friends out with ACP and Senior Thesis films, the time estimate is always completely shot once production actually starts. I'm guilty of this myself. Our shoot in the cabin took about 2 hours longer than we thought, and while shooting for my P&D project, my shoot ran 2 hours longer as well. Last year, a friend's senior thesis shoot ran over by 5 hours. While I understand how this could almost be expected in a professional project, I see time and time again projects getting screwed over because people have time commitments, people need to leave by a certain time, plans get pushed back, and people get impatient. I think we all need to re-evaluate our abilities to stay focused and plan for technical errors, because let's face it, something always comes up, so why not plan for an hour or two of cushion when telling people production times? And even if your shoot gets done earlier than you thought, more time to get extra shots in, and even when those are done, it's spare time to just relax after a long day of work. Just something to keep in mind :)