One of the unique perks of working in film and TV is that the work is in a state of refinement until the end. From pre-production to delivery, every job is carved down from something larger until it’s done. We throw out much of what we research, what we scout, who we screen test, locations are refined, takes are scratched, angles moved, and carefully built and sourced props end up out of focus. Most of our work is eventually forgotten and discarded until we are left with the final piece. It’s just part of it.

We are lucky we get to work that way.

Imagine if a builder took the plans and then just kept construction going until they ran out of material and then cut the bits of the house off that they didn’t like? They’d get fired.

Houses don’t get the luxury of being over-built for refinement. This one might have tried.

As filmmakers, we operate within various stages of refinement. So why not lean in? Why not actually seek to capture for the cutting room floor? I’m not saying that rolling on unnecessary scenes is a good idea, I’m saying get your idea, your scene, your shot in the can, then try to make it better, prettier, more efficient - more meaningful. If we just shoot the boards, then we’re just getting the boards - and boards are made for paper. If the boarded shot works best, you’ll only know if you try something else.

Storyboards are perfect for the paper they’re printed on.

When we free ourselves up to the idea that we’re going to throw a lot of what we shoot out we end up with an empowered editor spoiled for choice and assurance that our final cut is the best it can be!

This was our approach for this commercial for Valley Seed. A piece for Pepper Agency out of Ballarat, created with my good friends from Burning House Productions. We had a budget that could afford us a day with a full crew, or 4 days with a small crew. We opted for the latter.

I pitched a plan of overshooting - to get more than we needed! Shoot with a small crew, and fill the days up with lots of small visual ideas based around themes knowing that much of what we shoot, will not make it in, but the bits that did would be excellent.

We had a tiny crew! Producer Charlie Porter, myself as director, Matthew Jenkins DP and Francis our camera assistant/drone op… I did sound, (I did okay). We were blessed in that our agency and client trusted us to gather what we needed. They had a strong interest in a few scenes, but for the most part, they left us to it. It was a shame because it’s nice to have people around to look at what you’re doing and stick their thumb up at you occasionally.

We planned for 4 days of shooting and focused our efforts on lining up scenes and moments with the best times of the day. We used the Sunseeker app to schedule our scenes. This was particularly important when we needed to shoot some closeups of a cattle auctioneer. The position they stood in, was covered, and to the east, a hill blocked the sunrise from hitting the spot till 8:30. This would give us 15 minutes of beautiful backlight on the auctioneers before the sun was then hidden behind the cattle yard roof. Thankfully it was a clear morning and we were able to shoot our closeups, before completing the scene by covering the real auction as it happened. Even with the available time, we overshot this scene, trying new angles until our time was up.

Another less successful moment was trying to line up a wind turbine with a Valley Seed company car. I’d found a road on the property during the reccy (see picture) and Matty the DP and I figured it would look beautiful backlit, (when does anything not?). On the day, the sun didn’t rise and deflated, we shot it quickly and moved on. It didn’t make the cut and that’s okay, due to the nature of our overshooting style, we chose another travelling shot.

The client returned for the pack shot. They’re actually in the shot and while we were out shooting the day before they were diligently practising holding a single grass seed in between their thumb and forefinger. Try it. You won’t be able to do it.

Our client showing us some real dedication to his craft.

As predicted our final commercial is about 10% of what we shot. The majority is in the bin. They are scenes that at the time, we loved. There was ‘the farmer and children walking through knee-high grass at dusk’, the ‘sales rep, overlooking pasture’ or the countless shots of cattle dogs diligently rounding up sheep.

It can be frustrating to leave these moments on the cutting room floor, but it’s the mark of a well-covered job. But, if you’ve got to delete some of your best stuff, you must have done something right.

Perhaps the better analogy than the indecisive builder is the experienced surfer, falling off a few times before mastering a new break. As filmmakers, we should be more like the surfer. Head out with the intention to attack as many waves as possible, knowing that a few of them will be the best rides of the day.

The final commercial for Valley Seeds