You were watching an interesting movie. But a thought appeared in your mind, how long does it take to film a movie?
After the film ended you came to Google to find the answers. Well, it roughly takes around 6 months to 2 years to shoot an average film. But there are more things involved which might increase or decrease the shooting time.
In this post, we talk about how long it takes to film a movie, know the process of filmmaking, and much more.
What’s The Average Filmmaking Time Frame?
On average, movie production takes place in a particular hour which is known as phases. Each phase plays an important role as it moves the movie from one stage to another.
Coming straight to the topic, an average movie might take from 2-8 months to 2-6 years to move from the preproduction stage until it gets distributed to the distributors and finally is released in the theatres.
The struggle is quite real here because many departments are working day and night to make the movie hit on the big screen.
La La Land is one such prime example which took six years in pre-production itself but got released in theaters in 2016. A lot of thinking and planning was involved. But after trial and error, the romantic musical movie came out and mesmerized the audience.
So it doesn’t matter what is the average filmmaking time frame. If you have all the ingredients (equipment) then the recipe (movie) will definitely win all hearts.
How Long Do Different Types Of Movies Take To Make?
1. Indie AKA Independent films
Independent movies take around 3 to 6 months in the pre-production stage and 1 or 2 months for principal photography. It can take around 6 months or even a year to pass the post-production stage.
Indie movies, independent films, or independent movies, are films that are produced outside any big film studio system. They have tight budgets and sometimes the production time can be a bit heavier on the budget.
2. Romance Films
Some Romantic movies take only 3 weeks to 2 months to produce. Next, they move to the editing stage which doesn’t take longer than a month. The movie neither has VFX nor action scenes so the budget is extremely small.
Romance films are love stories that have a mushy romance that intends to melt the viewer’s hearts.
3. Drama Movies
The time to complete drama movies mostly depends on the scope and budget. If one is shooting for a period drama, then it might take a lot of time in pre-production to create such a set and make costumes.
A drama film revolves around a story that has a more serious tone or other range of moods.
4. Superhero Or Sci-Fi Action Movies
A lot of post-production work, that is VFX and editing is required in this genre, so the pre-production and production stage can take months or one year. But the post-production might take 1 to 4 years as per the budget.
Superhero or sci-fi action movies are those movies that involve science as well as action. The writer should not make any mistakes as one error can gain negative reviews from the viewers.
5. Animation Movies
Animation movies take more time than all genres because there are voice actors involved, the characters need to be sketched, and so on. If great animators are on board, then it can take one to five years to finish a film.
Animation movies are movies that make 2D and 3D movies that are fictional. It has a lot of genres but most people love comedy animation films.
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The Four Phases Of Moviemaking
1. Ideation: First stage
This is the very first stage where creativity begins. The filmmaker pens down his original idea in the form of an outline. Then he writes a rough script and thinks about the team they will put everything in place.
This stage can take up to 3 to 6 months because finding ideas when writing takes time. The filmmaker might also dunt the whole idea about the movie if it doesn’t work out without losing a single penny.
2. Pre-production: Assembling cast and crew
The pre-production stage mostly takes less time than other stages which are 6 to 10 months. The producer goes on a searching spree to hire the best director, department heads, actors, and crew members for this project.
Once the department heads are hired, they hunt for the crew, followed by auditions for actors, begin costume and set design, and find perfect locations for the shoot.
In the meantime, the writing team does the editing if any rewriting work is required. On the other hand, the cinematographer and director start storyboarding each scene. Besides, the production department is pretty busy raising money and budgeting for the film.
This is the only stage where the entire crew can make schedules, do rehearsals, and do other things to avoid a blunder.
3. Production: The main action begins here
The production of an average budget film one to six months. The time depends on the budget, scenes, and scripts. The estimated time can vary on the sequences, locations, and different camera setups.
In sequences, the crew shoots pyrotechnics or shoots and choreographed action scenes. It can sometimes take more time than you think or might require a reshoot.
So the cast and crew must come prepared to shoot such scenes.
4. Post-production: The last stage
The post-production stage is the final stage of film shooting. In this stage, the clips and videos go to the editing team to compile them together into a film.
The editing team uses various special effects or CGI, adding music or other sound effects, video, and audio editing techniques to make a film more creative and appealing. This stage takes around 6 months to 1 year to get the final product
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How much time does it take to shoot a typical scene?
Everything depends on the requirements and the intricacy of the shoot. If the cast and crew are extremely hardworking, then they can complete their eight pages of the script every day. That means they would complete three to four scenes within 12 to 13 hours. However, they might not get a single minute for themselves and feel super tired after the shoot is over.
On the other hand, on average, a basic shoot with little interruptions can be completed between 3 and 5 hours. Sometimes, it can also take days or weeks to shoot a typical scene which is dependent on the right weather and other things.
2. How long does it take for a Broadway musical to be made into a movie?
Well, this is one tricky question. First of all, making a Broadway musical into a movie highly depends on its popularity. Some musicals miss the chance to become a movie because they are not famous among the audience. Some people aren’t interested in it either.
Many musical shows like Hamilton got a movie adaptation because they were already famous. Apart from that, it also depends on the current interests. And nowadays, broadway productions are turning into movies because the market is hot for them.
Along with the broadway fan base, other audiences are also taking interest in these films. And shooting these films takes varied amounts of time because of different variables. For instance, Evita debuted in 1976 on Broadway, its movie premiered in 1996, and Broadway Show, West Side Story to five years to release as a movie after five years.
Some broadways also take months to get filmed and released in the theaters. Thus, the shooting of the musicals is depended on several factors like the popularity of the musical, how willing is the copyright holder to make a film, the willingness of the movie studio to adapt the musical, the length of the contract, and the availability and willingness of the producers.
3. Why does filming take 14+ hour days on average?
Well, the reason behind the filming of certain shows or movies taking 14+ hours per day is because of the changing location. Parking the vehicles, dressing up, doing makeup, unpacking and setting up the stuff, and many other factors may take hours at the beginning of every shoot day.
Thus, it limits the hours of the shoot time and the filming goes beyond midnight. So the cast and crew are not in a 9 to 5 job, but 14+ working jobs, which is pretty much common in the entertainment industry.
Directors and producers are the ones under the pressure to finish the shoot in the given time because a lot of money, creativity, and time are involved.
Some crew even work 40+ hours per week, so consider yourself booked for the entire weekend if you are planning to work in the film industry.
4. How long does it usually take to finish a movie production?
Several conditions determine the finishing of the movie production, first is the budget. Then comes hunting the right cast and crew which might take months or years. For instance, La La Land took six years before finally being made. Once the producer gives the green light, then it moves to the pre-production stage, which can also take a year.
After the scripts are read by the cast and other things are taken care of, the next comes to the production stage. This stage may take 6 months to 1 year as per the outdoors scenes. If a producer has an enormous budget, then they can even make snowfall happen in summer in Spain.
A simple budget film takes 100 days to prep, 1 month to shoot, and 60 to 90 days post-production. In simple terms, a two-hour film can take between 30 days to 2 to 5 years depending on various factors.
5. How many scenes are shot a day for a Hollywood feature film?
A Hollywood feature film shoots for 12 hours in a single camera production day and most movies take around 25 setups that are individual shot every day. It takes a long time because each scene has to be rehearsed, clogged, and shot.
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