Things We’ve Learned After Spending Way Too Many Hours on Production Days

Andrew Rosen
Apr 23
3 min read

There’s always that moment on shoot day.

Someone says, “Wait… where’s the battery?”

And suddenly five people are checking backpacks while talent is standing there ready to go.

That’s production.

No matter how organized a shoot is, something unexpected always happens. The good news is that the best shoots are not the ones where everything goes perfectly. They’re the ones where the team is prepared enough to handle the chaos without completely losing it.

After a lot of long shoot days, last-minute pivots, and eating questionable gas station snacks between setups, we’ve picked up a few things that make production days run smoother.

Here are some of our favorite tips for shooting on set.

1. Charge. Every. Single. Battery.

This sounds obvious until it’s 2 PM and your camera battery is hanging on for dear life at 3%.

Bring extras. Then bring more extras.

Batteries, SD cards, hard drives, chargers, extension cords. Production days move fast, and nothing kills momentum faster than stopping everything because somebody forgot to charge gear the night before.

Also, label your batteries if you want to avoid the classic: “Wait… is this one dead?”

2. Audio Can Save or Destroy a Video

People will watch slightly shaky footage.

People will NOT sit through terrible audio.

If your video sounds like it was filmed inside a washing machine, nobody cares how cinematic it looks.

A few things that help:

Wear headphones while recording
Watch for background noise
Check audio levels constantly
Record backup audio if possible

And if you’re filming outside, the wind is your enemy. Always.

3. B-Roll Is Your Best Friend

You know all those random little clips people usually forget to grab? Get those.

The close-up shots. The camera setup. Someone laughing between takes. Coffee being poured. Hands adjusting lights. Street signs. The tiny details.

That stuff becomes GOLD in editing.

A lot of times, the moments that weren’t planned end up being everybody’s favorite shots.

4. Don’t Try to “Wing It”

You can always tell when a shoot has zero plan.

Everybody’s standing around.Nobody knows the next shot.Someone says “uhhh what should we do next?” every 10 minutes.

Not ideal.

Even if the shoot is super creative and spontaneous, having a shot list changes everything. It keeps the day moving and helps everybody stay on the same page.

Trust us, your future exhausted self will thank you later.

5. Lighting Matters More Than Camera Quality

A well-lit shot on a decent camera will almost always look better than bad lighting on an expensive camera.

People love obsessing over gear, but lighting is usually the real difference-maker.

Natural light is amazing until the sun disappears behind a cloud at the worst possible moment.

A few quick tips:

Avoid harsh overhead lighting
Soft light is usually more flattering
Watch for weird shadows
Keep lighting consistent between shots

Also, ring lights are not always the answer. Sorry.

6. Keep the Energy Up

Shoots are long. People get tired. Hungry. Hot. Delirious.

Energy on set matters way more than people realize. If the crew feels stressed, everybody feels stressed. If the vibe is good, the content usually ends up better too.

Some of the best production days happen because the team knows how to stay flexible, laugh when things go wrong, and keep moving.

Because something WILL go wrong. Probably multiple things.

That’s part of it.