filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...

, a pick-up is a small, relatively minor shot filmed or recorded after the fact to augment

footage In filmmaking and video production, footage is raw, unedited material as originally filmed by a movie camera or recorded by a ( often special) video camera, which typically must be edited to create a motion picture, video clip, television show or ...

already shot. When entire scenes are redone, it is referred to as a re-shoot or additional photography.

On set

During

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

, the director may choose to ask for another

take A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

(meaning that every movable object and person in the scene returns to their starting positions and the entire shot is recorded all over again), or may ask for a pick-up shot of only the faulty portion of an otherwise satisfactory take. In the latter situation, the

script supervisor A script supervisor (also called continuity supervisor or script) is a member of a film crew who oversees the continuity of the motion picture including wardrobe, props, set dressing, hair, makeup and the actions of the actors during a scene. The ...

is expected to record in their notes that a pick-up shot was called for (so the

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film ed ...

can understand and correctly edit the resulting footage) and also help prompt or " cue" the relevant actor by reading the last line before that actor's line. It is increasingly common for a director to not immediately call "cut" after a blooper, but instead leave the camera rolling and call for a pick-up, which makes pick-up shots an exception to the normal rule that a script supervisor does not cue actors while the camera is rolling. When a pick-up shot is created in this manner to be edited into the middle of an existing shot, the script supervisor must ensure the director also creates "bridge shots" to bridge what would otherwise look like jarring jump cuts from the master shot to the pick-up shot and back. These can be close-ups, cutaways, or shots of the same scene from different angles.

Later editing

Pick-up shots and re-shoots can also occur after principal photography is complete—after continuity, logic, or quality issues are identified during the film editing process. In other words, they can occur months after the sets have been struck, the costumes and props have been stored, and all the cast and most of the crew have moved on to other projects. In deciding whether to proceed, the director and producer must carefully balance the substantial expense of reuniting key cast and crew members on set against whether pick-ups or re-shoots are absolutely necessary to fix

plot hole In fiction, a plot hole, plothole or plot error is a gap or inconsistency in a storyline that goes against the flow of logic established by the story's plot. Plot holes are usually created unintentionally, often as a result of editing or the w ...

s (or worse) in the final cut. Pick-ups and reshoots themselves can pose significant continuity issues. For example, if the original costumers and makeup artists are unavailable to participate (and if rented costumes and wigs were returned and original makeup supplies were entirely used up), then those crew members' replacements must study their predecessors' work and precisely match whatever was used during the original film shoot.

On set

Later editing

References

See also