In
filmmaking
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
, 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 digital video camera, which typically must be film editing, edited to create a motion picture, digital video, video cli ...
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 the ...
, 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 ...
(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 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 stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...
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 cut
A jump cut is a cut (transition), cut in film editing that breaks a single continuous sequential shot of a subject into two parts, with a piece of footage removed to create the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera positioning on the subjec ...
s from the master shot to the pick-up shot and back. These can be
close-up
A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...
s,
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 holes (or worse) in the final cut.
Pick-ups and reshoots themselves can pose significant continuity issues. For example, if the original costumers or makeup artists are unavailable (or if rented costumes and wigs were returned and original makeup supplies were entirely used up), then their replacements must study their predecessors' work, and precisely match whatever was used during the original film shoot.
See also
*
B-roll
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pick-Up (Filmmaking)
Film and video terminology
Television terminology