# How Long Does Principal Photography (on a movie) Take? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225 "2013-03-29T00:00:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225/21 "2013-03-29T16:12:46Z")
Joss Whedon did _Much Ado About Nothing_ in 2 weeks. Of course, the sets were his house and backyard, and they filmed in B&W with simple cameras and there were no special effects or green-screen pieces. OTOH, _The Avengers_ took 5 months. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225/22 "2013-03-29T16:17:52Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > But that was for three simultaneous movies, so dividing that out yields… 3 months of principal photography per movie, much like other movies. Incorrect. 90 shoot days equals four and a half months. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225/23 "2013-03-29T16:19:56Z")
[Popatopolis: How to Make a Movie in Three Days](http://www.amazon.com/Popatopolis-Make-Movie-Three-Days/dp/B003L2E4J2/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364573936&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=popatapolis) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225/24 "2013-03-29T16:23:58Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > For something as harrowing and epic as it gets, principal photography on the Lord of the Rings trilogy took [274 days.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal_photography_of_The_Lord_of_the_Rings_film_series) And I believe the Hobbit filmed for a few _more_ days, despite it initially being filmed as two movies. And now they have to film further things this year to fill in the gaps, making it a monster. > [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > Kubrick took more than a year to shoot “The Shining”. And Eyes Wide Shut had over 400 production days, I believe? Something like that, anyway. Kubrick shot an absolute huge amount of film to make his movies. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225/25 "2013-03-29T16:56:19Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Define “Principal Photography”. Principle photography is mainly a block of time where sets, props, costumes, crew, actors, etc., have been reserved. The rest of the production usually takes at least as long on the calender because the dates are more flexible. For the crew it’s the busiest part of movie making because everything has to be done on schedule. The time frame is locked down by the producers in the planning stages based on the availability of all resource including financing. From that point, unless the producers are willing to let production get out of hand, that time slot for principle photography controls the quality of the film. Any script or cast changes have to be completed and everyone and everything has to be ready to go on day one of the scheduled time. If the producers aren’t willing to pay penalties for rescheduling, filming begins with the script and cast they have at the time. Most of the scenes have to be shot in that time frame, and directors are rarely satisfied with what they have on the last day. Extending, or delaying the time frame costs money. All of the rest of the production can be performed on a more flexible schedule. The cast and crew may already be committed to other work and additional scenes and rework may not be scheduled until principle photograhy is completed. The time frame for editing, scoring, and the latter stages of production can run on until a release date has been set, and even then there be more reworking of the product right up until the release, and sometimes afterwards with updated releases. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225/26 "2013-03-29T18:47:31Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > Kubrick took more than a year to shoot “The Shining”. Principal photography on _Apocalypse Now_ started on March 1, 1976 and ended on May 24, 1977. Of course they weren’t filming all of those days,but it was a helluva long time especially back then. ---
**Author:** ![lew\_cody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@lew\_cody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lew_cody)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225/27 "2013-03-29T19:39:58Z")
_Cecil B. DeMille’s Hollywood_ by Robert S. Birchard has production dates for most of DeMille’s films; they can be taken as a representative sample of how long larger-budget Hollywood movies were in production during the studio era. His first film, _The Squaw Man_, started shooting on December 29, 1913 and only took 18 working days. _The King of Kings_ took from August 1926 to January 1927 to complete. _The Greatest Show on Earth_ was filmed mainly from January to May 1951, but various process shots and audience scenes continued to be filmed through August. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225/28 "2013-03-29T20:17:35Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > A good friend of mine makes a nice chunk of change putting together film budgets for major studios. He can take a script and tear it down to time and cost. He is quite good at, for instance, giving comparisons to filming in Paris, Rome and London versus filming in Budapest, Prague and Warsaw (for the same visual effects and style of background for 1/3 the price). He also knows the laws in each country regarding hiring locals, taxes and fees, and any government incentives that will cut costs. Trust me, there were very good reasons the recent series Hatfields & McCoys was shot in Romania instead of the US. Man, I bet he’s one guy who doesn’t haven’t to grub for work in Hollywood. > [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > Kubrick took more than a year to shoot “The Shining”. But he was almost psychotic in his demand for dozens of takes (at least) for most scenes. Someone else can probably come up with the number for some of them. Most directors would never get away with this, from the producers _or_ actors. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225/29 "2013-03-29T21:03:05Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > But he was almost psychotic in his demand for dozens of takes (at least) for most scenes. Someone else can probably come up with the number for some of them. Most directors would never get away with this, from the producers _or_ actors. The results speak for themselves. I just watched a documentary made by Kubrick’s daughter about “The Shining”. Duvall acknowledged the friction with Kubrick, but seemed to think that it was all part of the creative process. And for all his meticulousness, the amazing angle looking up at Jack while he is talking to Duvall through the freezer door, was done on the spur of the moment, using a regular old incandescent light with a diffuser sheet for fill! Part of his genius is to accept the happy accidents, like George C. Scott’s stumble in Strangelove. “Heeere’s Johnny!” was ad-libbed. Kubrick didn’t get the reference, being a Brit, and it almost didn’t make the final cut! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225/30 "2013-03-30T15:45:58Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > Kubrick didn’t get the reference, **being a Brit** , and it almost didn’t make the final cut! Nitpick - while Kubrick had lived in England since 1962, he was born in Manhattan and raised in The Bronx. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225/31 "2013-03-30T20:49:08Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Nitpick - while Kubrick had lived in England since 1962, he was born in Manhattan and raised in The Bronx. But Carson didn’t start the Tonight Show until 1962, so Kubrick’s earlier experiences wouldn’t have helped him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-principal-photography-on-a-movie-take/654225.md?page=1)