Rehearsal

Before we started filming, we made sure we had time do test our lighting and run through what we would be doing on the actual shoot days with the actors. 

We went over different parts of the film with them, and made sure they felt comfortable with the how the narrative was flowing, and with the movements they were going to be doing. This was especially important with the fight scenes as there was a higher risk of someone injuring themselves. Our AD worked with the dancers as they carefully choreographed the battle sequences so that while it looked quite violent, both actors were completely in control the whole time. 

it was very useful from our perspective as well as it gave us opportunity to actually see what it was going to look like and envision the shots with more accuracy. It really helped us to build up an idea of what was going to happen on the shoot days, and we could change bits and chat to the actors about what they thought as well which helped bring a new dimension into the film as they have different perspectives than we do as filmmakers.

Rehearsals are also important as they give you a chance to see what areas of the film don't work as well as you thought they would, and gives you a chance to edit things before shoot day.