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The Art of the Shoot
How to keep your production on schedule and budget
(Page 2)
PUBLICITY
This is an often-dropped line item for smaller budgets, but it is very important for film delivery and could be extremely helpful for the shoot. If you’re looking for resources, cast, crew, locations, etc., spread the word; people excited about movies will respond to the call and those who don’t will at least now be aware of your film.
Also, figure out a way to budget for a still photographer on set, a behind-the-scenes video crew for the electronic press kit (EPK) and a unit publicist during the shoot—or at least a publicist on a monthly retainer for your festival premiere. You’ll need these items to help sell and deliver your film.
BIDS
Competitive bids from different rental houses and post-production facilities can keep your budget down. Get bids as soon as possible to help figure out how it affects your budget. Don’t be afraid to negotiate!
CREW
Knowing your crew is crucial. How fast is your DP? How do your department heads work? How much support staff does each department need? Are your keys used to low budgets? How do they handle stress?
Check references and get to know your crew as much as possible during pre-production. Try to keep an open dialogue between you, your production staff and the technical crew so that you’re always aware of everything they need and can try to provide it for them.
PRODUCTION STAFF (A.K.A. DON’T DO IT ALL YOURSELF!)
For a low-budget production, it’s easy for moviemakers to end up wearing multiple hats on set. If you’re the producer and you’re handling the paperwork, budget, petty cash, receipts, schedule and dealing with issues that arise on set, you’ll be spread so thin that areas of the production will suffer.
Your production staff is a direct reflection of you and the backbone of any production. An experienced and organized production staff will be ready with solutions that will make your life a lot easier and keep things running smoothly, no matter what the challenges.
CAST
Start the casting process as early as possible. Talent offers can take some time and once you set a start date, you want to be ready with a cast that can ideally prepare with the final material (see pg. 38). Make sure to allot for additional cast expenses that might come up during contract negotiations such as trailers and rental cars. For low-budget productions, taking a “most-favored-nations” approach—where every cast member is paid the same and receives the same perks—can help control costs.
TREATS!
Spend some money on extras like snacks and games to help keep crew morale up throughout the shoot. Make the cast and crew feel well taken care of so that when you put them in tough locations and through crazy work hours, they know that you appreciate them. Cast and crew generally understand low-budget moviemaking and they know that they might be doing a job for experience instead of a paycheck. If they are donating their time, try to make the experience as comfortable and fun for them as possible.
Because production involves spending a lot of money at a very quick pace, plan on some chaos. It’s so easy for time and expenses to get away from you. But if you really do your homework, ask questions, stay organized, keep in constant communication with the 1st AD, remain on top of finances with the production accountant and give yourself and your team as much prep time and resources as possible, you’ll have a better chance of a very successful shoot. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it can be done. Good luck and have fun! It’s the best job in the world!
As a founding partner of Santa Monica-based production company Steele Films, Laura Boersma has produced a wide variety of commercials and film productions.
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- Comment by van removals on 1/14/10 at 11:25 am
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This story was published in the Guide to Making Movies 2009 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
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