Daily Production Diary

3 surprising tips for low budget independent filmmaker (based on experience)

So in thinking how I might make the movie I want to create I wanted to think about two films I worked on while I was in Miami.

While neither was a raging success one, Smoking Stogies, got a DVD release, while the other Pure (The True Site of Eden), is not available on Amazon and has only played in a few select venues, essentially a non-release. I believe three quick lessons for independent filmmakers or digital filmmaking can be learned. I am sure there are more, but these are a good start and
they are probably useful tips for independent film.

1. A crew runs on its stomach - feed them, even if you need to beg! The irony here is that the Pure, which did not get an actual release, actually did a better job of this. I know because I spent countless hours on the phone, calling every single restaurant in Miami, begging for crew meals. In the end we had free crew meals from places such as Planet Hollywood and small cafes for the entire 15 day shoot. Essentially this came from begging. I literally started on the first page of restaurants in the yellow pages and finished on the last (with two to spare). All that was offered was credit in the film. If you are the producer or part of the above the line team you might not want to do this yourself. It can be hard if you think you have a great project to beg, its also very time consuming. However, if you have a great Production Coordinator or PA ask them to do it. It is a little less painful to take the rejection if you did not create the project. Due to this the crew was more willing to work under less than ideal circumstances. While Stogies did get a release the crew nearly mutinied over the food. The same horrible mini sausages every day for breakfast, etc. Even if you have to skimp on a few other things make sure you feed the crew well, you may think it will not appear on screen so it can me cut - wrong! Someway, somehow, through the quality of the crew's work it will show up on screen.

2. Pay your crew! It doesn't have to be much, but at least a small amount, show some respect. True professionals will most often not work for free but they will work for deeply deeply discounted rates. Even if you can only pay them $25 a day, it is something and demonstrated you value them. If something is free it is often perceived as having no value. Think about it, you are telling your crew they have no value! How do you think they will perform for you? This is doubly true if you expect them to provide their own equipment. Smokin' Stogies did not exactly pay us standard rates but they did pay us. This made the production feel much more like a team and attracted much more qualified team members. Sure we had a few interesting cases such as a Cinematographer that spoke only Spanish and a Camera Op that spoke only English, but they were both great at their job! If you pay people it will also make them far less likely to go crazy with lawsuits should your film get distribution. Pure DID NOT pay its crew. Not only was the quality of work less but lawsuits did occur within 2 years of completion - and it never even got distribution. If you would like to see the anger "free" gigs generates check out Craigslist and look for people's responses to free work.

3. Maybe you shouldn't direct. Yes, it is tempting. Yes, you may be a great artist or have piles of money. No, that does not mean you should direct. Directing a film takes a fine balance of the skills that make you a great artist and a great business person. If you only have half the equation, maybe you should reconsider. Being a producer is also a great thing! Pure had an award winning playwrite and theater director directing the film, based on her own script. In those worlds she was brilliant. In the film world it simply created a very artsy, very strange film, hence no distribution. Additionally it created some problems on set. A theater director is used to having much more time to rehearse and block. The light and weather is not a concern. usually there are not a ton of crew members hanging around waiting for a decision. That is not to say theater directing is easy, it isn't, but it is different in important ways. If you are a great painter, do not assume that means you can automatically capture great images on film. In the case of Stogies the director had a good chunk of change and some experience on the technical side of things, he was also a very nice guy. The fact is Stogies did not come together until later when a professional was brought in to work on recrafting parts of the film. Only then did it get distribution. You no doubt have some great skills, focus on where
they will do the most good.

Bonus: Hire a great Assistant Director. This is worth an entry unto itself (and will get one). For now just know it is very important and can save your butt.