Producing: Part I - The Moment Man

Planning's everything.

Right around November it occurred to me that I haven't been on a set in a while. Luckily, James and Ernie happened to have a semi-finished project they needed a little help on. "The Moment Man" was maybe 90% complete when we called the cast, crew and a couple of locations to finsh her up. I have to admit, I had forgotten how much fun just being a producer can be.

So this was a student project for James Vincent, my preminent editor, and lord knows I owed him a favor, so I said "sure". Turns out, the female lead, Belinda Purdum, had been recommended to the project originally by me last year, so getting in touch was easy. We really lucked out in being able to get back in touch with the original cast members, though it was a bummer that my favorite DP, Cris Olariu, had since moved to la-la land. I sat down with the boys and determined we needed exactly two scenes and several green-screen shots to lay over some plates that had been shot back in '07. The script called for a backyard BBQ and an art studio. As I got working on this, it occurred to me, this might be the perfect time to start my series on producing. So here we go - Part I: The Moment Man.

We set a date first, then backed into the locations. I've found that when your production budget is little more than a theory, it's best to set a date, then secure the talent, and finally, the location. I think from an artistic standpoint, it's a bass-ackward way of doing things, but availability of everything you have to ask for is the key. Cameras are borrowed, lights and equipment are always available from a rental house. Talent is either available on that date or not, so they should make the commitment when the dates are offered.

Locations are another matter. OK, if you need to shoot a basement apartment, we can go all New Wave and just use a friend's house, but when you're ever so ambitious and need a restaurant, bar, shopping mall, grocery store, office building, anything that requires "permission", I think setting a date is your first order of business. Usually the owners of these fine establishments will want to know (for some reason) when you want to shoot there, assuming they've already agreed in principle to let you do so. Coming back with a "Ummm...sometime next month..." doesn't give them a lot of confidence. Besides, if your dream location says "no", what's the problem? Find another location - it might not have the cool reflective neon lighting you were so dreaming of, but it's better to have an option on the location than the date.

So how about your talent, crew and equipment? What if they're unavailable on the date you chose?

Well, this is where long forecasting comes into play. I don't know how other nolo/indies do it, but when I cast, I give a shooting "range" and ask the actors to state their availability in that range. I'm a spreadsheet guy, so I take all the unavailable dates, drop them into a little schedule, and plan the shoot, in general around that. I know, I know, it adds a nice complexity to an already complex problem, but I believe engaging your team leads to an engaged team, and if you show a little sympathy for their lives outside the free work they are doing on your film, you get a bit more commitment and less chance an actor will just decide the dictator (director) is not worth it.

Now one caveat - if you, like me, are no camera guy and don't own one, you're either renting or borrowing. Renting, if you live near a major metropolitian area with a good equipment house, is normally not a problem. Even if you're out in the sticks, many of the bigger houses will ship (at an additional cost, of course) your rented camera and glass. But if you've decided to borrow a camera, I think the availability of the camera takes precedence. If you have your heart set on a Saturday morning shoot but the camera's owner is already committed to videograph a wedding that day (he's got to pay for that camera somehow), sorry, he wins. You can either rent or reschedule - and I hate paying for anything that has the possibility of being free. Even renting you run the risk of not being able to get the same camera/lens package as you've been shooting on and your stock won't match.

To me, and I know a lot of filmmakers won't agree with this, but in my opinion, in nolo (no pay, low pay) world, a producer has to be strong, prepared, flexible, committed, a great organizer and above all else - nice. I can't tell you how many sets I have seen cast and crew abandon because a producer/director took the old addage "you've got to be a little bit selfish" too far. It's true, you need a shot, the light is fading, your cast has to go, everyone's hungry, tired and you've been shooting for 18 hours, but you have to appreciate your people as people - and that means as much as they sacrifice for you, you have to sacrifice for them. Plan ahead, communicate the plan, get agreement, but flex with your cast and crew and borrowed-equipment-owner's schedules. Get agreements, but make agreements also. Your cast agreed to a 12-hour shooting day and suddenly it looks like you need 14 hours? Ask them. Don't command. But I can't stress enough, you would never find yourself in that situation if you just plan ahead. Know your shots, know your crew, know your setup time and stick to the schedule.

But even the best planning can't account for the unexpected. I'll hit that one next time.