NOBODY PANIC!
It's HAPPENING... remain calm!
We are SO back. Late. But back nonetheless to continue our short series. I’ll be honest, I start these posts and think… There is simply so much information. I hope this isn’t overwhelming and that this is, in fact, hopeful. Let me know. Keep me posted. etc.
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE THE SHOOT…
If you’ve done you’re homework, it should be smooth sailing. Just kidding, something will definitely fall through in the most inconvenient way. Try to remember to stay calm; this is just part of it. Get some sleep and do everything you can to set yourself up for the best experience possible. I like to stay close to the set, even if that means getting an Airbnb close by so that I’m not stressing about being on time, getting some sleep, and having a chill night the night before. I like to give my script and shot list one last once-over, make some notes, and make sure that everything I’ve been preparing for is fresh in my mind. Other than that, if you’re the director who is also producing, it’s time to pass the baton to your producer.
Charlotte Gilbert, producer extraordinaire. I’d hand over anything to Charlotte.
Have a Zoom or Google Meet or, better yet, meet in person with your AD and Producer, go over the day’s plan, and make sure there aren’t any loose ends. Also, make sure that your cast knows to reach out to your AD or 2nd AD for questions and concerns, and your crew knows to reach out to your producer with questions and concerns. As much as possible, keep your brain clear of logistics and get ready to fully focus on story and creative. For the most part, your producer and AD should protect you from any issues that arise… but that being said, there are some issues that should always be brought to your attention, and here’s why.
If this were a studio film or a network TV show, and things go wrong, your cast and crew will look to the studio and network for answers, as they are very clearly holding the purse strings. With indie films (short and feature length), it boils down to the director. This is a generalization, so don’t come at me, but typically I find this to be true. It’s generally your LLC; a large chunk of the money may come from your financiers or pockets, and ultimately, it’s your responsibility to make sure everyone is safe and taken care of. There’s only so much you can do, and hopefully, the people you hired can support you sufficiently and make sure that nothing major goes wrong. Some examples of things your producer should definitely divulge: PA gets into an accident with a box truck, OR the loss of a location. Both things have happened to me on multiple shoots.
Accident for the obvious of making sure your PA is okay and feels safe and good to work. Then, you should fill out an accident report immediately for insurance purposes. Secondly, the loss of a location is a creative emergency that a director can help field. Don’t just pick a new location. No… I do not want to shoot in front of this Guitar Center. Anyways, you get the idea. You’ve hired people you trust, and now it’s time to pass over the info and let them fully take the wheel. Examples of physical items:
Call Sheet - you, your AD, and producer should do this together on the first draft, and you should all approve the final. The call sheet should go out no later than 12 hours before your call time the next day.
COIs - make sure your producer has physical copies of COIs in the event that anything should happen, you can easily reference.
Location Agreements & Keys- make sure to have physical copies of these on hand. Also, is there a location contact letting you into the location on the day? Do you have their number? Make sure you do! OR did they give you the key? Great! Make sure it works. AND I’d make sure that you have the key and you are there to open the door in the morning. That or someone you REALLY trust.
Shotlist - depending on how you work, you may not want to share your shot list. I like to give my shotlist to my AD, Producer, DP, Script Supervisor, A Cam Operator, Gaffer, and Key Grip. I like doing it this way as then they know the day’s plan, and I make sure that they know that if there’s an easier way to do what I’m doing… I wanna know.
Contacts - as I mentioned in an earlier substack, not all people will want to be on the call sheet due to Union restrictions. Make sure that your 2nd AD (or AD, depending on the size of your crew) has all of the contact info for the cast and that the cast understands to direct all questions and concerns to the 2nd AD on the day. And in this same way, the crew should be directed to the Producer.
HERE GOES NOTHING!
Okay, you’re on set! You did it. Here are some things that help me. I find the actual “on set” part of the production to be when I’m the most “in flow.” Things feel easy, fun, and fast-paced in a way that jives with my personality and working style. In my next Substack, I’m going to break down how I approach a scene, but before we go, here are some things I do to help put myself in the best mental space possible.
Me in my absolute freakin’ element <3 on the set of “Guts!”
Don’t limit your coffee intake - and that’s my worst piece of advice. But seriously. I don’t normally let myself drink Diet Coke, but I do on shoot days as an afternoon pick-me-up. Also, Liz Moody said something about coffee being good for you and a mood booster, so I’m running with it.
Someone is going to ask you a question you don’t know the answer to, don’t be afraid to say, “Give me one second to think about that.” Once, a UPM taught me to put my hand under my chin and go “hmm” and nod a little to buy myself some time. Sounds dumb, but it’s worked. Stay away from saying, “I don’t know” because as a director, you should know. I’m a fan of “let’s brainstorm this together.”
Something is going to go wrong - don’t panic. Take a deep breath. Don’t be reactive, be reflective. The best directors and leaders are the best listeners. Remember that 9 times out of 10, the answer to the problem is to listen.
One thing I heard Julia Garner say in a Smartless episode today was, “failure is a friend of the clown.” She learned this in a clowning class she took, but I think it applies to the creative process of making a film. It also harkens back to something I learned from Seth Barrish at the Barrow Group, which is that your imagined result will never be the actual result, and chasing that imagined result, you’re missing out on that messy, human middle. That’s the magic. Remember to be loose and flexible. Slow down, listen, and remember that filmmaking is a collaboration. You came up with a plan to use as guidelines, not laws.
Lacey Jeka and I on the set of “Guts!” aka “The Magic.”
Some filmmakers will disagree with me, and you know what, Wes Anderson rocks. But that’s not my style. My favorite part is watching the movie appear before me in the way I never saw it before, and spoiler alert, it’s almost always better than what I imagined. And one last platitude that I love that I was reminded of the other day was from Donald Glover in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, where he talks about some advice he got from Erykah Badu. In a nutshell, he was expressing that he was nervous about how a certain thing he was creating was going to be perceived, and whether people would ‘get it’ or not.
Here’s a still of “Guts!” written by and starring Lacey Jeka. We shot “Guts!” in black and white — a choice that was a risk on how it would be received and perceived. We doubled down, and it remains my favorite thing I’ve done. This is also my favorite frame of the whole short. This was not part of the plan, an accidental find from Stew, and I love it so much.
He asked her if she had ever dealt with something similar, and she said, “I make what I like. And they eat it how they want to eat it.” He goes on to talk about not being afraid to be corny, “no one is on their deathbed wishing they had been less cringe.” I love this. What people think of you is none of your business. For the next few days, trust yourself, trust your creative instincts, and lean into what you think is good. Be a try-hard. Do ‘too much.’ The rest is really out of your hands.
Also, this is supposed to be fun, so have fun!
Buckels