Hi producers, I have made a few short films. I have also project managed some big IT projects (in the millions), so I am okay on control, planning and organisation. What are some warnings for first time producers? Looking at doing a feature (micro-budget). Thanks in advance.
Producing : What should I be worried about? by Craig D Griffiths
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Take care of your personal & family matters first, kids, pets, whatever- you gotta focus 24/7 on a feature, especially 1st time.
Besides that, share responsibilities. If you are writing & directing, I wouldn't produce. Hire someone else with feature experience or seasoned.
And don't be scare to fire crew.
Firing crew, that would be the thing for me. I normally give people one project to prove themselves, wouldn't have that luxury here.
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You will be working 16 hours a day and wearing at least 3 or 4 different hats, which will require lots of stamina. If you don't already, start jogging a few miles a day as prep for this.
Try to get at least one B-level actor, even if just for a cameo. The first thing a potential sales agent/distrib will ask is "Who's in it?"
Be concerned about everything and everyone, but in lieu of worry, have a backup person, vendor & plan for EVERYTHING on your speed dial.
Backup phone batteries.
Enough water to offset your coffee intake.
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Erik, hard work and Aussie goes hand in hand 16 hour days sound relaxing (lol). But your right, just because I am willing to work until I can't see (did 90 hours straight once - my eyes refused to focus - strangest feeling) doesn't mean others will. I'll have to plan well. A name actor, now that is a real challenge. Thanks
Royce good thinking about getting as close as possible to 100% redundancy, backups of everything. Wages and rights are a minefield I am not looking forward to. I am going to try a leverage model like in IT projects. The more hours and effect a person contributes the more of the project they own. If I take my foot off the accelerator my share can diminish.
The difference between producing a feature and producing a short is consistency.
From my experience doing micro-budget feature films in Sydney, most of the cast & crew will be fired up and highly motivated in the first few shooting days, but after you pass a certain point, they (who presumably still have their regular day jobs) will not be as motivated as when they start. They will have family, day job, and other commitments, like preparing for an audition for a bigger production, for example.
With short films, normally there are 3-4 shooting days, so consistency is normally not an issue, but with micro-budget feature films, where there are 10-30 shooting days, there will be good days (when all the plan comes together), and bad days (when some cast/crew aren't performing well, weather issues, equipment issues, etc).
The challenge is to keep them highly motivated and focused from the very beginning till the very end. Not easy to do on a micro-budget, when most of them are likely to be on deferred payment.
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Craig, sounds like you're pretty good on organization, so I would say build a production bible -- that's the single best thing I do on every project. Prepares me for projects big and small. I'm sure there are many differences between LA and Australia, but you can check out the one I use as a reference and build your own: http://bit.ly/2nor4vR