Clock ticking on the production.... at DVinfo.net

Dennis Stevens · July 7th, 2010, 07:28 AM

I'm starting production on a web series, and right now I'm a one man band. I'm working on the casting, getting crew, preparing the budget, etc. Thankfully, everyone I've talked to about the project has been very enthusiastic.

Here's my thought... Do you folks find once you've officially started on your project - casting calls are up, you're talking to potential crew, etc - that a clock has started ticking? People are getting involved in the project and they have a lot of enthusiasm. So you need to hustle to make things happen - if the project starts to look stalled, people lose energy and drift away.

Of course, I have a schedule for pre-production, production, post etc. But certainly in my mini-budget world, those schedules are very subject to change.

There's no strict reason the schedule can't change, and I'm sure it will change somewhat. But one of the keys to success seems to be keeping your team energized and enthusiastic about what they are doing. If things are getting pushed back and back, you start to lose your cast and crew.

So you're hustling to get it all done, but also trying to take the time to do the job right. So it becomes a difficult balancing act, and a million little judgement calls that determine how good your production turns out.

OK, that's how it seems to me. I just wonder if others are dealing with the same thing? Perhaps it happens only with little indie filmmakers like myself.

Henry Williams · July 7th, 2010, 09:25 AM

I've worked on a few larger productions and a lot of small ones and it does seem to be the same regardless of scale- past a certain stage these things acquire a life of their own and problems that would have been major issues earlier on just get dealt with. Conversely anything big enough that it does actually cause delay is much more likely to take the whole project off the boil and kill it completely.

Sareesh Sudhakaran · July 10th, 2010, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennis Stevens

and right now I'm a one man band

Being a one man band in a job meant for collaboration is the reason why most schedules fail. You need to find partners who can carry the responsibilities with you. I don't mean employees, I mean partners.

That's why big (and even some micro) budget productions have many 'producers and its variations'. That's what they do - take the responsibility for those things that can pull a project back.

July 7th, 2010, 07:28 AM	#1
Dennis Stevens Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 425	Clock ticking on the production.... I'm starting production on a web series, and right now I'm a one man band. I'm working on the casting, getting crew, preparing the budget, etc. Thankfully, everyone I've talked to about the project has been very enthusiastic. Here's my thought... Do you folks find once you've officially started on your project - casting calls are up, you're talking to potential crew, etc - that a clock has started ticking? People are getting involved in the project and they have a lot of enthusiasm. So you need to hustle to make things happen - if the project starts to look stalled, people lose energy and drift away. Of course, I have a schedule for pre-production, production, post etc. But certainly in my mini-budget world, those schedules are very subject to change. There's no strict reason the schedule can't change, and I'm sure it will change somewhat. But one of the keys to success seems to be keeping your team energized and enthusiastic about what they are doing. If things are getting pushed back and back, you start to lose your cast and crew. So you're hustling to get it all done, but also trying to take the time to do the job right. So it becomes a difficult balancing act, and a million little judgement calls that determine how good your production turns out. OK, that's how it seems to me. I just wonder if others are dealing with the same thing? Perhaps it happens only with little indie filmmakers like myself.

July 7th, 2010, 09:25 AM	#2
Henry Williams Major Player Join Date: May 2010 Location: Lewisham, London, United Kingdom Posts: 408	I've worked on a few larger productions and a lot of small ones and it does seem to be the same regardless of scale- past a certain stage these things acquire a life of their own and problems that would have been major issues earlier on just get dealt with. Conversely anything big enough that it does actually cause delay is much more likely to take the whole project off the boil and kill it completely.