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When a producer is in the trenches of an indie film shoot, all they can hope is the creative army they recruited can win the war. There will be financial grenades to dodge, scheduling salvos to duck, and inner fighting between their own troops. The two enemies always advancing forward to stop a film from being completed are time and money.
This is why it is crucial to have hired a mercenary director that knows these enemies all too well and how to defeat them. The worst nightmare a producer has is learning too late that the director they hired has no indie film battle experience. They are trying to use Hollywood studio budget film tactics to fight an enemy they do not understand and are losing badly. All the producer can do at that time is watch their time and money blowup in front of their eyes.
To avoid this scenario it is important to hire a director that understands how to balance creativity with harsh financial realities. In fairness to the directors you interview, it is better to tell them there is a limited amount of money and time to complete the project. Not being straightforward with them about what they are up against because you really love their reel will lead to problems during the shoot.
If the production budget is $50,000 and there is less than two weeks to shoot, the director has to be able to work quickly to get what is needed on camera. A director in this position can't fall behind and burn time calling for take after take on scenes. They have to be able to move on from a scene even if it is not perfect or how they artistically wanted it.
It takes a director with the ability to pick and choose what crucial scenes they can spend extra time on while moving through others faster.
I read in an article about one legendary director who would sometimes go through 100 takes of an actor walking down a hall until they felt they it was perfect. A director working on an indie budget just can't do that. They have to be economically creative in what they shoot.
There are Hollywood directors that are known to be able to work very quickly and turn out movies that look awesome. A smaller budget movie needs a director that knows what they want to see and how to get it shot effectively. It comes down to being certain in their vision. A director that second-guesses every decision they make or is uncertain will hurt your movie.
About this Author
Get the inside scoop on writing, producing, directing, and movie distribution at Slice Of Americana Films. Check out the life and times of filmmaker Sid Kali.
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