Ackkk... Nervous!

[Dan_Lahav]

I have my first *real* shoot with *real* actors and the whole shabang coming up in a couple weeks! As I scheduled my final actress, a 10 year old girl, it finally hit me; I'm making a short film! All my actors are expecting greatness which makes me super nervous...

Any tips for a first time director?

Wish me luck!! ;D *

[Jim Brennan]

First, relax. *I've done three, but the last one was the first time I had "real" actors and locations. *I expected to be nervous, (and I guess I was a little at the beginning of each day) but I turned out being so busy getting everything done, I didn't have much time to worry.

I know there are many more experienced directors here who will have tons of good advice, but still, 2 things:

1) Write shit down. *Everybody has their own way of working, but make a list of everything you want to get done in a day (including a shot list). *Also write down people's contact info.

2) Keep reminding yourself that this is all a learning experience. *As good as your film will be, there will be mistakes and things you will wish you had done differently. *But that's okay, because next time you will know better. *The sooner you embrace that, the sooner you will enjoy yorself and make the best movie you can.

Good Luck!

[TC]

Good luck! I'm coming up on my first "big" shoot too in a few weeks.

I wish you the best of luck!

[Thistlebop]

Good luck Dan.

If your only a tiny bit nervous, then that's probably not only normal, but healthy as well. But as Jim said, I'm sure that some of whatever nervousness you feel will dissappear as you busy yourself with the task at hand.


--Bop

[Phil]

Well...i'm working on 3 projects right now. My actors have been doing this much longer than I have and I've learned some big things:

Be patient. Your vision might not be coming out of your mouth the way you see it in your head.

Be focused. Staying on track with 1,000 things going on is really hard.

Be respectful. Enough said! :)

Dan, you've always been cool to talk to and I wish you the best of luck with this!!

[Dan_Lahav]

you guys are certainly a breath of fresh air ;D

Up till now, i've always done projects on my own or with friends, so this is a whole new ball game. Thanks for all the kind words and advice. I'll be the first to update you on how the film goes!

[nullphonic]

First of all, good luck.

Second and this may sound strange but one of the easiest ways to come off professionally, stay within your time constraints and most of all stay on budget is to have a runner. That’s their entire job. Something will break, something will be forgotten, someone will be late, etc, etc…

(*) You don’t want to ask a key crew person to go grab some tape, you lose time and money.
(*) Make sure your runner has their own car. Flat tires, actors getting lost and needing to be met at a more “findable” location, making runs for food, drinks, aspirin, Band-Aids, etc.
(*) If someone needs to be called because they’re late or whatever, let the runner make the call.

Small things go wrong and they will add up. Your contingency guy/gal is a sanity, impression, time and money saver. Even if they go half a day just simply sitting and ready, it’s still worth it. I guarantee you’ll be more than willing to give them a big credit the first time you realize you’re quickly running out of tape or you don’t have enough extension cables for the next location.

Coming mostly from a live production background, I LOVE my runners. They knock major pressure points off of me and allow me to focus and look like I actually have a clue ;D

[BLUESPIDER]

Good luck and just relax the best you can. It's hard to relax when you are the director. You can do some yoga while your crew is setting up lights. Oh, also have FUN. ;D

[J.R. Hudson]

I worked with you once Dan and you were totally mellow and supercool. Just be yourself. Say please and thank you when giving direction and have fun.

[Rich Lee]

congrats dan! just take deep breaths. once you get going with the shoot, it will all click and your nervousness should start to taper off. be kind to everyone. kids can be hard. if you can connect with them your golden. just be cool!

good luck dan!

peace!

[Kirk Gillock]

Dan, I am sure you will do great. Just being aware of the experience you are about to encounter is a sign you're a real pro. A lot of people aren't aware (or don't care) and then become overwhelmed. You'll be fine. Just keep focused :) Everything will fall into its place.

If it makes you feel better, next month I will begin shooting with a cast and crew that speaks a different language from myself. Not only will my skills as director/videographer be put to the test, but so will my language skills :'(

Good luck and let us know how it goes,
P.K. Gillock

[Neil Rowe]

good luck dan! i sure youll do fine. :)

[AndyJ]

I think every project is different and every director is different. The only advice I can give is while you have to do lots of negotiating and compromising and so on before the shoot, when everying's in place and you're on set... remember that you're in charge and things will work at your pace.

If it's a big project, I usually just pretend it's a little one - just you and some mates making a camcorder movie. That way, you can break everything down into manageable proportions.

Good luck! ;)

[GenJerDan]

Okay...okay...might sound silly, but...

Get a little gift for everybody for when you're done. Something small and cute. If there is a stuffed animal that can at all represent what you've just made, that would be perfect.

Keychains are boring. T-shirts with the production on them are so common...

Dan (me, not you)