vcassel
Veteran
Huh?
Food suggestions for low budget film
- Thread starter Angelshare1
- Start date
Huh?
DadinWestchester
Well-known member
My wife's a vegetarian, but will eat fish. She loves Subway tuna subs. Some veggies just don't eat meat.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
I was on a feature shoot when we had a food mutiny the other way. Because there were vegetarians in the cast and crew the producers went cheap and had catering whip up all vegetarian ALL THE TIME! That lasted five days before the meat eaters threatened to walk out. I think the lesson learned is BALANCE... at little of this and a little of that. A pizza day followed by a salad day, ect.
vcassel
Veteran
Fact: your wife's not a vegetarian if she eats fish. Fish are animals with flesh, not vegetables. Your wife is most likely a pescatarian. Sorry to get puritanical on you, but for the sake of anyone reading this who needs to feed crew members with vegetarian food restrictions, tuna subs will NOT suffice; just as you wouldn't feed a vegan anything with dairy, honey, or refined sugar in it.
Last edited:
Fppd on set
Fppd on set
The last three films (zero budget) have had better food than one would expect, even a make-up evening where we were there only a couple of hours. I live in California, so there has to be vegetarian options. We've had a chef, believe it or not (these are films with maybe three days of principal shooting). However, this is the only pay we receive, so good food is nice to have.
The worst shoot I've been on was in the foothills near Sacramento (please, it's not called 'hill country' as 'The Mentalist', supposedly based in Sacramento, would have. Texas has hill country. We have foothills, because we have actual mountains here). The ants got into the food before we did. Not a pretty picture. I was glad I brought some stuff to eat myself. It was a long, hot day. And chips, doughnuts, and cookies.
Water is a must. Soft drinks are nice to have, as is coffee in the morning. Bagels and cream cheese is good, but the cheese cannot stay out more than about three hours. Pizza seems to be at every shot I've been on. Salads are great, as are prepared sandwiches (the latter we got donated for a credit in the film).
Fppd on set
The last three films (zero budget) have had better food than one would expect, even a make-up evening where we were there only a couple of hours. I live in California, so there has to be vegetarian options. We've had a chef, believe it or not (these are films with maybe three days of principal shooting). However, this is the only pay we receive, so good food is nice to have.
The worst shoot I've been on was in the foothills near Sacramento (please, it's not called 'hill country' as 'The Mentalist', supposedly based in Sacramento, would have. Texas has hill country. We have foothills, because we have actual mountains here). The ants got into the food before we did. Not a pretty picture. I was glad I brought some stuff to eat myself. It was a long, hot day. And chips, doughnuts, and cookies.
Water is a must. Soft drinks are nice to have, as is coffee in the morning. Bagels and cream cheese is good, but the cheese cannot stay out more than about three hours. Pizza seems to be at every shot I've been on. Salads are great, as are prepared sandwiches (the latter we got donated for a credit in the film).
teresadecher
Active member
Food is super important, especially when you're not paying people a lot-- if they are working for free or cheap, they expect good food.
First off, I would suggest asking everyone involved if they have any food allergies or dietary preferences (because that will give you some guidelines for days that people with restrictions are working).
What you need to have on set really depends on who you're working with. I've produced several short films and a feature, and I have helped plan and bought food for all of my projects.
The items that I have bought really depend on my cast and crew because everyone is different and has different needs; when I was making short films in Oregon, we had a lot more health-concious people, so we ended up buying more things like nuts, fruit, and yogurt to supplement the traditional cookies, crackers, and sweets. On the feature I did in LA, people really liked the sweets and carbs, so we ended up buying a lot of that stuff.
Either way, I think it's a good idea to have a variety of offerings. Although most veggies may take some preparation, fruit like Apples and Bananas are not messy and relatively cheap. Carrots and hummus are also a cheap healthy snack.
I'm sure your cast and crew will appreciate it if you change up the crafty every once in a while. You'll also learn as you go what people like, because the unwanted food will remain and probably go to waste.
First off, I would suggest asking everyone involved if they have any food allergies or dietary preferences (because that will give you some guidelines for days that people with restrictions are working).
What you need to have on set really depends on who you're working with. I've produced several short films and a feature, and I have helped plan and bought food for all of my projects.
The items that I have bought really depend on my cast and crew because everyone is different and has different needs; when I was making short films in Oregon, we had a lot more health-concious people, so we ended up buying more things like nuts, fruit, and yogurt to supplement the traditional cookies, crackers, and sweets. On the feature I did in LA, people really liked the sweets and carbs, so we ended up buying a lot of that stuff.
Either way, I think it's a good idea to have a variety of offerings. Although most veggies may take some preparation, fruit like Apples and Bananas are not messy and relatively cheap. Carrots and hummus are also a cheap healthy snack.
I'm sure your cast and crew will appreciate it if you change up the crafty every once in a while. You'll also learn as you go what people like, because the unwanted food will remain and probably go to waste.
GaryinCalifornia
Veteran
Was told by an old producer years ago... good food and a fed crew makes a happy crew... bad food and lack of it... a unhappy crew....
This all depends on so many things... are you providing breakfast... lunch... and then per diem for those who come out of town... basically figure $2.50 per person for breakfast... 10 bucks per person for dinner... or if you're doing another faith based film Kyle... see if the ladies in the church will do the cooking for you... of course that could get tiring for one group... make it a challenge between different sunday school classes... those numbers are for example...
but might give you an idea...
teresadecher
Active member
Oh and on second thought, since you're in a smaller town (this would be hard to do in LA, but I've had success in Portland), you can try approaching some shops to see if you can get free food! For example, Noahs Bagels donated like 40 bagels to one of our shoots, and I know a producer friend of mine has exchanged thank you credits or product placement for full meals from local restaurants.
It's worth a shot!
It's worth a shot!
Allan Black
Veteran
Looks like it depends on the size of the project, budget etc. During a trip to NY, walking to the Museum, my wife and I came across the trucks parked for the movie Somethings Gotta Give.
While I was off inspecting the transport, actor Jack Nicholson came out of the brownstone set for a break and spoke with my wife for a few minutes.
When I got back all she could talk about was Nicholson, all I could talk about was the ton of 5 star food available for the crew, nailed one of the printed menus.
At dinner parties Jack wins.
Cheers.
While I was off inspecting the transport, actor Jack Nicholson came out of the brownstone set for a break and spoke with my wife for a few minutes.
When I got back all she could talk about was Nicholson, all I could talk about was the ton of 5 star food available for the crew, nailed one of the printed menus.
At dinner parties Jack wins.
Cheers.
Last edited:
I think the snack food you mentioned in the original post is just fine. Water is a big deal. Let your actors know ahead of time in general what you'll have there food wise, such as "snack food" so if they need or want something more, they can bring it along themselves. Most people working on a low budget movie will be fine with that as long as you give them a heads up ahead of time.
It's also a good idea to have a bottle of antacids and tylenol along with whatever you're keeping on the "food table" as well.
It's also a good idea to have a bottle of antacids and tylenol along with whatever you're keeping on the "food table" as well.