How do I stop from having a nervous breakdown?

DavidBeier

DavidBeier

Veteran
Ok, I've got a 30-minute short coming up in two weeks. In college I did a number of no budget films with all-student crews and since then I've been running my own videography business (just a one man production company).

Recently, I realized it had been two years since I'd made a film for myself and I just had to do something artistically satisfying to avoid going crazy. I wrote a script which I worked very hard on and care about very much. I somehow secured around $1600 in financing and will be working with a professional DP/Gaffer team and a professional sound guy (all giving me an incredibly low rate out of the kindness of their hearts). I've also secured some real talent. Previously, I'd always worked with non-actors and done highly visual movies but this has a ton of dialogue and I've actually gotten numerous actors with real experience and some feature film credits (minor speaking roles mostly) to be in this thing.

AND I'M FREAKING OUT!!! I mean, I'm working with all pros and, while $1600 isn't a lot of money, it's far more than I've ever spent on a film. To keep costs down, we have to get through 30 pages in three days. I've got all these great people working with me and believing in me and I just don't want to let them down. I've never been more freaked out about my own abilities, especially since I havn't directed a "ficiton" film in two years (just commercials, training videos, ect.).

Any suggestions on how not to die of a heart-attach and how not to let my actors and crew down. I've been given such an amazing opportunity to make my film the way I want it with good people. I don't want them to be disapointted.
 
I think its normal to feel a little freaked out. I've been working for a year and spent 24k or so to get a film being shot in the next 2 weeks ready to go. I'm freaked out for sure.

One thing that should make you feel better is that you planned as much as you could...I mean you did plan right? :P If you did then it'll help a lot I think, if not then you have plenty of reason to be a freaked out.

Don't worry, "everything is gonna be alright, everything is gonna be alright." (I think thats Bob Marley lol)
 
30 pages in three days? Might be a bit optimistic. But I will say if you got good people AND you let them do their jobs half the battle is won.

Concentrate on directing and communicating, nobody knows the story better than you.

If you need some help, its been a while since I was in New Orleans. You can treat to the crawfish!
 
Yes, here's how you avoid a nervous breakdown: immediately trim your script in half. Seriously. 10 pages a day?? Are you nuts? 5 pages a day tops for someone with your level of inexperience (no offense). I've been making shorts for 5 years and I have trouble hitting 7 pages, even on dialogue heavy stuff. My last short was 3.5 pages a day (7 page script, two days). MUCH more manageable. My current one? 4 page script, 4 day shoot. I love it :-)
 
hey David,

I can definitely appreciate the honesty of your post! I think everybody feels at least a little bit of "stress" leading up to production. The closer the project is to you the more stress there seems to be. :)

But something someone reminded me of on my last film is that we WILL get this thing shot. We might not get every piece we want and every angle/setup might not be perfect but we will shoot it and we will have enough to make a movie from it.

For me, I usually freak out because there are so many details and I'm afraid I'll forget something and it won't turn out exactly as I had it planned. But the fact of the matter is you have a team of talented individuals working with you to make this happen.

Like Kyle said I would recommend planning as much as possible in the next two weeks (shot lists, equipment lists etc.). That REALLY helps lower the stress level. But I think along with that be confident in what you want and if there is something you are not sure about then just be honest with your cast/crew/whatever. I think they will appreciate confidence in your vision but also honesty when you need to rely on their expertise.

Best of luck man! And remember...its just a movie... :D
 
Hmm...I agree with Shawn on this point as well. We just shot a 7 1/2 page script in two days with a pretty experienced crew and it was tight.

You will probably need either more production days or a shorter script.

All the best!

Daniel
 
Hey,

Just thought I would throw something at you from the pre-production aspect of shooting. I would say check my website - but we haven't officially gone public yet for our production services division.

I can tell you this, schedule this thing out. Get an AD to break it down or pay for a script breakdown. With this, you can roll through the script and get some great shooting results. Send me a PM if you don't want to do this yourself and I can give you our numbers.

10 Pages a day is tough. Even with a great crew. Depending on what you are shooting with, your shooting styles, the amount of characters, and the general story. As well as your setups. Basically you are going to be pushing it. Without a good breakdown - you will be fighting to the end.

Best of luck, if you need any questions answered send me a PM and I can let you know what I can do for you.

Cheers,

Matt
 
Jim Montgomery said:
If you need some help, its been a while since I was in New Orleans. You can treat to the crawfish!
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I'd love to have help but I'm actually shooting in Shreveport this time around. Been up here for about six months and have found some good actors.

Yes, here's how you avoid a nervous breakdown: immediately trim your script in half. Seriously. 10 pages a day?? Are you nuts? 5 pages a day tops for someone with your level of inexperience (no offense). I've been making shorts for 5 years and I have trouble hitting 7 pages, even on dialogue heavy stuff. My last short was 3.5 pages a day (7 page script, two days). MUCH more manageable. My current one? 4 page script, 4 day shoot. I love it :-)
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Yeah, you may well be right, but there simply isn't a budget for more time. I forget where the quote comes from but some one once said the great thing about being fresh and inexperienced is that you don't know what you can't do. Despite my anxiety, I wouldn't be attempting this if I didn't believe on some level that this could be accomplished. I guess there's a strong chance that I'll crash and burn but maybe I won't. Maybe I'll actually manage to pull this sucker off. Stranger things have happened. I've resolved that if worse comes to worse, I'll pay the crew for another day out of my own pocket.
 
DavidBeier said:
I'd love to have help but I'm actually shooting in Shreveport this time around. Been up here for about six months and have found some good actors.



Yeah, you may well be right, but there simply isn't a budget for more time. I forget where the quote comes from but some one once said the great thing about being fresh and inexperienced is that you don't know what you can't do. Despite my anxiety, I wouldn't be attempting this if I didn't believe on some level that this could be accomplished. I guess there's a strong chance that I'll crash and burn but maybe I won't. Maybe I'll actually manage to pull this sucker off. Stranger things have happened. I've resolved that if worse comes to worse, I'll pay the crew for another day out of my own pocket.
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I didnt suggest to lengthen your shoot, I suggested you cut your script in half. A box of donuts says your script would be better at 15 pages.

In filmmaking, shorter is better :-)
 
shawneous said:
I didnt suggest to lengthen your shoot, I suggested you cut your script in half. A box of donuts says your script would be better at 15 pages.
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Perhaps. I'm going through it now and seeing what can/should be cut (I've already done this numerous times). To be honest, I wrote the script with brevity in mind. I actually imagined it at a 45 minute running time but knew that would kill me at festivals so I did my best to keep it right at 30. Part of thing that makes it lengthy is that there's a lot of dialogue and, rather than have people talk in speeches, I try to break it up with conversation to sound more natural. I've tried to follow the Robert Bolt school or dialogue which argues that one should say as much with as little as possible.

In filmmaking, shorter is better :-)
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Comments like that sound a bit too much like Sid Field to me. Writing to the formula. A good story isn't judged by simple rules as such.

Look at the horribly gimped version of Kingdom of Heaven and compare it to the masterpiece that the Director's Cut was when they added 50 minutes. Read about how poorly the 2 hour version of the Godfather was recieved. I'm no Coppola or Scott but I do know that following the view that "shorter is always better" can often leave you with a hollow shell of a film. I've let myself get self-indulgent in the past but this is easily my most restrained script and while I'll do my best to shorten it as much as possible, following an arbitrary concept that "half the length must make it better" sounds like madness to me.

And, out of curiosity, how will you be getting me those donuts or vice versa?


Start shooting reaally early, include a few breaks, and go on till 11pm (8am - 11pm sounds pretty good to me)
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Yeah, I've already told my guys to expect LONG hours. I've also decided to move some stuff to "second unit." A few smaller scenes which will be brief and I think we can accomplish well with natural lighting (so I won't have to pay the lighting crew for an extra day). I'll probably still keep the sound crew with me though.
 
David
Being new to the game myself. I can't really offer much in the way of advice. What I can say is, hats off to you for getting where you are and all the very best in preparation (I DO know that this is key) and good luck for your project in its entirety.
Cheers,
Sam.
 
break a leg!

break a leg!

Blowing thousands of dollars on a movie just for maintaining your sanity? :nads: That's a great premise for a movie.

It's natural to feel the excitement of starting a new project; but unless you're about to make a lot of money with this movie, remember, you're doing this for fun, not profit.

So relax and enjoy it. Life is too short. Don't worry how many pages you'll shoot per day. When you run out of money, the movie is over. Make sure you've shot your beginning middle and end by the end of the first day. Then the rest is gravy.

Happy :kali:
 
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