Necessities

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capitalP

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Curious to get you guys opinions on what are some of the necessity crew members that are a must on an ultra low budget production. Besides the obvious, Sound, DP, etc.. What are some of the titles you feel is necessary to "you" to have a production run as smoothly as possible from the very beginning of preproduction to the very end?

Is a Line Producer on that list? I'm starting to put my crew together and don't want to miss anything. I've always worn so many hats and production has suffered as a result. This go around, I just wanna be Director. But don't have too much money to spend on extravagant crew. Thanks all.
 
Well, if the budget is very low I would try and stick with these (yes, you have already named a few of them):
-Producer
-DP
-Sound Mixer
-Assistant Director/Script Supervisor
-Production Designer
-Make Up/Hair Stylist
-Production Assistant

Obviously as your production gets bigger you'll need more essential crew to help you out. As far as a line producer goes, I (personally) just go with a "producer" for low budget stuff. You have one or two people serve as your business end and then you can do your creative stuff. Keep it simple with lower budget stuff, there's no point in having too many people on your set that don't need to be there (if you have too many cooks in the kitchen you won't get anything done). I hope that helps you!
 
Get yourself a good Assistant Director and Producer who will take care of all the detail work. Even if this turns out to be the same person wearing multiple hats, it still leaves you to focus on the directing.

Obviously, the more people you can talk into helping for little to no money on an ultra low budget is going to be key.
 
I see an Assistant Director is very important. My problem is, I've never dealt with an assistant director and most assistant directors are directors in training right? So I figured it might be a too many chefs in the kitchen situation. Who ever I bring on as assistant director it would be a stranger, and you never really know someone until you yell "action" on set.
 
While an AD might be an aspiring director, their duties are largely non-creative. They have 2-4 ADs on large productions- can you imagine big directors letting their egos deflate enough to let another voice tarnish their film? You're right in that too many chefs is a recipe for disaster- this is why you very rarely see co-directors in narrative.
 
The ego thing can definitely get in the way and I myself have no ego problem. I guess it all depends on the individual. I'm sure many of you know, a bad attitude on set, whether it be from the AD, DP or Actor, can ruin a shoot. Sometimes even the Director himself. I just like a cool atmosphere when I work. Not saying I don't want people to disagree with me just I want people to disagree with me in a professional way.

A friend of mine who is a director, he was directing his first feature film and he told me his A.D had an argument with him right there on set while filming. I said, that is a NO, NO. I know sometimes tempers flare up, but a professional should be able to hold it in, and then talk about it privately, definitely not in front of the cast.
 
It's very very difficult to find an AD for a low budget thing who actually understands what an AD does. So while it would be a necessity in terms of crew, I wish you the best of luck finding one.

AD's are not directors in training though, like Dave said, they might want to direct, but who doesn't? The same way an AD might want to direct is like how the make up artist wants to direct. It has a little bit to do with their job, but really not much.

I think the best way to describe an AD is he's like the person who drives the ship. You have all these separate departments, but who's there to keep them on task? The AD will let the departments know what's coming up, get things prepped for the next scenes, keep things on schedule really. If you walked onto a film set and watched for 10 minutes, and then someone asked you who's in charge, chances are you'd pick out the AD. On bigger shoots, the director really just sits behind a monitor, and then occasionally talks to the actors. Sometimes they aren't even the ones who call action.

But really, it's like having a producer for things on set. Helps you focus on the actors and the story, and lets you focus on what's important. That's why it really is a necessity.
 
This is the IMDb.com glossary entry for 1st AD:

"A First Assistant Director is responsible for the preparation of the shooting schedule and script breakdown used to plan the shooting of a film or television show. The AD works directly with the Director to manage of the minute to minute operations on the set during the process of filming, as well as co-ordinating the necessary communication of details of future operations as the filming progresses. Other duties include tracking the progress of filming versus the production schedule, observing all rules related to union crafts, labor contracts and location agreements, maintaining safety on the working set, and working with the Unit Manager to keep operational costs within the budgeted plan."

An AD is kind of your "organizer" so to speak. He/she takes care of a good amount of the paperwork and scheduling, all while taking a good look at their watch during filming. Whenever I have access to an AD, they become my go-to person for any tasks that involve cooth or some kind of knowhow (basically most tasks that I would consider too important to entrust to a PA). The AD is THE most stressed out person on a film set (other than the Unit Manger), and SHOULD be the person that you ask to get something important done ("if you need something done, ask a busy person").

If you haven't checked out the IMDb glossary yet, it has some great entries and can be found at: http://www.imdb.com/glossary/

As far as your director friend arguing with his AD...that isn't something that should be put up with. There is a hierarchy on a set and the AD is 100% not in a position to argue with a director. Especially if the argument has anything to do with the creative process.

I hope that helps and best of luck!
 
I combine my slate with script supervisor, they both are in tune with the script, scene, and take. If shooting film, the loader is the one who generally takes care of slate, but most of us shoot digital. So why not combine the two. It keeps them busy.
 
Ultra-low budget: 6 people, see below

1)Producer=Production Manager=Location Fixer=All around fixer
2)SoundMan=Mixer=Boom
3)DP=Lighting=Grip
4)Make-up=Slate=Continuity
5)PA=catering=bunch of other stuff
6)You - Director=Production Designer=The rest

Micro/No-budget: 3 people, see below:

1)DP
2)Sound Guy
3)You
 
Even on Pro shoots these boundaries need to be "reviewed" from time to time.

There are a lot of places to find definitions for what the responsibilities are for any given crew member. Here is one: http://www.filmmaking.net/faq/categories/category11.asp

The main thing that keeps me from worrying about egos is to keep my own ego in check and to know everything that I can about the production. Do your preps, be specific.

Then when hiring (not necessarily paying) crew you define specifically what each member of your crew is responsible for. If you are not clear in defining your expectations they aren't going to be clear.

If you come prepared, having a deep grasp of the story, characters and a solid, well laid plan for getting things done, it becomes easier to delegate and (equally essential) to be collaborative with your team.

So no matter what their title they have a clear sense of their role in supporting the process of bringing the project to fruition.

People will follow some with a clear aim. People will work hard for someone who works hard.
 
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