TOP 5 things I learned from making my first feature film
TOP 5 things I learned from making my first feature film
Now that it as been a few days since I wrapped filming of my first feature film, Bend & Break, I’d like to share with you the TOP 5 things I learned.
1. Focus all your time, energy and resources on casting the right actors.
This was the smartest decision I made. I spent one month going through hundreds of actor head shots, scheduling auditions and call back auditions. Asking each and every actor I met questions to observe their attitude and personality. It’s important to know what you’re looking for in your ideal actors beyond their looks and talent. Here were my three requirements I was looking
for:
a) They must be committed and professional (dependable)
b) They must have talent and be engaging
c) They must have a pleasant attitude and personality. Will I enjoy working with them?
I was very lucky to find nine actors who were all committed, talented and a joy to work with. Just be patient during your casting process. Know what you want and don’t ever compromise or settle for less.
2. Make sure to meet and interview every crew member before you hire them.
Now let’s take a look at my biggest mistake while making my movie. The sound mixer I planned on using for my movie (someone I’ve work with before) was busy during my shooting dates but he recommended a friend of his who was also a sound mixer. He gave me his number, I called the guy and we spoke on the phone. After a brief telephone conservation
with the guy, I hired him to do sound for my movie. Let’s now forward to the shooting dates, this guy had one of the worst attitudes I’ve ever seen. He kept complaining and whining like a little kid about my shot selection, how I was running my production, making smart, sarcastic remarks. After four days of working with this guy, I had finally had enough. I fired him and got a buddy of mine to help me record the sound for the remainder of the shoot. All this could of been avoid if I had simply meet this guy for coffee before hiring him. Which leads me to my next lesson learned.
3. The first impression you get from someone (actor or crew member) over the phone or in person is usually their best side and they may only get worst over time.
If an actor walks into the audition room and begins to behave a certain way that maybe annoys you or you
find is disrespectful, don’t hire them! Or, if you talk with someone on the phone and you feel that something just isn’t right with their attitude. Don’t hire them! You might think “Oh, they’re just having a bad day. They’ll be more pleasant once we begin filming” No they won’t.
I had this one actress storm into the audition room acting like a big drama queen, complaining about how a dog just bit her and she needed to rush to the washroom before she performed her monologue. After all her drama, she was actually a very talented actress and I eventually casted her in the movie. Forward now to the day of rehearsal. This actress show up hours late with the same drama queen, I love attention entrance. She also did it again on her first day of shooting. I eventually had to fired her and remove her character from the movie.
4. Trust your
intuition.
We human beings are fascinating and perceptive creatures with the innate ability to receive pure, untaught, noninferential knowledge via our intuition. All we have to do is listen to it, trust it and obey it. Following this simple habit will make you a genius. Every smart,wise decision I made while making my movie was because I followed my intuition. That being said, every mistake I made came as the result of not listening to my intuition.
Filmmaking is a collaborative business where a film director partners with actors, DOP, editor, composer, sound department.
This is what I love the most about making movies; working with other creative people towards a common goal. Everyone has good ideas and the majority of your cast and crew will genuinely want your movie to be great. Be open minded and receptive to other people’s input. Everyday while filming Bend & Break I used ideas from everyone in the cast and crew. The sound mixer (with the bad attitude) gave me a great idea for a shooting angle in a scene. I used it. A few of the actors gave me some great suggestions on how to edit a specific scene. I will used their ideas.
In the end, the thing that I learned the most from the whole experience was that no matter how bad things may seem or how many obstacles that you might face. If you just focus on shooting one page at a time and keep moving forward. Your movie will get done.
To Your Success!
Ian Agard
Writer, Director and Producer of the new movie “Bend and Break”
P.S. Get info about my ebook “Stop Waiting and Make Your Movie” at:
http://www.ianagard.com/how-to-finance-your-movie
Ian Agard is film producer,screenwriter and director living in Toronto. Go to http://www.ianagard.com where Ian reveals more useful tips to boost your filmmaking career.
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