Summary: With these fundamentals, you’ll be ready to produce and direct top-notch films.
Every movie will be a new experience, and each one brings a new set of challenges. You’ll always find that there are common problems on any set, but each project presents unique opportunities to learn and succeed. Filmmaking is one of the most rewarding creative pursuits in existence, but you’ll need to master these skills before you can approach it at a high level.
Budgeting
If you want to stay within budget, the best tip is to choose a script built for your production value. Lower budget films want to avoid things like changing locations, flashy effects, complicated stunts and big-budget musical scores. Include some of these things, sure, but don’t base your film around them if you want money for good actors and crew members.
People Skills
Directors need to be firm. They are the authority on set, but you will hear advice from others close to you. As an indie, you may hear advice from others who fancy themselves more experienced than you. Your job is to maintain composure and keep production focused on the vision you intended on delivering. Don’t establish yourself as someone people don’t want to work with.
Problem Solving
The best way to solve problems is to do so before they start. Experienced production teams value pre-production because it’s the opportunity to coordinate a workflow. You have to visualize your deadlines, and figure out how to meet those challenges without cutting corners. Be sure you get permits, number scenes from your script, plot out the beats of your story and location scout until you are satisfied. Everything else happens in the moment.
