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the waiting game

S

sunchaser

production of my first proper short film has turned into a waiting game and its kinda stressing me out. at the start everything fell together so quickly, i got a script, my cast, composer, locations etc. as my first proper project i expected the technical aspects of filmmaking to throw up the most obstacles.

i have a good story and the cast all seem pretty enthusiastic about doing the film. theres only 3 actors, two are at college and one just got a new job. i am now in scheduling hell. now that we are good to go on the filming its getting rididculously hard to get them together.

i guess its not a regular filmmaking question, but how do i keep them motivated and interested till we get filming dates? its my own project so obviously i'm thinking about it a lot and just want to get in there and get going, but i feel kinda helpless now and am not handling the waiting game all that well.

i suppose its kinda dumb but anyone have any advice?
 
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Advice for your next film: Have filming dates already planned before you cast/crew up.

Thebest thing you can do right now is keep them up to date with any changes: script, dates, ect.

Keep touching base with them every so often, just so they know its still on.
 
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It's not kinda dumb at all. This is something we all faced
at one time and still face occasionally. This is a regular
filmmaking question.

CD's advice is what I would have said. In the future you
need to go about casting and crewing in a more professional
manner. You set dates and then find people who will set
those dates aside.

For this project my suggestion is to set dates for the shoot,
tell you three actors those are the days you are shooting
and you really want them in your movie. Tell them you
would really like them adjust their schedule. If any of them
cannot adjust their schedule then you need to recast.
 
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yeah i guess it is better to have dates set first. i just found the cast a lot quicker than i expected. i will know next time though.

thanks i feel a little less lost now. i will know on friday what kind of availability they have and will try to work it out.
 
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CDCosta said:
Advice for your next film: Have filming dates already planned before you cast/crew up.

Thebest thing you can do right now is keep them up to date with any changes: script, dates, ect.

Keep touching base with them every so often, just so they know its still on.
Click to expand...

My production got pushed back about 5 weeks because another production and my production were scheduled on the same date at the same location. The location guy gave me a discount for his mistake and because of my low budget, I took the offer. I think I spent the extra money working in prepping for the production with the actors and department heads until we started shooting. It's tough, I know...but maybe everything happens for a reason. I dont think my production would have went half as smooth without the extra time.
 
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