With it comes to making films with your partners there really is nothing more important than keeping the lines of communication open. Film making is stressful. The more the folks sharing the load communicate, the more things will magically fall into place when you’re on the set.
The members of Mutantville Productions meet 2 – 3 times per week via phone conference when we don’t have any shoot scheduled for the weekend and considerably more frequently when we do. Take today for instance, we’ve already had a 3 way phone conference and will have a business lunch meeting at 12. From lunch, we’ll take a short break and meet up again at 2 to start preparing the triage set and getting folks into makeup. The shoot will most likely run until 11 tonight or so.
Before you ask, we all work standard 40 hour per week jobs in addition to our duties in MVP. Experience has shown that the more we communicate, the better the finish product, ultimately, the film on DVD will be in the end.
Increased communication with your cast & crew will likewise make your life so much easier while in active production. Don’t presume that because you’ve sent the details in an email that everyone has taken the time to read it or has the important stuff present in mind. People get busy and forget. Put in the extra time to make that phone call and make sure every remembers the shoot schedule, what to wear, not to cut their hair when to arrive etc etc. You’ll be glad you did.
Remember this above all else Mutantville Players, Johnny Brento loves ya!
