Be Filming Your Feature in 3 Months | a How-To

BY EDDIE VIGIL V

FEB. 28, 2024 9:38 PM PT

No story? No team? No real money? No problem.

I’ve done it (that’s how Out Past Dark got made) and if you follow these 5 simple steps maybe you can, too.

(NOTE: I want to preface early that this pre-production model is limiting and may not work for you and your current goals. My goal at the time was focusing on producibility, otherwise known as leaning into the constraints that came my direction and finding a way to make something over nothing ASAP)

Step 1: Location, location, location

Before literally anything else I wanted to know where I could make my movie. Where would the story take place? Where would the cast and crew be housed?

For you, is there a place you could likely get access to for no money for an extended period of time? How long do you need?

For me, I wanted to be somewhere for a month (1 week of prep, 3 weeks for filming). What came to mind was a vacant house in the family that sits in the middle of a small village town that I grew up in as a kid.

If I could get a yes for the house that meant a filming location AND lodging for a small team AND a home base that would allow me to expand the story to other parts of the village (gift shops, train station, restaurants) that I hoped I’d be able to also get.

Have an idea of a location for you? Great. Call whoever manages that space and ask for permission to use it for the specific dates you want it. Be transparent, honest, and promise you’ll respect the space leaving it better than when you found it.

It was February. I asked for the month of May, in three months.

I got my yes.

Step 2: Find Your Team

How many crew members do you need? How large should your cast be? How many people can your location comfortably house?

For me, I’ve worked as a 1st AD and Script Supervisor as well as having the confidence that I had already directed a feature film once before… so I leaned into wanting producer help. I needed a cinematographer and, ideally, someone to assist them on camera and a different someone to assist them on lighting. I needed sound help.

In this situation getting help with production design, makeup, continuity, scheduling, and hair would be a luxury I didn’t expect to get.

For you, who do you know that can do the things you need help with? Of those people who is hungry to create something right now? Create a short list and start reaching out.

Again, be transparent and make sure everyone understands the assignment. Let them know that, yes, this is a little crazy, but that you’ll feed them and house them, that you’re excited, why you want them on your team, and that they’ll have part ownership in the final product and/or get some pay.

This all goes for cast as well. For me, I wanted a movie that focused mostly on two actors with room three supporting cast.

After all this I had a DP, an AC, a gaffer, a sound person, two producers (one who could double as makeup) and four actors committed, with a special role I planned to cast locally.

Step 3: Write the Script

If you, like me, can feel overwhelmed with the task knowing the short timeline it may be wise to seek out a co-writer to help carry the load, which is what I did in this case.

I used the “write for what you have” method. It’s a like a stew. I had my ingredients (locations, cast attached). I knew what kind of tones I wanted (comedy, drama, psychological).

Keep it exciting for your team. Brainstorm ideas with the collaborators you have attached. Talk character arcs and relationships with the cast. Talk visual ideas with your DP.

Outline. Write. I split the writing 50/50 with co-writer for initial drafts and we each took turns polishing and editing from there.

If at all possible get a final version of the script out to your cast with time for them to prepare as much as they can before they travel out. We were able to get a finished script with two weeks to spare.

Bonus points for the ability to be flexible during production. Sometimes you’ll realize you don’t need certain scenes or that you need something that’s not yet written.

Step 4: Build Your Schedule

I didn’t have anyone on my team with 1st AD experience so this task fell on me. It may fall on you.

There’s a lot involved in scheduling a movie. It takes breaking down the script, understanding how much time things will take to shoot (how many days you’ll need at each location), which scenes go first/last for each day (or each week, or in context of the whole shoot).

Talk to your DP as they’ll have lots of helpful thoughts.

For me, I personally wanted 10hr shoot days (industry standard is 12hrs), with filming 6 days each week for 3 weeks (18 days is healthy for the average indie, I’ve experienced). I like keeping the days shorter for more recovery time. Remember, making a movie is a marathon. I figured 6 days was reasonable since we all were on the same page with getting a movie made.

Lastly, get the schedule as solid as possible as soon as possible because locations will need to know when you’ll want to be there, cast needs to know when to show up, and there’s inevitably going to be so many other things you’ll need and you’ll want to know what to prioritize.

Step 5: Show Up

As mentioned earlier, I gave myself one week of prep on location. What did I do with that time?

Location scouting. Become familiar with your new world.

I had my main house location locked already, but I needed to find and secure a gift shop, gas station, diner, train yard, forest, campground with fire pit, stream to fish in, as well as taking notes of other visually notable spots I stumbled upon thanks to local help (in my case family and friends of family).

Re-reading the script over and over with the real life locations in mind.

Team members trickled in throughout the week. First came the DP. I showed them all the locations and we talked all our thoughts. Second came the producers. I showed them all the locations and we talked all our thoughts. Third came the cast. I showed them… you get the picture.

Once all key people were up to speed with the broad strokes the focus turned to what we’d be doing our first week.

Remember to clock out, to rest, to recharge, and keep that energy. I’ve seen too many eager filmmakers burn themselves out because they think they have to exhaust themselves each day and give up sleep. No. Please don’t do that.

Now you’re ready to go make a movie.

Have fun.

And… action.