Wednesday, the 8th of September, I received the final version of my short film “White Shoes” from my colorist. It feels euphoric. And I was nowhere near the stressful, anxious, rushing vision I had for myself at the beginning of the term. This is all thanks to Chad’s consistent drilling on time management, and the support I had from the amazing team that I have somehow luckily stumbled over. 

Here are a few tips I have for myself on the next set: 

 

1. Log line 

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The log line for a script is incredibly important. Having trouble putting your own story into a nutshell could be a red flag indicating that you are either: 1) Biting more than you can chew (too complicated story), 2) Have no clear idea what you are talking about, 3) Nothing is really going on in your script. I learned this the hard way while making my first 30 minutes short film in Vietnam. No duration or plot complication could ever justify not having a proper log line. This time, I thought of a log line before writing my script. You can never go wrong with a delicious log line. Plus, it will be the single sentence that pull your team together. 

 

2. Always reach out 

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After having a script, a synopsis and a scrumptious log line, it was time to find my crew members. Being a socially disastrous introvert and just arriving in Canada for a month, I found the idea of persuading skilled strangers to work under you, unpaid, pretty much impossible. For a while, I considered doing everything by myself, which in retrospect seems like it could have been a great learning experience and an absolute mess. After talking to my actor friend about doing things alone, I was recommended a talented DOP whom I did not know. I reached out with not much hope, since this person was A. skilled, B. busy, C. have no idea who I am. Yet to my surprise, Nico was intrigued by the log line, and the script, and after talking to zoom, I can tell that she was PASSIONATE about this project. I think it was the best thing that could have happened. Finding someone who truly gets your vision, and is just as excited as you are, is so important, especially when they are your DOP. Nico, then, recommended most of my crew to me, since she is a production student. My log line and Nico’s stamp of approval were the two things that pulled people into this project. And at the end of the day, everyone wanted the same thing, opportunity for good reels and credits. It connects us professionally. So I’d say, never be afraid to reach out, worse case, they say no. 

 

3. The crew has your back

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After having people in my crew, I had several Zoom meetings with the whole crew, and plenty of ones with individuals or subgroups. It is crucial that everyone know what they are doing BEFORE the shoot. Later on, I have seen things fell apart or people being generally confused on sets where the directors thought they could just do a brief on set, or because everyone was a friend therefore they should know. I’m so grateful that I talked to my crew all the time on zoom, because after my crew understood what they were doing, they had my back during pre-production so much, and each was able to be independently responsible for their own department on set, which relieved me of a lot of stress. Of course, there were things I could have improved on, like production design, since we had a change of crew 3 days before shooting. And if I was to do this again, I would delegate the task of Hair, Make-up and Wardrobe to someone else, especially on a film that relies so much on the look of the character. 

 

4. Think like an editor

5. The importance of AD and PA 

6. Plan B, C, D

7. Deep breath! At least one quarter of directing is problem-solving