preproduction: week 1 review

i’m starting my next movie! i’m feeling a mixture the panic and doubt (why am i going to put myself through this again), and also excitement (yay i get to do this again).

here’s what i did this week:

– i made a rough schedule for my film.

– worked on my script. it’s still not finished but the structure is all laid out. at this point i’m mostly polishing and working on the timing.

– started thinking about locations. i have 2 main locations, an office with cubicles, and a doctor’s office. i think the office of the company where i work would be a great location. i have to ask someone to see if they’d let me shoot over a weekend.

– posted my casting notice on nowcasting.com.

– started looking for spaces to hold auditions. film independent rents out casting rooms for $100/day to members. i also checked craigslist for local theaters and other spaces, and some of those are about $100/day as well, but some are farther away.

– i don’t have a definite budget set, but i want to keep it low. the main variables are location, camera and crew, cast.

– i have to do more research on the different SAG agreements. the short film agreement is free but you can only show it at festivals. if it gets show anywhere else, even the internet, then you must pay the actors $100/day that they worked. in the ultra low budget agreement, you pay $100/day up front. i think the paperwork is slightly different between the 2, but you have to start the paperwork with SAG 1 month before you shoot. SAG actually has monthly workshops to go over the different contracts. i must have just missed the one in may, but i rsvp’d for the one on june 14 in LA. check it out – http://www.sagindie.org/.