Hello, All.

I’ve starting working with my mentee Jules, and in doing so, the memories of making short films come flooding back. Shorts are so great and SO HARD! When you are directing a short, most often you are also writing, producing, and being your own cheerleader. It is mind boggling; juggling the stress of wearing a million hats, the desire to say so much vs the need to cut it down, and the always nagging question – how will I feed my crew??

Speaking of which, this may seem a random place to start but it’s critical. Whether you pay your crew or not, a well-fed crew is a happy crew. This is as true for a short film as a feature or a TV set. On a good day, you are asking your crew to work 12 hours. Most likely you’ll push them for more. A second hot meal, or a treat in the middle of the day go a long way. If I could give only one piece of advice, this would be it. The alternative is a crew that feels disrespected and is not on your side, and bad energy on set.    

The 2nd bit of advice I have is hone your story down NOW. I love how ambitious you all are and the last thing I want to do is curb ambition, but this is not a feature. This needs to be a little polished gem. Lean and mean. Cut it down, make it as tight as possible. Desperately try to make cutting choices before production.

That’s it for now, Nicky