The Producer

Guys… I’m tired. I mean… more than usual. Ben and I decided to produce our own short film.

We have been trying to get a film reel but have had not many chances at lead roles without a reel. So… Ben decided to write his own scripts so he can then film them and guarantee a piece for his reel that he’s happy with.

We decided the first week of December that we had enough connections in Utah to cast and produce a low-budget short film. We were planning on going to Utah for Christmas so we figured that throwing in a short film would be hard work… but would be the best time to do it. The first order of business was to make a budget and schedule. Then, of course we needed to assemble a cast and crew.

Our budget was small, but our priority was an amazing director/director of photography(DP)/editor. We also needed to make sure everyone was fed, costumed, and had make-up. As this all was going to be funded out of pocket we knew the only way to do this would be to rely on our friends. Our cast was an assortment of trusted friends, acquaintances, family, and professionals. From our immediate family, Ben, Jess, Liz, Winnie and I would be filmed. We also had asked my brother if we could borrow his six year old son and my eight year old brother-in-law was recruited as well. The rest of the crew, minus the director/director of photography (DP), were either working for us as volunteers or were highly underpaid. Many of them even refused their pay in order to help with the project. Because of the low-budget I was taking on the roles of the costume director, hair stylist, babysitting, prop master, crafty (on set snacks), catering (on set meals), and all around production manager.

Our time frame was pretty small. We had a Director/Director of Photography (DP) that would be available before Christmas so we got the children excused from school and decided to head out to Utah on the 17th after school (so as to disrupt the school schedule as little as possible… we shall see that this was a bad decision… we should have left on Sunday). Assuming all went well, we would have plenty of time to get to Utah, shop for costumes and props, and buy food for the crew in time for a 5:30 pm call time on Tuesday the 18th. It would be a very long day… but not impossible.

We had an SUV filled to the brim with our family of six, luggage, and presents for Christmas. We knew that we would have no room to pack costumes or food, but we knew we could get some in Utah with very little effort. We had shopping lists ready to go and a plan for our arrival. It all would have worked out perfectly. Unfortunately, our car decided to change our travel plans.

We were nearly to Mesquite, Nevada when I looked over at the dash and all the needles (the speedometer, fuel level indicator, etc.) suddenly stopped working. Then… the pedals were acting up. Ben pulled the car over and tried to restart the car, but… it wouldn’t start. We waited for over an hour for a tow truck, before we were finally rescued. We stayed in a hotel overnight and in the morning we had our car fixed. We had planned to leave Mesquite at 5 am so we could have several hours to prep for the film. Instead we left at 10:30 am.

We knew we’d be short on time but we’d be there in time for call time. Now though… we would have about an hour for prep. We pulled into Utah county and before going anywhere else we pulled into the parking lot of a Deseret Industries (thrift store). We ran through the store looking for a homeless coat, a few thin jackets, worn thin pants and a few props. We purchased them quickly, loaded them onto our laps (as our car was still packed full) and headed straight for my brother’s house.

As soon as my sister-in-law opened the door I said, “Hi! Sorry, we’re in a huge rush. We need to be on set in half an hour. I need to unload the car, grab your child, Ben needs to shower and we need to go.”

I had originally planned on having a babysitter for my two littlest children but seeing as how my kids were still hacking up a lung from their recent cold, my sister-in-law had just had a baby, and our planned babysitter was forty minutes away from set, we were stuck with all the kids.

We arrived on set almost on time. At this point I hadn’t been to the store yet. And… we were in such a hurry that we hadn’t even stopped for lunch. So… needless to say, my children were tired from a long drive and ready to eat and there was no food.

Here’s where we realized that our small hand-picked crew was the best crew we could have had. We continued to realize this moment to moment until we wrapped on Wednesday the 19th. Our actors ran errands, our make-up artist held my sleeping baby, the DP’s wife was an amazing babysitter, our location manager assisted with locating many last minute props, and our assistant producer and his wife helped with nearly everything including making and delivering food. Honestly… I don’t know why we were blessed with such good friends, but I am so very grateful. We couldn’t have done it without them.