We’re approaching New Year’s Eve, the perfect time for looking back. As I look back on 2008, I can’t help but wonder how I wound up producing a feature film, and how I survived it. This post is the first in a series of production diaries that will seek to answer both of those questions. In the first edition, I’ll give you a little background on our film, and hints/tips from a first time producer.

For almost five years I worked at Warner Brothers, first for John Wells, and then for the writers and producers of ER. I played the normal spec-script-and-agent-hunt game for a while, and was just starting to have some success at it when my friend and co-worker, David Hamilton, approached me. David’s the kind of writer the rest of us bitter jerks hate. He’s always happy, and he can write a really, really good script in a weekend.

David had been asked by his friend Morgan Mead to rewrite a script that Mead had successfully pitched to Doug Jones (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, Fantastic Four, etc). Turns out, all three of these guys attended Ball State University in Muncie, IN. BSU had received two large grants from the Eli Lilly Company and started to focus on immersive learning for their students. They wanted to produce a feature film, hire industry pros, and have their students earn college credit while making the movie. Neat.

To make a long story short, David does an amazing rewrite, asks me to come on board as a co-producer (probably because he knows I’m a jerk and that will help), and we eventually convince Don Stark (That 70’s Show), Catherine Hicks (7th Heaven) and Allison Scagliotti (Drake & Josh) to join Doug Jones in the cast.

We will go on to shoot 108 pages with an 18 day shooting schedule and a tiny budget. We’ll beg for food, borrow some equipment, and maybe even steal some props. This diary will tell how we did it.

But first, I’d like to pass along a bit of what I learned as a first time feature producer. I was working in the carefully controlled environment of a major movie studio. We controlled lights, weather, schedules, temperature, everything. I used to drive my golf cart from Chicago to New York to Berlin to Starbucks and back in about three minutes. If I was going to go from Warner Brothers to Muncie, I had a lot to learn. Here are some of the best hints… and I swear to you, the first tip on the list is the best advice you will ever receive if you are about to produce a movie.

•    Buy a new pair of shoes and plan on throwing them away in three weeks.

You might think that as a producer, you’re going to smoke cigars on the balcony all day long, look at some production reports, hit on some chicks, and visit the set twice. Wrong. You’ll be standing in mud, holding lights in the rain, pushing dead cars out of the street, running between City Hall and the Mayor’s Office, and stepping in dog crap (literally or otherwise).

•    Over-budget for expendables even if you barely have money.

Nothing will shut down a production like bad weather or not having the things you literally cannot do without. Pop-up tents to protect the camera and food, tarps, towels, trash bags, batteries, box fans, batteries, and more batteries. These items are easy and tempting to overlook on the budget. Don’t.

•    Limit your company moves, dammit!

Or better yet, limit your locations. Even if you have three nearby locations on the day’s schedule, you’re going to have to wrap each location, load and move the trucks, move the generator, make sure everybody knows where they are going, re-park everything, unload, re-cable, and get set up again. This will kill your schedule. Each move will take at least an hour, and probably more.

•    Two things NOT to skimp on: Walkies and the RV.

We had very little money on our production, and we tried to get by with cheapie RadioShack walkie talkies. Big mistake. If everyone who needs a walkie always has a dependable unit that is fully charged, has proper range, and works every time, every single thing you do will be faster. Loading, setting up, flying in actors, fixing mistakes, fighting about a shot—everything gets done much faster and without all the yelling if you have good walkies—with earpieces. Extra bonus if you can figure out a way to get them back from your crew each night.

As for the RV or a trailer, we lucked out and had one donated. It was air conditioned, had a bathroom, and served as the hangout spot for all the on screen talent. I never realized just how important it was, and we would have been in big trouble without it. If you’re asking actors to work at a much reduced rate, a comfortable trailer, a fan, some hot coffee, and a thank you go a long way towards showing your undying appreciation. Without those comforts, your actor will be sitting outside on a folding chair getting attacked by mosquitoes and wondering why in the hell he agreed to do this indie film. The performance and cast/crew morale will suffer.

Stay tuned for another installment of the My Name is Jerry production diary. In the meantime, you can check out our website at http://mynameisjerry.com.