Producing Your Film

Producing at Yale

Being a producer at Yale is way more than just being a producer, when you produce on campus you wear the hats of a producer, financier, 1st assistant director, production manager, post-production coordinator, locations director, co-casting director and so much more.

Finding a project

  • Write your own
  • Ask a writer for something to film
  • See if your director friends have any ideas
  • There are very few working producers on campus so there is ALWAYS someone looking for them. When in doubt, just ask around.

Pre-Production

  • Make sure the project is something that can be filmed at Yale
    • If your funding includes Creative and Performing Arts Grant, keep in mind that travel is not covered (unless you want to pay for it yourself which directors have done in the past). This may limit your filming location options.
    • No super crazy special effects unless you have an editor on deck who can handle it. As a producer, it’s your job to make the directors actually think about whether or not they can do something. Stay realistic.
    • Another thing to be cautious of is the age of your characters and your ability to cast people who can play the part. Don’t have a good film make-up artist handy nor ties to the Drama School? Then be wary of writing a script for 40 year-old characters
  • Once you have a script that you think can be filmed your biggest problem now is funding. Depending on the scale of your project, you might end up applying for the CPA
    • Apply through your residential college for up to $1200 during one of three application cycles throughout the year
      • The application asks everything from simple questions like “what’s the title of the project” and “what’s the project about” to more random things like “how will this enhance the artistic life of the college”
      • Put thought into your answers, but don’t worry too much about them. The budget is the most important part.
  • Budgeting is a really simple spreadsheet Click here to see a sample budget
    • Props, costumes, administrational expenses, equipment, publicity
      • Make sure to read the CPA rules to see what can and cannot be covered using the grant (i.e. no food)
      • Always put in at least $50 for the cost of printing expenses (scripts, call sheets, audition materials, etc.)
      • The most common equipment expenses are gaffer gloves, hard drives, gaffe tape, and lighting gels
      • CPA allows for $100 of publicity expenses, which can be used for everything from Facebook ads to posters
    • If you don’t know how much things cost, Google it! You want your budget to be accurate
  • Now how do you know what you need to put in your budget? A breakdown. See below for an excerpted example:
  • Scene Breakdown sample
  • Notice that this breakdown includes:
    • Scene-by-scene notes for every department
    • Plus notes for continuity
    • Plus estimated timing so you can schedule correctly
  • But before you can schedule anything you need to find a cast and production team
    • Finding crew
      • Necessary: Director of Photography, Production Assistant
      • Optional: Hair/Makeup designer, Costume Designer, Prop-master, Production Designer
      • Also good to start thinking about post-production and have an Editor, Post-production Sound Mixer, and Composer on deck
    • Casting
      • Pre-cast parts with friends if you want to or hold auditions
      • Depending on the type of script, you and your director need to coordinate about how you’ll run auditions. Click here to visit our how-to on casting.
      • From a producer point of view, you’ll just want to make sure you video the auditions for your record and that you get a sense of the actors punctuality and temperament
  • Scheduling
    • Scheduling is basically just solving a logic puzzle via Google Calendar
    • Have all of your essential cast and crew members share their GCals with you and overlay them with location availability
    • Empty spaces determine your shooting times

Production

  • Call sheet. Click here to see a sample call sheet.
    • These are written up and sent out before every scheduled shoot so that everyone is on the same page
    • Though you may not need them if the scope of your project is small, these are what professionals use so you should get familiar with them (though in the real world these fall under the responsibility of the Assistant Director)
  • What to do as the producer on-set? Be 100 people at once
    • Organize
    • Fix problems that arise
    • Keep everyone on schedule
    • Get everyone to sign release forms if you plan on screening the film

Post-Production

  • In terms of editing, your level of involvement will depend on your director
  • If you and your director decide to submit the film to festivals, stay very involved!
    • help with any necessary re-shoots or b-roll shoots
    • work with your director to complete all festival applications and paperwork
    •  make sure to keep up on all festival deadlines
  • At the end of the process, make sure to screen your film! Your cast and crew deserve to see the fruits of your labor and most often, your friends want to, too! 

Random Pro tips

  • Dropbox/Box is the best way to make sure you and your director have the updated versions of everything
  • Have weekly meetings with your director and DP
  • Don’t forget to put lunch in your schedules
  • Need a cheap slate? Use the DSLR Slate app for iPad/iPhone
  • Most importantly: Have fun!

Happy Filming!

Written by
Dara Eliacin (BR’15