With less than two months before production begins, I've been getting pretty stressed about the amount of work that needs to be done. A few weeks back, I even had a minor panic attack (very unusual for me).
It was clear that I needed help. Professional help.
I'm talking about producers. I needed producers. Very much and soon.
I've been doing a ton of work on casting plus interviewing possible DP candidates, in addition to getting more feedback on the script in prep for the final draft. But there was a whole series of production-related activities that we needed to start on -- and I still had a ton of casting yet ahead, to say nothing of storyboarding and rehearsals.
In other words, I needed to focus on my growing directing responsibilities while also needing to get the rest of pre-production done.
Realizing this coming tsunami of work required more help, I put aside the individual production to-do list and just focused on finding people to lead the team with me.
Over the past few weeks I've been actively recruiting a small team of experienced producers. The people we're bringing on all came to us via referral (the best way to ensure reliable, responsible and ethical team-members). They each bring different strengths and run in different circles, which multiplies the resources available to draw upon. In fact, any one of them could manage the project alone and do so very ably. However, given that we're only able to offer deferments (i.e. no cash unless the film makes a serious profit -- a long from now, if ever), the team-based approach helps overlap responsibilities to ensure flexibility so no one gets too burnt out.
In hindsight, I suspect this will be one of those key turning points in the film's development. They all agree that I need to be focused on the directing and that they will together ensure the script is broken down, the locations are locked, the production is planned, the crew is hired, the gear is on set when we need it and that we get this film made.
When this film gets on the big screen, it will be in large part due to their involvement.
And since I've started bringing them onto the team, my anxiety level has gone way down too.
