Saturday, November 17, 2012

Starting From Scratch

Up until now I've been penning my little film-making essays from the POV of an FX artist, because quite frankly, that's the role I normally play on a crew. But now that we're in development for Predatory Moon, I get to start blogging as a director too. (Granted, someone who is brand spanking new to directing but still knows her way around a production set.)

I know...I know... it surprises me just as much as it does the people who've known me for a while that I would actually sit in the director's chair on a project. I'm always joking to my crew that I'm going to be directing from a position under a table since I have every intention of running the practical FX for the film. But I was coaxed into it because it was a chance to do something really challenging with the FX, and out of the Siren Productions team I really am the best person to take the reins on it.

So now I get a golden opportunity to put all my theories about running a smooth project to the test on a working production.

Like every other production I've worked on, it starts with building a solid core crew. (I hate using the term "inner circle" because it implies favoritism rather than seniority.) While Siren Productions has always been my flagship team, I knew that I really needed to bring some fresh blood on board that had skills and expertise in areas that my standard team was lacking.

That meant taking a hard look at the company that I hail from and picking out all the flaws. I know that sounds horrible, but it is a necessity. What are we good at? What aren't we good at? What do we really suck at?

Siren got away with doing Psycho Chick Anonymous with a production crew composed primarily of four people because it was filmed documentary-style. I knew that this project was going to need a full crew and many more bells and whistles than that. Fortunately, I've met a quite a few people while working on crews for other productions, and finding the right people to help fill out a core crew who bring a lot of much-needed resources and enthusiasm to the table was a lot easier than I thought it would be.

So begins my journey into directing...

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