How to Assemble the Best Crew for an Independent Film

Most people underestimate the importance of positions on a film set. The director is often considered the "it" guy, however a director is only going to be as good as the rest of certain crew members. Follow this tutorial before assembling your next crew and I guarantee the results will be better.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• A crew (duh, why else would you be reading this??)

1. List all potential crew positions you need to fill. Chances are you already have a writer, director, and producer, so exclude them.

2. Rank these positions in order of importance to your film. If you want an experimental and beautifully shot film, Director of Photography goes first. If you want a movie with crisp sound, Audio Operator goes first.

   Regardless, these two positions should be #1 and #2 on your list.

3. Compare the crew positions with the budgeted money for crew positions.

4. Post notices online or anywhere else for crew positions. Ask for resumes/experience and rates. Make sure to note this is a low-budget film so people know to adjust rates.

5. Understand what each listed position entails. Friends or family could easily handle certain positions such as grips, production assistants, or still photographers. It would be best to do that to save money.

   With a Production Assistant, why pay somebody 20 dollars an hour to get you coffee if your mom is willing to do it?

6. Make sure a nice gender balance exists. I have been on sets with all males and egos run through the roof. I have been on a set with primarily females and nitpicking occurs, often delaying the movie a while. The best set is one consisting of both. Females tend to have a calming effect over males.

7. Chemistry is a must. If certain hired people have friends interested, hire their friends. Hang out as a crew. Go to dinner, the movies, wherever. If you do not like each other it will be hard to work as a cohesive unit.

   In sports it may work in that if you do not like someone you can still work with them, but NOT for an independent and low-budget film.