Productions big and small

My husband wrote a screenplay over three years ago. A couple of years ago he picked up the script, dusted it off, and decided to rewrite it into something he could make into a feature film.

Jonathan is a personal trainer with a master's degree in acting. In the entire time I have known him he has never gone on one audition or peformed anything other than kareoke (he does a mean "Whip It" by Devo). He still had the acting itch though and wanted to use his screenplay to scratch it.

Having gone to film school for my undergraduate degree and worked on the set of a major motion picture I have been witness to the complexity and downright insanity that working on a film set (either as the talent or the crew) can be. Similar to being an event planner, in order to be good at your job on set you need to be able to juggle mulitple tasks at once, manage a wide array of stakeholders and stay organized and cool the entire time. Sitting on the set of Jonathan's film I find planning events very similar to running a film production, minus all the film terminology like Best Boy and Key Grip.

So where am I going with this? Well in two directions, actually...the first I just mentioned, is my realization that the management of shooting a film is a lot like managing an event. A film production is a type of event. So it is interesting to see how my husband (who is not a multitasker--how many men are?) is handling this new job.

The second is just that I am amazed, in awe really, of him. Here is a guy who said I am going to do this...stuck with it against all odds...scraped together just enough $, didn't let the nay-sayers stop him (and there were many)...and now his dream is becoming a reality.

I should mention he is not Directing this film. He is the Executive Producer and one of the two lead characters. However, as the budget is so low...the crew is not that experienced and my husband has found that he must be constantly overseeing every step of the production. And getting more involved in the day to day production (ie. is the crew getting fed? is the cast being given the proper call times and wardrobe information) then he expected or for that matter wanted.

What's next? He, of course, would hope this film will be his road to bigger and better things...however, he has said, "if all that comes of this film is that I can get theater filled with all my friends and family to see it I will be happy".

For more information about his film project check out: http://www.moviemoney.biz/

Shameless plug: you can make a donation to the project directly from the website using Paypal. Every little bit counts.

Check out my website while you are at it: www.clockworkevents.biz