Production Log #002: Designing a Human Set
Notes from a $100K feature film built around respect, discipline, and emotional truth
December 16th — From the first snow, 8:00 PM
BURYING DORIS is a prestige ensemble drama about grief, legacy, and the emotional reckoning of an estranged New England farm family. This series, “Production Log”, serves as a year-long production journal tracking the film’s evolution in real time.
Today I touched:
Today’s focus was on wrapping up last week's actions after a great phone call with my collaborator, Chris.
That means creating:
Finish - a proper outline for the final touch-ups on the script
Create - an inventory of all resources my team has access to, for accurate budgeting (Link)
Create - a formal list of non-negotiables for the project (Link)
One thing that worked:
Being selfish and thinking about what really matters to me to effectively and efficiently make this film. And to do that, I will need:
The On-Set Editor: This is mandatory. The character of Joey films the family throughout the movie, and the climax is a montage of that footage.
Production will mirror the plot. We will have an editor on-set building the timeline in real-time to ensure the emotional payoff works before we wrap.
The “Human” Set:
10-Hour Days Max: We respect our time and sanity.
Paid Crew: Everyone gets paid. Plus deferred deals.
Financial Discipline: We have a $100,000 Hard Cap. We are dedicated to returning investment (even $1 profit matters). We make the movie for the money we have, not the money we wish we had.
One thing that didn’t:
I need to do follow up on a more aggressive timeline.
The feeling under all of it:
Tired but committed.
Tomorrow, I will:
Finish the Outline.
Together, with Faith.
M.P. Rekola
P.S. As an independent creator, I earn my living through affiliate links, views, sales of my filmmaking dictionary on Amazon, producing industrials via Goodworks (You can hire us!), consulting on individual projects, and a “micro” drive-in movie theatre I’m building.
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