Setting Clear Expectations for Your Crew
Clear expectations are the foundation of a professional film set. When your crew understands how the day is structured and what support they can count on, the production moves efficiently and morale stays high. Setting these expectations early also protects your budget, your safety plan, and your reputation as a producer who runs a tight, respectful set. Understand your budgetary needs and maintain a contingency budget for unexpected expenses like gas, OT, and kit fees before you go to negotiate with your crew.
Prep
Start by communicating what prep actually looks like for your project. Make sure every department understands the timeline, what is expected before the first shoot day, and how information will be shared. Prep is where clarity prevents confusion. Are prep days paid? Is it the whole team? Just Keys? Consider these questions as you budget your project to avoid frustrating your team ahead of production.
Hours on Set
Be transparent about your expected day length. Even for indie sets, your crew needs to know if the day is built for ten hours, twelve hours, or something more ambitious. Overruns past the expected 12 should be the exception, not the rule, and should be acknowledged accordingly.
Portal to Portal
Explain whether your day is measured from arrival to departure or from call to wrap. If the set is consistently, exceptionally far from your workforces locale expect to pick up additional hours or lose shooting time on set. Handle this up front so the crew knows exactly how their time is valued.
Transportation and Commute
Confirm who is driving what, how far locations are from your base camp, and whether travel time is compensated. Expect your drivers to need OT or factor in a portal to portal rate for them. Long commutes drain energy fast and thereby should be considered a safety concern. Accounting for this keeps your day safe and predictable.
Safe and Well Fed
Crew performance depends on food and hydration. Brief your team on meal plans, craft services, and break expectations. A well fed, well supported crew works smoother, faster, and safer.
Wrap
Set clear wrap expectations so departments know when they are officially done. Is wrap considered part of your 12 hour day? Wrap should not be a vague target. A structured end to the day helps your crew pace themselves and prepares them for tomorrow.
Turnaround
Respect turnaround times. Your next day’s performance depends heavily on the rest period between wrap and call. Even on low budget sets, honoring turnaround protects the entire production. Your call sheet should be received 12 hours before the next call. If your administrative and production teams can’t make that deadline consider pushing call for the next day. It can be unfortunate for your schedule but that’s why we hire a trusted and experienced Assistant Director to identify the needs of your DP and Director
Industry Standards Still Matter
Indie films do not operate outside professional norms. Industry standards give you guideposts so you can set expectations that feel fair and achievable. Many Indie crew members will also be day playing union sets so there is an inherent expectation of on-set and production culture. The closer you stay to those standards, the more likely your crew will show up ready to give you their best work.