9 Tips for Surviving an Independent Film Shoot

Through my experience of working on low budget and independent films for the past 15 years, I have learned a few crucial and important rules that can help you survive the jungle of what is the independent film world, or better known as Guerrilla Film making. Working on independent films where the budgets are small, the sets are grueling and sometimes in extreme conditions, it’s important to take control where you can. When you find yourself on a challenging set, remind yourself that you are there because you are taking action to move your career forward. The footage you get on this job will lead you to another job and that’s how you build a solid demo reel. Always remember the incredible amount of experience you will gain from working on these shoots will be invaluable when you are on the bigger budget jobs. 1. Know your lines cold! Rehearse your lines over and over and know them backwards and forwards. You don't know how many takes you are going to get because of the inefficiency of the production and lack of time and budget. Knowing your lines down cold ensures that your best work makes the cut. 2. Take control of how your character is going to look. Finding your costume can be as easy as taking a trip to the local thrift store. Taking control and bringing options for your director will help him, your character and how your character looks on screen. Be open to the director's ideas but have your own in case he has none. Own the character you are portraying from the start! 3. Be nice and focus on yourself. Don’t talk badly about anybody on the set. Remember everyone is under a lot of pressure. Focus on yourself by either working on your lines, rehearsing with your scene partner while they set up the next shot or think about how you want your scene to go. Focus on the task at hand and hold yourself to a higher standard than everyone else. Add to the project, don’t subtract. 4. Give the director different takes of your scene. After you do the scene and the director says “Great, I got it!” Simply and politely ask, “do you mind if I try something different just to give you some variety? I doubt he will say "no". In fact, I have found they always appreciate your help helping them by giving them options to choose from when they cut the film. 5. Listen and talk to the director. When you are on set and you and the director are having trouble communicating, focus on listening, reply back with, “ok, let’s try that”, or, “yea, let’s give it a go” and just try what they are asking you to do. This approach shows that you are listening to them and are willing to try their direction, it also defuses any potential situation and ensures you stop the vicious cycle of you and him trying to defend your positions. 6.Bring food! Take some of your own food to the set. Nuts, apples and protein bars are great. This way so you always have something healthy to eat. You need to feel your best so you do your best. 7. Easy on the Caffeine. Don’t drink caffeine all day on set, it’s easy to do when you are just sitting around. Caffeine can sap your energy, especially late at night and it makes emotional scenes much more difficult. Caffeine can also make sleeping difficult – remember that in Indie films, there is no eight hour turnaround rule, so you need to be able to sleep immediately when you have the chance. Drink water, eat apples and nuts to keep your blood sugar up and give yourself energy late at night. 8. Get your work! Once you wrap, get BOTH the director and producer’s contact info and in eight months to a year, begin asking for your work and don’t stop till you get it. 9. Don’t get drunk the night before your scene. Enough said.   About Douglas Taurel Douglas Taurel loves working on stories that are a bit dark and dramatic. He is consistently drawn to playing characters that are intense, gritty and live on the harder side of life. He has had the opportunity to work on many of NY’s TV dramas like Mr. Robot, Blue Bloods, The Americans, The Following, Damages, Person of Interest, Nurse Jackie to just name a few and recently played a hit man, Tom McCarthy’s “The Cobbler” starring Dustin Hoffman and Adam Sandler. Douglas has also been fortunate enough to grace many of New York stages in many classic and dramatic plays and his favorite role is Lee in “True West”. Douglas had the opportunity to perform the play both in New York and Edinburgh Festival Fringe where, as a cast, they received a five star review and a strong review by the New York Times - "Douglas Taurel is a fine actor as George". He studied with Wynn Handman, his mentor and the foundation of his acting training. He also had the incredible opportunity to study and work with some amazing artists; Alec Baldwin, Kathleen Turner, Marian Seldes and Edward Albee, to name just a few. Taking on huge challenges is in his DNA. He boxed in college, ran marathons in New York and Philadelphia, ran with the bulls in Spain and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. Douglas feels very fortunate to be the son of Hispanic parents and was given the opportunity to live in South American and to learn how to speak fluent Spanish. He has recently produced and performed his solo show The American Soldier www.TheAmericanSoldierSoloshow.com which was nominated for an Amnesty International Award and received strong reviews in it's Off Broadway, The Huffington Post - "A flawless and powerful show", and earned four stars at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015. I Douglas is performing his solo show throughout the Northeast and turning it in the south. The play is based on soldiers’ letters from the American revolution through Afghanistan. He is a contributor to Backstage.com and The Daily Actor. Next for Douglas is, he has just wrapped working on season two of Mr. Robot and a new video game by Rockstar. Follow him at: Twitter: @DouglasTaurel IMDB: http://www.imdb.me/douglastaurel www.DouglasTaurelActingBlog.com www.DouglasTaurel.com Like this blog post? Please share it on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email etc) by using social media buttons at the top of the blog. Or post to your personal blog and anywhere else you feel appropriate. Thank you. As always, we welcome thoughts and remarks on ANY of the content above in the Comments section below...  Read More

Success Story - Script Picked Up at Higher Purpose Entertainment

Since I've been with Stage 32, I’ve seen hundreds of writers land reads and requests or get signed by agents, managers and attorneys. All of these successes are causes for celebration, but few compare to the feeling we get connecting the perfect screenwriter to the right exec at the ideal time and seeing them sell or option their script! Stage 32 is thrilled to announce Stage 32 Happy Writer Lynne Logan from Orange County, California recently optioned her feature script, A Relative Unknown, to Higher Purpose Entertainment (HPE) after submitting her script to HPE Producer Brad Wilson for Premium Coverage!      Brad is a producer who started his career with Acadaemy Award winning actor Robert Duvall operating Robert Duvall Productions, covering films like Colors (starring Sean Penn), Days of Thunder (starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman), and the CBS miniseries Lonesome Dove. Brad went on to become the Vice President of Production at Greystone Films which produced films including Lunker Lake, Inside Outdoors before co-founding Higher Purpose Entertainment. With HPE he's produced a number of films including Three Blind Saints, Christmas on Salvation Street, My Many Sons, and The Meanest Man in Texas. He also most recently produced The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, which releases this year into 1,100 theaters across the country! Brad is partnered in HIGHER PURPOSE ENTERTAINMENT with Casey Bond. I was lucky enough to watch the process unfold as these two talented individual shared their experience with me. Now they’ve graciously offered to share their experience with the Stage 32 community. With their permission, I'm republishing our written exchanges to share their story in their own words...     Lynne Logan, Screenwriter Brad Wilson, Producer, Higher Purpose Entertainment _____ To: Allen From: Lynne Here's my story. After reading my script, A RELATIVE UNKNOWN through Stage 32 Coverage, producer Brad Wilson asked you to introduce the two of us. That same night, we talked on the phone for over an hour. Brad sent me an email afterward, ”You’ve made my day! It was such a blessing to visit with you. The hour did indeed pass fast! That gives us more to look forward to when we meet! I'm happy you could feel the passion I have for your script.” Next, he asked to set up an in-person meeting to get to know each other a little bit more. A week later, we met for lunch! _____ To: Allen From: Brad  This has been a "red letter day"! I drove down to Orange County and had a great lunch with Lynne Logan!! She is terrific and I think things went very well. I think we are going to proceed down the path to work together and get her film made. I LOVE working with you and meeting all of these amazing writers! Thanks again so much for sending me Lynne Logan's amazing script! _____ To: Allen From: Lynne  A week later, the Option Agreement came in. I talked with my script consultant and an entertainment attorney and we started the process this past Monday, and now on Friday, just four days later, I have an Option Agreement from Higher Purpose Entertainment for my script A RELATIVE UNKNOWN. _____ To: Allen From: Brad We've made our deal with Lynne Logan regarding A RELATIVE UNKNOWN! SO happy about it! She is SO talented and so wonderful. Had it not been for you thinking to introduce me to Lynne's writing none of this would be happening. Always ready to read scripts so keep em' coming! _____ To: Allen From: Lynne I'm still in awe as to how fast this is all happening. It's really a surreal experience. I hope my words speak for themselves. There is no feeling or validation like a producer wanting your script and having the kind of excitement and passion for it that this producer expressed. _____ With the deal signed, Lynne had a moment to reflect on the whole experience. I had the opportunity to ask her what was the best piece of advice she could give to all of the Stage 32 writers.   To: Allen From: Lynne Pay for coverage from a producer in your genre. When you pay for coverage, the person is reading your ENTIRE script and you have a captive audience. If your script is great and the story is the right fit for that producer, at least interest will be stirred. Make sure the producer has similar films as your script. I don't think it matters where you live. If a producer is interested in talking about your script, they will do it via email, phone, Skype or whatever means. So don't let location stop you! This never would have happened without Stage 32. Never. I can't thank all of you enough for opening doors and offering opportunities for writers to network and make contact with "the big guys".   Please join us in congratulating Lynne and Brad on their deal in the comments section below & please share!...    Read More