Perils of Production: Don'ts for Directing Indie Film

Indie Film Podcast
Feb 27
3 min read

So, you’re thinking about directing an indie film? That’s adorable. Truly. Grab a coffee (or something stronger), because Chuck and Victoria have been there, made the mistakes, and are here to help you—or at least provide several cautionary tales.

Step One: Trick Your Friends into Starring in Your Film

The first rule of indie film directing is to force—er, encourage—your family and friends to be part of your cinematic masterpiece. Nothing says "support system" like your best friend reluctantly delivering dialogue they clearly regret agreeing to. Bonus points if your mom watches the whole film and only comments on the lighting.

However, there's a catch: your friends might not actually be good at acting. And you, dear aspiring auteur, might have to pretend they are because you're on a budget of approximately zero dollars and a free pizza.

Step Two: Avoid Directing Your Significant Other (Or Prepare for Therapy)

Victoria shares a fun little story about how she once made the mistake of bringing her then-boyfriend onto set for a 48-hour film competition. By the end, he issued an ultimatum: "Never make me do this again." Lesson learned—if you enjoy your relationship, maybe don’t direct your partner in your indie film. Or at the very least, test the waters with something lower stakes, like assembling IKEA furniture together first.

Step Three: Don’t Bore Your Extras (Unless You Hate Them)

Extras. The lifeblood of any indie film. The ones who add depth to a scene and yet are treated like background furniture. Victoria reminisces about the time they spent hours waiting on the set of Lethal Weapon 4 (yes, really) as an extra, stuck in an elevator rotation system designed to simulate hospital realism—which in reality just meant sitting around and questioning life choices.

Directors, take note: don’t waste your extras’ time. If you tell them they’ll be on set for an hour, don’t leave them stranded for ten. Otherwise, good luck getting volunteers ever again.

Step Four: Communication is Key (And Yes, You Have to Send Emails)

Indie film productions are often organized chaos, and if you’re directing, you are the Chief Chaos Coordinator. One of the biggest directing sins? Not sending clear call sheets. According to Victoria, a solid assistant director (AD) is worth their weight in gold, especially when they send short, concise emails with actual deadlines.

A good AD will:

✅ Send out call sheets with actual deadlines.

✅ Require confirmation that people read them.

✅ Hunt down anyone who didn’t confirm like a bounty hunter in an old Western.

A bad AD will:

❌ Assume everyone just “knows” when to show up.

❌ Get to set and realize half the crew is still asleep.

❌ Eventually go missing, never to be seen again.

Step Five: Learn to Let Go (No, Really, Put the Camera Down)

Chuck and Victoria have a message for all indie film directors: stop hoarding every job on set. If you hired a cinematographer, let them actually do their job. If you force them to hold a boom mic instead, just know the Film Gods are watching—and they are disappointed.

Delegation is not a dirty word. If you try to do everything yourself, you’ll end up as a sleep-deprived shell of a human, muttering about f-stop settings in your sleep.

Step Six: Pick Your Actors Wisely (Or Prepare for Disaster)

Not every actor is meant for every role. It doesn’t matter how much you love your best friend’s improv skills—if you need a sleazy used car salesman and they scream wholesome girl next door, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Casting is about finding the right puzzle pieces, not forcing a square peg into a round hole and praying for the best. (And no, telling them to "just act sleazy" won't fix it.)

Final Thoughts: You’ll Probably Mess Up, But That’s Okay

Chuck and Victoria don’t claim to have all the answers, but they do have a long list of things NOT to do when directing indie film projects—mostly from firsthand experience. Whether it's overextending yourself, failing to listen to your crew, or thinking that expository dialogue makes a movie good (looking at you, Old), mistakes will be made.

But that’s the beauty of indie filmmaking—you learn, you improve, and you hopefully don’t end up making The Room 2.0.