A rested director is a good director. A daily schedule example.

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As writer/director/editor/co-producer/choreographer/star of a film, you end up with a lot on your plate. Here was a typical daily schedule while shooting Rise And Fail.

  • 7:30 am, wake up, do emails
  • 8:30 am, rewrite script for the day (DAILY)
  • 9:30 am, paperwork and any unimportant personal stuff I’ve forgotten like bills and overdue parking tickets (and feeding myself)
  • 10:00 am, get people to wake up, eat, clean, etc.
  • 10:45 am, overview of script with Drew (DP)
  • 11:30 am, pack van (cooler, wardrobe, equipment)
  • 12:00 pm, drive to set
  • 12:30 pm, unload van, set up craft services table and prep equipment
  • 1:15 pm plan shot list with Drew
  • 2:00 pm, cast call time, makeup, wardrobe
  • 3:00 pm, start shooting (choreograph a “skeleton” for an hour if doing a fight scene, or talk through scene with actors)
  • 6:30 pm, eat dinner (meatballs were the most popular)
  • 7:00 pm, resume shooting (and try not to fall into food coma)
  • 10:00 pm, finish shooting, pack up camera equipment and secure media
  • 11:30 pm, leave set, drop people off at home
  • 12:00 am, arrive at home, unload van
  • 12:30 am, catalog footage and sound and any behind the scenes, do preliminary edits as necessary
  • 1:30 am, looking forward to 6 hours of sleep. Even if there’s work to be done, it can wait till morning. Perform a full backup of hard drive while I’m asleep.

I did this 6 days a week or so for 45 days between Aug 10 and September 30 I believe. Any days off would be for “rest” aka “all the other shit you don’t want to do” like last-minute scheduling, casting, location logistics, finances, etc. Those days were much less fun, though I’d usually squeeze in 8 hours of sleep to make up for it. 6 hours of sleep is enough, though. It’s really easy to find yourself going to bed at 6:00 am and waking up groggy at 10:00 am and turning into an asshole for the entire day, so this was the result of personal planning and delegation. I like being in a good mood when I’m on set. It makes me look forward to the next time. Hopefully the other cast and crew agree.