Producing : Ask Me Anything (AMA) 9/28 to 9/29- Balancing the responsibilities of being a Director-Producer by Amy Elizabeth Geist

Congratulations on winning the Stage 32 Short Film Contest and all of your success, Amy Elizabeth Geist!!! :D The Collision Film Initiative sounds incredible! Thanks for having this AMA. Being a director and a producer are big roles on their own. How do you balance the responsibilities of being both?

Thank you so much for sharing your time with the community, Amy Elizabeth Geist! In what ways did working as a Production Manager help make you a better Producer and Director? Are there specific things that you learned in that role that best set you up for success?

Hi Amy! Great to see you again! You have so much going on, it’s great. What position do you feel is your ultimate goal? Or all of them?! And why if you choose one.

Welcome Amy! Nice to meet you. Glad you're here.

As an executive producer, still looking for final investors, who is the first person in line to begin building your team. Perhaps a Lawyer, line producer. showrunner? Thanks

Thanks for having this AMA Amy Elizabeth Geist and congratulations on all of your successes. When you're both producer and director, do you find it easier to consider costs as a producer while not sacrificing what you would creatively want as a director?

Welcome, Amy!

Hi Amy, thanks for answering our questions! Do you prefer to be Director and Producer on your work or just one or the other? Why?

Hi Amy Elizabeth Geist! Thanks for joining us and answering our questions! I would love to know more about the incubator with Powderkeg - What does it mean to produce something like that and what were you looking for in the submissions from the directors?

Hi Amy Elizabeth Geist - thank you for being here for this AMA. You have such a cool creative journey and your love of the work shines through. It's inspiring. My question is how did your work on commercials prepare you or help you for your work as an independent filmmaker?

Maurice! What a great question. And a big one! You're right they're both huge and integral roles on set. There's a lot that goes into balancing them. The biggest thing is: find a great team. You can't do either position alone let alone both. Find a team of people that you trust, that have the same work values as you do, and people that you know will show up physically and mentally on the day. I can't stress enough how important that is! Everyone on the team needs to carry their own weight especially when you are doing so much on your own. The other things that are absolutely essential: organization and lots of pre-production. Pre-production is your best friend! If you are used to doing one position more than the other you can tend to lean into those job duties and then neglect the other. For example I really need to schedule time for me to sit down and work on the shot list or creative deck because I can get hyper focused on all of the producing tasks that are second nature to me. It's a lot of work but something that I'm sure you and everyone in here is extremely capable of succeeding at.

Ashley Renee Smith What a fantastic question. Before I talk about being a Production Manager I'll go even a little further back -- I started in the industry as a PA. And honestly that is the best thing anyone can do when they're starting out. You see EVERYTHING. Every department. You learn how departments interact, how they communicate with other departments, what they're responsible for, what is important to them and that is a knowledge that will utilize in every level of production. As a Production Manager you have even more close intimate knowledge of everything it takes to bring a shoot to life. You gain a respect and appreciation for the work everyone is doing and the teamwork involved in bringing a shoot to life. And if you're lucky, you develop really great contacts, communication skills, and organizational skills -- all things you desperately need as a Director especially for indie film. I have found the respect and understanding that I gained for every department has been extremely helpful as a Director because I know what I'm asking of my team. And working as a Producer has helped me as a Director because I know how much what I'm asking for will cost both from the budget and moral. I know when I'm making a big request as opposed to a very achievable one. It's essential to have that kind of discernment so you know not only what you can ask of your team but what you can promise to a client.

Xochi Blymyer Hey there! Great to see you too! And thank you for your question. My ultimate goal is Directing. I love story-telling and love leading the charge on set. There's nothing I value more than being able to set a trusted and respectful tone for a set. It's the only way to bring a project to life.

Samar Khalefa Hey there! As a Director you will be the creative driving force of your production so a great place to start is with a creative deck. That will act as a touchstone for all of your departments and help give a Producer the tone and style of the film. Think of it as an opportunity to put your film onto the page in a visual way so people can really understand your vision.

Leonardo Ramirez Hi Leo! I think having experience as a Producer and producing your own project gives you a lot of perspective to scale your creative choices to what can be achieved with your resources. A lot of people forget that's an extremely important part of directing -- being able to deliver your vision within the resources available. You can't promise a Marvel blockbuster on an indie budget because it's just not going to happen. And if it IS going to happen it will be because you are pulling a lot of very valuable favors from your talented friends (which is also a great resource and don't we love them for it). I think the biggest thing I learned from Producing and Directing is flexibility. What ends up on the screen might not be the exact vision you had in your head because something broke on set, you ran out of time, you ran out of budget -- but as long as you are connected to the creative core of your project you can come up with solutions and alternatives that still tell the story you want to tell.

Niki H HI there! I would always prefer to do ONE of the jobs but sometimes it's hard to find the right Producer. I've been lucky enough to find a producing partner that shares my same values and work ethic and supports my vision as a Director and love working with her. I prefer to hand over Producing whenever I'm Directing (if possible) because I love collaborating and believe in the power of a strong and supportive team.

Sam Sokolow Great question! Commercials happen very fast. The prep time, the shoot time, post production are all on a very tight, and often short, timeline. So you really get to build your skills in being able to deliver quickly. You also get used to meeting new people every day because each project can be with a completely new team--especially if you're freelance like I have been. So, as you can imagine, being able to turn around a 1-2 day shoot quickly and having great people skills is super helpful to indie film shooting!

Thank you for sharing your experience with us and congratulations on your accomplishments, Amy Elizabeth Geist !

Amazing to read about your next project The Collision Film Initiative, I love the concept and I was part of a female collective project recently (7 shorts stories making a feature film anthology by 8 women directors from different parts of the world ). I think that empowering projects like yours are still so needed, so thank you for that, too!

And here comes the question: What 's your take on the thought ” the best post production begins with a great pre-production" ? At what point do you usually get the post production team involved?” Thank you in advance :)

Hi there, Amy. What excellent advice you are offering. I so agree with you that having experience in as many departments as possible will contribute greatly to your being a much better Producer and Director. From Craft Service to 'Art Dog" to Asst. Camera and even shooting, to all aspects of the Production Office -- it can make you so much familiar and adept at knowing what each person in each Department needs to be doing. You said it so well. Thanks for being a great example to all. And CONGRATULATIONS! on all your impressive accomplishments and credentials.

Amy Elizabeth Geist Hi Amy! Thanks so much for responding and for taking the time to spend with us. All the best in everything you do!

Incredible answers, @Amy Elizabeth Geist! I agree. Find a team. I talked with a director once who did everything on his film. Everything. He said he'll never do it again. Thanks for the answer, and thanks again for having this AMA.

Emily J Hey Emily! Producing Fuse with Powderkeg has been one the highlights of my career because you are working so hard to make something you really believe in. Each project was so personal to each filmmaker and could be used to further their career and increase gender parity behind the camera. And everyone at Powderkeg is an absolute pleasure to work with and all believe really strongly in creating opportunities for a more diverse group of filmmakers in the industry. Submissions are by invitation only but there are so many wonderful programs available to help further you as a filmmaker if that's something you're looking for! You can check out the Moonshot Initiative--they have some really great programs!

Elena Maro Yes! Such an important question! It definitely depends on what your Post needs are but I would bring on an Editor as soon as you can. The ideal is they would be on set while you're shooting (which can be hard on a smaller budget project) but the benefit of having them on set along with a Script Supervisor is they can give you important feed back on any holes in your coverage as well as get a head start on the editing process so you can, again, determine if there are any holes in the story telling and determine if you need pick ups.

If you have VFX bring them in AS SOON AS you can -- in the shot-listing phase or before to get the conversation started. Get their feedback and input on how best to shoot the coverage so it's a smooth process for them in Post. Especially if it's a smaller budget you don't have time or money to put into extra VFX hours because you didn't lock off a shot you should have locked off or frame something correctly for them to do the effect. So if they're able to give you at least one session early on in pre-production then you can plan efficiently for your coverage and have a smooth and shorter VFX process (ideally).

This depends on your resources and process but it can also be really helpful to get the Composer involved before you shoot. Especially for a project where the music instrumental (no pun intended) to the storytelling. It could be helpful to have that as a reference for the actors or even the DP. If you can't afford to bring on your Composer that early finding temp tracks on for them to reference will also do the trick.

So I guess in short--bring on the creative heads of post production on as early as you're able to with the resources you have so that you can go into production with the post process fully in mind.

Pamela Jaye Smith Thank you so much for your kind words! Sounds like you have a lot great experience as well!

Thank you everyone for the great questions and for your kind words! Hope to see you all on set!

Blair J Hebert That depends on where you are in the production process. Are finding investors before production? If so, definitely bring on a strong Line Producer who is very experienced in the particular type of film you're trying to produce. If it's an action film with a lot of stunts of if you're filming somewhere with a tax credit you need someone who has experience in those areas so they can budget correctly. Your investors will want to see an accurate line item budget in order to sign on, I'm sure, and it can only set you up for success to have a realistic idea of costs before dive into pre-production.

Amy Elizabeth Geist, thank you for such an insightful, detailed answer and for your time. All the best with your next project!

Hi Amy Elizabeth Geist ! Great stuff. Thanks for sharing your time. Let's collaborate!

You're welcome, @Amy Elizabeth Geist. Have an incredible weekend and hope you continue to have success!

Amy Elizabeth Geist, thank you so much for sharing your experiences and congratulations on all of your accomplishments! I'm particularly interested in your next project, "The Collision Film Initiative". Best of luck to you:D

Thanks Amy for all!

hi,

I am a female commercial producer based in Istanbul . working as a Producer and Line Producer.

Your currently on going project of female filmmakers around globe sounds very interesting and congratulations on that.

Let me know if it's not too late to pitch in from thai region.

this region**