Advice from a new director...

Another illustration for "Emma and Molly's Pet Yeti."

Hmm...just realized that my last two posts were of lonely characters. Haha! I promise there's not a trend going on here folks. 

For those of you getting ready to start your senior projects here's some advice from a first time film-maker:

1: Become a decision maker. Make sure all of your artistic choices are made before you even touch production. Being wishy washy about concept design or storyboarding just leads to trouble down the road.

2. Hire a producer. Being organized is extremely important for keeping your team on track. Nick Allred and Courtney Hood have been incredibly helpful in this regard. It's easy to be overwhelmed by the needs of your crew, and before you know it, you have no time to actually create art for your own film.

3. Make sure you meet the needs of your team first before getting your own work down. Getting wrapped up in your work puts the rest of the team behind. 

4. DO NOT hire seniors to work on your film. They are too busy doing there own films to help you out (even if they insist that they aren't).

5. It will take longer than you realize to do EVERYTHING.

These are the top 5 things I've learned being a first time director. I wish I could say that I'm a fantastic leader, but I'm not. I'm inexperienced and I still have a lot to learn. But I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I can't wait to start the next film, with all of my previous mistakes hopefully realized and worked through.