A Day in the Life

For those who’ve wondered what a day in the life of a low budget filmmaker is like, I present…

A Day in the Life of a Low Budget Filmmaker
Disclaimer: involves a day taken off from the full-time job that a low-budget filmmaker must keep because he does not, in fact, have a budget. Your results may vary.



7:30 Wake up, shower, get dressed, and drive girlfriend to work.
8:00 Head over to Dunkin’ Donuts and pick up coffee and a muffin. You can’t film on an empty stomach or a caffeine-deprived brain.
8:15 Back to the apartment. Listen to commentary tracks on the new Doctor Who DVDs while I eat breakfast and go over the script for today’s scenes. Double check the prop list and work on storyboards.
9:00 Toss yesterday’s sweat-drenched costumes into the laundry. Return to script prep.
9:30 Put costumes into the dryer. Drive to the gas station to fill up the tank in prep for the trip to Allerton Park – a half-hour drive. Return rental costumes to Dallas & Co.
10:30 Get dry laundry, gather costumes, props, and equipment for filming. Touch up the paint on Lin-Ku’s shoes – ninjas have to look their best, you know.
11:00 Review footage from yesterday.
12:00 Grab some lunch.
1:00 Cast arrives. Suit up, makeup, and run through the scenes in an air-conditioned apartment so there’s less work to do in the miserable weather in black vinyl and padded polyester costumes.
2:00 Drive to Allerton Park.
2:30 Film in 95 degree heat with 75% humidity. Try to balance between what shots we need and what the cast can endure.
5:00 Wrap filming. Pile our sweat-soaked selves into a small car with the air conditioning on full blast as we return to Champaign. Vaguely worry that the sweat smell will never leave the upholstery.
6:00 Shower, eat dinner, relax for just a brief while before preparing for...
8:00 Choreography rehearsal.