Earlier this month, we drove from Zagreb to Berlin to finish our feature film, After the Act. We were adding pick-ups and filming new scenes, expanding the story after reviewing the edit and realizing it needed more work.
On the way home, we planned to film a new episode in our Life Improvised series, titled Sugar, set in Prague. It made sense logistically: Prague was less than four hours from Berlin, our car was loaded with gear, and Prague is stunning on film. Two birds, one stone — but it meant planning two productions on a tight schedule in two different cities.
Could we do it?
Taking a couple of snaps on my vintage camera between takes in Berlin.
We could and did, but the goal of this blog isn't to brag. It's to explain how we managed it and the mindset that made it possible: patience, flexibility, and compromise.
First, we focused on flexibility with Sugar and approached the shoot with an open mind. We needed two actors: a British man in his forties for Roy, and a local girl who could pass for 18 to play Karolina. If the casting didn’t work out, we were prepared to postpone and try again in a few months with no deadlines in place. We approached the casting with a “no harm in trying” attitude and this greatly reduced the pressure.
The best audition for Roy came from Owen Lindsay, an Irish actor living in Vienna who happened to be in Prague when we needed him — a stroke of luck. Karolina was harder to cast. The local actors who auditioned didn't fit the part, so we opened the casting call to nearby countries. Europe’s small size and relatively low travel costs worked in our favor. We cast Amsterdam-based actress Dalia Cohen less than two weeks before filming. She wasn’t Czech as we envisioned, but her look and talent were more important than nationality, so we compromised — the second crucial mindset component.
Combine that with the patience to wait for the right actors, even though it meant completing the casting much closer to the shoot date than usual, and we were employing all three mindset factors needed for successful indie filmmaking.
It meant very little time to prepare, limited further by the fact we would be concentrating on After the Act in Berlin ahead of Sugar. But we did a Zoom rehearsal for the short film six days before filming, planned costumes and props between writing callsheets and shot lists for After the Act, and finalized the shot list for Sugar just two days before filming. We rehearsed in person the day before filming, went costume shopping the afternoon before, and made every moment count. The Sugar shoot went off without a hitch.
A social media image from After the Act
The lesson here is that there’s no rush in filmmaking. Unless you're filming a timely news documentary, you can take your time to get it right.
Going into each project with the attitude “if it happens great! – if not, next time” is the best way to prepare yourself for the reality of filmmaking. No matter the budget, size of production, or who’s attached, for reasons out of your control your film can fall apart at any moment. It doesn’t mean the film won’t be made, it just means it’s not the right time.
Always be adaptable and don't panic. There’s usually a solution.
In 2019, we faced a similar challenge in Berlin for a short film. An actor pulled out last minute, so we adapted our story, kept one actor, and shot with the crew as planned.
The same thing happened in Melbourne on our short film Mirror of Filth. One of the main actors didn’t turn up to set on a day we had booked an expensive stripclub for the location and had a dozen extras waiting to film.
Instead of canceling the shoot and being out significant money, we asked one of the extras, Sally Dean, to take over the role. She said yes and learnt the lines on the spot while I ran all over the city to find a suitable wig for the character to wear. We had already filmed scenes with the previous actress, so we had to go back and do reshoots, but in the end Sally did a better job and the film turned out better as a result of the emergency recasting.
It almost happened again on After the Act. Last year we had a dance club scene, money down for the location, and a dozen extras booked and waiting to film. But the actor we had cast for the key supporting role on the day was nowhere to be found. 30 minutes in and no sign and no response to phone calls. One hour and still no show. 90 minutes. Crew all set and waiting to begin, extras sitting around getting bored. So we began asking extras we felt had the right look to take over the role. Luckily, two hours after call time, the actor finally showed up. We ended up filming the scene as originally planned and still wrapped on time.
Even with the recent After the Act pick-ups, we couldn't schedule a rehearsal for a new scene with three actors as their schedules and ours never lined up. The solution? I conducted a rehearsal on the filming day while Ivan and the crew set up the location.
Flexibility, compromise, and patience are the pillars of the indie filmmaking mindset. Embrace these principles, and they'll serve you well on every film you make.
Written by Sarah Jayne