Top 5 Reasons to work out of an RV during key film shooting days
There are so many day-to-day considerations that go into a successful production. But, the top considerations are staying on budget and staying on schedule. Below, I’ve listed the top five considerations for how to stay on budget and on schedule by operating the production office out of a mobile RV during key film shooting dates.
1. Mobility. Having an RV (or two)…(or three) is a great idea merely because of the mobility. During key shooting days, if a production is moving from location to location, it’s a good idea to move the production office from location to location. The production office is a very paper sensitive and computer-needy department. The production office staff is responsible for making sure all releases are in order. Copies of documents required to be made daily. Files are kept on hand and referred to as needed. Actors, producers, vendors, caterers, key staff, stage moms and anyone in need of a resolution to a daily production situation are constantly looking for who is in charge on the set. When the set moves, if the production office can’t move with it, there are going to be many disconnects, unnecessary driving trips to the set, and a big opportunity for going over budget because the production staff loses touch with waste and expenses occurring on set. Having a mobile RV during these times allows you to pack up and move from set to set with ease.
2. Save money and time. By reducing unnecessary driving trips between an immobile office and a set. A production staff on a major feature film, may consist of five to ten or even more key staff members who are on board from beginning to end. A production staff would become ineffective if they were all required to drive in between locations for production meetings and then back and forth to the set to implement production decisions.
3. Authority Central. Having an office on set at all times, is a great way to let people know there is someone on set who holds a high-level of authority for crucial day-to-day decision-making. Even though each department on set is important, they are not autonomous. The department heads need to submit requests and obtain approvals before spending money to make sure they don’t go over budget. Yet, they also need to stay on schedule. The most common complaint that someone spent money with no authority is that they could not find anyone to approve the expense, yet they had to stay on schedule. Having a mobile office for submitting written requests can save a lot of “reimbursement, and possible legal issues down the road.
4. Central Check-in. There’s nothing more frustrating for an actor to show up on a set and not have anyone to greet, ask questions, find out the schedule. No director wants to be focused on concierge duties. And, it’s important to make sure anyone on set has the proper documentation and guidance due to all the contract limitations controlling the production as a whole. Having a mobile production office right on set can assist in making sure people have checked for time-keeping purposes. Further, if equipement such as walkies are needed on the set, they can be checked out and turned in at the central location. That way no one has an excuse that they took an expensive walkie home and forgot to bring it back.
5. Meeting Central. Production staff have multiple meetings daily. Sometimes, not everyone can be present for all of the collateral side-meetings. However, when there’s a central office on set, the traffic back in forth ensures the production staff will catch wind of new information regularly and around the same time new policies are implemented. There’s nothing like using your production authority to hold your ground, only to find out the policy you’re relying on was changed days or weeks ago via a different office without your previous knowledge. It takes away from the respect of other’s who rely on your ability to make good decisions in a crunch.