I've learned through making movies the war and peace of indie film production can be either creative hell or creative heaven. Being unrealistic about what type of indie film you can make with a limited movie budget sets an aspiring filmmaker up for creative hell.
Having too lofty goals for a film production you're movie budget can't handle is a bad spot for any filmmaker to be in. In a last ditch effort to show compassion to a fellow filmmaker I told them about my worst indie film production mistakes and let downs.
When you're in creative hell during indie film production the movie will suffer at all levels.
Being a miserable rude bastard on set playing ruler of the set can work in the Hollywood studio system because people are being lots more than anyone on an indie film production is to take shit, there are people that even work for free on indie films.
Egos and celebrity attitudes are not a good fit for smaller budget indie films. The wonderful world of indie film production is still truly driven by a feeling of community amongst cast and crew. Mentally beating yourself up during an indie film production does no good and puts you in creative hell where you're not enjoying making a movie. Making movies is tough business where problems happen and you have to fight through them to finish your film, being able to keep control of your own personal attitude will greatly help you overcome indie film production problems that are a constant when making a movie.
Even 5 minutes of relaxing guided meditation can help you see the big picture and help you make indie film production calls that save the shooting day or fix a post-production problem. When you're in charge during indie film production try your best to be open minded and flexible when script rewrites have to be done, filming of shots changed and technical problems happen.
There is no such thing as a perfect indie film production. Sure, most indie filmmakers, me included, would hope to break into the Hollywood studio system and make big budget movies. Embrace the wonderful world of indie film production with a positive and realistic view of what you can accomplish as indie filmmaker working with a limited budget to get your movie done.
