FIELD NOTES: 5 Things I've Learned About Producing Indie Films

FROM A PRODUCER IN PROGRESS

Producing an independent film is a strange kind of faith.

You spend months (sometimes years) tending something no one else can see yet.

Instead of sprinting toward a finish line, you’re holding a flame steady through wind, doubt, and spreadsheets that make you question your life choices (lol).

But somewhere along the way, you learn that the middle is the work. The invisible unglamorous seasons are what shape you into the kind of creative who lasts.

I know many of you reading this are writers, directors, actors, and producers in the thick of the long, quiet middle of building a creative life. Below, I’m sharing five practical ways to turn these lessons into real momentum: the habits, tools, and mindset shifts that have kept me steady through the highs and lows of indie filmmaking.

Since writing, directing, and producing my first short film in 2021, these are the five lessons that have kept me going—the ones I return to when everything feels slow, uncertain, or quietly on fire.

Think of this as the field guide version of today’s essay & what it actually looks like, in real life, to keep your fire lit.