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- Jan 12, 2026
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Building a crew for indie films – who you should work with (and who you shouldn’t)
In indie filmmaking, everyone talks about money. But honestly, money isn’t the biggest problem. People are. One bad crew decision can damage a project far more than a tight budget ever will. Anyone who has spent time on real sets in the US indie scene learns this pretty quickly.
A lot of filmmakers start by building their crew out of friends. It feels safe. Familiar. Comfortable. You already know each other, the vibe is good, and it seems easier than dealing with strangers. The problem is that this rarely works long term. Not because people are bad, but because not everyone is on the same professional level, and not everyone has the same stake in the project. For some, it’s just a fun side thing. For others, it’s their career.
There’s an unspoken rule in the US indie world:
reliability matters more than raw talent.
Someone can be an amazing DP or editor, but if they’re always late, don’t answer messages, or disappear when things go wrong, people will stop calling them. A film set is chaos. Something always breaks. Someone always shows up late. The question isn’t whether problems will happen — it’s how people handle them.
The most valuable crew members aren’t the biggest artists. They’re the ones who:
– show up when they say they will,
– communicate when something goes wrong,
– respect other people’s work,
– and understand that indie filmmaking is basically one long series of compromises.
One thing that really stood out to me in the US is the mindset around collaboration. In Europe, not being invited back can feel personal. In the US, it’s usually just business. If a collaboration didn’t work, you move on. No drama. No hard feelings. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person — just that the fit wasn’t right.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was this:
work with fewer people more often, instead of many people only once.
When you keep working with the same small group, something rare starts to happen: trust. You don’t have to explain everything anymore. People know how each other works. You know who stays calm under pressure, and who you can rely on when a light fails or an actor is late.
The hard part is that sometimes you have to stop working with people you actually like. I’ve been on sets where someone was talented and a nice person, but the chaos they brought made everything harder. At some point you realize that keeping the project together matters more than any single person’s skills.
Indie filmmaking is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s not about who makes the biggest splash once it’s about who’s still making films ten years later.
Curious how others do it:
How do you choose your crew?
Have you ever regretted a collaboration after the fact?
In indie filmmaking, everyone talks about money. But honestly, money isn’t the biggest problem. People are. One bad crew decision can damage a project far more than a tight budget ever will. Anyone who has spent time on real sets in the US indie scene learns this pretty quickly.
A lot of filmmakers start by building their crew out of friends. It feels safe. Familiar. Comfortable. You already know each other, the vibe is good, and it seems easier than dealing with strangers. The problem is that this rarely works long term. Not because people are bad, but because not everyone is on the same professional level, and not everyone has the same stake in the project. For some, it’s just a fun side thing. For others, it’s their career.
There’s an unspoken rule in the US indie world:
reliability matters more than raw talent.
Someone can be an amazing DP or editor, but if they’re always late, don’t answer messages, or disappear when things go wrong, people will stop calling them. A film set is chaos. Something always breaks. Someone always shows up late. The question isn’t whether problems will happen — it’s how people handle them.
The most valuable crew members aren’t the biggest artists. They’re the ones who:
– show up when they say they will,
– communicate when something goes wrong,
– respect other people’s work,
– and understand that indie filmmaking is basically one long series of compromises.
One thing that really stood out to me in the US is the mindset around collaboration. In Europe, not being invited back can feel personal. In the US, it’s usually just business. If a collaboration didn’t work, you move on. No drama. No hard feelings. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person — just that the fit wasn’t right.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was this:
work with fewer people more often, instead of many people only once.
When you keep working with the same small group, something rare starts to happen: trust. You don’t have to explain everything anymore. People know how each other works. You know who stays calm under pressure, and who you can rely on when a light fails or an actor is late.
The hard part is that sometimes you have to stop working with people you actually like. I’ve been on sets where someone was talented and a nice person, but the chaos they brought made everything harder. At some point you realize that keeping the project together matters more than any single person’s skills.
Indie filmmaking is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s not about who makes the biggest splash once it’s about who’s still making films ten years later.
Curious how others do it:
How do you choose your crew?
Have you ever regretted a collaboration after the fact?
