Case Study
Eighteen Weeks, Four Days
Nibble is my MFA thesis film: a horror-comedy short about a pet rock that eats everyone in the house. I wrote, directed, shot, edited and sound-designed it. I was also its associate producer, unit production manager and location manager, so the plan, the budget and every change ran through me. This is how it was planned, and how the plan held when things went wrong.
- Role
- Writer, director and director of photography; associate producer, unit production manager and location manager.
- Team
- A volunteer cast and crew, mostly fellow film students, with a studio teacher for the child actor.
- Timeline
- Prospectus April 2024; shot August 2024; delivered October 2024.
- Result
- Budgeted at $4,750 in cash. Accepted by three festivals, and Best Student Film at Think Film International Short Film Festival.
The Problem
On paper, Nibble was a lot of film for a student production. The hero prop grows through the story, so it had to be built in several sizes. The script called for practical blood effects, breakaway plates, a fall onto a crash pad, an animal performer and a child actor, plus TV playback footage shot on other sets. The cast and crew were volunteers with their own schedules, and the cash budget was small.
That meant every day of the shoot, and every dollar, had to be planned in advance.
The Plan
Eighteen weeks, phase by phase
In April I wrote a week-by-week preproduction schedule and worked to it. Approval came first, then the team and the budget, then design and the builds, casting, the shooting schedule and final prep. The budget was final by the end of May, a month before casting. The pet rock was modelled in July and 3D-printed in each size. Effects, make-up and the camera gear were each tested in the last four weeks, and the plan closed with a table read, rehearsals, fittings and two production meetings.
Cash only where nothing else would do
I built the budget in EP Budgeting (Movie Magic). Every line started from the same question: could it be donated, lent, borrowed or made? Cash went only where the answer was no: the house we shot in, meals, a script supervisor, a few costume and prop purchases, drives for the footage, and festival entries. The total was $4,750. Thirty-three of the 44 budget lines were covered without cash, by volunteers, film students, or kit from my own studio.
One lead per day, hardest work first
I built the shooting schedule with my 1st AD in July. Each lead’s scenes were grouped into a single day: a Nell day, a Suzie day and a Dani day. Each volunteer actor came to set once, and the child actor’s limits fit one day. Within each day, the hardest or most constrained work went where it could be protected. The dog’s scene went first because it was likely to be the hardest. An exterior that needed daylight was placed after a costume change. The TV playback was shot on the first day, even though it’s the last scene in the script.
Managing Change
One change, five places it landed
The biggest change came from feedback, not failure. Readers and industry professionals pushed back on a script where the two leads never shared a scene. I resisted, then made the change. In retrospect it was the right call: the scene I added is the most touching I’ve ever filmed. But it moved the film from a series of horror homages to one coherent story, and that rippled through the plan. Set dressing, wardrobe and props bought for the old look went back. The location I’d rented no longer fit, and the new one was booked solid, so there was no chance to scout it. The storyboards held: they had been drawn to show the cast and crew each shot, not the palette, so none had to be redrawn.
When things went wrong
About a month before the shoot, the actor the lead had been written for had to leave the country, and I recast the part. The largest rock failed to print four times. The hand-sculpted fix cracked when it was heat-cured, and its paint dried minutes before we left for set. On the shoot, the new location was too small for the planned jib shots, so we went handheld. The camera fell, and the corrupted files meant a pickup day. The dog wouldn’t eat the food we’d bought, in the scene already scheduled first in the day because it was the hardest. Several practical effects failed on the day.
What I’d Do Differently
Each lesson came from something that happened on this shoot, and each is now a rule for the next one. Tech-scout every location before booking it. Hire someone for practical effects rather than run them while directing and shooting. Write an animal only with a respected trainer, and avoid writing a part for a child. Put at least one lighting instrument on every shot. Shoot above the delivery resolution, to leave room to reframe.
Outcome
Nibble was delivered in October 2024. The distribution plan was two festival submissions a month for a year, budgeted at 26 entries. By the time the thesis was submitted, the film had gone to 27 festivals, been accepted by three, and won Best Student Film at Think Film International Short Film Festival.
The full paperwork, with the preproduction schedule, the stripboard, the Day Out of Days, every budget line and the risk log, is on the Nibble production paperwork page, with names and contact details removed.
Credits
| Plan, budget, schedule and every decision | Me, as associate producer and unit production manager |
| Cast and crew | Volunteers, mostly fellow film students at the University of New Orleans |
| Package Deliverables: transcription, the sample page and figures | Claude (AI assistant), checked by me |