Producers, don’t skimp on catering or crafty!

Photo by Andra C Taylor Jr on Unsplash

If you’re producing a student film, you will quickly learn how critically important high quality catering and craft services on set are.

This is an area you really don’t want to get wrong. Don’t skimp on it. I underestimated the power of good food on set a few times and in this article, I’ll explain why you should passionately avoid making that mistake, and some tips to help you.

Food fuels your set.

It can make or break the mood, your shooting schedule, and your reputation as a producer.

Think about the last time you had a meal you loved. How did it make you feel? It probably made you happy and more fun to be around.

If you were sharing that amazing meal with other people who also thought it was an amazing meal, you likely would have felt more sociable and friendly.

You might have even experienced some bonding or strengthening in your relationships with those people.

Food can do this on set, too!

High quality, healthy foods, prepared and presented in a thoughtful way will nourish your crews physically and emotionally.

Meal time can be a great bonding experience for crew mates. It’s one of the few true breaks they’re going to get on a shooting day, so put time and thought into making it a wonderful experience.

Furthermore, if you’re making a student film, your crew is probably getting pennies for their work, if anything at all. I get it. If you’re reading this, you’re very likely a broke film student and can’t afford to pay for your crew of fellow students.

I know it’s a hard spot to be in. If your crew is comprised of fellow students, they’ll probably understand. But, that does NOT give you permission to cheap out on the food available on set.

Do not “compensate” your student crew for hours of hard work with junky fast food, a digital copy of the final film, and “set experience.”

They deserve more than that.

Also, know that if you’re in charge, your reputation is on the line. Not only will a bad food experience on set negatively impact the set vibe and performance of your crew (which is reason enough to give a lot of thought to your food), but people will talk and tell others about their bad food experience on your production.

This can dramatically lower your chances of crewing up your next film with the folks you want.

If you have a horrible experience at a restaurant, it’s probable that you will actively warn your friends and family and recommend against anyone else going to that restaurant.

The same thing happens with student producers. You can become infamous among your peers for arranging garbage meals and craft services, and it could be hard to convince your colleagues to give you another chance.

In contrast, if you get the food situation on set right, it can lead to a boost in your reputation as a producer in addition to the improved crew morale and performance during production.

Here are twelve tidbits of advice to help. This is by no means an exhaustive list. And if you only remember one thing from this article, let it be this: Think about your food on set from your crew’s perspective, and not your perspective as a producer. Focus on the experience that your crew members will have on your set.

1. For your main meal, aim for healthy, hot, and variety. It should be hearty enough to be filling, but not greasy or so heavy that it makes everyone lethargic. Avoid pizza as the staple food in your meal. If it’s a comfort meal that makes you want to curl up on the couch and take a nap after eating it, it’s probably not good for set. So skip the meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
2. For your craft services, think about stuff that is nutrient dense, easy to grab, and safe at room temperature. For perishable items, make sure you’re keeping it cold enough. Individually wrapped and pre-portioned items are best. Don’t put out bowls of chips or bags of snacks that multiple people are reaching their hands into. Design a sanitary snacking experience that makes it easy for people to get what they want quickly and get back to work.
3. Do NOT just have crafty without a true hot meal. Snacking on a bunch, even if they are good snacks, is not a real set meal.
4. Think of every single person. Think of the outliers. Make sure you know all the dietary restrictions and allergies of every person on set, and make sure they have a high quality, filling alternative if they cannot eat the main meal. Showing you care about each and every crew member will go a long way.
5. Make sure your AD team is completely briefed on the entire catering and craft services plan, so they can direct people correctly.
6. If you’re the producer, delegate. You’ll have many other concerns as well and can’t take care of everything yourself. Use your PAs, production manager, and line producer. Explain to them what’s important and exactly what you expect each of them to do.
7. Play it out in your head. Really think through the space and logistics. Consider even doing a catering rehearsal. Where will people sit? Is it far enough away from your gear or are you going to be eating all over your set? Is the timing realistic and provide people ample time to get their food, find a seat, and eat? What are the foot traffic patterns around your crafty and meal stations? Do you have plenty of tables and chairs? (it’s not fun to eat while sitting on an apple box and holding your plate).
8. Have extras of all your tableware. If you think you have enough napkins, utensils, cups, and plates, get some more.
9. Put thought into designing your crafty and meal stations. Make sure the trash is easy to find, and assign a PA to make sure all areas stay clean and presentable. Put up signage that quickly informs people what is what, including ingredients if possible. Have plenty of hand sanitizer out. Put markers by the water bottles and coffee cups so people can mark theirs. Clearly differentiate receptacles for trash vs recyclables and show what recyclables are acceptable.
10. Be clear about how long your meal break is. When it officially starts, inform everyone when it will conclude. Make sure your AD is also aware so they can give everyone ample notice of when to start wrapping up the meal. I’ve seen so much time wasted on getting out of meal mode on some sets. This is a period of time extremely vulnerable to delays, so set expectations ahead of time, clearly communicate to everyone, and make sure your ADs stay on task and enforce the schedule.
11. Make sure there’s plenty of coffee for everyone and be prepared to make or get more. Continual and timely coffee refilling is an operational task that sometimes lasts the whole shooting day, so make it someone’s duty to stay on that task.
12. Assign people to water distribution duty and always make sure drinking water is available and easily accessed on set.

Again, this isn’t a complete list of considerations to keep in mind, but it will get you moving in the right direction. Just be thoughtful about your decisions and keep the crew member experience top of mind. These are hard working human beings volunteering their time on your film production, so don’t treat them like an inconvenient expense.

Providing high quality food in a high quality way gives you the opportunity to directly impact the team experience on your set and will improve your production itself and your reputation as a producer.