The Producer Never Sleeps

On set at a SAG Indie Short

3 min readSep 19, 2019

The second film I worked on this past summer was Love Me Tinder written and produced by Sean Patrick Leonard, Directed by Wayne Pombert II, and starring Micky O’Sullivan. We were filming this short in the suburbs of Chicago with a 7AM call time for crew. Sean graciously picked me up both days en route to set. On our way to set the first day Sean told me he was on set the night before prepping the set for our shoot on the day. He had a late night and an earlier morning that me.

During our drive we got a chance to talk about how we got started in film. I learned that Sean had been an actor for the past twenty five years and that his turn behind the camera was comparatively recent. His short films have done really well in festivals so far.

Sean Patrick Leonard on the set of Love Me Tinder

I believe that anyone who wants to be involved in film whether in front or behind of the camera should learn the process of making at least one short film. If I was an actor, I would make short films with me on set as often as I could; especially while I tried to audition. I think we will see more actors turn to writing and producing on the indie level. And when you marry an actor’s experience in front of the camera when working behind the camera, I’ve seen some really good work.

We arrived on location about a half an hour early. When the rest of the crew arrived, I checked in with the 1st AD A.M. Tapia. When I wasn’t needed by her, I was helping the Gaffer and the DP with the load in.

We were filming in a small house and while we weren’t brining in a lot of gear, once you bring in a couple of c-stands and a Dana dolly, it feels like a lot of equipment.

The production was filming day for night and the Camera department did a great job of crafting the light in a small space. I liked how a lot of the shots were filmed with some movement. Wayne did a great job working with A.M. and the camera team to get the coverage they needed and doing it in a creative way.

I did as much as I could to help things run smoothly, whether it was helping with a piece of equipment, or flying in the slate, or helping ensure continuity was kept.

Sean was focused on the action during all of filming. When I had a few moments to sit down and relax, Sean was making sure filming went smoothly, and that everyone on set was working together to make sure this film happened.

I had a great experience working on this film and it went for two full days over a weekend. When you’re filming short films in a half day, it’s easy to forget what it’s like to be on set all day, stay up late, and then come back to set the next day to do it all again. I think most people don’t appreciate how much effort goes into the images we see on screen. When it’s your baby, the Producer never sleeps.