Recruiting a Skeleton Crew

A skeleton crew is a crew that is stripped down to the bare essential crew members to save money on the production costs or when shooting without any permits.

In an article for Indiewire in 2013, Noam Kroll, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, suggested the five people needed most for a skeleton crew. The two people Kroll does not have in his skeleton crew are; the Director and Producer. This is because the director and producer will be on set everyday.

Kroll's essential people that must be in the skeleton crew are:

• Director of Photography - A director of photography can understand your vision of what you want as a director. Another point why having a director of photography is important is because if you are a director Dp'ing it can waste valuable time setting up equipment, and if you have a director of photography all those jobs are done and it takes the pressure of you as a director as you don't have to worry about the set up and focus more on the actors. 

• Hair and Make-up - Having a make-up/hair specialist is very important as they can do a top job and make it look consistent throughout the production. Having a good make up artist can make the actors feel more professional and confident and it is important for the actors to feel at their best about it. 

• Production Assistant - It is important to have a production assistant as part of a skeleton crew because a production assistant keeps things running smoothly and to make sure everyone is doing what they are suppose to be doing. Another reason why Kroll chose a production assistant is because he wants to find someone who is willing to learn and with a good attitude.

• Location Audio - The location sound recordist is one of the most important people on set. The biggest mistakes for indie films that the sound is not top notch which can effect the amount of people watch it. The reason Krull said about the sound recordist is that it is important to have one because if you have perfect sound then it will come across as more professional looking than perfect visuals with bad sound. Another reason why they're so important is because you need them to meet the requirements for the type of film you are filming and the skills required, you want someone who cares about the sound more than you do. The sound is a big part of a film and is more than 50% of the film.