Deadlines Matter, Even for Indies

For me, one of the toughest things about independent film is the complete lack of studio-imposed deadlines. I know, you're thinking I'm completely nuts and you're just about to click that little "x" to close the window. Before you do, consider this:

1. Projects that take years to complete suffer issues of relevancy once they finally wrap. I had a friend who started a wonderful story about the Cold War in the 1980's. I heard from her recently: it was finally finished, could I read it? Sure! The writing was brilliant, for 1985. It now needs a complete rewrite because younger audiences won't connect and it's no longer relevant to those who lived through that era. While it could have a cool retro feel as a film today, the story has to include more exposition than it did when the writer started it because of the loss of relevancy.
2. Casting can become a major issue. A filmmaker friend obtained the film rights to a book and went to work writing his screenplay. He was able to find the perfect lead, a local unknown, to star in his project, and shot a few scenes to garner interest in funding the project. However, he kept putting the finished screenplay on the backburner as he worked on other projects. By the time he was ready to start filming, that perfect actor had been cast in a TV series and was no longer available. He's now having to start over with casting and still, more than a year later, doesn't have a completed screenplay ready to shoot.
3. Actors' appearances change over time. The headlining film at our local festival a couple of years ago took several years to complete. This might have been okay except that two of the main characters were young girls when the project started, teens when it finished. The story itself covered less than a year of elapsed time, so the change in the younger actors' appearances was jarring and left audiences confused.

     These are just a few real-world examples where the lack of a hard deadline undermined what might have been successful projects otherwise.
     As an independent filmmaker or screenwriter, it's important to set deadlines for yourself to ensure your project remains relevant, you keep funding you've secured and you don't lose resources attached to the project. Make sure the deadlines you set are reasonable - you don't want to rush the project and produce something crappy, but you also don't want to take so long to get it done that six other people beat you to the punch.
     If you're not sure what makes a reasonable deadline, I recommend choosing a film festival or contest to which you'd like to submit your work. (Don't pick one that closes entries next month.) Alternatively, figure out the pace at which you best work and approximately how long it would take to finish your project at that pace. (Tip: it shouldn't be more than a year out.) For example: if you're a writer, setting a goal of 10 to 20 pages per day would set the goal of first draft for you in approximately 1.5 to 2 weeks out. Factor in time for your detailed proof-read and three or four review passes, and 2 months may be a reasonable deadline for you to have a copy ready to pass around to others to read before your final copy is complete.
     All in all, a deadline should give you a reasonable goal to work toward and put just enough pressure on you to get the work done before completing the project becomes impossible or pointless. It will also show others you want to bring into the project that you are serious about getting it done and that you are a true professional, improving the odds that they will commit the time and effort you need from them to produce quality work.
     So, get to it! Whip out that smartphone and add an appointment, as well as a few reminders, to get that project done. As we all know, once it's in the smartphone calendar, it's real.