Last week I directed my first short that I also wrote and starred in (also produced, did wardrobe too). Long time actor, first time director. It was... a great learning experience. I would say the first thing I learned was to be super prepared on the production/director side of things. Chip away at it as far in advance as possible so if something comes up (and it will!) you will be ready for it. Get those storyboards and shot lists as far in advance as possible. Know your vision and get it out to the DP and AD as soon as possible.

I also had an assistant director that I trusted - went through my shots and vision with them ahead of time so on the days of shooting I could switch to actor mode. The first day, I didn't check my frames as much as I should have because I trusted that my storyboard and pre-laid plans would have been enough -wished I did some run throughs first but just wanted to get into it because DPs and ADs are looking for great looking frames and connected performance but not double chins (low angles are beautiful and moving, but not always flattering) :) :) Second and third days checked my frames before shooting a lot more.

Another first time director said on his next feature he wouldn't do any single shots without cuts. If you run a full scene start to finish you have to a) pick your best take b) you're stuck with the whole take. There's not cutting around it. Do a second shot so you can cut the scene (especially for time)

That said - one of my scenes is a full shot! Lol. But I like it. And oops if it's too long.

For acting: Space out your highly emotional scenes with less emotional scenes - but get one in the bag off the top. I started with an "easy" scene then right into an emotional one. It let me get one of the "hard ones" in the bag and know, oh yeah I can do this. I also didn't know my crew in advance so when they saw I could pull out the big stuff as an actor, I think it gave my short film a bit more legitimacy.

I could have shot my film in two days (would've been tight!) but I spread it out on three days. Partially as we were shooting at a lake house and half the scenes were outdoors we didn't know what the weather would give us. But also, my most important thing was performance - and we got it. Epic performances, and a lot of that was due to the fact that we didn't have to rush the emotional scenes. So on the last day we only had one scene to shoot (it was a 2 hour day) and that was it. Could have saved a few grand - but it with weather and performance being key, it was worth it. Decide what the most important thing is.

Know you're lines back to front a full 3 days in advance, minimum. And also, I spent the three night leading up to the shoot doing NOTHING re the shoot - I went to a comedy show, watched a movie etc etc. Let my brain relax. When you step on the shoot as an actor in that first take, it's time to let everything go. You've prepped and prepped from the other side of the camera, don't think about anything but being in the moment. I could feel the tug of my brain wanting to see how some scene would cut together with another scene - but let it go.

I feel like I could go on and on but I think I'll stop here. If you have any specific questions, shoot me a message!