What do you do when you’ve made a low-budget movie, but you’ve burnt out and the budget is gone? You grab a camera, rally your cast and crew, and shoot guerrilla-style pick-ups. Because a thriller lacking thrills isn’t an option.

Filmmaking takes a lot of nerve, and those nerves will be shattered when you run out of money halfway through your shoot, or when a big budget movie comes to town and steals your crew. But a great 1st AD makes everything better.