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While I was attending ALA in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago, my son was filming his new short film, Morning Rush, in what used to be our garage, with a cast and crew of about a dozen people.

First, thank you to everyone who donated already to his GoFundMe, especially those of you I know personally, whether IRL or online. He still has a way to go before having enough to finish post-production, but the shoot itself would not have happened without the early enthusiastic support he received from family, friends, and several complete strangers.

He’s posted a new update on the GoFundMe page with a great video and a few set pictures, which you should definitely check out, but I also wanted to add a few of my own thoughts about the process so far, for those of you who first heard about it from me.

Man plans, and God laughs.

It was a three-day shoot in hot weather, in an old garage with no power and minimal airflow, but they pulled it off despite some obstacles he’ll presumably talk about in the mini-doc he’s planning to create about the overall production itself. The old saying, “Man plans, and God laughs.” absolutely applies to indie film production!

I still can’t believe what they did with the garage, which (from the inside and on film) looks like an actual café, including a custom mural he had commissioned for one of the new walls. Set construction took longer than they’d hoped, but even if you don’t know they’re in a garage (or what that garage looked like beforehand), you’d be impressed by the end result.

I’ve seen two early assembly cuts of the film so far and it’s coming together nicely, partly thanks to a committed cast that made each character believable, including some great chemistry between several of them. It’s mostly true to the original script, but without actors to give it life and elevate it, they’re just pretty words on the page.

It ultimately works because Isaac was able to nail the people-driven tension he was going for in the script, and the cast and crew rose to the occasion. Of his different cinematic inspirations, what jumped out to me the most was Spike Lee’s early films, particularly the way the actors are framed so you feel like you’re in the scene with them. There’s also some tonal dissonance he credits to David Lynch, which I can totally see.

It’s exciting to see a film come together every step of the way, something most people never get to experience, and I can’t wait to see this one evolve into its final form.

There’s still time to chip in and help push Morning Rush over the finish line, so if you’re inspired by supporting young independent creators making things the right way, hit the GoFundMe page!