How to Make an Indie Film with 8‑Hour Days and On‑Set Childcare

In this episode, GG Hawkins speaks with writer-director-producer Nora Fiffer about her debut feature Another Happy Day, and how she achieved a rare feat in indie filmmaking: shooting on strict eight‑hour days while providing on‑set childcare. The two explore how this family-friendly approach—driven by Fiffer's own journey into motherhood—shaped every stage of production, from scheduling and budgeting to set morale and creative decision-making.

In this episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins, and guest Nora Fiffer discuss…

• The personal impetus behind Another Happy Day—how motherhood inspired the story and production values

• Creating a collaborative, theater-informed mindset that fueled preparation and efficiency

• Concrete strategies for implementing eight‑hour shooting days and on‑set childcare as non-negotiables in budget and schedule

• How fewer setups, lean shot lists, and actor preparation maximized time and morale

• Using fixed creative constraints as generative tools—not limitations

• Securing talent like Lauren Lapkus, Carrie Coon, and Marilyn Dodds Frank through personalized writing and deep connections

• Pitching the film to investors with equity and inclusion baked into its DNA (childcare prominently featured, even in opening credits)

• The importance of making such practices visible to normalize them across the industry

• Lessons learned in post-production—how the same efficiency and clarity from production didn’t automatically carry over

• How Fiffer plans to carry this ethos forward in future projects

Memorable Quotes

• “What the priority was emerging to shoot eight‑hour days, in addition to providing childcare, this now impacted how we were going to shoot it even before we got to production.”

• “By prioritizing childcare and the eight‑hour days in the budget… that was untouched.”

• “Everyone came with fresh ideas.”

• “I planned every moment, every beat… I knew the script, the story, the characters and the edit in my head so well.”

Guests:

• Nora Fiffer — Writer, director, producer, actor of Another Happy Day

Resources:

• Nora Fiffer, Another Happy Day

• I Really Love My Husband Instagram

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