Making my short film Lilly has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done and has been the best learning experience I could ever have hoped for. Here are just a few of the things I learned.

1. Surround yourself with the right people. If you have a team of like-minded and creative folks behind you, failing is made that little bit more difficult.

2. If you're going to give a speech, don't try and thank everyone by name off the top of your head. You will forget someone and you will feel awful.

3. Eyebrows can cause moire.

4. If you can speak with absolute truth about the things that drive you, that you care about and that make your heart keep beating - and don't mind when people laugh at you for being pretentious - you'll be all right. 

5. Working with the right DP is a decision you have to get right. We got it right.

6. Time disappears, quickly - use it wisely.

7. It sounds simple but in the madness of a shoot planning and testing can go out of the window. Don't let this happen. Hours and hours will be lost to not having the right cable.

8. Trust and respect your cast and crew. If you can't do this it's usually the case that there's something wrong with your approach, not theirs.

9. Laugh at yourself - a lot.

10. There's almost nothing you can't do with gaffer tape or a peg.

11. Hire a good script supervisor, they will save your time, your mind and potentially your shoot. Actually, scrap that and just hire this script supervisor: Francesca Brooks - she's the bomb.

12. Don't give the job of BTS to just anyone. Bringing on-board truly talented filmmakers to fulfil this role is worth it's weight in gold. Mad props to Cosmic Joke.

13. Even if you are 'only' shooting a short film, arrange proper rehearsals. We did this and it meant that when our actors turned up on set we were able to shoot with very little faffing.

14. Don't be afraid to experiment with shot selection. The only way to be brave is to abandon plan B. Plan B doesn't even exist.

15. Give people a chance to show their true self before making a judgement. Often, folk will surprise you and leave you feeling incredibly humbled.

16. A crew marches on its belly and its turnaround time. Don't neglect either.

17. As a director, there's never an excuse for being rude to someone - no matter how much pressure you're under. If you do slip up, apologise until you're comfortable that you'll be able to sleep at night.

18. There are some things that just happen. Roll with it and find a solution. Not everything can be fixed but there's always enough rubble to make something new. (Crew: I can already hear you laughing at that.)

19. Be realistic with your schedule. When  you're working on unpaid indie films the chances are that most people have 'real' jobs they have to go back to and as such you don't have the luxury of long shoots. Don't over stretch yourself.