I'm Dave Mercuri, a producer, writer, and director in Denver. I spent twenty years running aerospace programs where failure wasn't an option. Now I bring that to sets, where it mostly still isn't.
emerging filmmaker project q&a · denverSelected work
trailer · the new neighborsA-02
still · nocturnal, live captureA-06
still · here in thereA-07I still take crew calls — gaffer, G&E, sound, AC — with people I like working with. It's the fastest way I know to keep learning how a set actually runs.
The method
Margin is an engineering word. It's the room you design in on purpose, so when something goes wrong — and it will — you're not out of runway. Most productions run with none.
Agree up front on what we're optimizing for and what we're willing to trade.
One document everyone works from. Schedule, budget, crew, gear, contingencies.
After wrap, write down what we learned so the next one costs less.
On set · The New Neighbors · Denver
q&a · denver, 2026About
Here's what twenty years in aerospace actually gave me: I know how to keep a hard project from falling apart, and I know that the plan exists to protect the creative, not to replace it. Passion turbo-charges every skill you have and every one you haven't learned yet. I'd just rather it not also have to cover for a missing schedule.
Who this is for
You have a vision, and you want someone to protect it from the schedule.
You only care about the number. Or you only care about the shot. Those two end the same way.
Contact