I volunteer on projects. I've picked up stuff off of Craig's List where someone is pleading for someone with a camera to show and shoot something - if it sounds interesting, I'll do it. Brad, my husband, has a pretty respectable IMDb page, and he still does stuff for free. Four of the features he has cut have come off of one short pilot about a hip hop group that he cut for a student filmmaker. A director saw it, liked it, and hired him to cut an entire documentary on the hip hop business - and that doc was picked up by IFP. Another producer on the project hired him to cut two more features. All of that from two days of unpaid work.

Yes, sorry if I made it sound like you have to find pro crew people to get anything done. . .

Really what it is is someone who shares the passion, for real. If people complain after two hours, dump 'em. Find those who know it takes long days really get anything done (goes for actors AND crew), who are willing to stick it out without complaining, and learn and grow with them.

Revel loudly in your passions. Someone in the crowd will overhear you talking about being a filmmaker and doing competitions (personal experience) and latch onto you like a lamprey. Have them do the same thing, they'll bring one other person into the fold...before you know it, you'll have a crew of people to do all of the task who have proven themselves to you.

Count on your first 5-10 shorts being just to shake out who fits where and really is dedicated. I'm up to a dozen or so regulars on my sets which I've acquired through this method. All of them are as excited as me and keep me driven in return, massive feedback loop.

Let the guy say "I want to hold the boom today" Maybe he's better than the guy holding the boom now, who is actually great with keeping track of what's been shot (Script supervisor). Let everyone try everything...you may end up just sitting back and running a camera, or just producing/directing (the most favorable for me). Trusting your crew to bring your vision to life, checking off on all the framings, letting them be creative within the scope of your vision will get you shots you never dreamed possible on your productions! It'll also keep them coming back knowing they're there in a learning positive environment where they are respected and allowed to explore creatively.