Writer/director Dylan Kidd previsualized Roger Dodger as an intimate coming-of-age story that the audience experiences on a voyeuristic level. The independent feature focuses on a notorious man-about-town (played by Campbell Scott) whose teenage nephew (Jesse Eisenberg) asks for advice about how to get along with women.

What follows is a raucous adventure staged over 24-hours at practical locations in New York City. It was Kidd's first outing as a director. He tapped Joaquin Baca-Asay in the important role of cinematographer. Kidd and Baca-Asay met 10 years ago while they were students at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and have continued their collaboration. Baca-Asay is a rising star in the galaxy of television commercial shooters, but he turned down lucrative jobs to work with Kidd.