Film and other video production requires collaboration among multiple parties, with careful planning and organization being key elements to getting work completed efficiently and effectively. A solid pre-production process helps filmmakers identify potential issues on set prior to shooting begins and prevent any surprises during production.
Step one of filmmaking is creating an engaging story and script before planning out the shooting schedule. Once a director has an idea in mind for their film project, they can assemble an impressive team to bring that vision to life.
Location scouting and production design follow. In this phase, the director and team work collaboratively to craft an aesthetic for their film’s characters, locations, and overall tone – this helps crew understand how director wants the movie to look while providing important reference points for cinematographers and production designers when designing sets and sourcing props.
Finally, the director will create a shooting schedule outlining when each scene will be shot. This complex task must take into account actor availability, locations and technical needs for every scene – it is also essential that they allow for changes at this stage to ensure they can plan properly for them all.
At this stage, many key department heads will be hired. These will include a first assistant director, cinematographer (or director of photography), and production designer. Once these roles have been filled, department heads can assemble their teams and help identify what additional crew members may be needed for each sequence.
Once the final draft of a script has been approved, it’s time to create a storyboard. A storyboard is a series of drawings depicting shots and movements for each scene – it allows the director and cinematographer to coordinate on what each shot should look like, how to light it, as well as any visual cues the director may wish to incorporate into each frame.
Storyboards are an invaluable way of outlining each sequence in a film and can help organize its shooting. However, while storyboards provide guidance, unanticipated issues may arise that impact negatively upon production if they’re addressed quickly and early enough.
One key consideration when planning for pre-production should be remembering that no two films are the same; even when using similar processes on other projects, their respective end products will vary significantly from those created using similar processes. It’s vital for filmmakers to embrace this principle and view pre-production as an opportunity for discovery of creative methods of telling their stories.
