I was interviewed recently by a high school senior – she’s working on her senior project and hopes to make a video. She asked some very good questions, but when I started to describe how we prepare for a shoot, I could see her eyebrows go up.
I believe that 80-90% of a good production happens before you roll tape. I started to reel off all of the items that are part of pre-production:
• developing a concept
• creating a treatment
• script writing (and many rounds of revisions)
• drawing storyboards
• casting session
• booking crew
• site survey(s)
• equipment discussion/selection with DP
• coordination with craft services, municipalities, location and talent
• review of props, wardrobe and makeup
• coordination with client
This might look like a laundry list, but preproduction (or prepro as we call it) is a key part of the entire production process – much of the creative development happens at this stage. Initial ideas are created, they’re fleshed out in the treatment and put into words during scripting. Storyboards help us visualize how the finished piece will look.
Ideas that sounded terrific as concepts may need some tweaking in the script. Sometimes they just don’t work and we start again from scratch. While reviewing storyboards, the client may realize they had an entirely different mental picture. During a location scout for a shoot, you may find a feature or element that changes how you’ve visualized the spot. It’s all part of the creative, and it’s all essential.
Mark, one of our producers, likes to say that without prepro and creative development you’re just putting a camera in a room and hoping something interesting happens. What you get is a lot like footage from a security camera – there’s nothing to it. But concept, treatment, script, storyboard, casting, even equipment – these are creative decisions and processes. Creative steps which ensure on the day of production we’re not shooting security camera footage… we’re shooting exciting, engaging, inspired content.
I always believe that filming was the second last thing you do.
Even before touching a camera, everything should be worked out, even to the point of having the second camera angles sorted for potential alternate shots to be used during editing.
The only thing after filming is editing and minor post production like text overlays, credits and such.
Doing everything up front also keeps your shooting budget down, as you won’t have to go back and reshoot something if there is a problem.
Heck, I have seen comedy programs go out on weekends and shoot everything with handy cams just to test locations, and check natural lighting.
Comments are closed.