A strong foundation is the key to a successful film shoot. But the pre production process is not a straight path. You’ll have to do many things at once. How can you set the tone for your shoot amid all the juggling? That’s where we come in. This post breaks down each of those steps, to help you better visualize your own pre production process. In this post, you’ll have a solid grounding on what needs to be done, and when. Additionally, we’ll take you through our own pre production checklist. So get ready to hit “send” on that call sheet in no time!

stages of film production What are the three filmmaking stages of film production? The filmmaking process takes place in three distinct phases: pre-production, production and post-production. Incidentally, getting everything right in pre production can open up your budget for the fun stuff. What is pre production? Watch the video below to see how pre production is done in the modern age:

This is what modern pre production looks like

Professional productions use professional tools to get the job done. When you walk by a big construction site... you see Caterpillar bulldozers. When you walk into a big production company... you see StudioBinder. 1. THE PRE PRODUCTION PROCESS The pre production process starts after there’s a script. It’s when you set up your company to actually produce the film. We’ll go into more detail on this soon.

What is post production? 2. THE PRODUCTION PROCESS Production starts after you’ve hired everyone and secured everything. So that means the locations, equipment, and any other materials you’ll need to physically produce your film.

All hands on deck: the production process at work. Behind the scenes of Fight Club (1999)

3. THE POST PRODUCTION PROCESS You start post-production after you’ve called “wrap.” So that means all of your footage is “in the can” and ready to be assembled. Then, with that stage in the filmmaking process knocked out, the director, editor and assistant editors huddle into an edit bay. There, they to piece together the film until it's complete. Naturally, this phase also usually includes test screenings so that the editors can better hit their mark. Now let's go back to the pre production process -- where it all begins.

Laying the Foundation 1. Form your company The development phase is over, and you’ve got the green-light! However, before you get to the ‘fun stuff’ like casting and location scouting, you need to lay the foundation for pre production. Every production is like a business. Actually, in most cases, productions are businesses: formally incorporated and filed with the state.

Pre-Production Process (Setup a Company)

Before you can hire anyone or secure assets, the first major check in your film pre production checklist is establishing a business foundation. So ask yourself: will the film be produced out of a pre-existing production company? Will you form a separate corporate entity for it (often an LLC)?

In the pre production process you set up your production company. Bad Robot is JJ Abrams'.

Whatever you decide, set this up first. Every employee you hire, every contract you sign will be done through this business entity. Once you have a business entity, you can open a bank account, deposit the production funds, retain an attorney to oversee production legal, and hire your team.

Free downloadable bonus Download FREE Pre-Production Checklist PDF This article took 30 hours to write. Thirty! Needless to say, there was a LOT we couldn’t include in the post. Download our FREE, printable checklist PDF to get access to Pre-Production Tips (includes bonus content not in the post). GET THE PDF

Prelim Film Budget & Schedule 2. Create a preliminary budget and production schedule

If you’re the only person on the project, you’re probably the film’s producer. Your next step in the pre production process is to bring a line producer aboard to prepare the film’s first real budget and production schedule. If you’re in need of a clean template for creating of preliminary budget, read our companion article Managing Your Film Budget Cashflow & PO Log.

The Pre-Production Workflow (Prelim Budget)

On smaller productions, where the workload is lighter, you might choose to hire a combination Line Producer/Production Manager at this point. If you already have a director on the project, that’s great! It’ll only help the line producer create a more accurate preliminary production budget and production schedule. Once this is done, you’ll know what you can afford, and will be free to move forward with additional hiring. CREATE A ﻿﻿PRELIMINARY﻿﻿ PRODUCTION SCHEDULE Once you lock your shooting script, and format correctly for scheduling software, it's time to set the schedule. Since a shooting schedule is the bedrock of production planning, carefully assess how many scenes you can shoot per day. Since one page is equal to one minute of screen time, most productions try to shoot five pages day.

StudioBinder Scheduling Software

In scheduling software, like StudioBinder, your scenes are broken into page length to give you an idea of how much you're loading onto your cast and crew. You can then drag the strips around and add day breaks. Everything will automatically load into a schedule and call sheets.

StudioBinder Shooting Schedule

CREATE SCRIPT BREAKDOWN SHEETS Next, carefully comb through each page of your script and mark production elements (cast members, props, extras, stunts, etc.). Your finalized list of all these items will make up your breakdown sheet. By tagging production elements within software, you can generate your final list. Check out what a finished script breakdown looks like below:

StudioBinder Script Breakdown

But what's the difference between a prop and set dressing? Check out The Complete Guide to Mastering Script Breakdown Elements. BUDGET YOUR BREAKDOWN Once you've carefully sorted your script's elements into categories, it's time to assign a dollar amount to each. A single stunt could run you into the millions, while an extra could only cost a hundred or so a day. Correctly estimating the cost of each element will give you as close a prelim budget as possible.

StudioBinder script breakdowns

Our guide on How to Effectively Budget a Script Breakdown delivers a producer's insight on how much to estimate for each element. THE BENEFITS OF USING A PRE PRODUCTION CHECKLIST Naturally, checklists get you focused on what you’ve done, and what you need to do. If you keep one close by as you go about your pre production tasks, you can stay one step ahead. Further, you can add each checklist item into a production calendar that you can share with the rest of your team. Then, at the end of every pre production day, you can see where you stand.

Department Keys 3. Hire key production heads There are many people who will work on your film by the time it’s finished, but you only need a few of them at the very beginning of the pre production planning phase.

Pre-Production Process (Hire Key Departments)

With a preliminary production budget in place, you can confidently hire more people to your team. At this point, you’ll bring aboard your director (if you haven’t already), your department heads (like your cinematographer, production designer, editor, costume designer, casting director, etc.) and, on larger projects, your production coordinator and possibly your production accountant. Afterwards, you’ll be ready to start delegating. Make sure your line producer or production manager is signatory to the bank account, and empower your director to begin making creative decisions with the department heads.

Tip: KEEP CONTACTS Readily Accessible Before you know it, your production will grow from a team of few to a team of hundreds. Because of that, it's important to keep all of your contacts in a place that you can easily reach all of them at a moments notice. Excel sheets, or software, like StudioBinder, will not only store your contacts, it will auto-populate them onto call sheets.

storyboards, shot lists, schedules, and budget 4. Creative planning begins With department heads in place, the director spends some time doing the creative planning. All departments, at this point, are focused on identifying what they will need in order to accomplish the director’s vision. They meet regularly and communicate their needs to the line producer so that the budget can be revised.

Pre-Production Process (Creative Planning)