Foundations of Pre-production

What is pre-production?

- First of three stages of a

production (preproduction,

production, post-production)

- Pre-production is the process of

preparing all the elements involved

in a film, play, or other

performance.

- Involves outlining what is to be

accomplished, what you need to

accomplish it, and how you will go

about accomplishing it.

Amateur filmmaking

pre-production steps

Why is pre-production important?

- Allows you to foresee any possible problems before they

happen

- Allows you to be more efficient with your time

- Have a game plan/show people you know what you are doing

- Allows for explicit discussion of agenda that can be built upon

- Can work as a tool for acquiring funding

Teleprompter Fail Lord of the Rings Pre-

production: Forced Perspective

‘Idol held auditions on

the aircraft carrier USS

Midway, which was the

first mistake, since boat

horns and jet noise

interrupted audition

after audition.’

- USA Today on

American Idol Auditions

Stages of Preproduction

Amateur Production

- Concept

Development

- Script

Writing/Storyboardin

g

- Casting/Crew

Assembly

- Location Scouting

- Securing

Equipment/ Prop

and Wardrobe

- Scheduling

Professional

Production

- Grant

Writing/Funding

- Special Effects

Identification

- Accounting/

Financing Audit

The Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight Script

- Condense, concise

- Leave out descriptive

language

- Format properly

- Don’t worry too much about

camera direction

- The director will “mark

up” the script at a later

time; the script is about

character and plot

development

Script

Storyboa

rd

Script becomes visual

- Camera framing

- Basic camera

movement

- No writing

Usually constructed

AFTER locations are

scouted

Dark Knight Storyboard

News Scripts

- Differ from narrative scripts

- Separated into Audio and

Video

- Typically include “package”

prompts, anchor information,

and specific time

“LOST”

Television Show

Call Sheet