What is the most important part of the filmmaking process? Hands down and without question, it would have to be pre-production.
There are three main parts to filmmaking: pre-production, production, and post-production.
Pre-production consists mainly of all of the planning and organizing that you do to allow for successfully completing the other two parts.
Fail at this and your project is doomed.
That is why I believe pre-production to be the most important part of the filmmaking process.
Throughout the years, I have found that there are four main cornerstones of the pre-production process: the story and script, the schedule, the budget, and the acquisition of essentials.
I’m going to tell you about each one of these in detail and how I go about the pre-production process for each one of my projects to ensure that things go as smooth as possible.
You Can’t Do Anything Without a Story and a Script
I’m going to write more about my screenwriting method and screenwriting in general in upcoming entries, but I do want to give you a brief overview here.
It all starts with an idea that eventually develops into a story.
I always construct a title, theme, logline, and character descriptions and backgrounds for my story.
A logline is basically a single sentence that describes who and what the story is about.
Then, I produce an outline consisting of about forty to sixty story elements of who does what and where they are doing it. This will make up the scenes of my story.
I then mark where everything goes in the three-act structure, that is, what will go in Act I, what will go in Act II, and what will go in Act III.
The three-act structure is essentially the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
To explain it in more simple terms, basically, the character finds out about a problem (Act I), struggles with the problem (Act II), and eventually finds a way to solve the problem (Act III).
This is, admittedly, an over-simplification and doesn’t take into account the vast array of stories in existence and it doesn’t give credit to the intricate complexities that the three-act structure has to offer, but, for the moment, it will do.
I then write a treatment for my story based on the outline, and this isn’t a formal treatment by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just for me.
A treatment is your story written out in paragraph format in its entirety. A formal treatment can be used to attract talent to a project or secure financing along with a whole host of other uses.
My treatments consist of several paragraphs for each act, describing what happens in the outline in more detail so that I have more to work with when I go to write the actual screenplay.
It literally just consists of, this person does this, and then this happens, and that leads to this happening which really angers this person.
My treatments are not literary masterpieces but they do help me to complete my ultimate objective and that is to write the screenplay.
And, once the treatment is done, that’s exactly what I do. I write the first draft of the screenplay.
I say the first draft of the screenplay because no screenplay is ever complete after the first go around.
I usually end up with some pretty good bones, and hopefully I have a strong foundation so that the whole thing doesn’t fall apart, but they rarely have any meat on them at this stage.
I do rewrite after rewrite, building this skeleton up, giving it tendons and ligaments, muscles and skin, until I finally have a fully fleshed-out screenplay.
After the screenplay is complete, you are ready to move on to the next step. But only after it is fully complete. Do not make any major changes to the screenplay from this point on, because then you would have to change everything else you are about to do, and I don’t think anyone wants that kind of headache. Needless to say, the script is now locked.
Breakdown: A Love Story
After the screenplay is complete and locked, it’s now ready to be broken down.
Breaking down a script is also one of my personal favorites.
I’m not sure why I love breaking down a script as much as I do. Perhaps it’s because it allows me to make all of my lists and helps me with the schedule and budget and simply saves me a tone of time.
Or maybe it’s because I now know that I’m one step closer to actually shooting this thing.
At any rate, I love it. I love the actual work involved.
It’s strange to say, but breaking down a script relaxes me.
What breaking down a script means is color coding certain elements of the screenplay so that you will know what all you will need in order to complete the project.
I do things the old-fashioned way and simply underline those elements in the screenplay with colored pencils.
I create a key on the front of the screenplay and off I go.
The most important elements that are assigned a color include, the cast, extras, special effects, props, any stunts involved, sound effects, wardrobe, hair and make-up, special equipment, and anything else you think is of importance for a particular project because every project is different.
You then transfer everything that is underlined in the screenplay to a script breakdown sheet. You can find these in books or online and then print them off.
You do a sheet for every scene in the screenplay.
If your screenplay has fifty scenes then you know you will need fifty breakdown sheets.
Once complete, the breakdown sheets contain all of the information that you will need to be able to shoot that scene.
The information about each scene on the breakdown sheets includes, the location of the scene, whether it’s day or night, interior or exterior, all of the cast involved, what they will be wearing, information about hair and make-up, props, sound effects, stunts, special effects, extras, vehicles, and any special equipment that you’ll need.
All of this information will take time to organize, but will now allow you to do some really important things.
Make Your Lists and Check Them Twice
The breakdown sheets contain all of the information you will need to shoot your film. Yes, but how can you know, with absolute certainty, that you have acquired all of the things on the breakdown sheets?
The answer is that you use the information on the breakdown sheets to make lists of everything that you will need.
One of the first lists that I make is the prop list.
I go through the breakdown sheets and write down all of the props from each scene. Now, sometimes the same prop or props will show up in different scenes, so check your list and if it’s already on there, move on to the next one and only include those props that haven’t made it onto the list yet.
Another important list is the wardrobe list.
What is each character wearing in each scene? Do they wear the same thing throughout the entire picture or are they wearing something different in different scenes?
The breakdown sheets will tell you that and you will write this information down on your wardrobe list.
Next, make a location list. Look at the information on the sheets and if you know you’re going to have to shoot at a house, write down house. If you’re going to be shooting out in the middle of the woods, then write down woods. If an apartment, then write down apartment and so on and so forth.
If the script and breakdown sheets indicated the use of any special equipment, you can make a special equipment list. Things to include here might be a drone, a crane, a dolly, a special harness, or maybe even a rope. It really depends on the project, but, if need be, make the list.
You can also make a talent and crew list.
If you have six characters in your screenplay, then you know you’re going to have to have six actors.
If you don’t know how to do any of the technical jobs on set and all you want to do is direct and if you have the money to do so, you can write down cinematographer, location sound person or location sound team, key grip, and a whole host of other jobs as you see fit.
However, if you have very little money and/or you don’t know of anyone who can help you, then you can learn to do all of the jobs yourself, and, in that case, your talent and crew list will be very short.
You also need an equipment list that will include all of the rest of the equipment that you will need to shoot the film, such as, a camera, lenses, sound recorder(s), microphone(s), and lighting equipment. But we’re not quite ready to do that one yet.
We need to make another list first.
So, What is a Shot List?
The shot list is different from the other lists you have made so far and that is because you don’t use the breakdown pages to create it. For the shot list you will use the script.
So, print off another one because we’re going to mark this one up, too.
I start with one scene at a time and I read through it, trying to re-imagine it as a movie just as I had when I was writing it. I try to imagine all of the different shots I was seeing and how I could go about shooting them.
It’s important to be creative in your shot selection, but there is also a lot to be said for practicality and sticking with convention, especially on your first couple of projects.
For the most part, I know I’m going to get a master shot for each scene. A master shot is a wide shot that includes all of the actors present and encompasses most of the background so that the audience can get a sense of proximity and who all is in the scene.
Depending on the scene, I’ll also get in close on the actors and film the alternating shots between the two or three of them. I’ll also want to get coverage shots as well, so I’ll make note of those. I’ll tell you more about coverage shots in a moment.
I mark up the script with either straight lines, squiggly lines, or a combination of both for each shot I’m thinking of and the lines are drawn vertically starting at the top of the page and working their way down.
This technique has been used for a long time and I can’t remember where I first heard of it, but I really, really like it. There are, of course, other techniques, but this is the one that I prefer because it’s a really great tool to have on set, and I’ll explain why later on.
The straight line indicates what will be seen or what will be filmed with that shot. When you encounter something that will not be seen or filmed with that shot, you change the straight line to a squiggly line for that particular portion. Once you encounter something that will be seen again, you change it back to a straight line.
This may seem tedious and unnecessary, and for some, I imagine that may be the case. But I love it.
The master shot is the easiest to do, right, because it’s just a straight line that runs all the way down all of the pages of that scene.
I’ll then number each of the shots for the scene starting with 1.1. That means that this will be the first shot for scene one. I’ll also have a 1.2, 1.3, and however many shots I feel I will need or that I feel I’ll have time for in order to adequately shoot that scene in an interesting and practical way.
The coverage shots are a little different since they are not actually shots of anyone speaking or doing anything really important for the scene, otherwise they’d just be shots.
Well, why do we need them then?
Coverage shots are shots within the scene filmed for a short duration and can include things such as a foot tapping, hands clasping, someone picking up a glass, and different reaction shots of each of the actors in the scene.
The reason that it is imperative that I have them is that I’m shooting a lot of different shots for each scene. I’m shooting master shots, medium shots, close-ups, and more.
The true value of these shots won’t really become evident until long after production and long after I’ve returned all of the equipment. It won’t be until I’m knee-deep into editing on my NLE (non-linear editing) system and I’m cutting between different shots.
I go from the master to a cut of Derek, and then I cut to Angie and everything is going great. But then, just when I need a smooth transition between these shots and to appear natural, for whatever reason, they just won’t. I can go forward in time with one of the shots and it’s still no good. I can go back, but still, it’s no good.
The master shot doesn’t even work in this situation.
What am I going to do? The film can only move forward, but right now, I’m stuck.
That’s when I dive into the coverage shots and find something that I can put in between those two shots, for even a brief moment, so that things can fit together and seem natural.
If I don’t get those coverage shots on set, then I’m not giving myself this option in post.
Coverage shots can also be used to break up the monotony of a scene or to give the film a certain style.
These are creative choices and they’re your coverage shots, so use them however you like. Just make sure you get them.
I label these as 1.C1, 1.C2, and so on in the script. I’ll do this for every scene until I reach the very end.
I now know what shots I want to get for each scene in the movie, but there are still more decisions to be made.
For example, how am I going to accomplish each of these shots? What equipment am I going to need to be able to get each of these shots? Are these shots going to be static or handheld?
A static shot means that the camera will be on a tripod. A handheld shot means that the camera is no longer on a tripod and can move around. You can accomplish this with any number of things including a shoulder mount, a harness and rig, some type of gimbal device, or whatever you are comfortable using.
Basically, I use this newly marked-up script as a guide to help me complete a very, very important list. And that is the shot list.
My shot lists are always very detailed because once I get out there on the set and we’ve been at it for days and we’re ten hours in on this day and I’m tired, I might not always remember what it is I was actually trying to go for with a particular shot if I wasn’t extremely detailed.
I make different kinds of notes to myself on my shot lists because, as I’ve said, every project is different.
The columns on the shot list are always the same, though, and they include the scene and shot number, what type of lens I intend to use to get that particular shot, the type of shot it is (wide shot, medium shot, close-up), what F-stop or T-stop value I will be shooting at, as well as the ISO setting.
I am going to write more about cinematography and what all of these things mean in later entries.
The last thing I do is determine if I want the shot to be static or handheld, and then I’ll top it off with a detailed description of exactly what I intend to accomplish with each shot.
I always make sure that if I move the camera, I move the camera with purpose. Perhaps I want to move in on a character as the heat of the scene increases all around him and he feels this internally. Then maybe I’ll move the camera far away from him towards the end of the scene because he now feels that things are slowly getting away from him.
I’ll do this for every scene until the shot list is complete.
I don’t do storyboards for my projects. I can see the picture in my head clear enough and I don’t have anyone I need to communicate with in terms of how a shot should look. So, at least I get to save some time there. I may do storyboards in the future as the projects become increasingly larger and more complex, and as I bring more people aboard.
Diagrams are a different story. I will do some diagramming on complex shots indicating where the actors will be or how they will move, where the camera will be or how it will move, where the lights will be, and even where the mics will be if I feel I will need that on set to remind me of how this particular shot should go.
I have my shot list, diagrams, and that marked-up script with me at all times on set. Remember, I said that marked-up script was a great tool to have on set, and the reason for that is if I’m pressed for time, I’ll just flip through it until I find the scene that we’re shooting. I’ll notice that there are only straight lines on all of Jennifer’s dialogue and I’ll remember that this was Jennifer’s shot and that I know how to shoot this and now we’re off and running in a hurry.
You never really know what you’re going to need in every situation that you’ll find yourself in once you get on set, so it’s always a good idea to have more then you think you will need, just in case.
Now that the shot list is done and you know what shots you want to get and you know what lenses you need to get those shots and you have a general idea of how you want to light those shots, you can complete your equipment list.
All of the lists are done. Thank goodness.
Now, let’s schedule this thing.
Continued in The Pre-Production Process and How I go About Doing It: Part 2
