Production is a result of months and months of planning.
I’ll repeat this again. When making a movie, production is the result of months and months of planning. I emphasize the planning aspects of pre-production, because many filmmakers crash and burn during production because they didn’t have a solid plan.
PRODUCTION, PART 1
But you’re different. To make sure your production goals are executed in such a way that you get the most movie for your hard earned money, you will need to check and re-check with your department heads to make sure everything is AOK. Assuming you have a plan A, plan B and a plan C, you’re ready to shoot your movie!
Here are some tips that have helped my filmmaking run smoothly:
ACTION
- Make sure whoever directs the movie starts each morning with a shot list. A shot list is a list of shots. And once you have it for each day, you’ll be able to check each shot off the list as you go.
- If you’re directing, work with your DP to get an assortment of cutaways. You’ll need many cutaway options to save you from yourself, should you miss something in Post-Production. I’m not kidding about this.
- Make sure you have a photographer on set.
- Again, work with a great 1st Ad.
- And hire a bunch of Production Assistants to help make your life easier!
The production process is a ton of fun. You’ll bond with other creative folks and by the end, assuming all goes well, you’ll feel like family. If you get a chance, check out American Movie
