What does a pre-production team do? Making a movie span from development to distribution and it is no mean feat.
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of your favorite blockbuster? What do all these people, who are involved in the making of a film, do?
In this era of digital content production, where there’s so much more creativity and flexibility for filmmakers, pre-production plays an especially vital role; it isn’t just about blocking out key moments and action in a scene.
It’s about preparing every detail of the upcoming shoot beforehand to make sure that everything runs smoothly and nothing is left to chance.
A good pre-production team can be instrumental for helping bring an enterprising project to life.
But what does a typical pre-production team looks like? Who’s involved and what kind of tasks do they handle? In this article we’ll take an in depth look into the anatomy of pre-production teams such as their practices and roles that they take on in order to create seamless production schedules while maintaining budgets.
What Does a Pre-production Team Do?
Pre-production is an integral part of the filmmaking process.
A pre-production team is responsible for a variety of tasks before production even begins.
They make sure that everything is in place and ready to go before cameras start rolling.
Here’s an overview of what a pre-production team typically does:
Planning Out the Shoot
The pre-production team works with the director and other stakeholders to flesh out the details of what will be filmed on any given day or series of days, deciding on which locations should be used and when each scene should take place.
This includes making sure all permits have been acquired, researching possible actors and crew needed for the story to come together, and ensuring all departments are properly staffed for the project duration.
Creating Storyboards
Storyboards are visual representations of each scene that help to bring the written words to life.
They’re often used as reference points during shooting so editors know exactly what footage they need afterwards.
A strong pre-production team puts a lot of emphasis on creating comprehensive storyboards that accurately depict what needs to be filmed in order for the overall vision to come together.
Organize Crews & Casting
The pre-production process can also involve hiring staff and casting actors for specific roles in the film.
This is an important step as it requires finding people whose experience match perfectly not only to their role in front of the camera but also behind it too.
Professional actors may also want to negotiate their pay scale at this stage; this negotiation within budget constraints could affect other aspects of production including scheduling and equipment availability so due diligence must be taken here.
Organizing Scheduling & Logistics
The logistic side of pre-production is perhaps one of its most important elements – without proper logistics in place, shoots can turn into headaches very quickly.
The pre-production team works with all related departments beforehand to ensure transportation needs are taken care of, availability schedules are organized, meals and other essential materials like props or set pieces are readily available when needed, and more.
Creating Production Budgets
Once all planning stages have been completed, it’s time for the pre-production team to get their numbers together and create an itemized budget for shooting – including extras like overtime costs if necessary — based off whatever logistics organization was initially put into place beforehand (such as equipment or personnel).
This allows producers and investors alike an idea upfront about how much money will need to be set aside from beginning to end in order for filming to take place.
Conduct Rehearsals/Run Throughs
And lastly – another integral component incorporated towards successful video/film productions however small they may appear in comparison are run throughs of respective scripts because they both allows time to work out any kinks that might arise helping shave time off standing around wondering if anyone heard that line correctly etc.
ALL rehearsals should look realistic (this way unexpected on location surprises don’t catch anybody off guard) – otherwise judgement calls made without prior thought will have detrimentally knock on effects slowing down progress further down beneficial lines leading too longer edit suites.
Conclusion
The pre-production team is an invaluable asset to any production.
They are the professionals who make sure that all aspects of a production are properly coordinated, which can be essential for success.
By carrying out tasks like researching and scheduling, they can guarantee that everything goes smoothly from the planning stage all the way through to completion.
The pre-production team is essential for any project and their efforts should never go unrecognized.
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