What’s Involved in the Pre-Production Process?

Why Pre-Production Matters

First, it’s worth emphasising why we spend time on pre-production. Think of it like cooking. It’s much easier to cook a meal when you’ve got a recipe, all your ingredients measured out, and the oven pre-heated, right? Pre-production is like that for video. It minimises surprises and mistakes during production. In fact, efficient planning and pre-pro work are crucial for avoiding costly hiccups later. It’s far cheaper and easier to adjust a plan on paper than to, say, reshoot a scene because something was overlooked. This phase also ensures everyone (you, us, and any crew or talent) are aligned on the vision and details before moving forward.

Now, let’s break down the key elements involved in pre-production:

Key Steps in Pre-Production

1. Concept Development & Goal Setting: Everything starts with an idea. In pre-production, we nail down what we’re making and why. This involves discussions with you about the video’s purpose: Is it to introduce your company? Promote a new product? Train your staff? We identify the target audience and the core message or story we need to convey. Sometimes this step includes brainstorming creative approaches – finding that hook or theme that will make the video engaging. By the end of this step, we should have a clear creative direction and a written creative brief or outline summarizing the concept.

2. Script Writing: If your video will have spoken dialogue, narration, or a structured storyline, we move into writing the script. The script is the blueprint for dialogue and narration. It might be in a traditional screenplay format or just a two-column document with voiceover text on one side and corresponding visuals on the other. Even if your video is mostly visuals with no narrator, we’ll often write a treatment describing what happens in each part of the video. We work closely with you here – you know your business best, so we’ll often rely on you for the factual content while we help shape the words to flow well on video. We aim for scripts that are concise, conversational, and clear. Sometimes, instead of a full script, a project might use bullet point talking points (like for an interview where we don’t want exact scripting). In that case, we prepare a list of questions and key points to hit.

3. Storyboarding & Shot List: Alongside the script (or outline), we usually create a storyboard – this is a visual representation of the video. It can be simple sketches or reference images that map out each scene or shot. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be an artist; even stick figures work to convey an idea (“Shot 1: CEO at desk speaking to camera. Shot 2: close-up on product in use,” etc.). The storyboard helps everyone see the plan. Additionally, we draft a shot list which is basically a checklist of all the footage we need to capture: e.g., “Interview with CEO, B-roll of office exterior, footage of customer browsing the shop, close-ups of product details,” etc. This list ensures we won’t forget any critical shots when it’s time to film. It’s all about being thorough now so we’re efficient later.

4. Casting and Talent (if applicable): If your video requires people on camera other than you/your staff – for instance, a professional voiceover artist, actors for a scene, or maybe customer testimonials – we handle that in pre-production. This could mean auditioning and hiring actors or reaching out to happy customers and scheduling their participation. We’ll also take care of any necessary talent release forms (so we have permission to feature them on video). For voiceovers, we might share a few voice samples with you to pick the style/tone you like (energetic, authoritative, friendly, etc.) and then get the script recorded by a pro.

5. Location Scouting & Permits: We determine where we’ll be filming. If it’s at your business or home office, easy – we’ll likely do a quick walkthrough to identify the best spots (and check for any issues like noise or lighting challenges). If we need an outside location – say a park for a scene or a rented studio – we scout options and secure them. Any permits for public filming, we’d handle in this stage too. For example, filming on a city street might require a permit from the city. Don’t worry, we know the local rules and will navigate those so we’re all legal and good to go.

6. Props, Wardrobe, and Art Direction: Based on the script, we figure out if we need any special props or set pieces. Maybe we need a neat desk setup for an overhead product shot – we might need to source a nice looking desk or backdrop. Or if an actor needs to wear a lab coat to play a doctor, we’ll get that. If it’s you on camera, we might discuss your wardrobe choices (usually it’s just “wear what you feel good in, but avoid loud patterns” as we mentioned in the prep section). We also consider overall art direction – color schemes, ensuring branding elements are present (like your logo visible somewhere, or using company colors in the set dressing) so the video feels on-brand.

7. Scheduling and Timeline: Next, we make a detailed production schedule. This includes the shoot date(s) and a timeline for the day: e.g., “9:00am setup, 9:30 interview with CEO, 10:30 B-roll in office, break at 12,” etc. We coordinate with all parties – you, any crew, any external talent – to lock this down. We also create a timeline for post-production (estimated editing time, revision windows, and target delivery date) so you know the overall project timeline. If travel is involved for any reason, that’s planned here too. Basically, we create a project calendar.

8. Crew and Equipment Planning: We decide exactly what gear and how many crew members are needed. If it’s a simple shoot, maybe it’s just one videographer (who also handles sound) and an assistant. For a bigger shoot, we might bring a dedicated audio person, an extra camera op, lighting specialist, etc. We make arrangements for any rentals of special equipment. For instance, if your video could be awesome with a drone shot, we’ll plan for a drone and a licensed operator. All equipment needs – cameras, lenses, lights, mics, reflectors, batteries, you name it – are itemized so nothing gets forgotten on the day. We also pack backups (because tech can be temperamental).

9. Briefing and Final Checks: As the shoot nears, we’ll brief everyone involved. If you have employees being filmed, we might send them a quick “here’s how to prepare” email (which often includes tips like those we gave in the prep section). We confirm call times (when everyone needs to be where). We double-check that all permissions are in order. Essentially, a day or two before, we run through a checklist: script – check, shot list – check, gear packed – check, talent confirmed – check, weather forecast – check (if outdoor). If anything looks off, we address it now.

10. Contingency Planning: Even the best plans might face hiccups. Maybe the weather goes bad, someone gets sick, or a location falls through last minute. Part of pre-production is identifying the biggest risks and having a Plan B. For example, “If it rains on outdoor shoot, we move to next day or shift to indoor backup location.” Or “If interviewee is unavailable last minute, have someone else who can speak on topic.” We might not foresee everything, but we try to have some buffer or workaround for common issues. This contingency mindset is a hallmark of solid pre-pro – it keeps the project on track even when life happens.

Whew! As you can see, pre-production is a comprehensive process. It’s basically project management meets creative brainstorming. There’s a lot of communication, planning documents, and decisions being made. But trust us, this work upfront makes the production and post-production phases so much smoother.

Your Role in Pre-Production

As our client and collaborator, you are a big part of pre-production too. We’ll lean on you for things like:

• Providing input on the concept and approving the script/storyboard. We want to make sure the video will say what you need it to say, in a tone that fits your brand. So your feedback is gold during the planning.

• Coordinating access to locations or people on your end. For instance, if we need to film in your office, you might need to secure permission with building management, or let your staff know we’ll be filming. If we’re interviewing a happy customer you referred us to, an intro from you helps a ton.

• Sharing assets. If you have existing graphics, logos, or previous footage that you want included, getting those to us in advance is part of pre-pro. Also any brand guidelines (like preferred colors, fonts, messaging points) – we incorporate those.

• Being available for questions/approvals. There are a lot of tiny decisions in pre-production. We might bug you with “do you prefer this voiceover artist or that one?” or “here are two examples of styles for the video, which vibes with you?” Quick feedback helps us keep momentum. We know you’re busy, so we’ll be organized in how we ask to make it easy.

• Trusting the process. Pre-production can feel detail-heavy, but it’s all building toward a great outcome. Sometimes we might insist on what seems like a tedious step (like a full shot list or a rehearsal) because we know it pays off. For example, doing a quick rehearsal or test shot if possible can catch issues early. If we ever have the opportunity (say, we do a location scout with you and can quickly test audio or lighting), that’s part of prep too. By running through, we can fine-tune and avoid “I wish we had known this” scenarios.

The Payoff

After all this planning, we head into production with clarity and confidence. Everyone knows their role and the vision. And guess what – this often means the actual filming goes faster and smoother than expected. Good pre-pro can even save money, because the team isn’t sitting around figuring things out on the shoot day – it’s already figured out. We just execute the plan.

Moreover, thorough pre-production reflects in the final video quality. Viewers might not realize it, but when they see a video that feels tight, well-paced, and on-message, it’s because it was carefully thought-out in advance.

In conclusion, pre-production is arguably the most important phase of the whole video project. It’s where we lay the groundwork for success. So, when we spend time with you planning and asking questions and getting all the details right, know that it’s time well spent. It’s like constructing a solid foundation before building the house. The result: a video that not only looks and sounds great, but also meets your goals and is delivered on schedule without drama. And that’s the kind of movie magic that planning can achieve! Let’s raise a toast (or coffee mug) to the power of pre-production – your future self watching the final video will be thankful we did it.