What is pre-production?

Introduction

Pre-production is the first phase of a video production, and it involves gathering information about the project, such as research about your subject matter and how best to approach it. Pre-production also includes casting talent, storyboarding or creating a shot list, writing scripts (if needed), determining equipment needs and more.

Video Strategy/Goals

Before you start filming, it’s important to establish clear goals for your video. This will help guide your decisions throughout the production process.

What is the purpose of your video? Do you want to inform, educate or entertain?
Who are the targets of this video? Is it internal or external audience? What age range do they fall into, etc.?
How much budget do you have available for production costs and post-production editing services (if any)?

Define the production crew/equipment needs

Before you can begin to put together the cast and crew, you need to know the equipment needs of your shoot. Will you be working with a small crew or a large one? How many people do you expect will be involved in the shoot? What kind of locations are available for use during filming? Here are some questions to ask yourself:

How many people will be needed for this project?
What kinds of things do I need my production crew/equipment for (e.g., interviews, b-roll shots, etc.)?
Is there any special equipment that would make my project easier to accomplish (e.g., lights)?

Establish a timeline

Establishing a timeline is an essential step for any project, but it’s particularly important during pre-production. For example, if you’re writing a book and want to publish it by the end of this year, then you’ll want to know how long each stage of the process takes so that you can organize your schedule appropriately. You should also carefully consider how much time each phase needs before committing to it; for example, if it takes three months from concepting until writing drafts (which is typical), then don’t start working on those drafts unless three months have gone by since inception.

Once your timeline is complete, try not to change anything unless there are extenuating circumstances—and even then try not changing anything more than necessary!

Script writing (if necessary)

Script writing is essential to commercials and other marketing content, but not absolutely necessary if the production involves live interviews. If you do choose to write a script for your commercial or piece of marketing content, it’s important to remember that scripts are fluid documents and don’t need to be written in stone. You should also keep in mind that even after filming has started, anything can change on set at any time—and if things go wrong during filming (and they probably will), you might have to make changes on the fly or rewrite your script entirely.

Timelines are great for keeping everyone on the same page. They help with establishing time frames (e.g., when do you need someone on site, or when does a shoot have to end by), as well as laying out exactly what needs to happen before filming begins so that everyone knows their roles in getting ready for shooting day(s).

Location Scouting

Location-scouting is the process of identifying suitable and available locations for your film. For example, if you are shooting a horror movie, you need to find locations that would fit this genre. As location-scouting is an important step in pre-production, it’s crucial that you do your research on each location before making any decisions on where to shoot.

Once you’ve identified the right locations, it’s time to arrange permission to shoot there. This can be a tricky process so make sure that whoever deals with permissions knows exactly what they’re doing!

Create a storyboard or shot list

Storyboard: A storyboard is a visual tool that shows the order and timing of shots in a video. It’s composed of images, sketches, or any combination thereof that depict each shot.
Shot list: A shot list is similar to a storyboard but usually doesn’t include all the details about each shot (what characters are in it, where they move on screen). It does show which shots will be needed for different parts of your project so you know how many takes to get for each scene.