Let’s talk about pre-production
Do it right and see your productions soar to new levels
As a solo filmmaker, pre-production can be pretty complicated especially if you’re the one doing
everything yourself. In this video I’m going to simplify the process and give you a step by step
framework you can follow for your own projects. I’m not just going to TALK about my process,
I’m also sharing a template you can use for your own projects. Now you might have guessed it
already but this video is sponsored by Milanote. I’ve been using the platform for almost 3 years
now and it’s added IMMENSE value to my productions. If I had to give one reason
why I love it so much is because of the visual element. It’s super easy to get a birds eye view
of your entire production and keep track of the process from start to finish. If you’re
not already using Milanote, check out the link in the description and sign-up for a free account.
I’m going to break the Framework down into 10 Steps. Not every project will
always follow this exact flow but I’ll explain that as I break down the steps.
So let’s jump into the Milanote Board and I’ll briefly explain my approach.
What you’re seeing here is my HOME SCREEN for a project I did for Sony when the FX3
was launched. Up at the top we have our 10 steps. These cards are basically shortcuts
to the relevant cards down here but I use the ones at the top to indicate
where I am in the pre-production process using a Legend of 3 colours.
When a box is ticked green, it means the step is complete. If it’s orange,
the process is still pending. If it’s red it means that something in that step requires
urgent attention and needs to be locked in for the plan or the shoot to move ahead.
STEP 1 is to consider the budget. I start here because the budget will always dictate what is
possible. How many actors are required, what is the cost of using locations, will I need
a sound guy etc. Since this is the first step, I’ve added a budget card in the about section.
If you double click on it, you’ll get this budget calculator. You simply add your starting total,
set a limit for production expenses and start adding up costs. The table works the same as an
Excel Sheet so if you change details in any of the blocks it will change the relevant total values
for example If I make the expense limit lower, the amount that goes over budget will be displayed
as minus. Ultimately you want to come in under budget and still be happy with your net profit.
But what if you don’t have any budget? Now the 10 steps will look different because you have
to start with what is freely available. This means making a list of locations,
possible actors & crew you know you can get for free or at a very low cost. Take
all this info and reverse engineer it into a story. Let’s say you have a house,
you have two friends who can act for free, it might be easier to tell a story around a couple
all shot in one location. This method can also translate into paid projects where you find an
epic location and then build a concept around it. This is what I did with the ZV-E1 Launch video.
Technically I didn’t have any time to take on the project but I’ve been dying to shoot at this one
location and after looking at a few references and a meeting with a stylist, I was able to
create a Bladerunner / Dune inspired fashion film riding on the novelty of the amazing location.
MOVING ONTO STEP 2, STORY. With story you’ve got 3 scenarios
#1 is writing your own story or paying a writer to write a story for you. #2 the client has a
story that you just have to tell in the best way possible. and then 3 is my favourite, to find a
story that already exists! I love this approach especially when you don’t have a budget but even
when you do, it ads so much more authenticity to the final production. A good example of this is my
short film Perseverance. The film is based on the true story of Barry and his struggles to get his
helicopter pilots license. From working multiple odd jobs to studying late at night the story had
potential but what really sold me on the idea was the fact that he was able to play himself and the
cherry on top was using his own voice which added so much more weight to the final experience.
When it comes to writing a story I don’t have enough confidence in my own ability so in this
case I usually find someone to write a story for me. When using a writer it’s important to
explain the limitations defined in step 1 which is budget. I only use people who write for film
because they have a better understanding of what is feasible and what is not.
Now that you have a story, you can move on to STEP 3 which is all about inspiration.
For client projects, they usually have references of videos they like and what
they imagine the project should look like. In these cases I make a card called references
and populate it with all the links and images. These references don’t have to
dictate the final look of the film but it can give you some pointers to develop
a moodboard which is one of the most important aspects of pre-production.
This is where you build your own set of visuals that could potentially work with
the story defined in step 2. From YouTube to Vimeo I make sure I watch as many videos as
possible and the frames that really stand out get a screenshot. To show how powerful
the moodboard is just look at some side by side comparisons of recent films of mine.
On the FX30 Launch film I found these 2 films with moody garage scenes that inspired the look. Both
videos had some elements I liked so I combined it in my video. Same for the riding scenes,
there were 2 shots that really stood out and I just put my own spin to it.
In the Sony FX3 Launch Film I worked with a director friend and he found 2 films that
almost summed up what we wanted to achieve with the project. So we worked with a few
key elements and if you compare it with the final outcome you should see the resemblance,
but we put our own creative expression to it which is the best way to steal.
The moodboard is great place to refer back to on shoot day especially if it feels like
you’ve lost inspiration in a scene. I also use apps like Frame Set and Shot deck for
still frames because it’s super easy to find with the search function instead of
scanning through an entire video looking for something relevant. Once you have a
folder full of images you simply drag and drop and Milanote will automatically sort them in
a neatly organised fashion. Adding notes with arrows to relevant images can add more context.
A quick tip here is to go to your music licensing platform of choice and picking
a genre you consider for your film. Hit play and start searching for images. What happens
sometimes is you’ll find a song you like while you’re in the headspace of the project and the
success rate of having a song before the production is higher because you’re able
to plan all the shots around the music. On the production of the Sony A7IV launch film
we decided on the music before so after the first day of shooting we felt like we missed some shots
so we were able to drag in a bunch of clips and quickly realised what we needed to change
to make sure we get the required shots on Day 2. STEP 4 is the script. If the Story is the WHAT,
the SCRIPT is the HOW. The script translates the story into scenes that you can execute on
screen. Some projects are scripted from start to finish but it’s important not to be too precious
bout the script because the actual film production doesn’t always pan out exactly
as scripted. Because Milanote is cloud based it’s easy to invite collaborators like directors
and producers to add to your boards. STEP 5 is all about TALENT. Actors,
models and anyone who is potentially featuring in your project gets a space here. This is a great
place to add contact details, availability and preferences. Using the same legend,
green means talent is secured, orange means pending and red means urgent.
Before I carry on, if you like this template and you want to use it for you own projects
you can copy my board link and paste it into your own board once you’ve created an account.
STEP 6 is to find locations for all your scenes. Here you want to add some reference images of the
locations. Again using colours help to mark your progress. If a location is secured you
can mark it green, if it’s pending, orange and red for urgent attention.
Most of the images I have in this board are taken from actual location scouts
with the director with some notes at the bottom about which time of day would be
the best for filming taking into account available light and the ability to light
STEP 7 is your SHOT LIST and here we’re looking at the pre-production for Perseverance. Working with
the script I try to be as detailed as possible for example will it be shot on a gimbal or handheld,
what frame rate and what focal length? This way you can plan your shots in the order of setups
for example with lighting you always start with the wide first and then move in closer. If it’s
a gimbal shot, get the gimbal shots out of the way before you go back to another rig or vice
versa. This prevents unnecessary back and forth between rigs but the most important part of a
shotlist is to have an OUTCOME for every scene. An outcome defines the mood and end goal of a scene.
With all this planning I’ve adopted a philosophy of managed expectations and it goes something like
this “You don’t always get what you want, but mostly you get what you need”. By this I mean
that sometimes we can be so precious about the plan and certain shots in the shotlist
that we’re not able to get on the day and instead of seeing the film as a flop try to get something
alternative because that very thing could end up being the magic that makes the film
special and that usually comes out in the edit so sometimes you just have to trust the process.
Another thing I love about Milanote is how easy it is to access your boards with the App. When
you open your shotlist you can physically tick the checkboxes of the shots as you complete them,
mentally this helps me to keep sane! STEP 8 is to setup a MINDMAP. The mindmap
can differ in so many ways based on the project but what it does is give you the Director & DP a
visual overview of how the day will flow. In this example the mindmap is structured based
on the chronological order of filming from location to location. This is not used to
keep track of the story but to keep track of the shoot, when what needs to be filmed displayed in
a visual way. You can add your models and extra info per location + a checklist for
props required for each scene so unless all your props are arranged, don’t tick the mindmap green.
STEP 9 is to setup a CALL SHEET. The Call sheet is there for everyone involved in
the production. From client to crew, this document has all the most important info,
contact details, detailed schedule of events including travel time and links to locations.
Milanote easily integrates with Google maps so just throw in a link and it gives you a preview.
STEP 10 is GEAR CHECK. Just because the step is last doesn’t mean you start with it last.
Although final gear check happens before the day but this is also where you populate the
list of gear that you will be using as well as a wishlist of what you want to rent so once you have
your budget sorted you can already start here. The check boxes are amazing when you’re loading
gear because it eliminates any chance of leaving gear behind both before and after the production.
NOW That you have your shoot planned, exporting to PDF is super easy and you can decide who needs to
get what. Doing pre-production on this level has really helped me cope with the realities
of shoot day "scaries", yes that feeling you get when you rock up on set and think that
any moment someone is going to tell you that you don’t belong here and you don’t know what you’re
doing. Yup we all go through it to some extent but putting in the work before has revolutionised
the way i feel on shoot days and gives me so much more confidence even when things go wrong!
Milanote is available for free without a time limit. Sign-up with the link in the description
and don’t forget to grab my template. If you made it this far I want to thank you for watching. If
you like the way I color grade my images I’m going to release my own course soon so check
out the link in the description where you will be notified once it’s live. see you in the next one!
If you have any questions let me know in the comments below and I’ll do my best to
answer. Thanks so much for watching and I’ll see you in the next one!