Coursework: Pre-production planning

Pre-production is an essential part of the filmmaking process. You now need to plan your full video production in detail to ensure you capture everything you need when filming.

There are four key elements to pre-production: script, shot list, mise-en-scene planning and shooting schedule. You may have much of this done already from your preliminary exercise but it's still a vital process in ensuring you are meeting the minimum requirements of the brief.

Create a new blogpost on your coursework blog called 'Crime drama pre-production' and work through the following planning tasks:

1) Script

Write the full script for your TV drama extract. You'll hopefully have a chunk of this done from your preliminary exercise but now is the time to make sure you have scripted a full three-minute extract that meets the brief. 

You'll find guidance for writing a script in the BBC Writers' Room (click on the Script Library to read real examples of professional TV scripts). Lay it out like a real script (see right) - it will add a level of professionalism to your production. You can also roughly estimate one minute per page for film and TV scripts so that gives you an idea of how much you need to write (this is only a rough guide depending on how much dialogue or stage direction you are using).

Remember to refer to OFCOM guidelines.

2) Shot list

Write a comprehensive shot list for every single possible shot you plan to film for your crime drama extract. For three minutes of film, that is going to be a LOT of shots - quite possibly more than 200.

Remember, a shot list is a full list of all the shots in your video with information for each of them (shot type, action/movement etc.) Creative shot choices aside, it’s easy to forget that a shot list is a strategic document. Creating a shot list is essentially like creating a shooting gameplan for the day.

Here's our friend Darius with a reminder of the different shot types and angles:

 

Here are some top tips for writing a shot list:

 

Your shot list needs to contain EVERY shot you plan to film for your whole video production AND additional shots to create flexibility when editing. These additional shots are often close-ups, cutaways, alternative angles or similar. Cutaways are useful when editing as they can be used to cover cuts between different takes using the same shot. 

We advise using a simple table on Microsoft Word or Google Docs to set out your shot list - you can find an example from a student's short film here. It makes sense to write your shot list by scene or location rather than a huge list of every shot in the promo video in chronological order. 

3) Mise-en-scene planning

Plan everything that will appear in front of the camera in your production. Remember CLAMPS: Costume, Lighting, Actors (cast, placement, movement and expression), Make-up, Props, Setting.

Costume
What will your characters wear in each scene? What is the costume supposed to communicate to the audience? How does this link to genre or constructing representations?

Lighting
How will you light the different scenes in your production? Day or night? Interior or exterior? If outside, can you use streetlights, shadows, reflected sunlight or other creative techniques to achieve the lighting style you want? If inside, experiment with creative lighting techniques using windows, blinds, artificial lights, phone flashes and more. You may also want to sign out our portable ring light if you are shooting an internal scene off-site.

Actors/performers
The first thing you need to plan is your cast - who will be in your production? Try and cast people who are reasonably similar to the character they are playing (both in age and personality). Next, plan their placement and movement in key scenes - how should the audience react to them? How do you plan to position the audience to sympathise with the right characters?

Make-up
Plan any make-up you require - this can be a useful way to show the genre you are working in. 

Props
What props will you require for your production? Remember, you can't use anything that might resemble a weapon in a public or school location (this is VERY important). Well-planned props can help to communicate genre and narrative quickly - crucial to meet the brief you have been given.

Setting
This should already be largely planned using your script. However, now is the time to specify exact locations. For external locations, try and take pictures of settings or use Google Maps and Google Earth. Spending quality time planning your locations can make a huge difference to the professionalism of your production. AQA also seem to prefer external rather than school-based locations - particularly for a brief like this.

Here's a video guide to Mise-en-scene at degree or film-school level:



...And here's Darius Britt on the top 15 mistakes new filmmakers make - there are a few key aspects of Mise-en-scene in there:

4) Shooting schedule

The final aspect of your pre-production planning is to come up with a comprehensive shooting schedule. How many scenes do you need to film? How long will it take? Which actors do you need and when? Planning all of this out with specific dates and times is a crucial part of the pre-production process.

Pre-production due date - see Google Classroom.