What is pre-production? The three phases
Making any media product has three phases:
- Pre-production: planning everything before the camera rolls.
- Production: recording the video, sound and photos.
- Post-production: editing, adding music, graphics and titles, then sharing.
Pre-production often takes the longest time, because mistakes found on paper are cheap to fix, while mistakes found on shoot day cost money and time.
From idea to concept
Ideas come from news, daily life, books or a client's brief. To test an idea:
- Write a logline: one sentence with a main character, a goal and an obstacle. Example: "A girl in a dry village tries to start a rain-water club when nobody believes it will work."
- Research: facts, places, people to interview.
- Decide the audience, purpose (inform, persuade, entertain), format (ad, documentary, short film, news report) and length.
- A synopsis or treatment tells the whole story in a short paragraph or page.
Writing the script
A script is the written plan of everything seen and heard.
Film (screenplay) format
- Scene heading: INT. (inside) or EXT. (outside), place, time. Example: EXT. VILLAGE WELL – DAY.
- Action: what we see, in the present tense.
- Character name and dialogue: what people say.
About one page of screenplay equals one minute on screen.
Two-column (AV) script
Used for TV news, ads and documentaries. The left column is video (shots); the right column is audio (voice-over, music, sound effects).
Radio script
Only sound, so it lists narrator lines, music cues and sound effects (SFX).
Drawing a storyboard
A storyboard is a series of simple drawings, one per shot, like a comic strip. Stick figures are fine. Under each frame write:
- Shot type: wide (whole place), medium (waist up), close-up (face or object), extreme close-up.
- Angle and movement: high angle, low angle, eye level; pan, tilt, zoom, tracking.
- Sound and dialogue and the shot's rough length.
A storyboard shows the whole crew how the film will look and helps spot missing shots before the shoot.
Planning a shoot
- Shot list: every shot numbered, grouped by location so you film all shots in one place together, even if they come at different times in the story.
- Schedule (call sheet): date, time, place, who must be there.
- Location recce: visit the place first; check light, noise, power and safety.
- Crew and cast: director, camera operator, sound recordist, actors or interviewees.
- Equipment: camera or phone, tripod, microphone, lights, charged batteries, memory cards.
- Budget: cost of travel, food, props, hire.
- Permissions: location permits, consent (release) forms from people filmed, music rights.
Try it: plan a 30-second phone video
Pick a topic like "my morning in 30 seconds". Write a one-line logline, a 6-row two-column script, and draw 6 storyboard frames on a sheet folded into boxes. Make a shot list grouped by room. Then tick the 3D checklist to see if you are ready.
Key formulas and definitions
- Three phases: pre-production → production → post-production
- Logline = character + goal + obstacle (one sentence)
- Screenplay: scene heading · action · character · dialogue (1 page ≈ 1 minute)
- AV script: left = video, right = audio
- Shot types: wide · medium · close-up · extreme close-up
- Shoot plan: shot list · schedule · recce · crew · equipment · budget · permissions
Worked examples
1. Write a logline for a short film about a boy who cannot swim.
"A 12-year-old boy afraid of water secretly learns to swim before his school's lake trip." It has a character (boy), goal (learn to swim) and obstacle (fear, secrecy, deadline).
2. Turn this into a two-column AV script row: a shot of a dripping tap with a voice saying 'One drop a second wastes over 10,000 litres a year'.
VIDEO: Close-up of a dripping kitchen tap. AUDIO: Voice-over: 'One drop a second wastes over 10,000 litres a year.' SFX: drip sound.
3. A story has scenes in this order: kitchen, school, kitchen, park, school. How should the shot list group them?
By location: all kitchen shots together, all school shots together, then the park. This saves setting up lights and camera again.
Common mistakes
- Starting to film with only an idea and no script or storyboard. You waste time and miss shots.
- Filming scenes in story order. Group shots by location instead.
- Skipping the location visit and finding noise or bad light on shoot day.
- Filming people without their consent or using music without rights.