How do you decide when to schedule film production?

If there's one thing you want to spend money on in preproduction, it's a good script breakdown and budget. This is the recon team that gets sent ahead to make sure there aren't any traps or ambushes. This is the probe NASA lands on the moon before sending people. Breaking down the script properly is creating the fundamental blueprint of your movie. There's not one right way to break down a script, so long as all of the material is accounted for.

One often-overlooked but crucial element in a script breakdown is considering the emotional and logistical continuity of the characters. This means tracking the emotional journey and physical state of characters throughout the script. It's important to ensure that character appearances, costumes, injuries, or emotional states are consistent from one scene to the next, even if the scenes are shot on different days.

Allow as much time as possible for the pre-production stage. This is the most cost-effective way, as it will solve possible problems in the filming process and inevitably later on in post-production. And these "problems" may be expensive to fix.

Once the producer has finalized to invest in your story, then starts selecting, talking, and negotiating with the artists, technicians/ crew, location scouting, property arrangement, set designs, and so on. Once the artists are finalized, the schedule starts as they are available. There must be perfect coordination and sync among all of them. Production planning takes the key role once the schedule starts.

Scheduling film production is akin to comprehending a sacred text before living its teachings. Understanding every scene's essence, intricacies of lighting, actors' emotions, and transitions is paramount. It's about delving into the script's soul, envisioning each frame, and feeling the rhythm of the narrative. The schedule should align with this deep understanding, orchestrating the shooting sequence to capture the story's essence authentically. Like a harmonious symphony, every element must synchronize for the masterpiece to unfold seamlessly on the screen. It's a thoughtful orchestration, infusing life into words and crafting a visual gospel that speaks to both the creators and the audience.

The order of filming (I'm trying to move away from aggressive language) is sometimes out of our hands. In fact, it's usually very much not up to us as much as we would like since so many collaborators are required to make a film. Ideally, one groups the filming order by location so that way the crew doesn't have to waste time loading and unloading.

Shooting order in filmmaking is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with pieces that change shape and color over time. It's a dynamic process that requires careful planning and flexibility. Imagine starting with the final scene, then jumping to the beginning, and later tackling the middle. This approach allows the actors to evolve with their characters, mirroring their emotional journey, and can make the filmmaking journey itself a bit of an adventure.

Ya had me until that last sentence. It is WAY WRONG. The "best energy" "high quality" moments can't be planned, forced, or put into box to just "open first" & push through. That's how you get scenes with screwed up visual continuity, off character moments & a plethora of other things that turn a great script into an unwatchable s***show. The best films suspend disbelief & let the audience live through the characters. No matter who your cast is, it's not happening "First". Shoot all your fillers & scenery shots first. (Like car ride visuals and landscapes) Let the actors "cook" & learn their characters. The best scenes are with warm actors who are "in character" & walking in that characters shoes. Never shoot pivotal scenes first.

Scheduling scenes generally depends on saving costs. Whether we shoot all scenes from a location first or an actor's scenes or the VFX setup first depends on what is costlier.

To figure out "how long" it could take to shoot any scene (based on number of shooting days, shooting hours per day and camera set-ups per day) here's a simple 6-step "formula" you can use. (Step 1) Determine the "average" pages per shooting day based on script length and number of budgeted shooting days (Step 2) Determine the "average" shooting hours of scenes per day based on the number of budgeted shooting hours per day and the number of scheduled scenes per day (Step 3) Divide each scene by the average pages per day (Step 4) Divide scenes into action and dialogue scenes per day (Step 5) Add up your camera setups per scene (Step 6) Now revise your per scene shooting hours and/or shots based on per scene camera setups

Pick an off season if you have a tiny budget. For example, I shot my last feature in the winter, after working for US Studios as a Scout, that go home to LA for the Winter. Here in Canada, in the snow, you can save on locations, crew, and gear, because it's all just sitting around waiting for next spring. Then you just adjust the script a bit so it mostly takes place indoors. Horror movie? Have them kill each other indoors. Drama? Keep all the arguments in the same house.

"You must estimate how many days are needed to shoot the film, how many hours can be shot per day, specify exact dates and times of each shooting day," This is misleading. The determining factor in how many hours a day you may shoot is due to the number of set-ups and how long it will take to shoot each set-up. Much of that depends on how good your directer is. "provide names and addresses of each location used on each shooting day, and list names and roles of each cast and crew member involved on each shooting day." Again, this is misleading. Initial scheduling and budget should be done during development and not in pre-production. Therefore you won't have the details regarding casting and locations. At that point it doesn't matter.

Calendar is another one of those things that sometimes gets determined for us, rather than by us. Scheduling actors (famous ones) is usually the biggest limiting factor. They work A LOT so finding days that they are available can be a challenge. Also, certain locations have calendar requirements so that can force filming on a less than ideal day. In those situations you just do the best that you can.

Film Shooting is more about managing contingencies. Howsoever a good plan you may have, something would go wrong somewhere. A Film Director should always be flexible and be always full of options, willing to adjust and adapt all the time.

It never rains in California, until it does. Having a backup plan for when things go a little haywire doesn't jinx you, it creates opportunities for flexibility. Having a contingency plan also can help you identify what is most important in your film and what can be moved to a different day.

An AD's job requires you to analyze scripts, gather department information and distribute that information to the crew in a timely manner. This requires you to have a systematic and detailed approach to your work. You are the crew’s leader and you need to lead by example. I call pre-production a “process of discovery” because it is during this time that all departments discover what they need in order to make any movie happen. All this takes time and the more time you have in prep, the more you will discover and sort out before you go to camera. So if you are going to spend money anywhere on a film, make sure your crew get the prep they need. By cutting down on prep days to save money, you could end up paying more when you are shooting.

I recently worked on a documentary about helicopter pilots, who all had very different schedules that were changing. Early in pre-production we were able to determine a general month, but some of the production schedule wasn't confirmed until a week before. Understanding that some productions are going to need to be more flexible than others is vital for working on different productions.