How To Make A Web Series #3: Pre-production
Pre-producing A Web Series
In this ongoing series, I'll walk you through the ins and outs of making a web series, filled with lessons from making one or two and notes on what I should have done.
N.B: I'm talking about micro-budget, 'we're shooting off my credit card' kind of web series here. The cons of these tiny budgets are endless. But the pros can be pretty dope too.
So you've developed and written your web series...
Time to do the paperwork legwork to get it off the page and onto the screen.
Pre-production is the least glamorous of all the stages of production. Development and writing are fun times to bounce around ideas, unrestricted by budgets or responsibilities. Production is when you're all on set together pulling off great shots and sick stunts. And post is beautiful, lavish, and on the home stretch.
In pre-production, you'll find yourself firing up your left brain and getting to work on:
- Schedules
- Budgets
- Breakdowns
You'll inevitably have (at least) one of each crisis on set if you're not careful.
Breaking Down
The first step is to break down your script. During this process, you'll be pulling it gently apart to see everything you're going to need.
If Criminal #3 is written as having a blue bandana with a vaporwave Jolly Roger, here's where you'll note that for the costume department (probably yourself) to sort out later.
Grab some highlighters, print the script out, and tackle your first episode. Then your second, then third, etc.
If you've never broken a script down before, this easy to understand guide from No Film School is a perfect place to start. If you want to throw yourself in the deep end, most script breakdown sheets colour-code each section.
For help with script breakdown sheets, download a template from StudioBinder (who have a good pre-production platform) or Swain Media Lab.
Scheduling
Next, you'll be locking down your locations, your actors, and your crew so you can pick a date to start shooting.
One trick here is to just pick a date and work to it. You could get there with plenty of time to spare and everything organised to a T, or you could need like two more weeks. Either way, you got there and hopefully you've made the right calls and gotten everyone sorted. Hopefully you've kept your choices of location appropriate to your budget scale.
If you haven't, here's where you'll learn why we limited your development locations to one.
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An Addendum on Location Permits:
You should totally get these — especially if you've taken out public liability insurance. You'll hear heaps of stories about getting away without them, but it's more stressful for you, the crew, and the cast if you're going rogue. At a really small scale, permits are often free and all they require are some details.
Even the cops are pretty chill if you have to work with them (when you have action scenes, blood, or fake deaths for example).
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Once you've locked down your pilot schedule (template here), learn from your mistakes when you schedule episode two. And episode three. Etc.
Budgeting
Oh boy.
Truly the worst part of these productions is watching your bank balance shrink as you convince yourself that this really is a long-term investment (especially if you haven't thought about the back end). It's a tough but necessary part of the process.
Cast and crew should be your biggest expense at this scale. Often, people still owe you a lot of favours from the set time you've done for free so you can score leads or supporting actors, or even camera guys, for a day at a time. Sometimes, you'll have to sweeten the deal and compete with industry weekend work (real estate's a killer for scoring freebie camera ops).
Catering's also a big one. Good food can steer even the rockiest productions to wrap. Opt for fruit, nuts, and sandwiches over sugar, lollies, and heavy carbs. Take a full hour lunch break and accommodate this into your schedule. If you feed everyone well, you can stretch goodwill a lot further than usual.
Naturally this will save on time — which is money. The goal here is obviously to spend a little as you have to but remember your web series dream is being made by your crew. Give them what they need.
The Screen Australia A-Z digital media budget is a perfect template for a first-timer.
Lights, camera...
With your script broken down, your shoot scheduled, and your costs covered it's time to get cameras on sticks. That's right — after weeks of writing and planning, you're ready for your web series' close up.
