How I Plan For A Video Shoot

Creating quality video material requires good planning. Having a well thought out plan of action when creating videos will help lead to a successful shoot and a successful video. I will be sharing the general process I go through with most videos. Each project is unique and requires different things, however here I will talk about the most common.

Pre-Production

Everything you do before you shoot falls under the Pre-Production category. This would be meeting with the client and understanding what their needs are. As a marketer and creative director, it is not enough to just make a “good” video. The content has to serve a purpose for the client otherwise it would be a waste of time for them.

During this stage after I understand the clients needs, I will begin making a treatment. A treatment can include general or specific information about the style of the project, the motivation, locations, actors, or camera movement. I will gather images from the web and create a moodboard or sometimes sketch things out. I would then finding locations I want to use, people, and props as well as pricing. This helps me to have an accurate figure for cost of production. I would present this treatment to a client and review it with them. Next, I will begin planning a call sheet.

The call sheet includes what will happen the day of the shoot. Specific times that everyone needs to be on set and what their role is once they arrive. It will also have time to eat if it’s a longer shoot, safety information, location lists and scene descriptions. This document will let everyone know what they are responsible for.

Along with the call sheet, I might also have a shot-list specifically for me to remember the shots I want and how I envisioned them.

Production

The day of the shoot. Shooting is always a lot of fun and even with a detailed plan something is destined to go wrong. For centuries it has been this way in the film industry. As a filmmaker it is important to understand this and be able to adapt. Having a few good people on your team helps for things to go smoother day of. I know that no matter what comes up, if I don’t have a solution someone on my team can help me out. As best as possible, I will execute the plan and work to make a vision come to life.

Post-Production

The piece that ties is all together in the end. Editing can sometimes make or break a video project. As long as I planned well, I know what I want the edit to look like and can have a cut with little thinking involved. This stage can take a while depending on the complexity of the edit. The client also has the opportunity to suggest changes they would like to see after the first cut. Once the edit is finalized the project is complete.

As you can see, a lot of work is done to create a quality video and this is a glimpse of my process.