The Four Steps to Pre-Production Planning for Video Film and Multimedia

Do you want to know the secret four steps to pre-production planning? In the fall of 2011, I started working at Blueprint as a video production intern. I immediately began doing some work for clientele that required full productions. The projects covered everything from the video shoot to the postproduction editing. Most interns at other companies do not get hands on experience, but at Blueprint, I got to do everything. Of course, I did not get through my internship without help. I had many questions and my coworkers were always willing to help. The work environment in our office is great and probably a rare find. One of the things I quickly learned, during the time of my internship, was that pre-production is necessary!

The 6 P’s of Production

I already knew pre-production was an important process in production. One of my professors always said, “Be sure to remember the 6 P’s of production: Proper prior planning prevents poor production.”  

The Neccessity of Planning

However, if the talent is unprepared for a video shoot, you learn the hard way just how necessary it is to plan. Of course, you have no way of knowing whether talent will come prepared for a video shoot, but these are the 4 steps that I take to make sure things go smoothly and efficiently.

The Four Steps to Pre-Production Planning

1. Make sure the talent has enough notification for the production, and also a reminder.

2. Know about the topic of the production.  Take the time to research topic, and at least know a little background on the subject.

3. Get an outline together.

(a.) The outline is provided.
If it was possible, you went to talked to whoever is in charge of the production to get an outline from them or you got one approved by them.  What is most helpful is knowing your client’s expectations and what direction they want to take.

(b.) What outline? There isn’t one!
If needed, create an outline of the production yourself.  Even a short, undetailed outline is better than not having one at all.

4. Take time to set up. The worst thing you can do is not taking the time to properly set up. This is where the most mistakes are made. Especially if there is a mirror, or multiple cameras, etc. You need to be able to avoid anything in the frame of the camera that is not meant to be there!

If you follow these steps, then you will have done all the necessary pre-production planning. This way when it comes time to edit, the footage will not be an unorganized mess.