The filmmaking process consists of preproduction, production, and postproduction. Planning must be done in all three of these stages, but the preproduction stage consists of the most planning. The steps taken in the preproduction stage save time and money in the filmmaking process.
There needs to be a script before almost anything can begin. Without a script and an idea of the characters personalities, there can be no appropriate casting. If there's no casting, there's no shooting. If no shooting, then no editing. The next thing that is needed once filmmakers have a script is a storyboard. Most filmmakers find them very useful. This is another planning method inside of the preproduction process. A storyboard consists of drawings that explain the framing for each camera shot in the movie. This saves time and money during the production and the postproduction process. Because all the shots are drawn out, shooting the scenes are done much faster. The director and cinematographer don't have to struggle to figure out how each shot should be framed as they go along. They frame the shots according to the storyboard and have more time concentrate on the actors and the content in the scene. It also helps when editing the movie. It takes longer for an editor to examine and cut 10 different shots of the same scene than it is for him to edit with 5. Storyboarding eliminates some of the trials and errors that come with framing, so the editor has to deal with a smaller amount of footage. Storyboarding is an example of how the preproduction process saves time in both the production and postproduction processes. Everyone knows that time is money.
The amount of necessary planning and the budget are directly related. Movies with big budgets actually have more freedom and don't have to plan as much. One example of a movie like this is The Fugitive. Several of the scenes that were done were not planned. One of these spur of the moment scenes was the chase in the St. Patrick's Day parade. Many of the shots for the train scene were not planned out in specific detail either. This is because the filmmakers had a huge budget that gave them the freedom to experiment, and even change the script as they went along. In movies with a tighter budgets, this can never happen. There's a specific amount that can be spent for each scene, so all the equipment, props, and shots must be calculated beforehand. Planning will always save time and money when it comes to film even though filmmakers with a larger budget can sometimes get around it.
This article explains film planning in 10 easy steps.
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