Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Pre Production Process

By Conor O'grady


The process of filming is a lengthy one and incorporates a great deal more planning and preparation than one may suspect. From my past experience if this is not organised well, a lot can go wrong. In a group there are plenty of concepts and opinions flying about and if these are not thought through, organised and communicated, the end product will not be a success.

Firstly, let's take a look at what happens if visions and messages are unclear and opposed. It may not be overly apparent during the filming process which tends to capture an abundance of content, however it's the post production where it really fails. Editing a video together only to be told it does not align with the client's expectations or values means a lot of wasted time and effort, as well as potential loss of trust between the working parties. To ensure this doesn't happen, the pre production process can be simplified using three techniques, scripting, storyboarding and a treatment.

Scripting and storyboarding are fairly similar, one dealing with the people/person being filmed and the other dealing with those behind the camera, shooting the action. Storyboarding allows for a visual for the different shots that will used throughout filming, so that everyone included has a clear idea of what the final product will look like shot by shot, and also so that shooting on the day runs smoothly.

Scripting and storyboarding are fairly similar, one dealing with the people/person being filmed and the other dealing with those behind the camera, shooting the action. Storyboarding allows for a visual for the different shots that will used throughout filming, so that everyone included has a clear idea of what the final product will look like shot by shot, and also so that shooting on the day runs smoothly.

Finally, a treatment is designed to enshrine the core values of the finished product so that no matter how much extra footage is captured, the editor can pick and choose content that bests reflects the original treatment, ensuring the client receives a project in line with their original intentions.

Pre-production is vital or the coordination of what is going to be filmed and includes many stages that cannot to ignored (as I learnt). It effects the whole filming process and makes your life easier in the long run, with efficiency and ease when it comes to shooting. If you apply these techniques to your own videos, let me know how you get on in the comments below!




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