Scripting, Planning and Pre-production
Scripting, Planning and Pre-production examines whether you can turn an idea into documents a crew can shoot from. Marks go to format knowledge and to realistic planning arithmetic, not to a synopsis alone.
Script and visual planning
- Formats: the two-column audio-visual script (visuals left, audio right), the single-column drama screenplay, the shooting script with numbered shots, the storyboard, and the studio rundown with timings.
- Development stages: idea, logline, synopsis, treatment, script, storyboard, shot list.
- A storyboard panel records shot number, framing, action, camera movement, audio and duration.
- A shot list is the practical shooting order, grouped by location and lighting setup rather than script order.
Production paperwork
- Proposal with objective and target audience; budget with above- and below-the-line heads; schedule and call sheet with crew call times, location and contact details.
- Location recce, permissions and consent releases, risk assessment, equipment checklist, crew list, and a backup plan for weather or power.
- The three phases are pre-production, production and post-production; the shooting ratio and edit plan are decided before the shoot.
Worked example. A 3-minute awareness video needs a one-day shoot with five crew. Daily crew cost 5 × ₹2,000 = ₹10,000; equipment hire ₹6,000; transport and food ₹4,000; contingency 10% of ₹20,000 = ₹2,000. Total ₹22,000, and cost per finished minute is 22,000/3 ≈ ₹7,333. Show each line, then the total, then the derived figure.
Traps
- Swapping the two columns of an AV script.
- Presenting a shot list in script order and then running out of daylight.
- Omitting permissions and risk assessment from the plan.
- Ignoring programme duration when writing; a 300-word narration runs about two minutes, not ten.