Create an effective video production schedule

The video production schedule is a fundamental component in organizing an audiovisual project. Beyond being a simple tool, it primarily serves as a communication support, reflects a strategy, and imposes a working method. Therefore, it must correspond to the values upheld by the team, meet the clients' expectations, and be effective. Smartvideo guides you on how to establish a production and shooting plan that meets these criteria.

What is the importance of an effective shooting plan?

Firstly, the shooting schedule provides clients with a clear vision of the stages involved in making the film. It helps answer various questions, especially when the film moves to the shooting stage. It also allows for structuring the entire production process and is one of the keys to setting the marketing objectives to be achieved with the video.

Secondly, the shooting plan helps to clearly define the roles of the different participants involved in the project: director, assistants, etc. In video shoots, each participant plays a specific role. These roles can sometimes intertwine and lead to confusion.

Therefore, it is important to specify in advance the tasks of each participant to facilitate communication and collaboration within the team. To do this, you need to develop an effective video production plan and use the appropriate planning tools. Since the shooting plan of a film is a central issue for its success, it must also be dynamic and take into account real-world realities as well as the requirements of your clients.

Most importantly, your shooting plan must be flexible enough to adapt to any constraints and to incorporate new elements. Your shooting schedule must also integrate the stages of audiovisual production, as well as tools that enable modifications to the plan and instant sharing. 

What stages should a film shooting schedule include?

Various stages are necessary to create a shooting plan that works. Smartvideo presents them to you here.

The preparation for shooting

This occurs when the shooting script of the film is finalized. The preparation for shooting involves:

• establishing a budget,

• determining the shooting locations,

• gathering all the necessary information to carry out the project.

At this stage, the members of the team to be set up (director, assistants, actors) are also determined. Costumes, sets, etc. are also prepared. In the field of cinema, the script is a document that includes detailed instructions to follow. These instructions determine how the camera shots, props, photos, and sets will be used. In itself, the shooting script can also be seen as a combination of a framework and a list of plans to follow.

Unlike the script that strictly follows the narrative of films, this document is written to meet the needs of team members during the primary shoots. It must specify scene numbers, camera plans, elements to be filmed, special effects, stunts, etc.

Generally, after establishing the budget, the director approaches television networks and production companies to secure funding.

The shooting

This stage includes the actual filming and involves all team members. Therefore, rigor is essential. Everyone must be in their place and do their job according to the shooting schedule, or risk blowing the initial costs out of the water. Here, the director, in agreement with the team leaders, must keep a close eye and impose strict discipline.

The post-production

This stage is primarily focused on editing the audiovisual production. Since each scene has multiple takes, the editor and their assistants must sift through to keep the best ones. They then synchronize the sound as it is recorded separately from the image during the filming of each scene.

They subsequently proceed to edit while taking into account lighting, sound ambiance, dialogues, voiceovers, etc. This lengthy work can last several months. Finally, they adjust the film's color grading by modifying levels of black, lighting, colors, etc. 

What tool to integrate into an efficient film production plan?

To create an effective shooting plan, it is preferable to integrate collaborative solutions. They will allow you to track in real-time the progress of your shoots and make your plan a dynamic communication tool. Among the solutions that meet this criterion is the management software Smartevo.

In addition to optimizing audiovisual production planning, this software allows you to centralize all tasks related to the processes. It offers the possibility of having better fluidity in managing your projects and optimizes the work of all your teams. Thanks to its features, it secures and improves information accessibility for project participants.

For audiovisual content producers, the Smartevo software represents the ideal tool for effectively managing the workload required by this profession. For this reason, it streamlines communication with teams, providers, and all participants who must be involved in the content creation. It also includes all the features necessary for the success of filming, as well as for creating coherent and fluid video production.

Outside of these stakeholders, this product can be used if you are an administration, a television channel, or a company looking to create presentation videos to boost sales. If you are a club, league, or sports federation, you can also use this software.