Adopting A Timetable To Success In Filmmaking It has often been said that if you do not have a plan for success, then you have a plan for failure and this is very relevant to the procedure of filmmaking too. Imagine it; a producer gets a script that he or she likes, then what? Top actors may be booked up for years as may all the top directors and technical staff. So, whilst you are attempting to find backers for the film, you have to begin coordinating all your principal personnel. Let's say that you want a certain director, a couple of of the main technicians and you have five leading character roles, for which you have preferences. First, you may need to wait for your favourite casting director to have time to help. You get in touch with the director and he may not begin until the end of January. However, your first choices for the leading five actors cannot all be free for long enough to shoot the film until June, However, some of them could spare a couple of days here and there before that. Now the leading man and the leading lady would like to appoint executive directors to take care of their interests. The script writer and a few the top investors also demand to appoint executive directors in order to look after their interests as well. Now you have what amounts to a board of directors with a chairman, every one with slightly different focuses, but all wanting the film to become a success. Of course, the backers would like to know exactly how much the film will cost and the actors will want to know when their agents may book their next film in. This means that time and money has to be allocated to each scene. So someone has to price up each scene and make allowances for weather, sickness, breakdowns and delays. If the producer wants to begin before everyone can get to the set, he could arrange to shoot scenes as and when actors get a spare day or two and this involves a lot of coordination by the continuity staff. It might also mean hardship with visas if shooting abroad, where permission to film will also have to be acquired. This may mean a license or corruption. If the film is an epic, they might require thousands of extras and perhaps none of them will be able to speak English, so you will need interpreters and the script might need to become translated in part. And that translation has to be proven to be correct Customs and local habits have to be respected, so first you need to know what they are and you have to make certain the actors and technicians recognize them. If you are shooting some scenes on location and others at home, you have to take the local seasons into account.
Some countries only have a couple of hours daylight at some times of the year, whilst other regions vary from 15 hours to five hours. What if you need a monsoon, you have taken your cast to Thailand and hired 600 extras and the monsoon comes six weeks late? Your insurance will have to be very detailed and specific to cover every contingency. Shooting a film is a mammoth challenge and frighteningly costly, so if you do not plan, you will fail and the more detailed the plan you have, the more control you have and the more chance of success. Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is at present involved with professional studio photographers. If you have an interest in photography, please visit our website now at Photography Studio Cameras.