Fail to Prepare - Prepare to Fail

Many years ago, I used to work in the antique restoration business and amongst the varied work I used to do, I had the pleasure of renovating numerous pieces of antique furniture that had seen better days and turning them into desirable pieces of crafted house décor.  Usually the process started with hand stripping layer after layer of paint or varnish by hand with paint stripper or varnish remover. Application followed application, scraping away the layers bit by bit and rubbing away the ingrained muck with wire wool. Once all the layers had been removed the surfaces were cleaned with white spirit and more wire wool. The next stage involved sanding with an orbital sander and coarse gauge garnet paper. This was followed with several passes of the sander fitted with medium gauge garnet paper and then came a few passes with fine gauge paper. The final sanding was done by hand with flour paper. After sanding the piece was tac-ragged with cloths soaked in white spirit and, once stained, the piece was waxed and buffed up to a highly polished lustre. The whole stripping and sanding process was all done in preparation for the staining and took days to accomplish. Any short-cuts taken in the stripping and sanding process would result in a second-rate end product. No amount of polishing would improve the end result as the key to producing a superior piece was in the preparation process - the stripping and the sanding.

Quality video productions are made in much the same way. Preparation is the key, and any lack of preparation will show in the end result, if not directly in the aesthetic quality, it will certainly show in the additional costs incurred due to the lack of foresight used in the preparation process. The time to prepare is well ahead of the shooting day, at a time when you are not paying for a cast and crew to sit around waiting for some minor problem to be resolved. Think of the costs involved for hiring, cast, crew, location and equipment. Any delay during the shoot could be costing you thousands. Proper preparation before the shoot is absolutely imperative.

Efficient production management depends on making lists .....lots of lists.....lists of props, wardrobe requirements,  technical requirements, and on having copies of actors scripts, shooting scripts, camera scripts, location schedules and equipment lists. Everybody needs copies......not just you.

Always have back ups and contingencies for those moments when stuff doesn't go according to plan.

If the shoot involves making something, then make sure you have enough raw materials to make the item over and over again. You are not just going to make it once. For scenes that involve objects being damaged, make sure you have enough undamaged pieces to shoot the scene over and over again.

An old colleague of mine always used to say;

"If you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail."

This principle should be adopted by ALL cast and crew members.

Effective communication is key to having everybody know what it is they are doing. Having a schedule for the days shoot helps to avoid wasting time that will ultimately add to the cost of the production.

In the real world, the crew member who turns up late is the first one to get kicked off the set. No production company can afford to employ cast or crew who consistently fail to deliver, especially those that can't be bothered to turn up on time. A call time is a call time, and lateness costs money. There are no second chances.

Working efficiently gives you more time to rehearse the scene, and allows for more retakes for those fluffed lines or shaky camera moves. There is nothing worse than having to rush scenes because you are running out of time due to inefficient production management.

Plan the Shoot - Then Shoot to the Plan