Pre-production checklist: what has to be decided before a video shoot

Every expensive mistake on a shoot day was a decision that should have been made three weeks earlier. This is the checklist we run in pre-production, the three-week stage between a locked script and the first shoot day on our twelve-week process. Use it as is, or steal the parts you need for a shoot you are running yourself.

Before pre-production starts

Pre-production begins when the script is locked: every word that will be spoken or shown is agreed, and the person who signs off has signed off. If the script is still moving, stop and finish it. A shot list built on a draft script is a shot list you will rebuild.

• One-page creative brief: who the video is for, where it will play, what a win looks like
• Script locked and approved by the named decision maker
• Fixed quote and delivery date agreed
• Deliverables listed: master, cutdowns, aspect ratios, captions

Week one: the plan

• Shot list, every setup, with the script line each one covers
• Storyboard or reference frames for anything that is not an interview
• Interview questions written and shared with the interviewees
• Location list with a scout photo or a scout visit for each
• Permits and permissions requested (offices, public spaces, drone)
• Casting brief out, if there is on-camera talent beyond your own people

Week two: the people and the gear

• Interviewees confirmed with dates, times, and a call sheet
• Talent releases and location releases drafted
• Crew booked: director, camera, sound, gaffer, and any specialty (drone, jib)
• Gear list against the shot list: cameras, lenses, lights, audio, power, monitors
• Wardrobe and props note sent to everyone on camera (no fine stripes, no logos you cannot clear)
• Music shortlist chosen, licensed for where the video will run

Week three: the schedule

• Shoot schedule by day and hour, with sunrise and sunset for exteriors
• Call sheet issued 48 hours ahead: addresses, parking, contacts, timing, weather plan
• Backup plan for weather and for the interviewee who cancels
• Client-side contact named for shoot day, with authority to make decisions
• Data plan: card sizes, backup drives, who owns the footage
• Post-production booked: editor, colorist, sound, with the delivery date on the calendar

The sign-off that locks it

Pre-production ends with one approval: the shoot plan (schedule, shot list, locations, crew, cast) is confirmed, and after that point structural changes reopen the stage. This is the moment most productions skip, and it is the one that protects the budget. A change on paper costs an hour; the same change on set costs a crew day.

Two things that are not on most checklists

The forwarding test. Before the shoot, ask who the finished video will be forwarded to that nobody has mentioned yet: legal, the CFO, the board. If any of them can veto a line, get them the script now.

The B-roll list nobody asked for. Every shoot day, we add ten setups that are not in the script: the building, the hands, the tools, the walk to the car. They are the shots that save the edit when an interview answer runs short.

If you would rather hand the whole checklist to us, that is what the video production services page is for. If you already shot it and just need the finish, see post-production services.