Organisation during pre-production
Once the conception phase is completed and a joint project is fixed, the actual production begins. The production phase for image, product, trade fair and advertising films is divided into pre-production and shooting. The pre-production covers all organisational steps that precede the shooting. The director and cameraman develop a storyboard or a shotlist from the existing concept. The storyboard contains a chronological and visual draft of each scene together with a short description of the respective content sequence.
For complex moving image productions such as feature films or other dialogue-heavy projects, it is worthwhile working out a detailed script which, in combination with the storyboard, forms a blueprint of the finished film. In some cases, animatics are also created, in which all scenes are filmed in a simplified form or roughly animated. Parallel to this, the production of the scene images and the design of the costumes optionally takes place. Meanwhile, the location scout takes over the search for suitable locations. As a rule, the producer is responsible for the creation of a shooting schedule, the casting of the actors and the composition of the film crew. In general, the director and producer are mainly responsible for the completion of the pre-production of the Production Service Germany.
The shoot as the heart of the production
The actual shooting is considered the most labour-intensive phase of a moving image production. To start shooting, the script or storyboard must be in its final version. Then the film technology, lighting technology, motif constructions and film crew are brought to the shooting location. In order to minimize the time and effort involved, filming is often carried out in a film studio, as constant lighting conditions are created there and the film can therefore be shot regardless of the time of day. Studio shoots therefore offer the greatest planning security and are particularly efficient. However, as soon as the effort of set construction becomes too expensive, one has to switch to outside shooting for certain scenes.
In the case of an outdoor shoot, the time of day on location minimises the time window for the scenes to be shot. In most cases, filming is not done chronologically, but in a different order depending on economic and logistical circumstances. The length of the shooting depends on the effort and scope of the production. The most important persons are usually the director and the picture designer or cameraman. Together they implement the dramaturgical aspects of the film artistically and visually. Another important person on the set is the producer. He is the link between director, camera, actors and the rest of the crew.