L9: Shooting Schedule Guide

 To learn and understand what a shooting schedule is.

 To learn and understand the importance of a shooting schedule.
 To learn and understand how to approach creating a shooting schedule.

What is a shooting schedule?

 A shooting schedule is simply a detailed board composed of color-coded and

organized strips of scenes from a script.
 The scenes/strips are colour based on interior/exterior and day/night.
 The shooting schedule is created and updated by the assistant director.
 A shooting schedule is vital because it is the backbone of each production day. It
states exactly: what’s being shot, who is being shot, where everyone is.

How to create a shooting schedule:

Break down the script:

 A key component to building a shooting schedule involves knowing how much needs
to be shot on a particular day.
 Producers must conduct meetings with heads of department in order to get
everyone on the same page.
 A film production is an everchanging organism and keeping everyone informed as
things change helps to keep the production running smoothly.
 There are two ways you can break down how much needs to be shot in a day. You
can either do it by pages or by scenes.
 But his mode of thinking creates a problem.

Break down the script into 8ths:

 Breaking down a script into 8ths gives you a precise way of measuring exactly how
much needs to be shot on a particular day.
 This involves dividing the pages of your script into eight 1-inch sections.
 This is important because it helps determine the length of a scene.
 For example. If a scene is 6/8ths, that translates into 6 inches out of 1 full script
page.
 Then go through the script and mark how long each scene is in 8ths. If a scene is
longer than a page, then it’s a 1 page plus however many 8ths it takes up on the next
page. For example, 1 and 2/8ths.

How to approach creating a shooting schedule:

The scale of your production:

 Your schedule will be determined by the scale of your production.

 A major studio production might only get through one page of script a day.
  An independent production could aim for five pages of script a day.
 How many pages of a script you have and how many pages you aim to shoot for each
day will give you a very basic idea of how long it will take to shoot your film.

Cast and crew availability:

 As you begin your scheduling and whilst in the process of scheduling, ensure that
you are constantly communicating with each crew and cast member.
 If you cannot afford to fully pay and book cast and crew for a complete block of time,
there is a chance that they will have other commitments.
 Get peoples availability as early as you can and make a note of any other
commitments people might have.

Department needs:

 Another reason for getting a cast and crew opinion on the shooting schedule is that
each department’s needs might affect it.
 For example, the art department might want some scenes to be carried out towards
the end of the shoot as they don’t have enough prep time within a certain location.
 In another example, costume and makeup might prefer scenes to be done at the end
of the shoot for continuity reasons. You never know what problems might occur to
mix up the schedule out of sequence.

Which scenes do you shoot first?

 When deciding the shooting order for your scenes, you can choose to shoot
chronologically or in an unchronological order.
 Most films will shoot their scenes out of order because it is the best and smartest
way to get a shoot done on time.
 For example, shooting all of the scenes that take place in one location at the same
time or in the same span of time.
 Another way to approach scheduling scenes is to plan to film the most complicated
scenes first.
 That way no matter what occurs to slow your daily schedule down, at the very least
you will have hopefully ticked off one major scene that required the most
manpower.
 You will also need to consider actor’s energy and emotions.
 Scheduling two emotionally exhausting scenes right after the other might be too
draining for an actor. Also consider physically demanding scenes such as fight
sequences.

Day and night scenes:

 Your script might have a mixture of day and night scenes.

 If you have an idea of what month you are shooting in, double-check the daylight
hours during this time.
  If an interior scene plays out at night, then try and get it shot in the daytime by
replicating night-time.
 You will have to clock shoot day and night scenes separately.
 Make sure to let cast and crew know in advance if you are planning on scheduling a
lengthy night shoot.

Location availability:

 The next thing you will need to consider when scheduling is location availability.
 This is especially true if your story has a lot of location changes.
 Avoid having any major location changes during one day.
 Another factor that will affect location availability is that you can only shoot in a
location for a certain amount of time.
 Lastly, think about whether your location is interior or exterior. If it’s exterior, think
about the weather and the season you are planning on filming.