FILMMAKING PROCESS

Beginner’s guide to the

filmmaking process:
FILMMAKING PROCESS

Step 1: The Idea

Every movie you’ve ever seen first started with
an idea in someone’s brain. Although things
change as a project goes on, the story the
filmmakers come up with in the beginning will
serve as the foundation on which everything
else will be built. They thinking about the kind
of story they want their film to tell and all the
important story elements involved: plot,
characters, conflict, etc.

Ideas pop into our heads unexpectedly!

Filmmakers make sure to always carry a phone
or writing equipment to take down any cool
ideas that enhance the story.
It’s also a good idea to create a folder in which
they save newspaper and magazine articles,
snippets of overheard dialogue, notes on
characters they see on the street, and even
dreams.
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Step 2: The Script

The script is where filmmakers put down the
story, setting, and dialogue in linear form. This
important tool will be used by the rest of the
team to know what’s going to happen in the
film. They also use their own script as reference
throughout the process as well since they may
need to refresh yourself on certain actions,
dialogue lines, and more.

Filmmakers often make changes to the script

even after they think it’s ready. More often than
not, better ideas will come to well after this
stage in the filmmaking process.
Filmmakers often let their actors improvise,
whether it’s in rehearsal or on the set. They
may be surprised at what their actors are able
to imagine from their character’s point of view.
This is especially true for filmmakers who may
not be great with writing dialogue.
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Step 3: The Storyboards

A storyboard is a sequence of drawings that
represent the shots a filmmakers plan to film.
It helps to visualize each scene and decide on
things like camera angles, shot sizes, etc. It also
helps communicate what filmmakers is trying
to go for to other people on the set.

Photographing a storyboards can be a quick

solution.

A camera phone works fine for this. Just taking

a couple of friends to a location and telling
them, “You stand here, you stand there,” can
recreate the vision of shots a filmmaker might
be imagining.
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Step 4: The Cast and Crew

Assembling a team can be both exciting and
nerve-wracking.

For crew members, what is usually considered

is their past work and experience, and
filmmakers often request showreels or any
examples of work if available.

Holding an auditions to find the best actors

and actresses for roles is the best way.
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Step 5: The Locations

Sometimes filmmakers may need to

construct sets for a setting they would like
to have.
But for scenes where an actual location is
needed, they need to do some scouting to
find the best spots.
Great practice is take a camera and do as
much traveling as possible, snapping shots
of places that might serve as the perfect
setting for particular scenes.

Filmmakers always need to consider the

space required by the cast and crew. Space
shouldn’t be cramped and narrow, where
only the actors will fit well and not the
cameras, lights, etc.
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Step 6: The Filming

All the preparation and planning comes down
to this.
Filmmakers always make sure to have a shoot
script ready along with an organized schedule
of what will be filmed when.
Having enough of time to shoot scenes so that
they’re never rushed and can accommodate
for changes or problems. It’s common for a
scene that will last one minute in the final cut
to require more than five hours to film.

If time permits, filmmakers also try filming

the same scenes from new angles. This way,
they have more footage to work with that can
keep viewers engaged.
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Step 7: The Post-Production

Post-production is when filmmakers edit all

the footage to create a rough cut of the film.
Once done with the rough cut, they begin
adding things like sound effects, music, visual
effects, and colour correction. This process
will require the use of editing software.

Good practice for filmmakers is to show the

unpolished version to people whose opinions
they can trust.
It’s better to find out what isn’t working
sooner rather than when an audience is
watching the final version.