Hello Everyone,

Its Josh here from Loveridge Designs, this week on “Getting into it with Loveridge Designs” We are going to why production schedules are an essential piece of the production process.
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

A world-renowned quote, spoken by Benjamin Franklin, that remains true for video production. In order to ensure a high-quality project, time and effort must be put in at the initial stages of the production to facilitate a seamless and productive operation, and this is where the production schedule steps in.

So what is a production schedule?
When we create any production before we turn up at the shooting sites, it is important to know what it is we’re shooting. The day of the shooting, this saves us from losing time and helps us to concentrate entirely on having the best footage that can be collected from the day. The team agrees and works on a document called a production schedule to insure that problems are prevented, which includes all the necessary project details to leave no misunderstanding or space for error.

There are a variety of components in the document which can consume up a substantial chunk of resources on a shoot very rapidly if it is not pre-planned, culminating in a really inefficient use of budget and time.
Each site is unique in some way, numerous considerations always need to be thought of, but today I will address some of the common characteristics.

#1 Parking – It has a huge effect on the schedules if there is no parking space or loading bay to park. We might have to be allocated a room, provided a permit or have to use a personnel entry, so it is important to make sure we know all these details prior to the actual project.

#2 Security – It is normally best to make sure that the key contacts details are on hand and all safety passes and passwords are prepared for the day, which will prevent safety hang-ups and resource-wasting.

#3 Talent – People must understand that they’ve been recorded, and if they speak to the camera, they also must be aware the items that will be talked about, which has been reviewed and signed off by key contacts, one of the main time-sinks on a location shoot is bringing members to the right spot at the correct time and needs to be prevented.

#4 Scripts – You could either do this in a normal ‘off the cuff style’ while recording interviews, or use a cue card with a pre-designed and predetermined soundbite sequence as a substitute to going off the cuff. If this is not decided before shooting day, the preparation of documentation would waste considerable quantities of time on the day to get everything signed off.

#5 Shot list and timings –A comprehensive shot list will be included in the schedule, with assigned schedules so that everyone understands when they’ll be required. It also enables perceptions of the amount of content that can be captured on the day to be handled.

Fingers crossed, all the issues posed feel like common sense, so it’s pretty safe to assume that massive quantities of time would be spent on the day trying to sort things out as you go without straightening out these specifics before hand. In order to create the documentation needed for shoot day and bring the paper together it only will take a couple extra hours, not only can the finished result be significantly better, but it could also save a tremendous amount of time, energy and money lost.

Thank you very much for taking the time to watch the video I hope you found it both informative and engaging
Until next time.