Before you shoot you must have a pre-production meeting before everyone scatters to wherever the heck they’re going. Yeah, I know, meetings, meetings, meetings. The constant yammerimg of people who talk because they are in love with their own words and ideas – yes it’s very frustrating and you want to hurt people. BUT, without a pre-pro meeting bad shit happens. And golly, bad shit is never a good thing when you’re spending thousands and thousands of dollars on a shoot and you can never recapture that shoot again. SO – be NIKE and JUST DO IT.
Sit everyone down and make them go through the schedule. Itinerary of flights, hotels, call times, what you’ll be shooting when, who’s doing make up, what production vehicles you’ll be renting, whose picking them up, etc., etc., etc. ALL OF IT. Do it all. This will ensure two things; one -nothing falls through the cracks and two – you’re all shooting the same show.
I don’t need to endlessly repeat myself. Without a pre-production meeting you will waste time and money. A LOT OF MONEY. Oh, and afterwards there will be a lot of finger pointing.
Photo Copyright: The House Theatre of Chicago
