The invaluable importance of preparation

How preparation shapes the entire shoot

Some people say a film is made three times: first when it's written, second when it's shot, and finally when it's edited. While that's true, there's actually a fourth time a film is made. And that's the one where you make or break it: the preparation of the shoot.

And the one holding it all together is the 1st AD.

The first step

As soon as the script is handed in by the writer, it should land in the hands of a 1st AD. Because there's no better person to judge whether a script fits within the boundaries every production operates in. Mainly financial ones. And let's be honest: money is always the issue. The earlier a 1st AD comes on board, the earlier s/he can point out all the challenges that could make a shoot expensive or even impossible.

The Harsh Reality of Prep

Unfortunately, prep times are getting cut down more and more. Faced with shrinking budgets and rising costs, the first thing a production tends to save money on is prep. While that's understandable, they often end up paying twice as much later when things aren't properly thought through and discussed and when every shooting day becomes more damage control than anything else.

The Blueprint and the Backbone

If the script is the creative blueprint of a film, the shooting schedule is its logistical backbone. Without a script, there's no schedule. And without a schedule, there's no film. It influences every aspect of production: for how many days we need actor A, when is location B is needed, whether we can shoot scene C before D. Being an AD means knowing the answers to all those questions. So the main task is to gather as much information as possible. In an ideal world, the script is ready when the AD starts working - and the schedule is ready when the rest of the crew starts. That way, everyone knows what they're working toward. That's why the first person a production should hire is the 1st AD.

Preparation is Anticipation

When an AD reads a script, the focus isn't on the story, but on identifying possible traps along the way. A character jumps into a lake — but we're shooting in November. A night exterior scene, but with kids. A car chase that takes a week to shoot, but the budget allows for one day. Once an AD starts breaking down the script into its pieces, soon all kinds of issues will pop up. Part of the job is to anticipate everything that could go wrong and either flag it early on so it can be dealt with or come up with a backup plan. That work needs focus and time. Rushing through prep is the fastest way to make mistakes. Problems stay hidden until it's too late.

The Human Factor

Every crew member is a cog in the big wheel of preparation. And the flow of information is the grease that keeps it turning. The person responsible for that flow is the 1st AD, ensuring everyone works in the same direction, toward the same vision. An AD must constantly brief every department, share information, get information. If an AD starts at the same time as everyone else, they're already behind - lacking answers, lacking overview. Instead of shaping the prep, they're constantly trying to keep it from stumbling. People get frustrated, money gets wasted, and the quality of the final product suffers.

Day 1

And then, one night, the call sheet goes out. The moment of truth. Weeks and months of meetings, rehearsals, scoutings, and tests are over. The crew grows, the gear is ready. From now on, every single day will reveal in brutal honesty how well the preparation went, and how well the vision can be executed. If the production was wise enough to invest in prep, it will save money now. The only bad thing about it? You can hardly measure how much good prep saved you - only how much bad prep cost you. That’s the paradox of preparation: its success is invisible.

I always end my prep with the same mantra once “Action” is called for the first time:

Every day, one problem less.

With this said, ready when you are.