Creating a Shooting Schedule

You have a script on hand that you want to direct or produce. Well done! Now you need a production schedule to assess the various elements of your film and evaluate the time needed to shoot it. Once you have a movie schedule in place, you can use it to build a budget and determine your financing strategy.

You don’t want to hire an Assistant Director yet to create a full breakdown and schedule from your script. That costs money. Rather, you want to do it yourself. This guide is designed for you. Even with little production experience, it will give you a comprehensive step-by-step guidance to create a solid first shooting schedule and measure the feasibility of your project.

Whether it’s a short film, a TV drama or a feature film, you must know how many days are required to shoot and its level of complexity, all of which have a direct impact on the overall budget. Therefore, having a proper schedule is the first step to any production.

GUIDE-AT-A-GLANCE

• How to breakdown a script
• How to build and sort your schedule
• How to estimate the shooting duration of each scene
• How to calculate the time needed to change set or location
• How to add Day Break
• How to control the accuracy of the daily shooting duration