How Film and Video Production Works — Stages, Deliverables and Roles

Whatever the length or scale of the project, the flow is the same. If you remember what has to be settled at each stage before you can move on, it’s easy to tell where your team is right now.

Development turns an idea in your head into documents other people can read and judge. Start with short documents and expand into longer, more detailed ones, and you can make the big structural decisions while changes are still cheapest.

• Concept — The starting point: what story you’ll tell, to whom, and why. Note the genre, running time and target audience alongside it.
• Logline — The protagonist, their goal and the conflict in their way, boiled down to one or two sentences. It’s often the first line that wins over investors or producers.
• Synopsis — A short summary of the beginning, middle and end plus the main characters. It usually spells out the ending rather than hiding it.
• Treatment — A longer prose telling of the story, scene by scene, without dialogue. Use it to check the rhythm and turning points.
• Scene outline — A list with one line per scene: location, time and what happens. It’s the easiest stage at which to reorder or cut scenes.
• Character bible — Each character’s age, personality, goals and relationships. It later guides casting, costume and makeup.

A script is refined draft by draft — first draft, second draft, third draft and so on. Put the version and date on the title page or in the header of every draft so nobody prepares from the wrong version.

As the shoot approaches, you lock scene numbers in a shooting script. Each scene heading gives interior or exterior (INT/EXT), the location and the time of day (D/N), and scene numbers don’t change even when revisions come in. A cut scene keeps its number and is marked “OMITTED” so schedules and department documents already built around it stay in sync. The more pages arrive at the last minute — common on fast-turnaround TV — the more version control matters.

The director breaks each scene into shots and sets out each shot’s size, angle and camera movement alongside a drawing. A storyboard artist may draw the frames, or the director may use rough sketches or a shot list instead. Action, special effects and VFX scenes are usually boarded in more detail, because every department has a lot to prepare.

Pre-production turns the script into a plan you can actually shoot. Everything starts from the script breakdown, and most tasks are linked, so when one thing changes the other documents have to change with it.

• Script breakdown — Pull the location, time of day, cast, props, wardrobe and special effects for every scene into breakdown sheets.
• Shooting schedule — Group scenes by location, actor availability and time of day and assign them to shooting days. Many teams build it on a stripboard by moving scene strips around.
• Production calendar — Set dates for every milestone, from prep and the shoot to post and delivery.
• Budget — Estimate labor, equipment, locations, art, transport and catering, insurance and post costs line by line.
• Crew and contracts — Hire department heads and their teams, and agree working conditions in writing. Contracts and labor rules vary by country, so check what applies where you shoot.
• Casting — Audition principal and supporting roles, book background actors, sign performer agreements and confirm availability.
• Locations and permits — Scout and secure locations. Public spaces and roads may need a permit from the local authority.
• Art, props and sets — Define the look of each space, build sets and buy or rent props.
• Wardrobe — Build and fit each character’s costumes. Scenes that take place on the same story day need the same outfit.
• Hair and makeup — Prepare each character’s look, special makeup such as wounds or aging, and changes over time.
• VFX — Agree on composited shots in advance and decide what needs to be captured on set (green screen, tracking markers and so on).
• Product placement — Secure product and location sponsorships and contract how and when they appear on screen.
• Equipment — Rent camera, lighting, grip and sound gear and test it before the shoot.
• Special permits — Check items that need separate approval, such as drones, fire or smoke effects and minors on set.

The call sheet goes out the day before, and on the day you shoot in that order. Records made on set go straight to the edit room and into prep for the next day, so it helps to agree in advance who writes down what.

• Slate — Records the scene, shot and take number in both picture and sound so the editor can find the right take immediately.
• Take — Each time you shoot the same shot again, the take number goes up by one.
• Script supervisor notes — For every take: circled, NG or hold, the lens and shot size, changed lines and continuity (prop positions, wardrobe, eyelines).
• Call sheet — One page with the day’s scene order, call times, locations and what to bring.
• Daily production report — What was actually shot that day, start and wrap times, scenes remaining and anything notable.
• Data backup — Copy camera originals to at least two places on set and verify them before any card is wiped.

• Selecting takes — Use the script supervisor’s notes to pick the takes you’ll use and organize the camera originals.
• Editing — Find the overall shape in the rough cut, then work through revisions to picture lock.
• Color grading — Match brightness and color from shot to shot and give the film its look.
• Sound — Clean up dialogue, add sound effects, Foley and music, then mix. Re-record lines with ADR if needed.
• VFX and titles — Add composites, cleanup, titles and subtitles.
• Delivery — Hand over master files and paperwork in the specs the broadcaster, platform or exhibitor requires.

Job titles and the split of duties vary from set to set, but the work is usually divided roughly like this.