The pre-production process

1. The Pre-Production Process

2. The Director’s Vision
 Director’s vision = story’s content +
narrative structure + the film’s visual
design.

3. Key Pre-Production People
 Director
 Screenwriter
 Production Designer
 A film’s overall look may exist in the director’s
imagination, but the screenwriter and the
production designer are the people who
actually create the fictional world of the
movie.

4. Director
 During pre-production the director and
cinematographer plan how to photograph
each scene.
 The director may create storyboards to
communicate his ideas to the
cinematographer.
 The director will work with the production
designer to create the sets, props, and
costumes.

5. Screenwriter
 The screenwriter imagines the world
through words.

6. Production Designer
 Turns words and the director’s ideas into real-life
sets, props, and costumes.
 Research is often the first step.
 Produces sketches and miniature models of sets,
props, and costumes.
 Once the director approves designs, construction
begins.
 The production designer is part historian, artist,
and architect.

7. Set
 The set is the place or site of each
scene.
 A set may be the interior of a building,
such as an office, a courtroom, a train
station, or even a train car.
 Or the set may be exterior locations,
such as porches.
 Sets are constructed.

8. Scenery
 Scenery refers to landscapes and
outdoor locations.
 This includes mountains, beaches,
fields, public parks, etc.
 Scenery can be constructed, such as
the backdrop seen through a window.

9. Props
 Prop is short for property. A prop is a
moveable object that is part of a set.
 Examples include wall hangings,
tableware, computers, street signs, and
weapons.

10. Furnishings
 Furnishings are the furniture that
comprise the world of the film.
 This includes beds, couches and desks.

11. Trimmings
 Trimmings are the decorative elements
on the set such as draperies,
bedspreads, lamps, etc.

12. Costumes
 Costumes are the clothing each
character wears, including hats and
shoes. Also called “wardrobe items”.

13. Makeup
 Makeup includes cosmetics, hairstyles,
and wigs.