This document discusses several pre-production tools used in filmmaking including storyboards, scripts, Gantt charts, risk assessments, call sheets, budgets, release agreements, shooting scripts, location forms, footage logs, asset logs, overhead diagrams, edit decision lists, and shot lists. These tools help plan and organize all aspects of production from visualizing the story, scheduling tasks, securing locations and permissions, tracking assets and footage, and mapping out the shots needed. Effective pre-production relies on utilizing various tools to prepare all elements for a successful production.

1. Pre-Production Tools
By Connor Baker

2. Storyboard
 A storyboard is a graphic
organizer in the form of
illustrations or images displayed
in sequence for the purpose of
pre-visualizing a motion picture,
animation, motion graphic or
interactive media sequence.
The storyboarding process, in
the form it is known today, was
developed at Walt Disney
Productions during the early
1930s.

3. Script
 A screenplay or script is a written
work by screenwriters for a film,
video game, or television program.
These screenplays can be original
works or adaptations from existing
pieces of writing. In them, the
movement, actions, expression,
and dialogues of the characters
are also narrated.

4. Gantt Chart
 A Gantt chart is a type of
bar chart, developed by
Henry Gantt in the 1910s,
that illustrates a project
schedule. Gantt charts
illustrate the start and finish
dates of the terminal
elements and summary
elements of a project.
Terminal elements and
summary elements comprise
the work breakdown
structure of the project.

5. Risk Assessment
 Risk assessment is
the determination of
quantitative or
qualitative value of
risk related to a
concrete situation
and a recognized
threat (also called
hazard).
Quantitative risk
assessment requires
calculations of two
components of risk,
the magnitude of
the potential loss,
and the probability
that the loss will
occur.

6. Location Recce
 It refers to pre-
filming visit to a
location to work
out its suitability for
shooting, including
access to
necessary facilities
and assessment of
any potential
lighting or sound
issues, and is closely
related to location
scouting.

7. Call Sheet
 The daily call sheet is a filmmaking term
for a sheet of paper created by an
assistant director that is issued to the cast
and crew of a film production to inform
them of where and when they should
report for a particular day of filming.

8. Budget
 Film budgeting refers to the process by
which a line producer, unit production
manager, or filmmaker prepares a
budget for a film production. This
document, which could be over 150
pages long, is used to secure financing
for and lead to pre-production and
production of the film.

9. Release Agreement
 A release agreement is a
document in which is signed
by actors in order to give legal
consent in order to for the
director to release the film
and/or short film.

10. Shooting Script
 A shooting script is the version
of a screenplay used during the
production of a motion picture.
Shooting scripts are distinct
from spec scripts in that they
make use of scene numbers
(along with certain other
formatting conventions
described below), and they
follow a well defined set of
procedures specifying how
script revisions should be
implemented and circulated.

11. Location Release Forms
 These forms are required in
order to gain permission to
film in a certain location,
they’re often obtained by
the owner of the piece of
land or from the Town
Mayor.

12. Footage Log
 Footage logging is a
process in which video
footage is watched and
labeled according to its
content.
 If a video has a high
shooting ratio, it can be
impractical to remember
exactly where each shot is
on each source tape or
source file. Finding a
particular source shot by
searching through hours of
video during editing can
be time consuming.

13. Asset Log
 An asset log is where all personal
assets (mainly equipment) that is
taken for the purpose of filming
on that day is recorded down in
a log and any damage already
affecting the equipment is
noted.
 This is particularly helpful
detouring any accusation of
theft etc.

14. Overhead Diagram
 An overhead diagram is a
snapshot of the area above
where the filming will take
place. There will be
annotations of several things
just like where the camera
people will be located,
along with where the actors
will play out a certain scene
etc.

15. EDL (Edit Decision List)
 An edit decision list or EDL
used in the post-
production process of film
editing and video editing.
The list contains an ordered
list of reel and timecode
data representing where
each video clip can be
obtained in order to
conform the final cut.

16. Shot List
 A shot list is a
list put
together
normally by
the director in
order to plan
which shots
are going to
be used for
what scene
and at which
location.