I keep six honest serving men
they taught me all I knew
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
Rudyard Kipling
Given the quote above you might think I was going to write about journalism but this post is about preproduction. I’ve touched on this in the past in terms of scouting and casting but it still amazes me how many people refuse to go through the basic steps of developing a project before principal photography. Preproduction is the most inexpensive phase of the whole process. It requires few people and very little equipment and if executed properly results in a very efficient production with few hiccups in post. One person running around with an IPhone and a few people meeting in an office to draw up plans are far more cost effective than 28 people waiting on set for a consensus to be made on what they are shooting or two weeks in a post-production suite trying to “save” a project. The six questions Kipling referenced are our friends too. The questions are interrelated and one might help answer another. When might have to wait on Who. What could be affected by Why, How and Where. I could go down a metaphysical rabbit hole here but let me stop and say every meeting, every phone call or email in preproduction should address these six questions.
What are we doing?
After we know the reason for the production we can strategize how best to achieve our client’s goal. What is the programs conceit? Is it a Documentary, Scripted Drama, Light Comedy, etc….
Having a general sense of what we’re doing allows us to draw on previous experience or research new techniques to understand the process/cost of what we’re about to embark on.
Where are we doing it?
Studio or practical location, Local or International? Set Design, Construction, Scouting, Permission, Permits, Location Fees, Insurance, Access and Parking should all be addressed.
How are we doing it?
The Budget will help to answer this question. Is it a three-person crew or 50 folks with special effects? Are we building a set or using a practical location?
Who will be in it?
Actors or Real people. Scripted dialogue or Interview. Have they been vetted? Wardrobe and makeup.
When are we doing it?
Scheduling. Arranging the talent, crew, equipment and location to arrive at a set time with a script and production plan.
Why are we doing it?
This really should be the first question Does the client know why they want this project? The answer to this affects everything else. Why are we doing this? Is there a problem we’re trying to solve? A metric we need to hit? Is it based on solid market research or just a hunch? That’s a question for people above my pay grade but having a sense of the Why of a project can be helpful in answering the What and How of it.
It all seems so simple and intuitive and perhaps that’s why it gets overlooked so often… until it’s too late.
