Pre-production stage: What filmmakers do and what their tasks are

In today's article, we learn together about the duties of the director of photography in the pre-production stage, what they are and what he does at this stage, and what is the importance of this in the production process? Pre-Production Stage The Pre-Production Stage is a very important stage. In this stage, every step that takes place when filming is planned. Starting the production and filming process without any prior planning and preparation causes delay and wastage of time, in addition to the possibility of not completing the entire required part of this process. This may result in the need for additional time on the filming site or for additional days, which means a waste of the project budget. Therefore, any additional time at this stage is a saving of effort and time in the production process and during filming.

What are the duties of the director of photography in the pre-production stage in general? The director of photography in the pre-production stage must achieve the following: Communicate with the director and discuss to arrive at the style, structure, shape and general theme of the work. Check and check if the desired result can be achieved with the available budget and existing equipment. Make precise lists containing the required shots, filming locations, equipment used, and the people with whom the work will be done.

Pre-production stage: step by step 1- The director of photography reads the script or a summary of it before meeting with the director. 2- The director of photography meets the director and a dialogue takes place about the production process. At this stage, the director of photography must listen to the director’s opinions and ideas. It is very important that the work of the director of photography serves the idea presented by the director, without trying to change it. Therefore, the director of photography must try to understand the director’s point of view and the way to transform that view into visual material. Translating that view into visual material is the main reason for the production team to choose you as director of photography, so try to search for ways to transform it into reality. 3- Based on what was agreed upon with the director, the director of photography searches for references and examples similar to the nature of the work. This may be done by viewing works and films and browsing pictures that trace back to the time period, or anything that contains content similar to what is intended to be worked on.

4- This is followed by setting another meeting with the director to determine the nature of the lighting, shooting locations, camera movements, size of shots, and other details of the scenes that could serve the project. 5- The director of photography and the director begin together by searching for appropriate filming locations that suit and suit the work. The director of photography in these locations physically scans them for any windows, angles, sources of light, and other site details. The director of photography takes pictures of the filming location at different angles to return to later. It is also important to know the path of the sun during the day. This can be done through applications that show the movement of the sun during daylight hours, the most important of which is Sun Seeker (Android version here, IOS version here), in addition to an application. Sunsurveyor (Android version here, IOS version here). This stage is called Location Scouting.

6- At this stage, the director of photography begins working on what is called a storyboard, which is the process of drawing what the director of photography imagines the scenes at the end of the work. These drawings are approximate, they may be very simple or they may be very rich in details. It is also possible that these drawings represent only the basic shots, while they may represent all the shots in the film. 7- In addition, the director of photography writes a list of all the shots to be filmed, with all their details, in what is known as the Shot List. In this list, the details of the shot are specified, whether external or internal, what is the nature of the shot’s measurement, camera movement, the dimensions of the shot, will sound be recorded or will it be without sound, what are the elements that will appear in the shot, and how many of them are there, and then an explanation of what those elements will do within the shot. 8- Most directors of photography shoot normal photos using applications that simulate the size of the camera sensor and the focal length of the lenses that will be used in the work. One of these applications is the Artemis Pro application. These images are called RECCE. During this stage, images of people are temporarily photographed in the same position and with the size of the shot that the director of photography and the director want. The images here are used as a model for the director of photography to return to studying the lighting mechanism in it and nothing more. An example of this: 9- The director of photography must be aware of whether there was an intention. To use any graphic materials later, he must employ appropriate personnel, in addition to the need to know about any modifications that will be made during the post-production stage.

10- At this stage, the director of photography performs a very important process called Tech Scouting. It is a stage in which the director of photography usually tests the equipment and cameras that he will work on. If he is working on a camera that he has never dealt with before, or lenses that he has not dealt with before, then he tests them in the special equipment company or what is usually called Rental House. The stage also includes, if there is flexibility in the work budget, the presence of the director of photography and the lighting and electrical team in addition to the graphic department official to discuss the locations of the lighting and agree on what They will need technical equipment to complete the work. Simply put, this stage is preparing the technical aspects of the work before starting. 11- Here the director of photography decides who the camera team will be working with on the project: who is the camera operator, who is the first and second camera assistant, who is the DIT official, and who will be the Grip. The crew is chosen according to skill and what the budget allows. 12- Usually, in fairly large and long projects, the director of photography, along with the DIT official, forms a LUT that somewhat resembles the form desired by the director and director of photography, so that this LUT is used later during the filming process on the camera screens, or on the screen of the director or the client’s agent if he is present on the filming site.

13- In the end, the director of photography works with Al-Ghafer to install and coordinate lighting before filming at the appropriate time (hours or days) to ensure that the filming location is ready on time. In the following video, there are interviews and dialogues with senior filmmakers about the details of the pre-production process, and what are their procedures in that process: In the end, I hope that this article is sufficient, comprehensive, and comprehensive enough. I would like to remind you that if you find any questions, you can send your inquiries by clicking on Contact Us, and you can also follow us through our account at 

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