Film Crew Positions and Pre-Production

One of the great things about the film industry is that there are so many different positions. And depending on the film, there could be thousands of crew members (like Disney movies), or only a few. But for all films, there are certain positions that are necessary and always present.

If you're someone like me, who enjoys lots of things and can't really make up her mind about what she wants to do with her life, it's helpful to learn about all the positions and try them out. You gotta see what you like, ya know?

Find out what position you should be with this extremely realistic flow chart:

As there are many positions, I won't go into each one right now. However, I will tell you a little bit about what I am most interested in, which is pre-production.

I feel as though a lot of students underestimate the importance of pre-production. If you take the time and effort to properly plan everything in advance, you are more likely to have a successful shoot. While it may not be the most exciting part of film-making, it's definitely necessary.

Pre-production includes: writing the script, making a schedule, creating a shot list and storyboard, gathering a crew, securing locations, making a list of and acquiring the equipment, finding actors, permitting, production design, coordinating food and drinks for cast and crew, and (whew - I already have a headache just talking about this) so on and so forth.

If you need production documents and templates, this website has free downloadable ones!

It's a lot of things to prepare, but without it, the shoot most likely will not go well. You cannot be over prepared when it comes to pre-production.