Types of Planning

Conducting planning for a documentary is vital as allows for me to plan out exactly how I want my product to function and look. There are many factors to consider when it comes to research, from production schedules to risk assessments. These are all essential parts of the production process, and without them it would be a lot harder to achieve my initial intentions without carrying out the correct planning.

Production schedule:

Planning an accurate and functioning production schedule is an important part of the planning process, simply because it helps you to see what you should be doing in advance. Not only this, but it allows for any potential changes along the way and helps to plan out what equipment or crew you will need for various filming days. Personally, I feel that the production schedule itself helps me to properly focus on the task at hand, as by having each week planned out it provides me with individual deadlines for each piece of research or filming that needs to be carried out. Not only does it help you at the start of production, but it also helps when evaluating the success of the production process as looking back on the initial plan compared to what you actually ended up with, is a great way to understand what exactly went wrong or what caused these changes to happen, overall allowing for improvement on future projects. Production schedules are especially good for if you are working in a team, as it allows you to keep up to date with every member of the team and see exactly where they are at in the production process. Without a system like this, a team production wouldn’t work efficiently due to nobody being on top of each other’s tasks, leading to a disjointed product.

Equipment and budgeting:

Planning out the list of equipment you need for a product is essential, as it allows you to plan out a variety of factors. One of these being the ability to plan out your filming days as that way you can prep any gear needed for the shoots, meaning that you’re not having to carry unnecessary amounts of camera gear around with you but are also prepared at the same time. Another positive of planning out any equipment you need, is that it allows you to see in advance of any other equipment is required to make you product as you planned. This ties into budgeting as by planning out the budgeting side of things, you can see any restrictions you may face before beginning the production process itself. As well as this, having a break down of the costs of every aspect of your product is great to see if there are any other ways you could potentially condense down the product in order to save on the budgeting side whilst trying to extract every ounce of quality from the budget available to you.

Location Recce:

Creating a location recce for each location you plan to visit is a vital part of the production process, as it provides you with a brief of what you initially intend to do at each location, so provides an already pre-made idea for setting up shots etc. Not only this, but it also provides other people with an idea as to where you will be on each stage of production, therefore if you are working within a team, each member knows what is being filmed and where so if anything were to go wrong, they are aware of where you are at all times. A location recce also provides you with reasoning as to why you filmed at each location. This becomes a great way to provide anyone viewing your product with context as to why you filmed there and the reasoning that resonates within that specific location.  Not only this, but a location recce helps to highlight the importance of a location, and whether it will be filmed at multiple times or just the once.

Risk assessments:

After completing location recce’s, looking at a risk assessment is a vital part of the production process. As not only does it allow for you to be aware of any potential dangers at a filming location, but it also provides you with the ability to change your plans or put measures in place to avoid these potential dangers and ensure your safety, your crew, and others around you. A risk assessment values 4 separate factors: the danger itself, who it affects, how you will control the hazard, and the severity of the risk before and after you have controlled it. It is important to identify every potential hazard within a location, in order to make sure you are prepared for all eventualities and your crew are as well, as you don’t only put yourself in danger by ignoring hazards, but also the public as well. Identifying who the hazard affects helps to determine how you go about controlling it, as greater measures need to be taken to protect the general public from these hazards, for example, if there are loose wires, make sure these are kept away from your team and the public are crucially important as if somebody gets hurt by them, then the liability is on you. A good way of checking if you have successfully taken care of a hazard is by marking down the severity and risk of a hazard before and after the control method. This helps to define whether the control method for the hazard has worked efficiently or whether the hazard is still a threat. Overall, I feel that having risk assessments for each location is a vital part of ensuring the safety of the product.

Script:

Having a script for a product helps to set a rough idea for what needs to be covered during a product. not only this, but for me I find that having a script also provides you with prompts and a running order for the schedule of the product. This in itself, provides you with stability in the creation of your product, as having that initial plan and scripture enables you to keep your product running smoothly and as close to your initial idea as possible.  

Shot list:

Building a shot list for a product is an ideal piece of planning. The reasoning for this is that it allows you to plan the technical side of your product, by knowing how your product should look once filming is completed. A shot list also helps you to plan sections of your product and understand which shots and scenes will signify key moments in a documentary. For example, having an establishing shot could signify the opening of your product or the arrival at a new location that has significant meaning to the product. overall, I feel that a shot list is an important factor of planning as it allows for you to gain an overview of the entire product and setup in a way that makes it easier in the post-production/editing phase, especially when it comes to piecing shots together.

Overall, the planning process to me is one of the most crucial elements during the creation of a documentary, as it sets out the exact plan for the filming process, including safety measures, equipment needed and exactly what you aim to film on each day. Therefore, I feel that the planning process itself is arguably one of, if not the most important part of the entire production process, as without it then the entire product could fail.