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The Basics of Physical Pre-Production
Pete, line producer Pat Peach, and co-producer Jeff Balis arrived in Chicago, Illinois for eighteen days of prep before cameras would roll on "Stolen Summer." With the on-going budget dispute now settled, Pete could turn his focus to more concrete logistics.
To cut down on costs, the producers were looking at crew who were Chicago-based, so as to avoid travel and lodging expenses. Producer Chris Moore and Pat Peach quickly hired a core team that would work very closely with Pete in those crucial weeks leading up to photography, and of course, through the actual shoot.
Typically, the producer and the line producer will hire a first assistant director, a director of photography, a production designer, and a costume designer. Pending the approval of the studio and the director, these four principal players will then staff up their own crews.
Hollywood is all about connections. Crewing a movie is every bit as much about working with people whom you trust and know, as it is about finding quality workers.
So, with less than three weeks to go, Pete and his expanding crew had lots to do, and not a lot of time. Everyone had very specific tasks to execute, and all these individual pieces were part of an intricate puzzle.
Location Scouting
Crucial to any shoot is establishing the physical locations of your scenes. A lot of movie scenes are shot on sets, expressly built for shooting in a controlled environment. This is why studios have enormous backlots, filled with sound stages, faux street scenes, and building facades.
But some movie scenes cannot be shot in a reproduced environment, and directors and cinematographers are sticklers for authenticity. It is easy to write, "Baseball field - Ext. - Day" in your script. But it takes time, manpower, and, as always, money, to go find the actual baseball field where you will shoot.
First you need a location scout. This is a real job. This is a person hired to find you locations. Sometimes, the job is not very glamorous. "We need a fire hydrant on a Manhattan street corner where Adam Sandler can take a leak." But it can also be pretty cool. "We need a remote tropical island with trees and sand, surrounded by crystal blue water, where we can drop sixteen people and watch them make rice and fight." As you can see, location scouting runs the gamut in scale, but comes with a lot of responsibility.
Location scouting will consist of a crew that includes the director, the DP (director of photography), the scout, the production designer, producers and line producers as well as transpo the key grip and the gaffer, and the sound guy. The look and feel of the location must fit within the context of the rest of the movie, and must make sense to the audience. Another key factor of location scouting is the ability to produce in this environment. Is there room for an entire film crew, cameras, movie trailers, etc? The top of the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas would probably be a tremendous place to roll tape, but it would seem that the costs would outweigh the benefits to haul an entire film crew up there. A final consideration is the ability to control the environment in which you wish to shoot. Weather is a big consideration, as is a location's proximity to roads, airports, and other things that would create noise pollution and potentially disturb your shoot.
Production & Costume Design
A production designer is responsible for everything that the camera sees in a given shot, besides the actors. If a scene is shot in a bedroom, for example, the production designer must fill that bedroom with furniture, lamps, pictures, and anything else that creates the world of this bedroom. A costume designer is responsible for dressing the actors. Hats, glasses, jewelry, shoes. From head to toe, the wardrobe department will color inside the lines of a character and the setting.
Once a location is agreed upon, the production designer will work closely with the cinematographer to understand exactly what the camera's movements will capture.
For "Stolen Summer," production designer Devorah Herbert is tasked with finding only things that are authentic "1976." Cars, furniture, art, bicycles all must look like they are from that era if they will be seen in the frame of a shot.
Shot List
Once locations are decided upon, the cinematographer is busy determining how to shoot and light every scene, and the production designer is out finding the appropriate look. If needed, a construction coordinator is building sets. Meanwhile, the director and first AD are assembling their schedule.
In any given scene, multiple camera angles are used to "cover" all the characters. Cameras, lights, and set pieces are often moved to accommodate shots. All of this, including the order in which scenes are shot, is covered in a comprehensive shot list that schedules every shot for every scene throughout an entire shoot.
Meanwhile actors are rehearsing, teamsters are finding cars, permits are being applied for, caterers are being hired, and studios are watching their money.
Seem complicated? It is. But the success of shooting a film is largely dependent on the organization and meticulous preparation that occurs in the weeks and months leading up to it.
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