Anyone who has worked in the production world for any amount of time knows that, whether you’re planning one day of filming or one month, you’ve gotta be highly organized in order to pull off a shoot. And the amount of effort devoted during pre-production can either make or break the final, resulting video(s). If you’re busy getting all your pre-pro ducks in a row for a project, we highly recommend you make time to create a Production Book.
Wait, what is a Production Book? It’s a collection of documents that contains all the key information about your video production, specifically pertaining to the days your team will be on set. It’s the organizational road map and key communication tool for what will happen, who will make it happen, and how and when it’s all going to go down. Typically assembled by the Lead Producer with input from the Director (sometimes they're all you!) this document is distributed to the client and key crew members 3-5 days prior to the first day of shooting.
For the majority of video productions on the Tongal platform, we require our greenlit filmmakers to align on various pre-production elements long before shoot day. One of the ways we help you align with all the production stakeholders is by offering a collection of production templates, which not only save you time and precious creative brain space but, most importantly, clearly lay out expectations for which elements to zero in on. While a Production Book isn’t strictly required for Tongal projects (unless a client is coming to set), you still might want to consider making one for your own sanity.
For those of you who might be wondering, “OK, but what goes into a Production Book?” we’ve created the following sample outline to get you started:
Your Production Book documents will vary based on the nature of your project, but the above outline should give you a sense of which core elements to include. With the aid of our production templates and the above outline (along with a trip to your local office supply store), it’s completely doable to build your own book. If you’d like to take it a step further, you could also take advantage of one of the many services that charge a fee to access their more robust library of production templates, like StudioBinder (where Tongal members get 10% their first month).
No matter what kind of production you’re planning, having a Production Book can go a long way towards managing expectations and keeping your budget and schedule on track. So gather up your supplies and make sure your printer's ink cartridge is full, it’s time to build a book!
