Creative
- Script or outline approved by the client
- Shot list and storyboard for the complex scenes
- References for look, wardrobe and set
- Deliverables listed: lengths, formats, versions
Budget and schedule
- Budget approved, with a contingency line
- Shooting schedule built from the breakdown
- Payment terms agreed and the first invoice sent
- Insurance in place for the shoot dates
People
- Key crew booked and confirmed in writing
- Cast chosen, contracts and releases signed
- Sizes collected and fittings scheduled
- Travel and accommodation booked
Places and things
- Locations scouted, with photos and practical notes
- Permits requested and received
- Camera, lighting and sound packages reserved
- Props, wardrobe and set decor sourced and stored
- Power, parking and catering arranged
The week before
- Technical scout with heads of department
- Call sheet sent the day before each shooting day
- Weather plan for exteriors
- Media, batteries and backups checked
- Emergency contacts and nearest hospital on the call sheet
Make the checklist a template
The list barely changes from one shoot to the next. Save it once as a task template, apply it to each new project and assign each line to a person with a date. That is what task templates in CrewDesk are for.
How to use this checklist
Give each line an owner and a date, working backwards from the shoot. Review the list twice a week in pre-production. The lines that stay open longest are almost always approvals that depend on someone outside the team: chase those first.
Related templates
See the call sheet template, the equipment checklist and the location scouting checklist.