Pre production: "filmmaking is athletic, not aesthetic" - Werner Herzog
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When buying a house the phrase to remember is Location, Location, Location, well when making a film the key phrase in pre production is Preparation, Preparation, Preparation! 
There are many reasons why even the most experienced filmmakers never just throw a film together without preparing first. Creation is an act of sheer will. During the process of making a film the universe will throw everything it can at your production, natural as well as man made disasters, in an attempt to stop you. Freak rain storms appear out of nowhere to destroy your location, Stephen Spielberg during the filming of Close Encounters of the Third Kind lost half his set in hurricane force winds which shut down the production for a time - the result was money added to the budget. Once during the filming of a commercial in the British countryside Julia and I got attacked by a group of wild horses which chased the entire crew and actors around a field breaking equipment, the result money added to the budget. There are so many things which seem destined to stop you from making your film. If you don't prepare during pre production you are simply encouraging the universe to help you fail. I've seen it a lot with the guerilla filmmaker, they read a "how to" film manual and rush out to shoot because filming is the exciting bit skipping over pre production. They shoot for maybe a few days or even a couple of weeks but sooner or later the great destroyer will appear and stop the production dead in its tracks. Believe me during filming there's no time for rational thought of any kind. I've even tried to stop my own film, it sounds crazy but its true. I start out thinking my film will be the best movie ever made. About half way though it slowly starts to dawn on me that actually the film will probably be the worst film ever made and I just want to escape, dig a tunnel, fake my own death anything just to get out of this crazy film. I never do of course but during the making of The Greenwich Village Massacre I certainly thought about quitting a number of times. Francois Truffaut makes a similar point he says, in pre production he always starts convinced the film will be superb but halfway into production he hopes only to finish his film. The depth of thought you can invest during pre production and the extent to which you can imagine problems and obstacles is everything to ensure that your shoot not only runs smoothly but that your film will eventually make sense. I can't tell you how many films I've seen from guerilla filmmakers who's films no longer make any sense due to all the compromises they've had to make during production, simply because they missed pre production. Of course there's nothing like experience to inform you. The guerilla filmmaker who has never made a film before will rush through pre production, budgeting, finding his perfect location, skip giving contracts out to his friends who are acting in the film and being the crew and not set up a production company. Then with will power alone they try and complete their shoot. Cut to their next film, I guarantee you, that pre production will be planned out to the finest details and still the universe will throw life at them but instead of getting beaten up, their experience will kick in and solve those problems quickly without it adding to the film's budget.
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Below are some handy tips which I use during pre production: 1) Check that your location is accessible and available. It's amazing how a location suddenly becomes unavailable the day before the shoot. So keep checking. 2) Get all your contracts in order. Everyone who acts, appears and works on your film needs to be under contract and preferably paid expenses. 3) Make sure that you wouldn't mind going on a six week holiday with each and every member of your crew. One annoying person can really cast a dark cloud over a production running behind schedule as pressure mounts. Be prepared for your film to take up to 3 or 4 years of your life. 4) Do you have the money for the production. Its good to plan your shoot over a number of months. If you need to work to raise money for each section of the shoot make sure everyone involved is aware of that going in. If you've told everyone that your film will be shot in three weeks and in the middle of week three you inform them that actually production needs to stop but will start up again in a few months, actors and crew will more than likely never come back and you'll have to re crew from the beginning. This is how films end up not making any sense. You'd be surprised at what a difference change in the crew to your film has. How are you going to support yourself through your production? You are going to have to start a limited company. Which can be quite a shock, it certainly was for me and Julia. Its also really boring but it has to be done. 5) Be honest and keep it simple. Making yourself sound like Universal Pictures will only serve to increase your budget as people who don't know what film making is all about put up prices. So a location which should only cost $1 suddenly costs $20 it happens. I know its unfair but that's what people do. Just be honest, fall on your sword, beg if necessary. To get a perfect location Julia and I had to have a guy's children in the film in order to secure the location. In hindsight we didn't actually need that location as much as we thought we did. So keep it simple and ask yourself if that particular location is actually worth it or could another no hassle location do. 6) As a guerilla filmmaker, look at your screenplay objectively and say is this scene absolutely necessary to the story. If not, cut it. Most films by guerilla filmmakers are over written, so cut the film down to its bare bones to make the film easier to shoot. I know it's painful just think to yourself that you'll keep that perfect scene for another film. This will also cut the production budget down. 7) Develop trust. Tell everyone you know that you're making a film and that you may need their help. People love to be asked to help. 8) Do all the leg work yourself. Don't hire an assistant to scout out locations and take pictures. Only studios and well funded independent films can afford that. Do it yourself. It'll be worth it as you'll know the location, the locations owners, the area etc. It's all part of developing trust. Crew members will trust you if you can quickly answer their questions about a particular location or the film's budget. 9) Obtain the permissions that you can get. During the making of my film, The Greenwich Village Massacre, I had a few shots on a subway train. To get permission would have taken months so we just jumped on and began filming. After about an hour we got asked to leave and told off, but it was worth it. I'd got my shots. However, don't just rock up to a bar and begin shooting. Owners tend to get upset and they'll more than likely give you permission anyway given a few days/weeks notice. Also if you've shot a protected view, the owners of that view could prevent you from releasing your film until you've paid them. So be careful do your research. 10) Plan your schedule out so that you know what's happening every minute of every day. Do any final test shoots. Plan you're shooting style. Check your location is still available. Cut the script some more, there is always a scene that can go. Run over your budget again. Confirm your actors and crew. Test unfamiliar equipment. Know where every prop and piece of equipment is coming from and cut the script some more.... These tips for pre production may look as though they only apply to fiction films but they actually apply to almost any kind of film, even the most experimental!
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Q & A with DIY Film Location Owner Tim Beasley
Your Pre Production Stories
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