Before the Shoot: What to Prepare When You Commission a Film

Most of a film is decided before anyone presses record.

The light, the faces, the words people choose when they finally relax in front of a lens. All of that depends on choices made days earlier, usually in a short conversation that nobody thinks of as filmmaking.

If you're about to commission a film, this is what helps me help you.

Know the one thing you want people to feel

Not ten messages. One feeling. Hope, urgency, pride, trust. When I know the feeling, every decision on the day gets easier: where to stand, who to follow, when to stay quiet and keep rolling.

Tell me who will watch it

A donor, a board, a teenager scrolling on a phone. Each one watches differently. A film for social media lives or dies in its first three seconds. A film for a launch can breathe. Same story, different shape.

Choose your voices early

The strongest films are carried by real people telling their own story. Pick them early, explain what the film is for, and let them say yes properly. People who understand why they're being filmed give you honesty. People who were surprised give you nerves.

Give me the real schedule

Not the one on paper. When does the speaker actually arrive? When is lunch? Where is the quiet room? A shoot day has a rhythm. Knowing it means I'm in the right place when the moment happens, not packing up in the corridor.

Clear the space

Permissions, access, a parking spot for the gear, someone on your team who can open doors. Small things. They decide whether we spend the morning filming or waiting.

Leave room for the unplanned

Some of my favourite moments were never on the shot list. A laugh between takes. A hand on a shoulder. Plan well, then leave space for life to walk in.

Agree on what you'll receive

How long the main film is. How many short clips. Which formats. When you'll see a first cut, and how many rounds of changes. Clear answers here protect the relationship more than any contract.

Preparation isn't paperwork. It's respect: for your budget, for the people in front of the lens, and for the story you're trusting someone else to help you tell.

If you're planning something, let's talk.

~ Brian