There’s nothing like the feeling of coming up with a great idea.
One you’re sure will create a massive stir. Getting both itself and you noticed. Maybe even winning a shiny award.
And there’s nothing like the feeling of watching that idea being consigned to the bin when you find out it can’t be made on time or on budget.
Production will make or break an idea.
That’s pretty obvious when it comes to things like the location. If you can’t afford to do a helicopter shot of the Grand Canyon, then you’re not going to make it a crucial part of your campaign.
It’s why one of the first questions a creative often asks in the briefing is ‘what’s the budget?’.
But you could and should go further.
The more you know about production, the more you’ll get out of your briefs.
Find out about the process of a shoot and you’ll know how long set-ups and moves take. Then you can write your scripts in a way that gets the most out of each shot, meaning there’s less downtime and more shooting time.
Learn about cameras, lenses, lighting, angles, tracking, editing, post, effects and retouch. You’ll find simpler ways to effectively tell stories, meaning you can create more.
And don’t forget the boring business side of things like usage or location fees, there’s massive differences in the costs of things. Losing the usage fees of one model or cast member might mean you get to include the special effect that’s really going to make things rock.
All of this knowledge lets you shape your work before you get to the production stage.
Meaning you can focus on crafting and refining, not panicked rewrites or the stress of running late.
You’ll make sure fewer ideas end up on the cutting room floor.
