Blog
Articles on filmmaking technique, production planning, and industry knowledge.
Showing 9 of 9 posts
How to Write a Film Budget Estimate Before the Script Is Done (ROM Budget)
A ROM (rough order of magnitude) budget lets you test whether a film is financeable before you write the script. Covers the top-down estimation method, daily rate multiplication, category percentages, and three real production scenarios with 2026 cost benchmarks.
How to Write a Shot List That Your Crew Will Actually Use
The difference between a shot list that looks good in pre-production and one that functions on set. Covers notation conventions, sequencing by setup efficiency, and how to adapt the list in real time.
How to Build a One-Page Call Sheet That Works: Department by Department
A call sheet is not a formality - it is the document that allows 20 people to show up at the right place, at the right time, ready for the right work. A complete guide to every section, every field, and the mistakes that produce crew confusion on day one.
What a 1st AD Actually Does All Day: The Invisible Management Layer That Keeps a Set Running
First assistant directors are the most important person on a film set that most audiences have never heard of. A complete breakdown of what a 1st AD does from prep through wrap - the scheduling math, the on-set command structure, the communication protocols, and what happens when the system breaks down.
Time Lapse on a Budget: Calculating Intervals, Battery Life, and Card Space Before You Leave the House
A complete pre-production calculation guide for time lapse photography - covering interval calculation for any desired playback duration, battery life estimation, card capacity planning, and the gear decisions that prevent arriving at a location without enough resources to complete the shot.
How Many SSDs Do You Need for a Feature Film? A Pre-Production Calculation Guide
A step-by-step pre-production calculation guide for determining exactly how many SSDs or hard drives a feature film production needs, covering acquisition volume, backup redundancy, proxy storage, and the timing of drive purchases versus rentals.
How to Pre-Visualise a Location Scout Using Your Lens Calculator
A step-by-step workflow for DPs and directors who want to leave a tech scout with confirmed lens choices, camera positions, and frame sizes locked - using field of view calculations tied to real distances measured on location.
Field of View Calculator: How to Pre-Visualize Any Lens Before Renting It
Renting a lens without calculating its field of view on your specific sensor is the most expensive guessing game in cinematography. Two minutes with a field of view calculator tells you exactly what a 35mm looks like on your body versus a reference film, which lens matches the director's visual reference, and whether the rental is worth the cost.
The Perfect Call Sheet: What Every Department Head Actually Needs to See
A dissection of the professional call sheet - what each section does, what information is non-negotiable, how to format weather and location details, and the mistakes first-time ADs always make.