When it comes to film scheduling, hiring a good 1st Assistant director is an invaluable part of the process. A professional 1st AD is in charge of film scheduling. He or she will take your screenplay, break it down and provide a timetable for when and where your film will be produced. This information will then be used to budget your film.
The budget will then used in your film business plan, which can be used to provide information to prospective movie investors.
How to Take Charge of Your Film Scheduling
If you're new to filmmaking… And you don't yet have the budget to hire a first assistant director, you can begin the process of breaking down your screenplay, yourself.
Breaking down the script means you go through your screenplay, numbering each scene and highlighting each element, including locations, characters, props, make up, wardrobe, picture vehicles and special FX…
All of these elements cost money. And once the script is locked, any modification you make to the story or schedule, no matter how minor or major, will subsequently impact the budget.
If money is tight, you might consider performing your own breakdown long before you bring on a 1st AD. If you go this route, I suggest doing some research on Gorilla Film Production Software or LightSpeed Eps. With these tools, you'll have some help as you break down and schedule your movie.
In the event you want more information about the mechanics of script breakdown and film scheduling, my very accomplished movie industry friend Peter Marshall put together a course on script breakdown.
I have included a video below that provides more detail.
If you're interested in learning more about Peter D. Marshall's Script Breakdown and Film Scheduling Course For Indie Filmmakers, you can CLICK HERE or just bookmark this page for a later time.
