The preproduction checklist that avoids half your shoot problems

When something goes wrong on a shoot, the common reaction is to think it can be fixed in editing. It almost never can. Most production problems get avoided (or created) before the camera turns on, not after.

A few things that get overlooked more often than they should:

The script or storyboard isn't approved by everyone who needs to approve it. Shooting without that prior agreement almost always ends in reshoots.

The location wasn't checked under the actual conditions of shoot day. Light, ambient noise, space availability: all of that changes between a scouting visit and the real day.

The audio setup gets decided at the end, as an afterthought. A video with perfect image but bad audio feels unprofessional instantly; it's one of the hardest things to fix in post.

There's no plan B if something in the schedule runs late. A shoot with no margin for the unexpected turns any small delay into a big problem.

None of this replaces having a good crew behind the camera. But a solid preproduction checklist keeps that crew from having to solve, in the moment, problems that could have been prevented a week ahead.