Prep Meetings

Prepare for FC pre-production meetings to review schedules, logistics, creative goals, and crew readiness.

Overview

Prep meetings are a key part of the FC development and pre-production process, bringing students and faculty together to review projects, evaluate readiness, identify potential concerns, and coordinate planning across departments before production begins.

For directors in their Capstone projects, there will be 4 major meetings. Some meetings include other creative partners, particularly Directors Prep meeting, and in a lesser scale Casting and Locations. 

  1. Story Meeting
  2. Casting and Locations Meeting
  3. Directors prep
  4. Director Prepares/Storyboard Meeting

These meetings help productions address creative, logistical, technical, and safety issues early enough for meaningful adjustments to be made before filming. They also give students experience presenting projects professionally, responding to feedback constructively, and learning how collaborative production planning functions within larger filmmaking environments.

Story Meeting

Required: WR/DR • Optional: PR/PD/DP/ED

This meeting is an opportunity for writers/directors and the Writing & Directing instructors to reflect upon the story. It’s an opportunity for the director to convey their vision and explore it with the faculty. The meeting will be primarily conceptual — more about dreaming than practical logistics — but we will touch on production elements where relevant.

Post the latest draft of the script to the show’s Teams channel at least 24 hours in advance.

Optional: Any visual references that might be helpful.

Optional: Any casting hopes or possibilities.

Casting and Locations Meeting

Required: DR/PD/PR (if available)

This meeting will begin the work of bridging the gap between dream and reality: how a creative vision of the story world might translate into the practical mechanics of building it, and how a mental picture of a character might be brought to life through the casting of a specific actor. It is still an exploratory meeting, but one tailored towards how you might accomplish the grand vision — especially with regards to locations and casting possibilities.

• ASAP, but no later than 1 week prior to meeting, post and display Casting Breakdowns in Motion

• By 2:00pm the day before the meeting, post pictures and/or videos of possible locations and actors to the show’s teams channel.

• In the meeting, show and discuss video auditions of possible actors. Make sure videos are in a playable format. Regarding locations, a clear, and distinct collage of pictures, frames, ideally taken by one of the ATL members. Google images may not be an accurate representative of the project.

Director’s Prep Meeting

Required: DR/PD/PR/DP/1D/2D/AR

This meeting with the Directing and Cinematography instructors will focus on the team’s holistic vision of the film. As these preps take place on Day 2 of pre-production, a final concrete plan isn’t expected. The goal is to make this a practical, productive work meeting to help the team prepare for the film.

Our main areas of focus are team collaboration, communication, and critical thinking among all the crew members. Please be mindful of the allotted time for each department.

  • DIRECTOR CONTENT (10mins)
    • A director’s statement: a one-page document that clearly states the filmmaker’s vision.
    • Casting Choices and Clips of Actor Rehearsals
    • Visual Effects Plan and tests (If Applicable).
  • PRODUCER (10 mins)
    • The producer’s portion of the FC Prep Meeting is designed for the producer to provide a (10-Minute) top-level categorical summary of the overall logistics of the project prior to the final Greenlight Meeting, and to ensure the producer is collaborating and in communication with the films ATL. Producers will present this report to faculty during the films Directors Prep which takes place on the second day of the pre-production schedule. This is a continuation of the framework established at the end of the summer semester.
  • PRODUCTION DESIGNER CONTENT (20mins)
    • The Production Designer should present a concise Art Department Delivery Brief demonstrating the department’s readiness for production. The presentation should communicate what is ready, at risk, or unresolved—not simply the design intent.
    • Include:
    • Art Department Status: Ready, At Risk, or Not Ready, with a brief explanation.
    • Location & Set Readiness: Current photos, ground plans with north/sun orientation, set-dressing and redress needs, and access/setup concerns.
    • Scene-by-Scene Asset Readiness: Status of wardrobe, props, set dressing, hair & makeup, and special effects as applicable.
    • Continuity, Multiples & Logistics: Any relevant reset, transportation, personnel, setup, or departmental dependencies.
    • Three Threats to Delivery: Identify each challenge, its potential consequence, and the proposed mitigation.
    • Decisions Required: Clearly identify any issue that requires a decision or approval from the Director during D-Prep.
    • For story-critical environments, designers should also identify the “last layer” still needed to strengthen character, history, mood, theme, or verisimilitude.
    • The goal is not to prove that everything is finished. The goal is to demonstrate that the Art Department understands what remains, what matters most, and how it intends to get the film ready for production.
  • CINEMATOGRAPHER CONTENT (10mins)
    • Visual references that convey ideas behind the film—e.g., mood boards, tone clips, and/or look books. Keep this brief.
    • Scene Workshop – DP presents FC Workshop from Summer B.
  • 1st AD CONTENT (5mins)
    • Preliminary set-up schedule reflecting each day’s call time, shot estimations, lunch, and wrap times.
    • One line set up schedule in preliminary shooting order

Deliverables

  • All of the above items must be delivered in a single “Producer’s Package” named as ##FC_DPrep_Package. This is one presentation document (Canva, Keynote, or PowerPoint) collated by the Producer that is used by all presenters during the prep and is then sent into the show channel by the start of D-Prep. Grading is based on a competent oral presentation for each position.
  • The Director is also required to deliver a Director’s Prep version of the script with numbered scenes and a title page clearly stating this is the “Director’s Prep version”, including show# to the show channel.
  • At the end of the meeting, the 1AD will do an overview of all notes taken for the Faculty to confirm. 24 hours after the meeting, 2AD will send this ACTION PLAN with notes sent to all faculty present at the director’s prep.

THE PRESENTATION FLOW (DAY OF):

Everyone must arrive 15 minutes before the start of prep. Please ensure ALL tech checks have taken place and that materials are ready to present on the main monitor in whichever room is designated. Preps must start on time.

The 1st AD will be tasked with taking notes during the prep, making certain to document faculty concerns and related resolutions.

First:

  • PRODUCER (2 mins): Opens with the name of the show, # of the show, shoot dates, introductions of ATL and the director.

Next:

  • DIRECTOR (10 mins): Reviews the show’s creative vision, including the content listed above.

Then:

  • PRODUCER (10 mins): Presents a comprehensive logistic status report of casting, locations, and any other pertinent challenges to the specifics of the film.

Then:

  • PRODUCTION DESIGNER (20 mins): Reviews the general art direction of the film, including the content listed above

Next:

  • CINEMATOGRAPHER (10 mins): States their two biggest concerns about executing the director’s vision. Presents FC workshop footage from the summer and a brief look book.

Then:

  • 1st AD (5 mins): This section covers the scheduling logistics of the shoot, including the shooting schedule, call times, shot lists (if applicable), and production concerns.,

Over to:

  • FACULTY (45 mins): Q&A topics to be reviewed may include story, casting, PD/VFX/SPX, stunts, intimacy, cine, logistics.

Then;

  • 1st AD (5mins): Presents the resulting action plan, and will subsequently submit the action plan to the show channel.

The presentation will not be considered complete until the action plan is posted in the show channel.

“The Director Prepares” Meeting

Required: WR/DR

In this meeting, the director of the capstone project will discuss the visual plan for the film with the directing faculty. This meeting will take place a few days after pre-production has started to allow the Director and DP time develop a language and advance the vision of the film. The hope is that by the time the meeting takes place, there will be a robust visual presentation of the film, enabling discussion of key elements of the story and allowing for fruitful conversation about the film.

Required elements:

  • Coverage plans for each scene: e.g., storyboards, overhead diagrams, and any other materials that the director may think are helpful in conveying their vision (e.g., photoboards or previs of key shots).
  • Any rehearsal footage considered relevant.
  • If any locations have changed since the previous meeting, please bring pictures.
  • If any of the actors have changed since the previous meeting, also bring materials for them (reel, pictures, audition, rehearsals.)
  • Any other elements discussed during prep or before, such as: a stunt, a particular element of a scene (prop, animal, etc..), any other visual elements essential for the film for which a visual discussion might be helpful.