Last updated: 20 September 2026
A pre production checklist is twenty two items across six groups: brief and creative, talent and permissions, location, kit and tech, logistics, and insurance and admin. Work through it in that order the week before a shoot and the obvious failures, an unsigned release or an unconfirmed access window, surface while there is still time to fix them.
Most production overruns are not caused by the strategic decisions. They are caused by the obvious things. A permission form nobody signed. A location nobody confirmed access to for the day. A backup card that was never formatted. The checklist below is what I run before every shoot.
Twenty two items, grouped by the kind of failure each one prevents. Brief and creative first, because everything downstream depends on it, then talent, location, kit, logistics and admin. The order matters more than the format.
Brief and creative. 1. Written creative brief signed off by the client. 2. Shot list complete with priority tags. 3. Storyboard or shot reference document shared with the crew. 4. Single message and audience confirmed.
Talent and permissions. 5. Talent confirmed and time blocked. 6. Talent release forms signed in advance. 7. Wardrobe direction shared with talent. 8. Hair and makeup booking confirmed where relevant.
Location. 9. Location confirmed in writing with a primary contact. 10. Access window confirmed. 11. Permits or council approvals obtained where needed. 12. Backup location identified if the shoot is weather dependent.
Kit and tech. 13. Cameras, lenses, batteries and cards confirmed and packed. 14. Audio kit checked: lavaliers, boom, backup recorder. 15. Lighting kit checked: practical lights, modifiers, stands, sandbags. 16. Drone kit checked: airspace cleared, batteries charged, CASA log updated. 17. Backup drives formatted and ready.
Logistics. 18. Crew call sheet sent twenty four hours in advance. 19. Catering or food breaks planned. 20. Travel and parking confirmed for crew and talent. 21. Weather forecast checked twenty four hours before.
Insurance and admin. 22. Public liability current, certificate sent to the client or the location where it has been asked for.
Because the items at the top cause the biggest problems when they are missed. A brief that was never signed off costs a reshoot. A card that was not formatted costs ten minutes. Working top down means the expensive failures get caught first, on the days when the list does not get finished.
That is also why the list is flat. No nested categories, no project management software, nothing that needs a login on a shoot morning. It fits on one page and it reads in order.
It is portable across project sizes too. A single day of pickups runs the same twenty two items as a full campaign production. The answers get shorter, not fewer.
Start it the week before the shoot and close it the day before. The items that need someone else, a permit, a release form, a location contact, need lead time. The kit and weather items are the ones that belong in the final twenty four hours.
The call sheet is the deadline that keeps the rest honest. If the call sheet has to go out twenty four hours ahead, every item above it has to be settled by then.
My own version of item twenty two carries $20M public liability, a CASA licensed remote pilot credential for any aerial work, and a Working With Children Check when a shoot involves students. Sites across Melbourne and the Yarra Valley ask for at least one of those more often than people expect.
The checklist is a one page PDF with the twenty two items in the same order, ready to print or to keep open on a phone. Use it on your next shoot whether or not I am on it.
If a shoot is already on the calendar and you want a second pair of eyes on the brief before it locks, brand video work starts with that read through, and you can start a project from there. The first conversation is free.
How far in advance should pre production start?
A week before a standard shoot day, longer if permits, talent releases or site inductions are involved. The items that depend on someone else are the ones that set the lead time, not the kit.
Do you need a full checklist for a small shoot?
Yes, and it takes about ten minutes. The twenty two items stay the same on a half day of pickups, the answers just get shorter. Skipping the list is what turns a small job into three rounds of revisions.
What gets missed most often before a shoot?
Location access and signed releases. Both depend on somebody outside the crew replying, and both stop a shoot dead on the day. They sit high on the list for that reason.
Does a drone shoot need anything extra in pre production?
Yes. Airspace has to be cleared before the day, batteries charged, and the CASA log updated. Aerial work is the one part of the kit list that can be grounded by a rule rather than by weather.