Useful production preparation turns a creative brief into confirmed arrangements. For a shoot in China, a visiting team and its local partners need the same understanding of the scenes, responsibilities, access and delivery. This checklist focuses on the decisions to make before the crew arrives.
1. Turn the brief into a priority list
Write down the intended audience, final outputs, essential scenes and fixed appointments. Separate required coverage from optional ideas. Share the treatment, current script, references and any technical requirements with the people arranging the local shoot.
Include the dates and exact cities, not only a broad description such as “a China filming day.” Flag travel, setup and location moves that need time outside the scheduled camera work.
2. Assign a person to each open decision
Identify who owns creative approval, the local budget, location access, crew bookings and the final handover. Keep a single list of unresolved items with a contact and decision date for each one. A provisional enquiry or equipment hold should remain visibly different from a confirmed booking.
For the division between visiting and local teams, see local shoot support in China.
3. Check each location against the scene
Confirm the address, entrance, site contact and available filming hours. Review sound, power, loading, equipment storage and working space. For interviews, agree speaker times and a suitable recording room. For workplaces, establish which activities and areas can be filmed during the visit.
Keep access that still needs assessment out of the confirmed call sheet. Record an alternative if the preferred location or filming window is uncertain.
4. Review crew and equipment together
List the roles supplied by the visiting team and those needed locally. Decide who monitors sound, handles lighting, coordinates the location and manages footage. Match the equipment package to these responsibilities and the shot plan.
Ask for specific models, quantities, accessories and acceptable alternatives. Include preparation and return dates, delivery instructions and a receiving contact. Our equipment rental guide covers package checks.
5. Leave time for the whole production day
Build in setup, interviews, company moves, meals, wrap and equipment returns. Check which tasks depend on another department finishing first. For a multi-city brief, coordinate people and equipment at each stop instead of assuming the previous day’s arrangement carries over.
For unresolved dependencies and fallback decisions, see production risk management.
6. Confirm what happens after filming
Agree file naming, copies, transfer method and the person receiving the footage. If the scope includes editing, specify versions, captions, languages, review rounds and deadlines. Put the handover in the production brief before the shoot rather than negotiating it at wrap.
Send your brief, dates and open planning questions to [email protected] to discuss local production support.