You may not be shooting a horror story, but you may feel like you’re living in one if you don’t plan for post-production during the pre-production process.

“This is the area of filmmaking people don’t like to think about,” said Chris J. Russo at a recent Film Independent education event. Russo currently serves as a technical sales manager for the ARRI Group. She previously worked at Kodak in addition to being a post-production supervisor for 11 feature films.

Not planning ahead for post can wreck the budget or put completing the film in jeopardy. “Post now begins in pre-production,” she said. “What camera are you going to use? That camera will impact the workflow. What kind of a film are you trying to make?”

Russo said not to skimp, suggesting that filmmakers hire an editor before production commences. During production the editor can keep an eye on dailies, transcoding, workflow and catch problems before they grow into expensive ones.

Waiting to hire an editor until after production wraps, on the other hand, can lead to problems and more time and money spent. “I was working with a producer who wanted to cut costs and thought it was okay to hire an editor after everything was shot,” she said. “There was footage missing, the workflow was messed up and we fell behind in our schedule because we couldn’t have a cut in a timely manner.”

It’s also critical to hire the post facility, sound editor and a post-production supervisor (if your budget permits) during pre-production, said Russo.

Here are a few other tips and tricks Russo has learned from her experience as a post-production supervisor:

• Ensure the director of photography knows the camera equipment and establishes the film’s “look” and consults with the post house before principal photography commences.

• Establishing a “look” before the shoot reduces the need for a DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) on the set.

• Be realistic about who has time to watch dailies in order to reduce costs of producing copies.

• Save money by being a decisive director and plan ahead. Know what you need to get and keep the amount of footage reasonable to reduce editorial workload and storage costs.

Glen Golightly / Film Independent Blogger