a filmmaker's pre-shoot checklist

This morning I'm gearing up for a narrative short film shooting this afternoon. One of the things that separates the pros from the amatures is that pros arrive prepared. While that might sound obvious on the surface, it often takes some rough experiences to grasp how important good prep really is.

Here's the basic checklist I always go through when I'm heading out to a shooting location...

I may not use all of this on every shoot, but nothing's more frustrating than discovering you needed something you actually owned or had access to but didn't bother to bring. And it's ten times worse when you're shooting overseas.

The first thing to remember is to keep the batteries for your gear charged. It often takes more than an hour or more to charge all your camera and audio rig batteries in a pinch. It's just sad to render thousands of dollars of gear useless because the batteries are all dead.

Now onto the actual gear -

CAMERA
1. Camera body (bodies)
2. Lens & hoods
3. Lens filters, especially ND
4. Memory cards (always multiples)
5. Batteries (multiples)
6. Viewfinder / hood
7. White balance card
8. LCD monitor
One other check I like to do before I get to the location is to make sure the cameras are as closed to matched as possible. I try my best to guess what framerate and color profile I want to use and make sure the camera are all matched and ready to rock.

STABILIZATION
1. Tripods (always multiples)
2. Dolly / Slider
3. Stedicam / MiniMotion rig
4. Shoulder Mount rig

LIGHTING
1. Lighting fixtures and stands
2. Softboxes and/or other deffusion
3. Reflectors
4. Extension cords
5. Battery-powered LCD light panel
While you'll notice that I'm a huge fan using natural light, your biases and preferences should never get in the way of doing what's right for the shot. You'd be surprised how often 'found light'-looking shots are actually subtly being reinforced with great lighting...

AUDIO
1. Shotgun mic & stand
2. Lav mic rig
3. XLR cables
4. Field audio recorder (Tascam DR-100)
5. Windscreens for mics
6. Extra Batteries
7. HEADPHONES - my big memory-weakness

IPHONE
I know this one seems weird, but there are a whole lot of ways an iPhone can really help you out in the field. Did you know an iPhone can serve as a great slate for shooting with independant audio and multiple cameras? Did you know it makes a pretty great light meter? It can also serve as a makeshift level. You can even turn it into a telestrator if you really need it. Something to consider...

Hope that helps. One last thought - while I've never needed them in the field, I have a lot of friends who swear by mini-sandbags and gaffers tape. Might not be a bad idea to keep some in your trunk.

So what did I miss? Leave a COMMENT and let me know...