A seasoned Cinematographer doesn’t just turn up to a shoot and hit record. There are 1001 things they take into consideration and plan for ahead of time. A Cinematographers Pre-Production begins as soon as they get the script. It’s called a Script Breakdown.

Jim Denault ASC is a professional cinematographer, who talks in this video about how he breaks down the script in an aesthetic as well as a technical and practical point of view.

These tips are great for any size production as they show you how to learn precise, effective, artistic and technical approaches to shooting.

Remember, there is no 100% correct way of breaking down a script. But this video gives a great insight on how a professional cinematographer goes about the process. Takes notes and tips from it and start to develop your own techniques to get the best out of your own style and skills.

Get down as much information as you can on style, camera movements, technical aspects of each scene. This will help in other stages of Pre-Production when discussing the scenes with the director, and figuring out what equipment will be needed. It will also come into play during production.

If you know exactly what you want and have all the information written or sketched down, it will make conveying that info to other crew members a lot easier and quicker. Also in Post Production, the info will help the colour corrector especially, know the kind of look you are after.

A Cinematographers Pre-Production

This is one of the free clips from the Creative Live Cinematographers Course. Jim Denault has been a cinematographer on a number of feature films and TV shows. Most recently he was the cinematographer on the Pitch Perfect 2 feature film. You can find his personal website here: www.jimdenault.com