Planning a documentary shoot: a pre-production checklist

Pre-production is everything that happens between the decision to make a film and the first day of filming: the story, the people, the places, the permissions and the plan. When planning a video shoot is rushed, the cost shows up later as missed interviews, wasted travel and footage that cannot be used.

Bond's ethical guidelines for content production make the same point from another angle: responsible story production requires time, and organisations should only produce stories they intend to use.¹ A film with a clear purpose, agreed in advance, is easier to plan, kinder to contributors and more likely to be watched.

Write a short brief before anything else. It should state who the film is for, the one thing they should understand or do after watching it, where it will be shown, its length and its deadline. From this, the director can draft a treatment: a one-page outline of the story, the main characters and the visual approach.

Research comes next. Choose contributors with the staff who know them and the context best. Bond advises that staff closest to contributors should inform the story production, be able to say no, and be consulted regularly throughout the process.¹ In our experience, a phone call with each potential contributor before the shoot is the best way to test whether a story will work on camera.

Rwandan and foreign production companies and individuals who want to film in public for documentaries and fiction films apply for a photography and video shooting permit through the IremboGov platform. The service is provided by the Ministry of Youth, and the stated processing time is four days.² The permit does not exempt the crew from formalities that local authorities may request on site, including authorisations for drones and special equipment.²

Drones need extra planning. The Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority requires drone operators to register their aircraft and hold an activity permit, remote pilots to hold a Rwandan pilot certificate, and drones to be declared to the Rwanda National Police at the point of entry.³ Build these steps into the production schedule, and ask private locations such as hospitals, schools and offices for written permission too.

Bond recommends that a risk assessment takes place during the planning phase, with input from those most familiar with the context and, where possible, from contributors themselves.¹ It also advises assigning responsibility for consent early and holding the first consent conversations before the shoot, in the contributor's own language, with sample content to show how the story might look.¹ Contributors should know they can refuse without any negative consequences and can withdraw consent for further use.¹

Plan extra care when children are involved. UNICEF asks for permission from both the child and their guardian for all interviews, obtained without coercion and in the child's language.⁴ It also states that the best interests of each child come before any other consideration.⁴ Bond advises that no member of the production team should ever be left alone with a child, and that cameras should have their location (GIS) setting switched off.¹

The production schedule turns the plan into days. Start with the fixed points: contributors' availability, events you need to film, travel times between locations and the hours of good light. Then group scenes by location rather than by story order, so the crew does not return to the same place twice.

Where you can, do a recce, a visit to each location before filming. Check the light at the time you plan to shoot, noise from roads, markets or generators, power sockets, a quiet room for interviews and a safe place for equipment. Add a buffer to every day: interviews run long, roads are slower than maps suggest and rain can stop an exterior shoot.

A call sheet is a one-page plan for a single shooting day, sent to everyone involved the evening before. It removes guesswork and gives the crew, the contributors' contact people and the commissioning partner the same information. Update it whenever plans change, and resend it rather than relying on messages scattered across several chats. A good call sheet includes:

• Date, project name and the producer's phone number.
• Call time and meeting point for the crew.
• Each location with its address, map link and on-site contact.
• The schedule of scenes and interviews, with contributor names.
• Permits and consent forms the crew must carry.
• Travel arrangements, meals and expected wrap time.
• Nearest health facility and emergency contacts.

Decisions made before filming shape the edit. The W3C advises addressing accessibility while a video is planned and produced, developing a described version at the same time as the main video where it is needed, and producing captions for both.⁵ It suggests listing these requirements in project requirements and contracts from the start.⁵

Plan, too, how contributors will see the result. Bond suggests budgeting for returning content to contributors, including staff time, travel and printing.¹ Agree a review process with your partners, the number of feedback rounds and who signs off the final cut, so that the timeline holds once filming ends.

• Brief agreed: audience, purpose, length, deadline
• Treatment and interview questions drafted
• Contributors chosen with local staff input
• Filming permit, drone permits and location permissions
• Risk assessment and consent plan completed
• Production schedule with buffers and recce notes
• Call sheet sent the evening before each shoot day
• Captions, review rounds and sign-off agreed