The success of a movie shoot highly depends on the preparations done prior to the actual filming process. This primarily involves reading through the script and making a script breakdown. For the breakdown, the crucial elements on a sequence including the characters, props, sets and brief description of what happens on the sequence are listed down on a tabular document. This breakdown makes it easier to plan which locations to first shoot, which actors to call for each shooting day and which props and locations are needed for each scheduled filming. This document becomes the basis for the film's shooting schedule to ensure that the filming sequence would benefit the production in terms of its artistic, technical and logistic needs.
A movie shoot is often scheduled on a per location basis. This involves planning whether to shoot interior or exterior scenes and if there are any shots that should be filmed using a chroma screen. While a number of sequences in movies are typically shot on location--whether these are houses, buildings, parks or other places--there are situations that require the use of movie studios and chroma backgrounds, also known as green or blue screens. Ideally, the shots on each location are shot together in a single shooting day before the production moves on to another location. This practical approach makes it easier to finish filming all the sequences, as transferring from one location to another demands time and effort.
Filming shots with special effects or those that require the use of challenging equipment usually entails doing test shoots to make sure that the effects will work during the actual shoot. These special effects may be mechanical effects that are shot live or optical effects that are generated and incorporated into the movie during the film's post-production. Popular mechanical effects used in movie productions include smoke machines, puppets and animatronic animals, makeup and prosthetic effects and real-life explosion effects. Meanwhile, optical effects use computer-generated imagery (CGI) through image, graphics, animation or 3D-modeling software programs. These allow the creation of the necessary images that can complete the movie's varying shot requirements.
Because film footage isn't typically shot in chronological order, editing the film sequences would mean following a suitable workflow to properly assemble the movie's rough cut. From here, the assembled footage gets polished according to the script's requirements. Some shots are simply cut and spliced together, but other shots use transition effects to make the storytelling more effective. The techniques used in editing these sequences involve matching the shots in consideration with their physical and thematic continuities. For instance, the actor's action in the first shot should match the continuous action shown on the shot that follows it. Synching the sound and video is also crucial to the success of the movie's final edit.