For an indie feature, plan on 8 to 12 weeks of pre-production once the script is locked and the money is real. A short film runs 2 to 4 weeks; a commercial can be a single week; a studio feature runs months. The length is set by the slowest thing that depends on someone else, usually cast availability and location permits, not by how fast you can do the paperwork.
How long by type of production?
| Production | Typical pre-pro | What sets the length |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-budget short | 2 to 3 weeks | One or two locations, tiny cast |
| Festival-ready short | 3 to 5 weeks | Casting, a real location, a small crew |
| Low-budget feature | 8 to 12 weeks | Cast dates, permits, full crew hire |
| Studio feature | 3 to 6 months | Sets, effects, large cast, department build |
| Commercial | 1 to 2 weeks | Client approvals, casting, one or two days |
What sets the length?
Not the paperwork. A breakdown and a budget take days, not weeks. The length is set by the tasks that wait on someone else's yes, on their timeline:
- Cast availability. Your lead is free for a three-week window in April or they are not. The shoot bends to the calendar you can get.
- Permits. A city film office wants 10 to 15 working days, more for road closures. That lead time is a wall.
- Financing. Booking crew and gear before the money is in the account risks kill fees when a date moves.
- Special elements. Stunts, minors, animals, weapons, and effects each add approvals and their own lead times.
What order does the work happen in?
Pre-production is a chain of dependencies. You cannot budget what you have not broken down, or schedule cast you have not booked. Building it backwards from the shoot date is the only way the long-lead items start early enough.
What comes next
The order above is the pre-production checklist in detail, week by week. It starts with the script breakdown and the budget, and ends with the call sheets that go out the night before Day 1.
Frequently asked questions
How long is pre-production for an indie feature?
Commonly 8 to 12 weeks once the script is locked and the money is real. Under eight weeks is possible but you are borrowing against sleep and against casting and location time you cannot compress. Big films run pre-production for months.
How long does pre-production take for a short film?
Two to four weeks for most shorts. The work is the same shape as a feature, just smaller: breakdown, budget, a little casting, one or two locations, and a call sheet. The limit is usually how fast you can lock cast and locations, not how fast you can do the paperwork.
What makes pre-production take longer?
Cast availability, location permits, and money that is not yet in the account. Anything that depends on someone else saying yes on their schedule sets the length. Stunts, animals, minors, effects, and period settings all add weeks because each brings its own approvals.
Can you shorten pre-production?
You can overlap tasks that do not depend on each other, lock the script early so nothing downstream churns, and start the long-lead items (permits, casting) first. You cannot make a city issue a permit faster or an actor free up a date. Shorten the parts you control; respect the parts you do not.
When does pre-production start?
When the script is locked enough to break down and the financing is real enough to spend against. Starting the breakdown on a script that is still changing wastes the breakdown; starting to book crew before the money exists risks paying kill fees. Lock, then begin.