Rabiger Directing: Film Techniques & Aesthetics 4ed Part 5 Checklist Page 1

PART 5: PREPRODUCTION
These stage by stage reminders should help you along. Derived from their chapters, they
may also reflect pertinent information from other parts of the book. To locate further
information, use either the Part’s table of contents or the index at the back of the book.

Chapter 17 Acting Fundamentals

(No checklist notes)

Chapter 18 Directing Actors

A. Actors:
a. Learn to see actors’ obstacles and figure out how to remove them. 
b. Learn to be an acting coach. Unless you hire top talent, you’ll need it. 
c. Working with non-actors teaches you much that you’ll need to direct 
trained actors.
d. Lower actors’ fears by developing your ensemble prior to shooting. 
e. The camera sees and hears everything, so actors must not “perform,” 
they must be.
f. An actor’s self-image may be threatened when he plays the 
contemptible parts of his character.
g. For authenticity, find the good in the bad character, and the faults in 
the good one.
h. Try making your mantra “Nothing human is alien to me.” 
B. Rehearsal:
a. Actors study the piece and make character biographies, but do not yet 
learn lines.
b. Director and actors break scene into dramatic units, with clear 
developmental steps to achieve within each unit.
c. Director encourages the search for action and movement. 
d. Director meets principal actors singly to discuss their characters. 
e. Expect actors to problem-solve. 
f. Keep notes during each run-through so you can give accurate 
feedback.
g. Actors should play the scene, not the lines. 
C. Focusing thematic purpose with the players:
a. Discuss backstory and purpose of the piece with your cast. 
b. Discuss subtext for key scenes and what it reveals about the 
characters.
c. Develop a hierarchy of themes so you know which is more important. 
D. Rehearsal without the Book:
a. Dialogue should be a verbal action seeking to affect the person 
addressed.
Rabiger Directing: Film Techniques & Aesthetics 4ed Part 5 Checklist Page 2

b. Because film actors have no audience, they should be

indistinguishable from real people coping with a real situation.
c. When an actor keeps losing focus, figure out the obstacle. 
d. Staying in character comes from maintaining the character’s thoughts 
and actions.
e. Focus leads to relaxation. Lack of relaxation is loss of focus. 
f. Learn the faces, bodies, and voices of your cast, so you can 
immediately spot inappropriate tension.
g. Authentic physical action during performance liberates authentic 
emotion.
h. Use improv to set level of focus to be matched when you work with 
the text.
i. Give local, specific, positive goals for actors to reach. 
j. Characters’ actions usually seek to affect other characters. 
E. Reviewing the Taped Scene:
a. What does it communicate when viewed without sound? 
b. Is the cast using space effectively? 
c. Are characters fully using their physical surroundings? 
d. Can you see the characters’ visions, memories, and imaginations at 
work?
e. Is each character pursuing an agenda? 
F. Thinking Ahead about Coverage:
a. Set a timing limit for the scene and keep tabs on rehearsal timings. 
b. Prepare cast for blocking changes during shooting (often necessary). 
c. Cut dialogue or action to stay within timing goals. 
d. Note intentions for each scene while your memory is fresh. 

Chapter 19 Acting Improvisation Exercises

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Chapter 20 Acting Exercises with a Text

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Chapter 21 Casting
A. Organizing the Audition:
a. Write brief character descriptions; advertise appropriately. 
b. Actively search out likely participants for audition. 
c. Pre-interview on phone before giving an audition slot. 
d. Explain time and energy commitment. 
e. Ask actor to come with two contrasting monologues learned by heart 
B. First Audition:
a. Receptionist chats with actors while they fill out information form. 
b. See actor’s monologues and classify his or her self-image. 
c. Look for acting with whole body, not just face. 
Rabiger Directing: Film Techniques & Aesthetics 4ed Part 5 Checklist Page 3

d. Listen for power and associations of actor’s voice. 

e. Ask yourself, “What kind of character would I get from this actor?” 
f. Thank actors and give date by which decision will be communicated. 
C. Decisions before callback:
a. Call each actor and inform whether he or she is wanted for callback. 
b. During rejections, tell each actor something positive about his or her 
performance.
c. Avoid casting people for their real-life negative traits. 
d. Carefully examine recordings for what comes from the screen. Your 
impressions and intuitions here are everything.
D. Callback:
a. Combine promising actors in different permutations. 
b. Have actors play parts in different ways to assess their capacity for 
change.
c. Consider testing spontaneous creativity with improvisations based on 
the piece’s issues.
d. Redirect second improv version to see how actors handle changes. 
E. Assess each actor’s,
a. Impact. 
b. Rhythm and movements. 
c. Patterns of development. 
d. Quickness of mind. 
e. Compatibility with other cast members. 
f. Ability for mimicry (accents, character specialties, etc.) 
g. Capacity for holding onto both new and old instructions. 
h. Intelligence. 
i. Temperament. 
j. Type of mind. 
k. Commitment to acting and to this particular project. 
l. Concentration and attention span. 
F. At the end:
a. Shoot camera test on principals. 
b. Consider confronting marginal actors with your reservations before 
casting.
c. Thank all for taking part and arrange date for notification. 

Chapter 22 Exploring the Script

A. Timing:
a. Know your story’s optimal length and work to stay within it. 
b. Run regular time checks during rehearsal and shooting. 
c. Tailor the story to fit the commercial or other “slot” in which you aim 
to have your film shown.
B. Development
a. Expect to develop the script 
b. Particularly expect to develop a script you wrote yourself. 
Rabiger Directing: Film Techniques & Aesthetics 4ed Part 5 Checklist Page 4

c. Decide whether yours is intrinsically a cinematic or a theatrical film 

—and develop it accordingly. One is dialogue-centered, the other
centered on behavior and imagery.
d. Work to picturize the script. 
C. Break the script into
a. its units 
b. a breakdown 
c. a budget 
D. Define subtexts and metaphors
a. Make a block diagram of the plot 
b. Graph tension and beats 
c. Check scene timings 

Chapter 23 Actor and Director Prepare a Scene

A. Actor preparation
a. Make sure sketchily trained cast members understand how to prepare 
(see itemization in chapter)
B. Director preparation (see itemization in chapter) 
C. Script Interpretation: 
a. Check all points under “Script Editing” section.
b. Determine the givens. 
c. Where possible, convert conversation into action that would relay the 
story without sound.
d. Make sure screenplay establishes facts and necessary values for 
audience.
e. For each scene define point of view, subtexts, and pressures the 
characters want to keep hidden.
f. Graph dramatic pressure changes for each scene, then string them 
together to graph out dramatic development for the film as a whole.
D. Meaning:
a. After covering what actors must do (see A above) the director must
also:
i. define each conflict in each scene
ii. figure out how to heighten dramatic tension 
iii. give each scene a name that summarizes its function 
iv. review the thematic purpose of the whole work. 
E. For scenes and their characters, the director must decide
a. Where changes take place in characters that should produce changes 
in their rhythms
b. Each scene’s obligatory moment. 
F. Directing Actors:
a. Give actors private, personal feedback and encouragement from time 
to time.
b. Be careful to treat your cast in an egalitarian way and to let no 
preferences or antipathies show.
Rabiger Directing: Film Techniques & Aesthetics 4ed Part 5 Checklist Page 5

c. Make each character active in his or her surroundings. 

d. Each situation is an opportunity to reveal something new about the 
characters through their behavior.
e. Make sure each character has plenty to do, externally or internally. 
f. If they need it, remind actors where their character is coming from, 
both physically and emotionally.
g. Be relaxed to avoid signaling your tension to the cast. 
h. Support, question, and challenge. Make lots of interesting demands. 
i. Feed in the unexpected by side-coaching if a scene needs 
refreshment.
j. Be ready to attenuate the speed of any action covered in close-up to 
accommodate the camera

Chapter 24 Initial Meetings with the Cast

A. Set up rehearsal schedule 
B. Demonstrate use of rehearsal space 
C. Introduce the project as significant and exciting to you. 
D. Show locations to the cast if possible, to awaken their imaginations. 
E. Directing while working with the book:
a. Make all notes without ever taking your eyes off the players 
b. At table reading work on meaning, not acting 
c. Don’t intellectualize, think out loud, or prolong disagreements 
d. Deal with each act separately and consolidate its function
e. Construct meaning of scenes with your players, beat by beat. 
f. Rehearse according to needs of scenes and energies of players 
g. Be ready to parry actors wanting to negotiate their character’s 
“bad” parts, or to derail any other aspects of mission creep.
h. Get actors to decide what their character would do in each 
situation, so you start generating “business”
i. Deal only with top layer of problems. 
j. Keep thematic meanings in mind. 
F.Rehearsal with the Book:
a. Tackle key scenes first. 
b. Establish what links these scenes. 
c. Deal only with top level of a scene’s problems at each pass. 
d. Work on motivations. 
e. Develop possible actions and movements. 
f. Find and characterize the beats. 
g. Within each dramatic unit, figure out the stages of escalation that 
lead to the beat.
h. Pay special attention to actions at beat points. 
i. Rehearse on location or thoroughly brief actors on particularities 
of location.
j. Now actors can learn their lines! 
Rabiger Directing: Film Techniques & Aesthetics 4ed Part 5 Checklist Page 6

Chapter 25 Rehearsals and Planning Coverage

A. Take actors off book and concentrate on
a. Developing actions and business further. 
b. Using space meaningfully. 
c. Turning thought and will into action. 
d. Any lack of inner life, particularly during reactions. 
B. Initially block the scene according to what actors feel their characters need. 
C. Remediate problems as you find them, in priority order. 
D. Make the setting integral to the scene, not just a container or backdrop. 
E. Develop anything that characters misperceive—it’s fertile ground for 
heightening tension, especially in comedy
F. Make sure your players are really listening and reacting to each other. 
G. Get your cast to play the scene, not the lines. 
H. First be an acute Observer, then decide how the Storyteller relays the story in 
a nuanced and inflected way.
I. Tape rehearsals but think long and hard before showing anything to the cast. 
J. Rehearsing and taping means you make your movie many times over before 
the final version.
K. Check scene timings. Actors’ business makes scenes last longer but feel 
shorter.

Chapter 26 Production Design

A. Visual design:
a. Research the era and world the characters live in. 
b. What is that world’s characteristic palette? 
c. What are the characteristic clothes and colors? 
d. How do the characters contrast with each other, and how is this 
reflected in costuming, hair, make-up?
e. What objects, furniture, and surroundings are peculiar to the 
characters?
B. Define the succession of moods in the film 
a. How is this reflected in lighting and color schemes? 
b. What is the color progression through the film? 
C. Sound:
a. Characteristic atmosphere for time and place in each location 
b. What kind of sound perspectives are you aiming for? 
c. What moods will be created mostly through sound? 
d. Can you intersperse loud and quiet scenes? 
e. Can you use silence?—it’s sometimes very effective. 
f. Where do you expect to use music? 
Rabiger Directing: Film Techniques & Aesthetics 4ed Part 5 Checklist Page 7

Chapter 27 The Preproduction Meeting and Deciding Equipment

A. Scheduling and reconnaissance:
a. Be pessimistic when scheduling; you can always shorten one too long. 
b. Schedule early shooting for a slower pace. 
c. Place scenes that are key or especially demanding thoughtfully in the 
shooting order and in order of the shooting day.
d. Schedule contingency alternatives (in case of bad weather, etc.). 
e. Crews need a printed schedule, map details, and contact phone 
numbers.
B. Food & lodging:
a. PM should double-check all arrangements for locations. 
b. Conserve time by bringing food to the unit, not the unit to the food. 
C. Location scouting:
a. Check location with a compass to assess available light’s direction. 
b. Map out electrical supplies, permissible loadings, circuits, and their 
fuses.
c. Check that permission will be forthcoming. 
D. Equipment:
a. Want-lists prepared and budgeted. 
b. All equipment thoroughly justified and tested. 
c. Spares, tools, and other breakdown resources included. 
E. Budget:
a. Budget entered in film budgeting software. 
b. Contains contingency percentage. 
c. Postproduction methods worked out and budgeted 
F. Arrangements have been made to shoot production publicity stills. 
G. Cost flow reporting is organized. 
H. Necessary insurances have been arranged. 
I. Permissions and contracts obtained or sent. 
J. Locations and police permits for exteriors obtained. 
K. Especially for locations:
a. Supply first aid and basic medicine kit. 
b. Locate toilets and emergency medical facilities. 
c. Nearest point for equipment repairs, spares, and dealers. 
L. Organizational:
a. PM should prepare daily cost projection. 
b. Everyone knows their responsibilities. Every area of the undertaking 
has one person clearly responsible.
M. Etiquette:
a. Establish protocols with crew for relating to actors. 
b. Establish protocols with crew & actors for relating to the public. 
N. Hold a potluck party before shooting so you start out with good morale. 
O. Warn actors that shooting is s-l-o-w, so they should bring books, cards, chess, 
a yoga mat, whatever.