Okay, then... You have your script, your cast, your breakdowns, your equipment setup, and your locations. With all this done, what's left but to stick your actors in front of the camera and shoot?
[Do I disillusion you now, or wait until later? Aaah, better you know now...]
There's a very old saying that goes, "There's many a slip / Twixt the cup and the lip"; the reason some of these sayings get to be very old is because they're very often true.
You could have planned everything to be shot in bright, sunny weather, and the forecast is for exactly what you want... but a rogue storm cell could dump rain all over your location during the entire time your actors are available.
You could be setting up to shoot, and a police cruiser could roll up, take a look, and ask for your permit. Which you don't have, since you didn't think you'd need one, which you try to explain to the nice officer.
You could conceivably be making your "one phone call" from the local police station. Or, depending on the whims of the officer in question (and they can be quite whimsical, believe me), he could confiscate your equipment and issue you a citation to appear in court to show cause why you should get them back.
Your leading lady could be having her period. Your leading man could be dealing with a case of near-terminal acne. The dog could be suffering from worms, and dumping mounds of malodorous manure at the slightest provocation.
[My, didn't that roll trippingly off the tongue? Occasionally, I come up with some alliteration that astonishes even me.]
[And no, that isn't always hard.]
Now I don't bring up these nightmare scenarios to stop you from making a film; on the contrary, I just want to prepare you for situations that could happen, so you'll be prepared to deal with them as best you may.
For a short film like the one we've outlined in the previous instance of this conversation, chances are that none of the things I've described above will happen.
But they could.
But, for the moment, let us assume that everything goes superlatively well, and you've completed all your shots just as you planned them.
You feed, thank (and possibly pay) your actors, take your footage, and go home.
Onward to POST PRODUCTION...
