Apply pre-production skills, including concept, treatment, script, storyboard and scheduling, to plan an original media artwork for a target audience

What this dot point is asking

A media artwork is won or lost in pre-production. The decisions you make on paper, what the piece is about, who it is for and how each shot will look, determine whether the production runs smoothly and whether the finished work matches your intention. Examiners and your teacher assess pre-production documents directly, so the skill is both practical and assessable.

Concept and intention

Everything begins with a clear concept: a short statement of what the work is and what it sets out to do. Tied to this is your intention, the meaning or response you want to construct, and your target audience. A focused concept keeps every later choice aligned. A vague concept, such as a film about life, gives nothing to build on; a sharp concept, such as a two-minute piece on the loneliness of a night shift, guides every code you will choose.

Script and storyboard

The script sets out the content of the work, including dialogue, action and, for some forms, voice-over and on-screen text, in a standard format. The storyboard then visualises it, drawing each shot to show framing, angle and composition. Together they translate the concept into specific, filmable images and sounds. A storyboard is where your technical and symbolic code choices become concrete, so it is also where the aesthetic of the piece is first designed.

A shot list extends the storyboard into a practical checklist: every shot needed, in the order it will be filmed rather than the order it will appear. This lets you film efficiently, capturing all shots in one location together regardless of where they fall in the final edit.

Scheduling and resourcing

Planning is not only creative. A production schedule maps what will be done when, allowing for setup, filming and contingencies. Resource planning lists the equipment, locations, cast and crew you need, and identifies what must be arranged in advance. Location recces, permissions and a realistic timeline prevent the common disaster of an ambitious plan that cannot be filmed in the time available. Health and safety planning belongs here too, identifying hazards before they become problems on the day.

An original example

Consider a student planning a two-minute media artwork on insomnia for a niche audience that enjoys atmospheric work. Their concept names the intention: to make the audience feel the disorientation of a sleepless night. The treatment describes a muted palette, slow pace and amplified ambient sound. The script is sparse, almost wordless. The storyboard designs each shot, a clock close-up, a wide of an empty room, a slow push toward a window, fixing the technical codes in advance. The shot list groups every bedroom shot together for efficient filming, and the schedule allows a full evening for the low-light setup. This planning means the shoot delivers exactly the mood the concept promised.

How this links to the rest of production

Pre-production is the foundation for the production and post-production phases. A precise storyboard makes filming faster and editing clearer, because you know what you are capturing and why. Weak planning shows up later as missing shots and a work that drifts from its intention. Strong planning is the single most reliable predictor of a strong finished media artwork.

How this maps to the exam

The practical production examination assesses an original media work and its supporting documentation, and your school assessment includes pre-production tasks directly. Your production statement of up to two A4 pages draws on your planning to explain your intention, audience and key choices. Clear, purposeful pre-production gives you the evidence to write it well.