Here at CounterTake, we take Pre-Production very seriously. It's more than just casting the best talent, hiring excellent crew, and finding perfect locations. The Pre-Production period is our chance to think through every aspect of the creative ideas and execution of our commercial, and find solutions for problems before they even become problems.

One of the best ways we do this is through the creation of an Animatic. An Animatic is a preliminary version of the commercial we are developing, using stand-in talent and locations to work through the blocking, timing, camera movement, and more before we shoot the spot for real. This process allows us to pre-vis our video in its entirety. For shoots that are technically ambitious, this is crucial for allowing us to pull off complex transitions and VFX additions seamlessly. It also allows us to lockdown timing and shot-flow, both extremely important considerations given the rigid time constraints of the commercial format.

Often we will use the opportunity to pre-scout for locations as well. Even if the locations we use for our animatic don't end up being our final locations, the process will give us a good idea of our needs for other prospective locations.

Creating an Animatic is just one of the ways CounterTake invests in thoughtful Pre-Production. By putting in the work and planning ahead we are able to have a fun, relaxed, and creative experience once we step on set to start shooting.