In advertising, preparation is compressed: a few days between script approval and the shoot, high day rates, and scripts that change until the last moment. Here are the steps of a commercial pre-production and how to save time where it matters.
In short
- Commercial pre-production moves fast: short script, tight deadlines, high day rates: every prep hour counts.
- The key steps: script breakdown, budget, scouting, PPM (pre-production meeting), schedule.
- On a short format, redoing the breakdown and budget for every script version is the real bottleneck.
What sets commercial pre-production apart
A commercial is often 20 to 60 seconds, but prepared with the same rigor as a fiction film, sometimes more, given client stakes and very high day rates.
The constraints: very short deadlines, an evolving script (agency/advertiser back-and-forth), and a PPM (pre-production meeting) where everything must be airtight: breakdown, budget, schedule, scouting.
The key steps
The chain is the same as in fiction, but compressed.
- Script analysis and breakdown (shots, sequences).
- Breakdown: sets, casting, extras, props, vehicles, effects.
- Production budget (often by the day, with heavy technical categories).
- Scouting and location approval.
- PPM: client sign-off on everything.
- Shooting schedule and call sheets.
The real bottleneck: iterating on every script version
In advertising, the script moves until the day before. Every change forces you to redo the breakdown, readjust the budget and the schedule. Done by hand, it's untenable within the deadlines.
That's exactly where an automatic breakdown is a game changer: re-import the updated script and get a new breakdown, budget and schedule in minutes, rather than a day.
Soldum for commercial pre-production
Soldum imports your script, breaks it down with AI, derives the budget and the shooting schedule, and re-aligns it all for every new version. On short, high-day-rate formats, this saved prep time translates directly into margin and peace of mind at the PPM.
What's your pre-production challenge?
Frequently asked questions
Is commercial pre-production different from fiction?
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The steps are the same (breakdown, budget, schedule) but compressed: short formats, very tight deadlines and scripts that evolve until the shoot. Iteration speed is decisive.
What is a PPM?
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The PPM (pre-production meeting) is the meeting where production presents the whole preparation to the client/advertiser: breakdown, casting, sets, budget, schedule. Everything must be approved before the shoot.
Is Soldum suited to commercials?
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Yes, particularly: short formats break down and cost very quickly, and Soldum recalculates everything for each script version: valuable when deadlines are tight.