Guide to Documentary Filmmaking Pt.5: Pre-Production 2/2 Itinerary

Me helping our DP, Matthew Pennings get the gimbal setup while filming LUTHER in Wittenberg, Germany. (My brother and on location sound man, Brendan McCaskell in the background)

Once you know what you need to film and where you need to go, it’s time to build out an itinerary. One very helpful tool for this is Google My Maps. Find each location you want to film, add your marker, add notes/pictures/location instructions that might be helpful, and move on to your next location. Here is the map from Luther:

Click on the image above to interact with the map.

After you’ve added every point on your map, you’re now ready to write out your itinerary, which goes hand-in-hand with booking flights and accommodations. In my experience, if you’re staying only one night at a location, hotels are the way to go, but if you’re staying more than one night, consider an Airbnb to save a bit of money.

Tip: If you are filming interviews on the road, getting a beautiful Airbnb lends itself to an excellent interview location.

Consider signing up for an airline/hotel membership before you start so you can get points for free flights/hotels, etc. I use United Airlines/Air Canada (part of the Star Alliance network which is the largest in the world) and Hilton Honors (you can find a Hilton property almost anywhere). I also have an account with hotels.com which is excellent for every sort of hotel you can imagine, and they have a really clear reward system: pay for ten nights, get one night free.

Here is what a sample itinerary looks like. Be sure to give it to your team so that everyone knows what to expect before and during the trip.

In part 6 we will be entering production. If you have a question or found this helpful please leave a comment below or send me an email.

Stay watchful.