Where do you even start? A movie feels like such a big undertaking, an immense, creative machine with multiple moving parts—actors and dialogue, cameras and microphones, emotion and story, and so much more. If you tried to make a list of all the things needed to make a film, you’d quickly get overwhelmed.

Luckily, you don’t need a list, because movies are not made in one gigantic sweep. Instead, they are crafted piece by piece, moment by moment; if you think of films as being like buildings, you could say they are built brick by brick.

In the next chapters, you’ll learn the initial steps. Like a building, a film must start with a strong foundation, which, for filmmakers, is the script. Without a strong script, the movie can’t be strong; it is always easiest and least costly to make sure things work on the page before you move to the stage. Scripts allow directors and designers to envision the film, scene by scene, character by character. As each collaborator joins the project, the movie begins to take shape. When you build a building there is a linear progression as to how things are built. First, there is a foundation, followed by wood frames, plumbing, electrical, a roof, etc.

With the director’s and designers’ input, the script starts to turn from a document into physical reality. The creative team’s combined vision becomes the basis for determining how the film will actually be planned, shot, edited, and completed. This is what a production manager schedules and budgets before the film gets the final go-ahead—the green light to go into production.