Road to Workaholism
January 15 , 2010

Pre-production is well underway for Workaholics Anonymous, and as late-February's filming inches closer, the Rab staff works around the clock to make sure everything runs seemlessly.

"Aside from getting the casting done," said Producer Allison Freitas, "there are a lot of other production elements that we have to take care of... [such as] scheduling, location scouting, renting special equipment."

Earlier this week, the Rab team finalized a shooting schedule for the film. After every scene in the script is broken down and analyzed, they are each given their own reference sheet (or Breakdown Sheet), which "lays out every little detail of each scene," according to Director Robert Bartolome. "It tells us which cast members are in needed, and what vehicles or props we will need, and so on."

Breakdown Sheets (right) and Production
Boards (left) are essential
tools in pre-production.

Each Breakdown Sheets is then condensed into a long spreadsheet strip, which will be part of the Production Board. "It may look a little overwhelming at first," commented Freitas, "but it's the best way to see everything at once."

Colored strips help indicate whether the scene is indoors or outdoors, as well as the time of day. For example, yellow indicates an exterior day scene, where blue stands for an interior scene at night. The strips are then examined and re-ordered, based on these and many other details.

"Planning is the most important part of any film production," Freitas concluded. "We're doing all the dirty work now, so that the actual filming is as relaxed and enjoyable as it can be."

Visit allworkaholics.com for production news and updates.

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