Planning construction progress filming: a milestone worksheet

1. Decide what the sequence should explain

Start with the change you want an audience to understand. It might be the development of a particular space or the relationship between an early stage and the finished result. Avoid putting every activity on the filming list simply because it appears on the programme.

• Audience and intended use:
• Main change the sequence should show:
• Starting condition:
• Finished condition or later comparison:
• What would a viewer need explained between them?

If your goal is a completed-project case study rather than progress coverage, use the construction project video brief to define that production first.

2. Make a card for each candidate milestone

Repeat these fields for every stage you are considering:

• Stage or visible change:
• Why it contributes to the story:
• What the camera could show:
• Likely filming window:
• Who can confirm the window:
• What must happen first:
• Will the detail remain visible afterwards?
• Priority: essential, useful or optional:

Describe a visible condition instead of relying only on a date. “This area before the next stage covers it” gives the production discussion a clearer purpose than “visit in week six”. The responsible site contact must confirm whether any proposed filming opportunity is achievable.

3. Choose comparison views to discuss

Where appropriate, identify a few features that could help viewers recognise the same area across visits. Note the direction of view, a stable reference feature and the change you hope to show.

Treat these as suggestions for the production team, not instructions to use a particular camera position. Access may change as work progresses. Any repeat view must be reassessed against current site conditions and permission.

• Proposed comparison area:
• Recognisable reference feature:
• Change to make clear:
• Access question for the next stage:
• Alternative if the view becomes unavailable:

4. Create a readiness checkpoint

Give each shortlisted visit a confirmation owner and a date for checking readiness. Distinguish “forecast”, “ready to discuss” and “confirmed with the production team”. Update the plan when a dependency changes rather than treating an old programme date as a booking.

Before reserving several visits, ask how changes, notice periods and additional attendance would be handled in the written scope. Do not assume an unused visit can move indefinitely or become another service.

5. Agree the coverage before the calendar

Review the shortlist with your production team. Which stages require a separate visit? Which could be covered together? What happens to the intended story if an essential stage cannot be filmed?

Agree the number of visits and finished outputs separately. Periodic filming does not, by itself, specify an edited film, time-lapse installation, live monitoring or a continuous record of the project.

Once a visit is agreed, use the filming-day coordination worksheet for its people, access windows and current restrictions.