Plan your film or video production with a Gantt chart. Covers pre-production, shooting schedule, post-production, and distribution — narrative film and commercial video.
Film and video production runs on a schedule that most people underestimate in every direction: pre-production takes longer than expected, production moves faster than expected, and post-production consistently takes 2–3 times longer than even experienced producers plan for.
A Gantt chart for film production makes the full arc of a production visible — from the moment a script is locked to the day the final deliverable goes to the broadcaster, streaming platform, or client. It coordinates the parallel workstreams (casting while location scouting, production design while crew hiring, sound mix while color grading) that happen simultaneously in every professional production. And it tells you, with specificity, whether your delivery date is achievable or fictional.
This guide covers the complete production schedule for both narrative film and commercial video production, with the specific phases, durations, and dependencies that determine whether a production ships on time.
Production is the most expensive phase of any project. A narrative feature film might spend $5,000–50,000 per shoot day. A commercial shoot for a national brand runs $15,000–100,000 per day. A corporate video production might cost $3,000–15,000 per shoot day when crew, equipment, and talent are fully costed.
When production days cost this much, wasted time due to poor pre-production planning is not just an inconvenience — it is a budget crisis. A Gantt chart that reveals a crew conflict, a missing location, or an incomplete casting process 6 weeks before the shoot is worth the 2 hours it takes to build. Discovering the same problem on the morning of day 1 of production costs far more.
Beyond production cost management, a Gantt chart serves several specific needs in film and video:
Shooting schedule optimization. Shooting every scene on a movie in script order is the most expensive possible approach. You never shoot in script order. You group scenes by location, by cast member availability, and by setup complexity. A Gantt chart, combined with a proper stripboard, shows how to minimize company moves and actor holding days while maintaining a shootable sequence.
Post-production is always underestimated. Directors and producers consistently underestimate post. A 90-minute feature film takes 6–12 months to edit, color, mix, and deliver. A 30-second commercial takes 4–6 weeks in post. These timelines are not negotiable — they are driven by the number of decisions that must be made (cut selection, color decisions, music choices, sound design passes, feedback rounds) and the technical processes that cannot be rushed (rendering, encoding, quality control). Seeing post-production on a Gantt chart, with its actual duration, stops the "we can fix it in post" magical thinking.
Distribution deadlines are hard. Film festival submission deadlines (Sundance January 15, SXSW September 1, Toronto July) do not negotiate. Broadcast delivery deadlines are contractual. Streaming platform delivery windows carry financial penalties for late delivery. These hard dates must be on the Gantt chart from day one, working backward to the first day of pre-production.
The following timeline covers a short film (15–40 minutes) or a low-to-mid-budget feature film. Commercial video production is covered separately below.
Pre-production is where a good production is made or broken. Eight weeks is the minimum for a properly resourced short film or micro-budget feature. A studio feature at any budget level requires 12–20 weeks of pre-production, often longer.
Script finalization (Weeks 1–2)
The script must be locked before pre-production can begin in earnest. "Locked" means: no new scenes, no structural changes, no new characters. Minor dialogue polish can continue, but the locked script is the one from which breakdown sheets, location lists, and budgets are produced. Shooting from an unlocked script is the most expensive mistake in film production.
Tasks:
Breakdown and Budgeting (Weeks 1–3, runs in parallel with script finalization)
The production manager and/or line producer breaks down the script into a schedule and budget:
For a narrative short film, this process takes 1–2 weeks. For a feature film, 3–4 weeks.
Casting (Weeks 2–6)
Casting timeline:
The dependency: principal cast must be cast before locations can be fully confirmed (some locations are approved only with attached talent), and before wardrobe fittings can happen. Casting and location scouting happen in parallel but both must close 2–3 weeks before the shoot start date.
Location Scouting and Permitting (Weeks 2–7)
Permit timelines vary dramatically by jurisdiction. New York City permits can be obtained in 24 hours for non-complex locations. London's film office requires 5–10 business days. National park permits in the US require 2–4 weeks. International locations may require government permissions that take 6–12 weeks. Map every permit as a milestone on the Gantt chart.
Crew Hiring (Weeks 2–5)
Crew hiring sequence:
In competitive production markets (LA, NYC, London), experienced department heads book out 4–8 weeks in advance. If you're starting pre-production without a committed DP and AD, your shoot dates are aspirational, not confirmed.
Production Design (Weeks 3–8)
The production design timeline depends heavily on the visual ambition of the project. A contemporary drama set in real apartments with minimal set dressing takes 2–3 weeks. A period film with custom set construction and period wardrobe takes 6–10 weeks.
Shot List and Storyboards (Weeks 5–8)
The shot list is the document that makes production efficient. A director who arrives on set without a shot list is deciding what to shoot after the clock is already running. That costs money.
Final pre-production week (Week 8 or Week 16 for longer prep)
Production is the shortest phase measured in total time but the highest cost phase per day. A short film typically shoots 5–15 days. A feature shoots 20–60 days (micro-budget) to 80–120 days (studio level).
Shooting schedule optimization by location
This is where a Gantt chart earns its value in production. The principle: minimize company moves (moving the entire crew and equipment from one location to another) and minimize actor holding days (days when an actor is paid but not shooting).
Group scenes by:
Track each shoot day on the Gantt chart as a one-day milestone with: location, scenes being covered, principal cast required, and special equipment or crew required. This makes the consequences of a weather day or sick actor immediately visible — which scenes can substitute, and what is the cost of each alternative.
Production reports and schedule tracking
The AD generates a daily production report showing: scenes completed, scenes planned but not completed, and the running ahead/behind-schedule status. Transfer this data weekly to your Gantt chart. If you're running 1 day behind after week 1 of production, your Gantt chart shows whether you can recover time later, or whether you need to make schedule decisions now.
Post-production is where narrative films consistently surprise their producers with how long it actually takes. The phases are sequential but each requires iteration and feedback rounds.
Picture editing (Weeks 1–16 after wrap)
Picture lock is a milestone that gates all subsequent post-production work. Sound design is built to picture lock. Music is commissioned and recorded to picture lock. Color grading is applied to picture lock. If the edit changes after lock, all of these tracks must be revised — often rebuilding weeks of work.
VFX (Weeks 8–20, running in parallel with picture editing)
VFX work begins from rough cut, not from picture lock. VFX shots are identified, bids are submitted to VFX vendors, and approved shots begin production during the later editing rounds. A feature film with substantial VFX will have VFX in progress for 12–24 weeks.
Track each VFX shot on the Gantt chart with: VFX vendor assigned, first comp due date, revision rounds planned, and final delivery date. VFX shots are frequently on the critical path for delivery — their completion gate the final grade and final mix.
Color grading (Weeks 2–4 after picture lock)
The colorist works with the director and DP to establish the final visual tone of the film. For a feature film, color grading takes 2–4 weeks. For a commercial, 2–5 days. For a short film, 1–2 weeks.
Color grading requires: picture-locked editorial, any VFX shots delivered in their final form (or with a clear flag that they're pending), and the correct delivery specifications for each output format.
Sound editorial and design (Weeks 4–8 after picture lock)
Sound editorial is often underestimated. It involves:
Music (Weeks 4–12 after picture lock)
Final mix (Weeks 1–2 after sound editorial complete)
A re-recording mixer combines all audio elements (dialogue, sound design, Foley, music) into the final mix. Feature films are typically mixed in 5.1 or Atmos for theatrical, with a stereo fold-down for streaming. The final mix takes 3–10 days for a feature film, 1–3 days for a short film.
Deliverables and mastering (Week 1–2 after color and mix complete)
Every distribution platform has different technical specifications. Delivering incorrect formats results in rejected submissions and delays. Common deliverables:
Film festival strategy (Months 6–12 after wrap, running in parallel with late post-production)
If the project is targeting film festivals, this is a parallel workstream during post-production:
A film premiere at a major festival (Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca) requires that it has not been publicly screened before. A film that has already been posted publicly to YouTube, Vimeo, or social media is typically ineligible. If you're targeting major festivals, do not publish any portion of the film online until your premiere window has closed.
Streaming and theatrical release
Streaming platform acquisition typically happens after a festival premiere. The timeline from premiere to streaming release:
For self-distribution via platforms like Vimeo On Demand, Mubi, or direct distribution to SVOD aggregators, the timeline compresses to 4–8 weeks from final delivery file to platform availability.
Commercial video production for agencies, brands, and corporate clients follows a compressed version of the same phases — but with client approval gates that don't exist in narrative film production.
Key differences:
| Phase | Narrative Film | Commercial Production |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-production | 8–16 weeks | 2–6 weeks |
| Shoot days | 20–120 days | 1–5 days |
| Post-production | 3–12 months | 2–8 weeks |
| Approval gates | Director/producer | Client, agency, legal, brand team |
| Delivery formats | DCP, streaming, broadcast | 16:9, 1:1, 9:16, multiple durations |
Commercial production approval rounds are the most significant difference. A brand video may require: director approval, agency creative director approval, brand marketing approval, legal review (for any claims made in the video), compliance review (for regulated industries), and final executive sign-off. Each round can take 3–10 business days. Budget 4–6 approval rounds in your Gantt chart, not 1.
Commercial video deliverables also fragment across formats. A 30-second hero spot may require delivery in: 30-second (broadcast and online), 15-second (pre-roll), 6-second (bumper ad), 1:1 square version for Instagram, 9:16 vertical version for Stories and Reels. Each format requires its own edit, potentially different color output, and independent quality control. Add a separate "format variants" workstream to your Gantt chart after picture lock.
The practical method for building a shooting schedule optimized by location:
In gantt-chart.io, create one task per shoot day. Label it with the location and primary scenes. Mark cast required for each day. This gives you an immediate visual of which days are heavy (many scenes, full cast) vs. light (pick-up shots, B-roll, or scenes with minimal cast), and lets you rebalance when a location falls through or weather becomes a factor.
Post-production is consistently underestimated for three reasons:
Feedback rounds expand to fill the time available. If you tell a client "we'll deliver edits in 2 weeks," they'll give you 2 weeks of notes. If you build proper rounds into the contract (Round 1: director's cut, Round 2: major revisions, Round 3: final polish, Round 4: final approval — with 5 business days per round), post-production is manageable.
Technical processes have minimums. You cannot render, color-grade, mix, and encode a 90-minute film in 3 days. The technical floor is the technical floor. A colorist working on a feature takes 2–4 weeks minimum, regardless of how urgently you need the deliverable.
Sound is always given less time than picture. Sound design and mixing is typically planned as a 2-week phase after editing completes. In reality, for a feature-length project, sound editorial alone takes 3–4 weeks, and mixing takes 1–2 more. Add proper time for ADR sessions, Foley, sound design, and the mix — these are not optional steps.
The fix: build your Gantt chart starting from the delivery date and work backward. If the delivery is firm, you'll see immediately whether the production start date is realistic. If it isn't, you either move the production start earlier or negotiate a later delivery with the distributor or client — before production begins, not 3 weeks before delivery.
Q: What is the most common post-production mistake on a first feature film?
Not locking picture before starting sound post and color. Directors who continue editing while the sound editor is building the sound design are forcing the sound editor to rebuild tracks every time a cut changes. This doubles post-production time and cost. Lock picture when the film is emotionally done, not when it's technically perfect. You can always do a sound mix correction pass later. You cannot get back the weeks spent rebuilding a sound track for an unlocked edit.
Q: How do I plan shooting days when I'm working with a child actor?
Child actors in most jurisdictions are subject to strict daily and weekly on-set hour limits (often 8–10 hours on set maximum, with mandatory rest periods and a required welfare worker or teacher present). Plan scenes involving child actors to front-load them in the shooting day — shoot child scenes in the morning when the actor is fresh and when you have the most buffer if a scene takes longer than planned. Never schedule a child actor's key dramatic scene at the end of a long shoot day.
Q: Should I plan VFX shots during pre-production or post-production?
Both. During pre-production, identify which shots will require VFX so you can plan the production photography correctly (correct camera settings for chroma key, correct lighting for digital environments, correct framing for digital characters). A VFX shot that is incorrectly photographed can become unfixable in post at any budget. During post-production, track VFX shot completion against your delivery schedule.
Q: How is a corporate video or documentary timeline different?
Corporate videos and documentaries share many phases but have different dependencies. Corporate videos have client approval gates (see commercial production section above). Documentaries often have an open-ended pre-production and production phase (you don't know exactly what you're going to capture) followed by a longer editing phase (where story structure is discovered in the edit rather than in a pre-written script). For documentaries, plan for 2–4x as much footage as you'll use and a longer editorial period — 6–18 months of editing for a feature documentary is standard.
Q: How do I budget time for music licensing?
For independent films using licensed music: budget 4–8 weeks for licensing negotiations after your track selections are confirmed. License negotiations with major labels for well-known tracks can take 3–6 months and may result in a "no" or a quote that exceeds your budget. Always have 2–3 alternative tracks for each licensed cue, so a rejected license doesn't derail your delivery schedule. For original scores, brief the composer at picture lock and give them 6–10 weeks for composition, recording, and delivery.
Go to gantt-chart.io, set your delivery or premiere date as a fixed milestone, and work backward through post, production, and pre-production. The clarity you get from seeing the full timeline — including post-production duration that is often invisible until it's too late — is the most valuable tool in production management.
For visualizing complex production workflows (approval chains, VFX pipeline stages, multi-format delivery specs), flow-chart.io handles the logic diagrams. For building pitch decks, treatment presentations, or funder proposals around your production timeline, slide-deck.io turns your Gantt chart and creative concept into a professional presentation.