How to Run an Ad Film Shoot End to End: Pre-Production to Delivery

In short: an ad film job moves through eight stages — brief, quotation, pre-production, crew and gear, shoot days, post-production, delivery, and closing the numbers. Most overruns come from the hand-offs between stages, not from the shoot itself. Keeping every stage in one project — schedule, crew, equipment, costs and edit status — is what lets a production house run several ad films a month without losing margin. Here is the workflow, with how it runs in DODO for video production houses.

Last updated September 2026.

Stage 1: Brief

Capture the essentials before you price anything: deliverables (a 30-second TVC, 15- and 6-second cut-downs, vertical versions), shoot days, locations, talent, timeline and the approval chain on the client side.

Common failure: "one film" turns into nine deliverables at the edit stage. Write every deliverable into the brief.

Stage 2: Quotation

Price by line: pre-production days, shoot days by crew department, equipment, locations, talent, post-production, music, and the production fee. Add GST per line if you're registered.

In DODO: build the quotation with line items and a tax percentage on each, and track it through Draft, Sent, Approved, Declined or Expired. Agree the payment plan up front — for example 50% on award, 50% on delivery — and record it as instalments with due dates on the project.

Stage 3: Pre-production

Script and storyboard sign-off, recce, casting, location permissions, shot list and the production schedule. This is where film pre-production tools shine; for a production house the key is that the dates, locations and people end up in the same place as the budget.

In DODO: track pre-production steps (script, shot list, recce) as workflow tasks on the project with owners and deadlines, so the producer isn't chasing status on WhatsApp.

Stage 4: Crew and equipment

Crew

Ad films pull in a large freelance crew for a few days: DOP, focus puller, gaffer, grips, art, make-up, sound. Each person has a day rate, and some have night or overtime rates.

In DODO: add each shoot day as a shoot phase with its date, location, shift (Day, Night or Full Day) and call time, then assign crew per phase with their rate and number of days. Those become the project's crew payments. See crew payroll for production houses.

Equipment

Camera packages, lenses, lights, grip and sound — in-house or hired.

In DODO: book in-house gear to each phase; DODO checks for overlapping bookings on the same shift across all your projects. Hired equipment goes into the project's equipment rental costs so the P&L stays honest. More in our studio equipment management guide.

Stage 5: Shoot days

Send a call sheet the evening before each shoot day. Use our call sheet template for Indian shoots if you don't have one. On wrap, log what came back and in what condition.

In DODO: the team calendar shows every phase and who's on it; returned gear is logged with its condition so damaged kit is flagged before the next job.

Stage 6: Post-production

A typical ad-film post pipeline:

Stage	Owner	Output
Data management & sync	Assistant editor	Organised, backed-up footage
Offline edit	Editor	Rough cut, then director's cut
Client review	Producer	Consolidated feedback
Online & colour	Colourist	Graded master
Sound design & mix	Sound engineer	Final mix
VFX / graphics	VFX artist	Titles, clean-up, packshots
Versioning	Editor	Cut-downs, vertical versions
Delivery	Producer	Masters to agency/broadcaster

In DODO: each stage is a column on the project's Kanban board with an owner and deadline. If the edit, colour or VFX is outsourced to another house or a freelancer, track them as an editing partner with the job, rates and invoice — see outsourcing video editing without losing track.

Stage 7: Delivery

Deliver masters and versions, get written approval, and invoice the balance.

In DODO: the client sees progress and deliverables in the client portal; the balance instalment is recorded against the project when it's paid by bank transfer or UPI.

Stage 8: Close the numbers

Compare what you quoted with what you spent: crew, equipment, travel, accommodation and outsourced post.

In DODO: the project P&L shows income against every expense category, so you can see whether a two-day ad film with a 12-person crew really made the margin you priced in.

The five hand-offs that cause overruns

1. Brief → quotation: deliverables missing from the quote.
2. Quotation → schedule: shoot days change but the budget doesn't.
3. Schedule → crew: a freelancer is double-booked across two productions.
4. Shoot → post: footage and notes arrive incomplete.
5. Post → invoice: the balance invoice goes out weeks late.

Keeping the brief, schedule, crew, gear, post status and money in one production house management system removes most of these.

Frequently asked questions

What are the stages of ad film production?

Brief, quotation, pre-production, crew and equipment, shoot days, post-production, delivery, and closing the numbers.

How do production houses price an ad film?

By line item: pre-production, shoot days by department, equipment, locations, talent, post-production, music and a production fee, with GST added per line where applicable.

How are ad film crews paid in India?

Most crew are freelancers paid a day rate, sometimes with night or overtime rates. Recording rates and days when you assign crew to each shoot day means payouts come from the schedule.

What software do production houses use for ad films?

Many combine a pre-production tool for scripts and call sheets with a business system for crew, equipment, billing and post-production. DODO covers the business side for Indian production houses.

How do you stop ad films going over budget?

Track costs against the same project as the schedule and crew, update the budget when shoot days change, and review the project P&L at wrap and at delivery.