While pre-production is developing and planning what will be carried out in the production phase by the groups involved – the camera crew and the art department (where there is one) – the production office is collating information as it emerges from this planning. The groups consult with each other, coordinated under the producer so that, as their plans consolidate, they remain integrated as the one project, and their various needs can be accommodated across the production. This accumulating information is gathered into a schedule of the daily shooting order of the scenes or sequences that are earmarked for production. Its extent is determined by the budget. A production cannot shoot any more material in any more different places than the budget permits. There are, however, tricks of the trade that allow some costs to be reined in by compromises in the shooting, and by so doing this allows the shoot to extend further in other areas. It's a matter of balancing priorities of what should be shot to maximise the material that is provided for post-production.

The time allocated to each scene indicates to the director how much time the budget can afford to be spent on that scene. There are different ways any scene can be shot, with some of them able to be completed faster than others. Directors will have to determine an approach to shooting a scene so that it can be completed in the time allocated.