How to plan a TikTok shoot
When we shoot for TikTok, we take a ‘batch filming’ approach — that is, recording the video clips we’ll need to edit most of our posts for a month.
TikTok ‘reward’ accounts that post regularly, meaning large amounts of content are needed - which is how we doubled Patty&Bun’s following on the platform.
Batch creating is a great time-saver for us as a creative agency. Clients and collaborators also find it useful — because we have everything planned in advance, they’re able to review our ideas and offer feedback.
We’ll record the ideas the client likes, then work on cutting together the publishable videos, marking some clips as ‘evergreen’ so we know we’ll be able to use them again.
There’s always a chance we might have to do some ad-hoc shoots here and there to make the most of trend-based ideas.
Ultimately, the TikToks we create during a typical month might be made up of roughly:
70% clips captured during the main pre-planned shoot
20% videos we make unexpectedly to hop on trending sounds or memes
10% evergreen footage that we can reuse in a creative way
Here’s a guide on how we plan out those ‘main’ shoots. It’s a powerful way of working, for agencies, creators, and business owners.
Step 1: deciding which videos to shoot
First, we get everyone together who’s working on a particular client or project, and put all of our ideas — all of them, don’t be too selective at this stage! — in a document.
Then, we open a new spreadsheet and start putting all those ideas into one of four columns:
Evergreen Content
Videos that can be used pretty much any time, regardless of weather, season, or campaign focus
Seasonal/
Campaign
Videos that will likely only work for a limited time, due to seasonal promotions and campaigns with specific focuses
Responsive
Videos which addresses specific customer queries, and which may use systems like TikTok’s ‘reply to comment with video’ feature
Trending
Videos which would require the quickest turnaround and publication, due to the idea being based on an extremely short-lived trend or meme
Doing this immediately gives everyone on the team some clarity on what should be shot first, and which concepts can be cut loose if they’re not captured by the time the shoot ends.
Depending on how savvy the client is with TikTok, this could be enough to share with them to get feedback on your ideas. If they’re not so familiar with TikTok, the following step might be a better time to start bringing them into the conversation.
UK burger restaurant Patty&Bun always have monthly specials, so we know to include the limited-time dishes as a focus of each shoot.
By asking the culinary team what the special is ahead of time, we can identify the visual strengths of the burger and note them in our shot plans.
@pattyandbun Tasty track, tasty special 🤌⚾️ #bbqburntends #burgers #burgertok #mlbeurope #stlouiscardinals #londonfoodie ♬ original sound - Patty&Bun
Step 2: planning how to shoot the videos
Next, add a second tab in your spreadsheet and make ‘Idea’, ‘Where’, ‘Who’, and ‘What’ columns. Copy each idea into the ‘Idea’ column, and begin filling out the others:
WHERE: what’s the setting for the video? Will it require more than one backdrop, and if so, can you source a location which serves all the settings your ideas call for?
WHO: are you or your client going to appear in the TikToks, and if not, who’ll be the face of the videos?
WHAT: anything additional you might need, like furniture, props, lights, client products, etc.
Once you’ve got the essentials written out, add a few more columns: something like ‘Editing Technique’ and ‘Alt’.
Many TikToks rely on specific in-camera actions to make transitions work, such as whip-pans and match-cuts. The ‘Editing Technique’ column can be a space for notes to help guide the person behind the camera in how to get these special shots.
Then there’s the ‘Alt’ column, which offers a bit of contingency with an alternative way of achieving the same idea, just in case certain circumstances make the first concept too difficult to capture.
If certain ideas are based on TikTok trends or wider internet memes, consider adding one final column with links to TikTok videos that act as examples of what you’re planning to shoot.
This is an incredibly helpful document to share with the client, and it also contains the kind of granularity that really helps creators and teams understand the vision.
In the lead-up to Caravanserai Brighton — an immersive pop-up festival that formed part of the Brighton Fringe line-up for 2023 — we used trends and transitions to amplify the limited footage we were able to capture during the earlier days of the event site build.
This allowed us to use footage multiple times in both planned and unplanned ways.
@caravanseraibrighton Help a girl out… 🙏🏼🥺 The Caravanserai pop up festival opens its door to Brighton this Friday the 5th of May🎠🎟️🎡 Search ‘Caravanserai Brighton Fringe’ to find out more! #theofficecapcut #workinginsocialmedia #marketing #1000follower #helpagirlout #socialmediabelike #workinginmarketing #workingintiktok ♬ original sound - CaravanseraiBrighton
Step 3: planning the shoot
Now it’s time to start planning the shoot itself. Create another tab in your spreadsheet and use the ‘Where’ and ‘Who’ columns from the previous step to group shots by location and featured talent.
Let’s say you’re shooting in a restaurant, and have plans to get: a. establishing shots of the venue’s exterior, and b. footage of an actor/model eating some food.
If you’re due to arrive an hour before the on-camera talent, front-load your shoot with all the visuals that don’t require them — in this case, the shots of the restaurant façade.
Also consider environmental factors like lighting and atmosphere when planning out a day-long shoot. Close-up shots of food can benefit a lot from natural light, so it’s often best to focus on meals earlier in the day and then transition to capturing elements of the client’s evening/nighttime ‘vibes’, e.g. cocktails, music, etc. when the restaurant gets darker and busier.
This also applies to at-home or in-office shoots. You might be capturing videos of products in different parts of your house or office, like a kitchen, a balcony, or a garden.
It’s likely easiest to shoot in the garden during the earlier hours when it’s light out, then shift inside with some studio lights to keep the videos consistently-lit, even when the natural light coming in through the windows starts to fade.
Try to approximate how long you’ll need in each location, and be sure to include breaks/lunch in the schedule — shooting video takes a lot more energy than some might think!
Having a video schedule planned out in advance also makes it easier to instruct influencers on what to shoot. For our work with luxury skincare brand Tiger Lillies Skin Food, we would give creators varying levels of specificity. If we liked their established style of video, we’d simply tell them which products to feature in their TikToks. For other influencers, we would give them distinct messaging to include in their videos.
Step 4: sourcing equipment
You know when the shoot is happening, where it’s happening, and who’s involved. Now you need the final piece of the puzzle: your equipment.
A smartphone should always be the first choice of camera for social video, because footage shot on a phone just has that anyone-can-shoot-like-this ‘TikTok look’ about it.
Make sure all props are ready. Shooting products? Ensure they’re shipped to where you’re filming ahead of the shoot. Shooting fashion? Check that the clothes will be ready, that they fit the model, and that the model has a space to change in. Shooting food? Make sure the kitchen staff know to expect you, and instruct them on how to bring out the food, i.e. all at once vs. dish-by-dish.
And then, one final detail: add a spot on the spreadsheet for the contact info of everyone involved with filming. This’ll be a life-saver for communicating last-minute changes on the day.
Once this is written up, your spreadsheet will be complete with all your video ideas, all the gear and people you’ll need, and when and where the shoot is happening.
Step 5: the day of the shoot
It’s time! Before the shoot gets underway, double-check all the filmmaking essentials: the camera/phone is charged, there’s sufficient storage on the device, and chargers are packed for re-upping the battery during breaks.
Follow the shoot schedule you’ve done so well to prepare, but don’t be afraid to improvise if new ideas pop up naturally during the day — particularly if last-minute challenges make certain sections of the day impossible.
When the day wraps, ensure the person in charge of editing has all the files, or agree a deadline by which everyone who has clips on their devices must transfer the files to the editor (through a service like Google Drive or WeTransfer).
And that’s that! Give yourself a pat on the back, dive into the editing workflow, and start sharing videos with the client for approval. Get publishing, then begin the planning process all over again. Like a TikTok, this process loops forever...