Pre-production is the process of planning some of the elements involved in a film, television show, play, or other performance, as distinct from production and post-production.
It involves finalizing the script, hiring the actors and crew, finding locations, determining what equipment is needed, and figuring out the budget.
Financing will generally be confirmed and many of the key elements such as principal cast members, director, and cinematographer are set.
At some point in pre-production, there will be a read-through of the script which is usually attended by all cast members with speaking parts, the director, all heads of departments, financiers, producers, and publicists.
The goal is to enter into the major recording phase of production with the basic and most promising ideas having been already established.