Cross Boarding
Shooting multiple projects simultaneously to maximize location, cast, and crew efficiency across productions.
Definition
Cross boarding involves scheduling multiple film or television projects to shoot concurrently, sharing locations, cast members, or crew resources to achieve significant cost savings and logistical efficiencies.
This strategy requires careful coordination of shooting schedules, script timing, and resource allocation. Productions must maintain separate creative integrity while maximizing shared infrastructure and personnel across multiple projects.
Why It Matters
Cross boarding can reduce production costs by 20-30% through shared location fees, crew costs, and equipment rental expenses. This efficiency is particularly valuable for franchise productions or series with interconnected storylines.
The approach enables faster production schedules and can facilitate creative crossover opportunities between projects, while requiring sophisticated planning and coordination to avoid resource conflicts.
Examples in Practice
Marvel Studios frequently cross boards multiple films, shooting interconnected scenes for different movies during single production periods to maximize actor availability and location investments.
Television networks cross board multiple series episodes, particularly for shows sharing similar production requirements or overlapping cast members, significantly reducing per-episode costs.
Streaming platforms cross board international versions of successful formats, shooting multiple territory adaptations simultaneously with shared production infrastructure and creative teams.