Hey red,

I'm a little surprised no one's taken a crack at this one yet...

Totally depends on your budget of course. If there are key actors you really want to use, and they have some leverage on you, you may have to work around their schedules-- for instance with respect to other crew availability, locations, etc.

But if actor's schedules aren't a problem... I always start with location. That is, of course, as long as your script is solid. Not necessarily a locked shooting script but at least you know you need, say, an old house and an office room somewhere.

I start with locations and work back based on their availability. From there, the list can go on and on. Again, IF you have a budget, try this out:

Location Manager to handle all aspects of location work
Production Manager to handle all production logistics (hiring crew, booking equipment, vehicles, etc.)
Production Designer to handle all of the onscreen artistic considerations
Director of Photography to give input w/r/t "look," locations, start generating equipment list, etc.

As these elements begin to come together, you start to nail down other crew positions: AD to schedule the shoot, Key Grip and Gaffer, Location Sound Recordist, Script Super, and on down the list.

So if you've got a budget and access to a professional crew, a lot of things come together seemingly by miracle. If not, well, then you've gotta work those fine points out yerself...

Make sure you get a thorough technical survey of the locations done with your Keys. Know what to expect in terms of vehicle access, parking, loading and unloading, bathrooms, eating space, hair / makeup / wardrobe and all that good stuff. Have a game plan for if it rains. Make a list of all your location supply items: trash cans, tables and chairs, road cones, coolers, coffee machine!, etc.

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. If you want to know more, keep it comin'-- I can talk about production managing all day long.