Assignment 1 task 2
- 2. An overview of feature film pre-production requirements Contents 1. Concept and Storyboards 2. Budgeting & Financing options 3. Logistics & scheduling 4. Facilities & location 5. Risk assessments 6. Casting 7. Materials 8. Personnel 9. Regulations & Clearances
- 3. My research and information will specialize around the area of preproduction for a feature film.
- 4. A1
- 5. Pre-production is the aspects of a film you must do before the actual making of the film. Such as script writing, costume design, character creation, etc.
- 6. Areas - • Script Writing • Costume and Set Design • Prop Making • Casting • Visual Design • Sound Design • Story Boarding • Shot list • Rehearsals • Screen Tests • Location Recce • Risk Assessment • Crew Arrangements • Lighting • Catering • Budget • Scouting • Script Reading • Finance • Finance Source • Personnel • Logistics • Facilities • Materials • Adherence with codes of practice and regulations • Clearances • Legal • Regulation • Trade Unions and professional bodies.
- 7. Storyboards • A storyboard is a writing format, generally a set of boxes (or rectangles, circles, or other shapes) placed in a logically sequenced order. Each box or frame is a place for the writer to put information, pictures, symbols, or text.
- 8. Finance An important pre-production stage is to assess the financial side of the product. There are 2 main aspects to the financial stages of preproduction; first is to work out your expenditures and an overall budget; the second stage is to then assess the different funding options and secure financing for the film. The following slides look at different financing options.
- 9. Financing and Budgeting • One of the key things you need to do towards financing when in pre-production stages of a film is budgeting how much money you are going to need to make a film. • With a budget sheet it allows you to plan what money you will spend on aspects and so you won’t go over budget with your expenditures. • You will also need to project your forecast on the cash return, including the profit in % to the money that is given to you. This is so investors know how much money they will gain from investing in your film.
- 10. Financing Options – Film Companies Government funding. UK government funding. UK Tax finance – Enterprise Investment Scheme. Presales and Co- productions. Product placement. Crowdfunding. Deferrals Self Financed
- 11. Financing – BFI (Public) – One of the ways we can finance a film is applying for BFI funding. • The funding is intended for live action and animated projects. • On the information booklet there are details on the funding. • BFI has access to funding by The National Lottery. • To apply you will need to have a feasible draft finance plan showing how your project could be funded. However you will not need to have all the funding in place. You must have an initial calculation of the relevant UK creative industry tax credit. • BFI says – “In order to support projects for which alternative sources of finance are unlikely or challenging, we are now able, on a limited basis, to provide an award of up to £750,000, representing either: • 100% of the production budget • up to 100% of the production budget excluding the UK tax credit” Nine Areas the BFI Helps: • British Film Fund • Production and Development funding • Distribution and exhibition funding • Diversity and inclusion • Skills and business development funding • International strategy • British certification and tax relief • Search for lottery awards • BFI distribution Information Source – https://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-film-fund- production-fund-application-guidelines-2019-09.pdf
- 12. Financing – BFI (Public) – They Support: • The early careers of ambitious filmmakers. • Work with cultural relevance or progressive ideas. • Filmmaking that takes risks on talent, form and content, where the more commercial sector cannot. • Work that recognises the quality of difference – in perspective, in talent, in recruitment. • An increase in the number of active projects originated by filmmakers outside London & the South East of England. BFI’s funding affects the film in different ways such as them having terms of conditions for the film makers, e.g. Diversity Standards, access to the production and The BFI funding will be recoupable by the BFI. An example we can look at for BFI funded films is; Pride.
- 13. Private Financing; Investors or Studios • One of the ways you can get your film financed is by finding either investors or going to a studio/company. • This tends to be the general route of already well-established directors, producers or auteurs. • It can also be the route for studios to commission someone to develop a completely new project. • However; large investors and studios may be less interested in small independent productions. Which is why I would not recommend going to a studio unless you are an already established name in the industry. • A well-known example would be the recent Star Wars series, all commissioned by Disney. • You would need for someone to either see the trailer online so they can pick it up, an example of this would be Sally Kerosene that was picked up by the BBC. Or secure an opportunity with someone in the company to make a pitch presentation.
- 14. Financing – Crowd Funding (Alternative Financing) • You still make a pitch, and you’re still presenting the crowdfunding the same level of a grant proposal or a business plan. It’s same amount of work as approaching a foundation or an investor, if not more because you’re appealing small amount of money from a large group of people often in the filmmaker communities or smaller patrons of the arts. • You often must fight multiple other film makers for the money by showing your film is the best and deserves to be made. • Some widely used platforms are Kickstarter and Indiegogo but with smaller platforms such as Rockethub or Ulule • Projects can run from 1 to 60 days. Kickstarter recommends a deadline of 30 days or less. • Once you’ve chosen your platform, you can begin to build your campaign. A successful campaign revolves around: the Pitch, the Perks, Promotion, and Personalization. • An example of a crowd funded film was; Veronica Mars. Raised $5.7 million in crowd funding. • When applying for crowdfunding money you would need to present a synopsis, budget and predictions on the cash return to the people you wish to invest. • A negative side of Kickstarter is if you do not reach your target goal. You will not get any of the money.
- 15. If you don’t get funding • Make sure that your budget is realistic • Make a trailer on why private investors should give you money • Offer rewards for sponsors such as credit on the film, product placements, e.g. • Use social media • You can also apply for certain grants depending on what category your film comes under, e.g. if your film is about mental health you can apply for a charity’s grant. If you don’t get funding you can always change your pitch and or script to make it more marketable to the current popular areas of film. This means you can try and make it more marketable so investors can see a likeliness of cash return.
- 16. Logistics & Scheduling Detailed scheduling is important for film production because it allows you to not go over budget. If you did not manage time well, you would need to readjust the days your shooting meaning you’d have to pay your crew more and hire equipment or venues for longer, because of the extra hours spent filming a certain section of the film. A film production should be mapped up against your time frame making sure you will have enough time for each section of filming before the deadline of the release and to stay in budget. Your shot list and your film production schedule can also be mapped against your story board to look at the most efficient ways to plan out your time. While also considering your sets, actors and equipment's availability. While also having an alternative scene and location that is easy to switch to if something becomes unavailable e.g. Weather Conditions, actors being suddenly unavailable, etc. Schedules are important because they keep you on timing, allows you know when someone can and cannot film and keeps the people in your film free for when you need to shoot. Also helps with the forms.
- 17. Screengrabs showing an example of a shot list and a schedule
- 18. Facilities • Studios • Editing Suite or studio • Rehearsal Space • Out of studio film space – must agree on price and get a permit
- 19. Facilities – Equipment •Camera •Boom Microphone •Shotgun Microphone •Lighting •Reflectors •Tripod •Shock Mount •Shoulder Mount •Spare Batteries
- 20. Facilities – Filming on Studios vs Location • Studio spaces allow complete control of your environment – e.g. light, sound, temperature and weather. However, it can be more difficult and expensive to create realistic settings. Often films use a combination of studio and location filming. • Equipment storage, availability and other practical requirements are usually easier in studio than on location. • As long as enough studio time has been booked, and the actors and crew remain available, studio shoots make it easier to film several takes or retakes. Daylight is not an issue, for example. Purpose-built sets or stages can also allow for better or different camera angles and special effects than shooting on location.
- 21. Facilities – Filming on Studios vs Location • Shooting on location can be unpredictable and expensive – your cast and crew may need accommodation and you will need extra time to install and remove equipment and sets, especially for remote locations. • The weather can also prove a big challenge for outdoor shoots. Another difficulty can be permission from the owner for access and filming. • However, if you get it right, location filming can add authenticity to your film. It can make your film feel more real, make the shots look great and full of detail and character. • Preparing your external location can be time consuming – for example, removing or hiding things that do not fit the time or storyline. However, in some ways it can save you money you may have spent in a studio building sets or backdrops.
- 22. Location A location recce is a visit to a location to determine if that location can be used for your film. You must also assess all the near by facilities you must have, the condition of the land, landscape and general location. Often carried out by the director of photography, location scout and or an assistant director. If your location would become suddenly unavailable, you would need to have an alternative location to film or a different location near by so you could come back to that location another day. Most likely it would delay your schedule by a couple of shoots.
- 23. Hagrid’s Hut Example While filming Harry Potter, the director wanted to move the set of Hagrid’s hut to the castle they were filming a large majority of Harry Potter in. But after moving it during building they encountered large amounts of rain over the days they were building it. Then while filming it rained again. These mistakes were all because the director felt he wanted to change the location to suit the shots better and be more accurate against the books.
- 24. Risk Assessments Risk Assessments are important forms for pre-production in order to carry on with production on your film. Risk assessments are basic forms that assess what is likely to put actors, crew, equipment or anything else on a set that are likely to be at risk during filming. They are made to help make the set safer and also protect the production from legal allegations and losses. They can also help create methods and cautions to prevent the risks from happening within the production. How will you let the crew know about potential risks? In a larger production a legal team would analysis all the potential risks and create a contract to warn everyone all of these risks. While also protecting the production legally from any potential allegations anyone can make if one of these risks happened. Telling a crew or cast member of the risk can let them be more careful but actually also protect you legally. If you are in a smaller company you can give them a risk assessment form or tell them verbally or with a different kind of physical document such as a letter or contract.
- 25. Risk Assessments • If a cast member or crew is injured and it is deemed the production is at fault they can be sued by the injured crew or cast member. This is why it is so important to do a risk assessment and fully inform everyone involved on the risks so you are not liable at all for any injuries or damages. • An example of a major accident we can look at is the Harrison ford accident in the article reporting it they stated that; “Ford was reprising his role as Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in June 2014 when he was knocked to the ground and crushed beneath the heavy door of the Millennium Falcon while filming at Pinewood Studios in London.” The company pleaded guilty to two breaches under health and safety legislation.
- 26. Casting Casting is the process of choosing which actor plays which character in your film. Casting is done for any singular character above an extra, which would usually be supplied by an extra’s agency. Principal Readings with actors who suit the look of the films, multiple screen tests or call backs of different sections of the films to decide which actor is the best. You would then contact their agent and negotiate with them to protect the actor’s interest. The agent would also have to talk with the actor and see if it’s a new area if they want to go in to that area.
- 28. Casting Often there is a choice in larger productions for either going by a big name or going by the better fitting actor for the role. When a character is casted for their look it is called type casting. An actor who is cast for their fame is called a bankable actor; this is someone who will bring in people because of their status and fame. Olivia Colman could be an example of this of her fame and recent success such as her Oscar for her leading role in ‘The Favourite’. If you do not plan for hiring enough background actors or actual main characters you may be looking. Also if you hire any actors who’s pay is higher for your budgeted amount, you must either decide to take the money from somewhere else or hire an actor that you can afford.
- 29. Casting Examples • Jennifer Lawrence was chosen for Katniss in The Hunger Games because she near perfectly matched the description of her character Katniss. • Daniel Radcliff matched the description of Harry Potter but also had to go through a lone line of auditions with other similar looking children. • Emma stone matched a very popular look of women in Hollywood so allowed the film to make a joke on that and showed the often- similar looking actresses chosen for the same roles.
- 30. What happens if an actor is sick or can’t make it to a filming day? Depends on how long the actor will be out of commission, if it is possible you can film scenes without the main character. If you do not have any other options you would have to cancel that filming day, this would take money away from the budget and also affect the timings of the rest of the production. If an actor is out of commission for a long period of time; you may need to hire a new actor to play that part. But the actor’s contract should include details about coming in everyday, so they should be legally liable if they do not have a good reason.
- 31. Materials - Mise En Scene In pre-production you will need to plan costumes, props, setting and aspects for postproduction such as music and images. This stage of pre-production is called production design. In every film we must do this to do design the look, feel and aesthetic of it. One of the roles that are for for production design are prop masters. A prop master oversees the artistic side and organization of props. They oversee purchasing, acquiring, manufacturing, and/or overseeing any props needed for the film’s production.
- 32. Mise En Scene - Image & Music Sourcing Another aspect is image sourcing for your films, one of the places you can source images for your film is a creative commons website. Examples of these websites are; Pixabay, Adobe Stock, Flickr and Getty Images. A similar preproduction aspect is music sourcing, just like images you are also able to gather music on creative common websites. Examples of these websites are; Adobe Stock or Freesound. However, you can also pay for music from websites, bands and music producers. You can purchase it from websites such as Epidemic Sound. HOW WOULD YOU GO AROUND ON GETTING RIGHTS TO THE IMAGE OR SOUND
- 33. Materials - Mise En Scene • A Costume designer, designs the costumes for the film. • They are in charge of designing something that suits the look and fit of the film. They are also must follow any descriptions and relevant scene information for these costumes.
- 35. Personnel Issues that could arise with the crew that will affect the production could include that the crew members pay could be higher than planned for or a members of crew could be too sick to come in. Other information that you will need to know about is the trade union. Trade Unions differ on their regulations for their union members, but most mean that they must have certain timed breaks and lunch periods. If a company doesn’t follow union rules members of union would strike and the production company would have severe consequences. Employment laws also mean that your production must have diversity in the team and have equal representation in their team.
- 36. Personnel Main Crew Members • Director – controls the films artistic and dramatic aspects. Visualises the screenplay and controls what’s going on and off screen. • Assistant Director – tracking daily progress of the film and also being the middle man between the director and the rest of the crew. They also are in charge of the health and safety of the crew. • Director of Photography – the film director by establishing the visual look of the movie. As a DP, you'll help tell the story through the artistic and technical decisions you make regarding lighting, film stock, shot selection, camera operation and other elements. • Camera Operator – Camera operators are responsible for capturing and recording all aspects of a scene for film or television. They use principles of lighting, staging, focusing and filtering to achieve a specific visual look for broadcast television or motion pictures. • First Assistant Camera Operator – The first assistant camera (also called the 1st assistant camera, 1st AC, first AC, or focus puller) has one main job: they sit next to the camera during filming and operate the lens's focusing ring. The role of the focus puller is to keep the right subject in focus throughout each scene. • Second Assistant Camera Operator – assist the camera operator in positioning and moving the camera, and are responsible for loading and unloading film magazines, changing and charging camera batteries, changing lenses, operating the clapper board, filling out and filing all camera sheets, liaising with film labs, and ordering the correct amount and type of film stock. 2nd ACs work closely with 1st ACs (focus pullers), and supervise any camera trainees.
- 37. Personnel Main Crew Members • Grips – responsibility is to build and maintain all the equipment that supports cameras. This equipment, which includes tripods, dollies, tracks, jibs, cranes, and static rigs, is constructed of delicate yet heavy duty parts requiring a high level of experience to operate and move. • Gaffer – the head electrician, responsible for the execution (and sometimes the design) of the lighting plan for a production. The term "gaffer" originally related to the moving of overhead equipment to control lighting levels using a gaff. • Boom Operator – responsible for positioning microphones so that sound mixers can capture the best quality dialogue and sound effects. Boom Operators are also responsible for all the sound equipment, ensuring that it is in good working order, and carrying out minor repairs where necessary. • Production Designer – are responsible for creating and managing the visual aspects of a film, television or theatre production. They work closely with the Director and Producer to create the design style for aspects such as sets, graphics, props, lighting and costumes. • Script Supervisor - maintain the script continuity during all stages of filming and production. They may help actors and directors interpret the script, maintain logs of daily scene shots and include production notes and suggestions to help maintain the continuity.
- 38. Personnel Areas • Producing Unit • Directing Unit • Production Management • Cinematography • Costume • Electrical • Grip • Locations • Make-Up • Production Design • Props • Publicity • Script • Set Construction • Sound Department • SFX • Stunts • Transportation • Animal Specialist • Film Commissioners • Catering • Writing Department • Actors • Runners • First Aid Department • Security
- 39. Regulations & Clearences You must inform any police and any authorities in the local area if you’re filming in a public space, especially if your film includes something that can be misinterpreted. You must also check if you require permission from the local authorities and apply for it if needed. You will need the full co-operation of the local police force if you plan to film on a public highway or use special effects, explosives or fire arms (including replicas). You will also need permission to portray uniformed police officers or marked police vehicles on film. If you film outside a store or restaurant you do not need permission to show its name or trademark – however, if the location chosen is used to communicate a negative message in your film (for example, a film about ‘poisoned restaurant food’) you may risk legal proceedings. Before filming on a public road you must contact the local police and the Highways Department of the local authority. Both will need to make sure that your plans are safe and pose no threat to road users. If you plan to stage stunts, a stunt co-ordinator should be involved in any planning discussions.
- 40. Stages of Post- Production • Editing Image • Graphics, Title, Credits • CGI • Sound • Sound Design • Composing • ADR • Sound Effects • Copyright for music • Prints/ Digital Copies • Dubbing • Dolby / THX
- 41. Postproduction - Equipment COMPUTER FOLEY MICROPHONE VOICE OVER MICROPHONES EDITING SOFTWARE DESIGN SOFTWARE
- 42. Post Production • Takes on average 350 days
- 43. A2 The formats for pre-production processes
- 44. Introduction The importance of screenplays is that it affects your whole production because it changes the amount of money you need to pay for it. While it also affects how many props, scenery decorations and it also affects how many cast members you must hire. While it also affects the communication of the production because it means you must communicate with more or less personnel on the matters of the film such as prop and set design or how many actors you wish to have in a scene. As well as that screenplays also affect the look of the film and other preproduction aspects. The look of the film is affected by the dialogue and scene directions; if a character mentions a certain prop or scene decoration the film must have these as a part of it. An example of a preproduction aspect is as if a scene has to have a lit flame in it, the risk assessment must assess the risks of having it and find ways to make it safer.
- 45. Key Terms • Scenes – a sequence of continuous action • Slug lines – a line of abbreviated text at the beginning of each scene in a screenplay that describes the location and time of day. • Scene description – description of actions and look of a scene. • Character cues – when a character is written to speak or do an action. • Dialogue – a literary technique in which writers employ two or more characters to be engaged in conversation with one another. In literature, it is a conversational passage, or a spoken or written exchange of conversation in a group, or between two persons directed towards a particular subject. • Parentheses –mini scene description that is written in the dialogue.
- 46. Layout formatting • Industry standards are the formats we use for every single documentation from storyboard to script. The industry standard is what we use for every single piece of documentation. For example, every script must go by the industry standard otherwise the script will not be read through and the project will be thrown out until it is up to industry standards.
- 47. Storyboard Example Shot List Example Costume Design Example Set Design Example Prop List Example
- 48. Formatting You need to use the correct formatting for a multiple of different reasons. One of the reasons would be communication, the correct format would allow communication to be easier within the production and also keeps up with industry standard which everyone in the industry goes by. Another aspect of why you use the correct format is that if you for say submit a script to a company it would only be read through if it’s a certain weight and goes by the correct screenplay format. Many studios act similarly with other aspects of formatting and goes by the industry standard for everything.
- 49. A3 The functions of pre-production processes
- 50. A3 As you go through preproduction you will have meeting and go through different areas and it will tell you which ideas will and won’t work allowing you to take the best way forward. Essential to visualise your content, so you can begin to shape a clearer idea of the film you want to make. Through using storyboards, mood boards, CAD drawings, Illustrators your film will begin to take shape. Storyboards are a planning tool and help you breakdown the action into individual sections and show how film will develop. It is a visual guidance for look and feel of the film and you can see how many actors you will need or how much technical equipment needed. Likewise mood boards are essential tool for pre production and is a visual map to ensure going in right direction and helps you get inspiration on an emotional level from, the right colours- angles - colours are important. These visual tools are important for investors to see what your intention is and would inspire crowd funders and give a buzz around the new film. Preproduction will also allow you to see feasibility of your idea. Your pre- production, all of your revisions, all your budgeting, will help you to understand what expertise you will need. How and where you can manage costs. Whether your time scales are accurate. And help you to make detailed logistical plans. Planning is essential part of pre production to ensure you have everything in carefully structured and the schedules are tightly managed- essential to check that no problems crop up at a later date. Financial backers will expect feasibility plans are in place before the even consider any funding.
- 51. A3 Feasibility plans will need to include following aspects Expertise finding the right team to work with is essential for project to succeed. The right team will consist of actors, photographers, financial backers, make up artists . The team will need to be diverse, flexible, motivated and have the right mix of skills. A skill audit will help ensure you have all the skills and no gaps and correct health & safety and legal processes are in place, Managing, appreciating and motivating the team is also essential and not to be over looked - if you get it wrong they will never want to work with you again. If you get it right they will work hard and long hours and be on your side.
- 52. A3 Revising and discounting ideas is a large part of pre-production. During production many ideas are either rejected or discounted. An example of this would be the use of certain costumes compared to others. Other aspects include redrafting scripts, storyboards, locations, casting, etc.
- 53. A4 The purposes of pre-production documentation
- 54. A4 Detailed Costs are essential to have a clear understanding of the whole project. Important to have view of financial viability for each area. You need to know all the potential sources of income and also looking at financial backup if first financial options fail and as a result alternative funding streams. Key in pre production to detail the breakdown of total expenditure breakdown, so project does not over run. Clear and specific timescales will ensure project will complete on time and tight deadlines are met - from ensuring that the hire of equipment to ensuring locations are booked and enough time for reshooting and editing. Each area will need its own timelines, expenditure and own deadlines. A film Producer needs to be good at time management and detailed documentation will help with this. A range of detailed logistics in the pre production issue that will ensure film is completed - the logistics are essential from legal. Issues, staffing; finance to production schedules - a planning schedule is needed to give an overview of the whole project and as a result good project management skills will ensure that all the logistics are coordinated in detail. Essential to adhere to codes of practices and laws and industry regulations that govern the film industry. From legal issues to obtaining copyright to health and safety considerations