The Pre-Production Process

The Pre-Production Process

Brent Mitchell

The pre-production process is vital in the making of any media product as there is a lot of work to be done and planned for before you start making the product, like what equipment you need, who will be in your production and when will you film or create the media product and how long it will take to produce so you can distribute it to an audience, there are a lot of factors that go into creating a piece of media and a lot of it is hidden.

Types of production

I produced a short film in media for tv and film for a start at a media production to not only to get to know the people in my class but also to get to know the cameras and the shots I was going to use, also as part of the production we had to learn the pre-production like the risk assessment, location forms and talent releases which was part of our production and learning about it. There are many types of media like cartoons, films, tv they all do one thing and sell a product to a consumer via sponsors and adverts and they all do their job even If the consumer doesn’t buy the product they have seen it, internet social media is a very large advertisement source not only for products and the new films but also everything that is internet based.  

Sources of finance

There are many sources of finance and you can tell from a Hollywood film budget to a student film just by the budget and quality and the ins and outs of the film it’s self-one of the sources is the producers themselves like George A. Romero funded night of the living dead along with a few other people he put his own money in to get a massive profit out of it, however this is huge risk due to the producer putting in a lot of money to possibly make a terrible film and make little to nothing and even go bankrupt. The next type of finance is shareholders these are people who put money into an investment or a company to hopefully make a huge profit but like any investment or anything to do with exchange of large amounts of money it can all go and you lose it, another form of finance is crowd funding this is where you set up multiple sites or even go in public to get money, there are many sites nowadays like gofundme or patreon where the public give donations to fuel your investment however places like patreon the donor pays to get something in return like a drawing or say to play a game with their favourite person, they work and continue to work if a community of people are prepared to donate to a cause they see fit.

Requirements

When making the production we will need equipment and part of budget will be spent on this, you need cameras to film and capture the scene of the film you’re trying to create, a tripod to capture strong still scenes or even using the Barings to make a nice establishing shot or track an actor, you need actors to play a part of the film portraying certain characters. We will also need editors to use the footage we have to make the final product they need to be quality editors and know what to do to make the final production a master piece. Also if we are making a production with special affects you might need to hire out equipment which needs to be planned in advance, as well you need a director usually you are the director however you can get hold of the right director for the right price. For my project we need only needed the standard equipment camera tripod and actors, we then created a horror themed short called the lust of Lucifer and we used all of our equipment and props to their full advantage.

Time

We had 4 weeks to make a film do the pre-production and editing, in our group of 4 we finished the pre-production in the first week and a half  of our deadline, and as we set to film and plan out where and when a group member left leaving us to 3 members so we were a little short on actors and we all had to do everything which was easy at first but as the third week hit we started to fall behind as members were ill and not bring props in which was ok as we had coursework to do and enough time to still film and edit and when we weren’t doing coursework or filming we were getting the editing to a high standard so we could add the last part in and finish on time. We did slack at times but we got all of the editing and filming done in the end and the product was very well constructed.

When you miss deadlines you fall behind and it starts to show through the way your work is set out and the way it is written, this can also result in a loss of dedication and once you fall behind you continue to as you find you have too much to do in no time what so ever, in the media industry if you set a film to come out on the 8^th September 2018 and you hype up an audience and the film at last minuet is held back for another month or so you will lose out massively on box office and the crowd you gained will disperse as the hype of watching the film is now less.

Personal

A low budget film, will only require a camera man to man the camera, this is an easy job and only require basic knowledge on how to turn the camera on and how to focus the scene, the skills can be leant on the internet or in classes like acting or media and film and tv, actors to full fill the act and make a scene or film they can be free to endless amounts a low budget film will usually use actors for free and be friends and family and an editor with basic knowledge o edit and produce all of the footage this is easily learnt on the internet or in class.

A television program will require a  camera man with a degree in media and filming as they need to independently use the camera and be able to stay in focus the whole time and say if the shot is right and good for the scene they are shooting, you need actors to film the scene they need to be able to show emotion on a real level and show what they have practised for they need to be able to fit a character well and portray a scene very well, also you need to make sure you spend your budget well as scenes can cost from nothing to a ridiculous amount depending on what you want, and you need a director to conduct each scene.

Hollywood feature film you will get potentially a million dollar or more production you will have the best money can buy an amazing director and amazing staff and camera crew to film the whole film and actors that not many people can hire for the right price.

In our group we discussed every lesson what we were going to do and when we also talked about what we can do whilst waiting when were not filming like course work or get props, there were 3 of us me Brent, Katie and Kyle, I was the director to say I made the story line up and the camera shots and also what we’re going to do each lesson, Katie was the back ground check that would do the forms for us and get the agreements done and Kyle was the editor that edited the majority of the film and posted the final production.

Facilities

To make a moving production you need a camera, a tripod to make the camera still you can use a dolly to cart the camera along but they cost a lot and are used in high scale productions, you also need good editing software to be able to edit the film into the final production there are many types of software that range from free to costly software that professionals use, also you need props that you will need for your production they can be made by specialists and bought in your local super market.

For our project all we had was a camera, a tripod and a sd card to film our production nothing special and out own budget to spend on which could range from free to any amount we were willing to spend.

Materials

You need logistics to check a place is safe and still there before you film you need people to move sets and equipment as you may be going to a long destination, you need people to cater for the actors like staff that will keep them safe, feed them caters on sight to make sure that the whole team is catered for and felt like people not just a camera man.

Financial logistics, your given a set amount of money to spend make sure you consider who much things cost as it you over draw or ask for more then you could potentially lose out on a huge profit.

Locations

Location recces are a form that you get signed by the owner of a piece of land to allow you and a team to film on the premises without getting in trouble, they person who you are asking to use land doesn’t have to sign this meaning you cant film on there land and there is nothing you can do, location releases are a legal binding contract that a owner signs between them and the photographer, by signing the release the owner forgoes the right to sue for specific claims.

For our production we had to use our college time and lessons to film we chose a place in college that was used for media as it was easy to access and on site going anywhere would require more time and planning and make sure we all got there in time.

We made a risk assessment to identify all the risks and we overcame them by being logical and safe like not tripping over cable and making sure that when I was tied up it was loose and not restricting.

Codes of practise and regulation

OFCOM is the communication regulators in the UK and make sure that they get the best communications and are not scammed or given wrong attention, they offer a wide range of electronic communication services including high broadband services, people who watch tv or listen to the radio are protected from harmful content, and videos on demand are protected from harmful content again and protect from viruses.

The office of fair trading is the group who regulate the bbc they regulate the outside bodies of the foundation and other parts of the bbc, they are different to the OFCOM as they regulate other parts and work on everything not the bbc.

The BBFC the British Board of Film Classification is a film rating system that uses the age rating to classify a film U, PG 15, 12A, 18 this rating can confirm what age a film is and what audience can watch a certain film as you’re not going to show a horror film to a bunch of toddlers and vice versa you’re not going to show a kids film to a bunch of 30 year olds.