Unit 4: Pre Production

Unit 4: Pre-Production Assignment

In order for a media product to be created, it is essential for planning to be present before the product is released. For example, in the film industry, there needs to be a lot of preparation, including budgets and a lot of time management, here are the examples.

Financing: Financing is how the budget for the film comes into place and where the money can come from can be very difficult depending on who is directing and producing the film, including how well prepared they are and how good the script and plot is and a lot of money may need to be required depending on who they want to star in the films and what effects will be used. One way how the finance is produced is through public funding, this is when a publicly funded agency, such as the national lottery, gains money from the public and through tax relief, the percentage of it is given to the departments of culture  and will be given to the companies chosen to make the film. Alternatively, the crew responsible for creating the film can usually all use their own money and loans in order to get the correct budget, although this is common in short films and homemade movies, the risk of the movie not being a success and profiting is all down to how well the movie does and how it is rewarded. Also, Kickstarter campaigns have also been used for films and series such as the cyanide and happiness show, this is when the company will ask for the public to donate money towards the production, this is called crowd funding, and like this, many investors that have access to the films information can offer money towards production if they see a profit from it.

Timescale:  Creating an appropriate time scale is crucial for pre-production of films as the correct time and schedules will need to be created so that the product isn’t rushed and delivered on time of release. Considering the spare time and other commitments that the crew will have in their lives, there will need to be an appropriate amount of time for their social activities and private lives, therefore time management will need to be put in place in order for the crew to know when to work on the products instead of rushing the product, trying to get the product finished in as little time as possible so the more time the producers give, the chance the product will be of higher quality will increase. Also this gives time for the appropriate equipment to be bought, gathered or hired and this can improve the quality with the better camera, lighting equipment and correct mics which is a worthy investment if the film was to be successful and gain a big profit. For example, the film jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg was extremely off budget and delayed because the majority of the movie was filmed at sea and for the sea to be calm and for the weather to be just right may take a long time, also many crew members were sea sick and equipment malfunctioned due to water damage, however the film was a success and had a very high profit, making them dodge a huge bullet and paving the way for Spielberg’s success.

Facilities:  In order for the filming to take place, the equipment is what is needed for the footage and samples to be taken by. Many cameras can be bought ranging from very low to extortionate prices that can only be bought or hired by very respected companies such as dollies and other tracking camera devices and mounts in order for the shots to be perfect in the movie. Most cameras, lighting, mics and props can be bought from pretty much anywhere you go, from supermarkets to shopping centers and any hardware store, they are extremely accessible which makes gathering the equipment very straight forward in most cases, however, most cameras and mics have their quality in equality to its price, making very good and clear looking cameras very expensive and can be tough to afford  , making lower priced and lower quality cameras mostly used in short films to suit their budget. Also for sound effects, in order to create the appropriate sounds, Foley can both be very cheap and highly effective, and can be done by pretty much anyone with a good imagination, however this will require a mic and editing software but if you are going to make a film you should have these already.

Locations: For filming scenes, Mise en scene is crucial to make the scene and must match both the plot, for instance in a horror movie, the villain may have a weapon chasing the victim through a forest or house, the lighting is usually dark and very fast paced to panic and overwhelm the viewer and in order to get the response from the audience, the crew must find a suitable area to film in, have it being a public area, a house, a woods or anywhere that is necessary for filming. For that to become reality, the producers must contact the owners of the area and ask or pay for permission to avoid lawsuits and copyright charges as the agreement will be signed. If permission isn’t asked for, a huge chunk of the profit or the crews money could potentially go to them in lawsuits if they filmed people or areas without permission which is always a huge risk but must be made clear. There can be limitations however considering weather and when the site is in use, including how far it is and if expensive travel is necessary and how much to hire the site is. There can be people hired to find areas to use called location scouters and they also may contact the owners and negotiate deals. Also health and safety can be a huge risk if the location is set at sea for example like the movie jaws, many crew members were sick due to the sea and were unable to work so to create a 100% safe working environment for all the staff is crucial in making a movie.

Personnel: The personnel are essential in making the scene, whether it is the actors, stuntmen or extras. This is because this gives the cast and those helping the film a role and a job to do during the filming and gives them recognition, knowing their skills in certain scenes. For instance, extras may be used in huge battle scenes if cgi is unavailable to the editors so they may need people to volunteer to take part and pretend to have a huge fight scene, of course stuntmen may need to be used in most instances, however most stuntmen may only focus in stunts such as jumping from building to building and some may be unavailable on the day of filming, which makes it important to have someone to back up the crew if an incident was to occur.

Additional Materials: The additional materials can include things such as;

Storyboard and scripts: The storyboard and script is important as it both tells you how the scene is going to play out and what will be said during the interaction which is very useful as a written down piece will make understanding the scene a lot easier for the crew recording it and for the actors delivering the scene, this is usual written and drawn by the directors, the scriptwriters and those who are controlling how the camera will look at the scene.

Archive & library Materials: This includes written down ideas and peoples advice on how to set the scene and the film as a whole. Most advice can be found in textbooks or in internet websites, some may require a payment to see the advice, however there is many tips for free ready to access.

Props: I believe that in films, props are one of the most important thing to have in a scene, it can either make or break the scene and the more that is used and appropriate to the scene can highlight the realism that the film is trying to get at or highlight the mise en scene in a scene like the use of coffee that both characters may drink to signify that the both of them are having a conversation or an important chat, this may also chill the mood and sit back and relax and listen to the characters. Also clothing can also be very important, and could potentially signify who is who in the scene, for example the good guy could be wearing brighter colours whereas the villain may wear dark colours to represent a more sinister tone.

Codes Of Practice & Regulations: In order for the film to be released, it needs to be checked thoroughly that the film has every right to be released and there is permission granted by the appropriate companies, meaning that no companies can grab money from them if a lawsuit occurs. Also the film may need to be entirely original and not copied from another company or film which could also strike a lawsuit

The Formats for Pre-Production Process

The Proposal: The proposal is done by the producer of the film, and what they do is ask the companies that fund films for a budget set by them, tell them what the film is about with the scripts and show how both could potentially gain a profit from the movie. The proposal is crucial and needs to be given the acceptance before the film can be created. The producer needs to be very charismatic and charming and make the interviewer very excited and want to make the movie happen so that a lot of money can be made.

Scripting

Master Scene Script: The Master scene shows us the codes and convections of the scripts, and this makes viewing the script so much easier to the eye as it breaks everything down to where the character’s name should be to where the scene takes place and what is happening within it and makes a lot more sense to the actors.

Shooting Script and Schedules:The shooting script is very similar to the actual script but this includes the prompts to how and where the camera will record, for example in a chase scene the cameras may need to cut to different people running, from over the shoulder shots to medium shots or first person views and this is very important in building the atmosphere of the film.

The Functions & Purpose of Pre-Production

There is many things that goes into pre-production however how long and expensive it may be, the more thought and the more effort that is put into completing the task will define the quality of the product and will be very worthwhile by the end, pre-production is a fantastic way of organizing the films creation and breaks down all the tasks that are necessary, with time management probably being the most important as it gives an appropriate amount of time for the deadline and shows when and when not the crew have to work. There is also a lot of changing during this period with many scripts and scenes being scrapped and added in order for the movie to work, budgets can be arranged and spent wisely and many drafts for footage may be changed or deleted, this is the stage of finding where is best for the film to go. Without any of this, it’s almost certain that the movie could be an absolute failure and would be extremely over budget and leave the producers and companies out of pocket, possible becoming bankrupt depending on how big the project was going to be, and therefore, pre-production is extremely important.