Pre-Production Process
Type of Moving Image Production (Media Production):
The type of media production that we produced was a
90 second film, for Depict. Depict is a competition to which anyone can enter,
where they have to make a film of 90 seconds. We distributed it, by sharing it
on YouTube, and embedding the video onto our blogs on BlogSpot.
Other types of moving image media product there are,
are other short films. These can range from 2 minutes to 15 minutes. These are
classed as short films, because the average film that we watch are roughly 1
hour 30 minutes to 2 hours long. Different distribution methods for these short
films, are sites such as YouTube or Vimeo. However, they can also be
distributed through social media or television adverts. The top distributers
for the film industry, would be companies such as; Warner Bros, Universal
Studios, Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox, etc. Small productions are
also funded by being shown on the adverts, before a film in the cinemas.
Finances and Sources of Funding:
Types of funding that exist for film, tv and other
moving image productions are, other companies. Some film industries pay other
companies to advertise their moving image production, so that the public are
interested in their film, and are aware that the film is coming out in cinemas,
etc. The BFI (British Film Institute), are a charity designed to help
independent producers, which are funded by the lottery.
Also, there is Crowdfunding. This is when the
company/producers raise small amounts of money from many people, to fund their
moving image production. This usually is done over the internet.
Requirements (funding and finances) for any
production are things such as; advertising their film, renting out places to
film, cameras for filming, props, costumes, actors, transport, specific
lighting, CGI, cast/crew, copy-right licences, insurances and the length of
filming.
The requirements that we had to obtain for our
Depict project, were; a risk assessment, storyboard, initial idea post, shot
list, location release, talent release, prop/costume list, budgeting list,
police email (if needed) and a production schedule. These had to be done before
we done our filming, because they are an important process of filming. This is
because they are our plan for filming, and allow us permission to film.
During our filming we used a Canon SLR camera and
tripod which we rented them both out at college.
Personnel (the production team that work in the
media production):
The make-up of a typical team for a moving image
production in a low budget short, is usually of a very small amount of crew
members. This will only usually include: a director, a camera man, a technician
and an editing team. An example of a low budget film, is El Mariachi, which had
a budget of $7,000. Some of these jobs are usually done by the same person, as
it is low budget, and the creators of the movie cannot afford to pay lots of
different people to do these jobs. For example, the camera man may also be part
of the editing team.
The make-up of a typical team for a moving image
production in a television programme, usually has roughly 10 roles. The most
important of these roles, are; a director, a producer, makeup and costume, a
writer, a camera man, video and audio engineers, a talent, and production
assistant. If the television programme is low budget, then these role may also
be done by more than one person, however if it is not, then more people are
employed for these jobs, as it is of a higher budget.
The make-up of a typical team for a
moving image production in a Hollywood feature film, is usually of a quite
large amount of crew members. There can normally be around 15+ roles, as
Hollywood has a lot more money, and put in millions to make their films. For
example, Avatar made by Hollywood had a budget of $425million. These crew
members and actors are also paid a lot more than those in a low budget film
production.
In our very small group, we allocated work, by
setting everyone specific jobs/roles to do. For example, Leah, Rachel and
myself done the acting, whilst Ellie filmed. Then we all took turns and
participated in the editing of the film. We also all decided what part of the
pre-production we were going to do. For example, I done the risk assessment and
Rachel done the storyboards. This 90 second Depict film was also, obviously a
low budget film, therefore we didn’t have many crew members, so we had multiple
roles, and the editing of the film was not the best.
In addition to the cast and crew, there are many
other people that could contribute to the production. Other than the production
crew, and the people behind the camera, there are more roles to be overlooked. For
example, there could have been a production paper work team, or costume
designers for any creative costume ideas that there may have been.
Time:
The timeframe we were given for our moving image
production, was 90 seconds. I would say that we used the time given fairly
well, because we only went one second over the allocated timeframe.
In the professional media industry, if you do not
meet deadlines, then you may not get the contract deal you want/signed for. Their
contract could then be given to someone else, who is able to meet the deadline
given. This may make the producers of the production look bad or
unprofessional, as they will appear as not able to meet deadlines. Also, it could end up costing the producers a
lot more money, as they would need to go over their deadline. For example, if
they booked out a hall for 6 months, but could not meet that deadline and went
over by another 4 months, then it would cost extra to rent out that hall for
longer.
In class we didn’t successfully manage to meet our
deadline, therefore our time was extended by roughly another week. This was
because we had done a lot of filming, and we needed a lot of editing for the
production.
Equipment and Facilities:
In order to obtain equipment in professional moving
image productions, you need to make sure that the same equipment/cameras are
used. This is because the quality of the filming may be different in certain
scenes. The equipment and facilities that we used for our filming, were; a
tripod, a Canon SLR camera and the green room.
A website/place for a professional media facility
house, is www.the-hall.co.uk . They offer a
full-post production process, which includes; online and offline editing,
digitising, graphics and audio dubbing. The nearest facility house located to
us, is in London.
The equipment that was available to us for our
Depict Project, were a wide range of different cameras, lenses and tripods. We
obtained this by using the same camera and SD cards each time we filmed.
Locations:
We filmed in a graveyard at Church Lane, Gorleston.
To secure locations legally we had a locations release form, however we did not
need permission to film there.
A location Recce, is a sheet laid out with pictures
of the locations we used, and short sentences about these locations. Our
location recce was of the graveyard, and the green room in East Norfolk Sixth
Form College. Whereas a Location Release, is the consent form we needed to be
signed, to say that we had permission to film where we did.
We picked our locations for our Depict video, based
on the film we planned to make. We planned for the film to be shot in a
graveyard, so we picked the closest graveyard to the college. We also picked
the green room to film in afterwards, because it is quite a dark room, and the
lighting in there was perfect for the last scene in our video.
Logistical issues and risks that we faced, were
things such as crossing roads, getting fake blood everywhere, tripping over
cables in the green room, the weather being different in our filming (rain),
lighting being different and our outfits being different on the days we filmed.
We overcame them by making all the crew members aware of any risks, and by
making sure we filmed on days that it didn’t rain, whilst wearing the same
outfits. When we done some filming at home by getting a lease to take the cameras
home, we also made sure that we filmed at roughly the same times, so that the
lighting wouldn’t be different.
Materials:
In addition to equipment, crew and cast, what was
used to make moving image text, were; soundtracks throughout the film, sound effects
and special effects, masks and any extra money spent on things used in the
film, which we did not do. These were obtained, by members of the crew taking
on roles to do these for the movie. For example, Leah and I found the sound
affects for the video and put them into the video.
Any financial concerns that there may be when using
other materials, are that if anything gets broken, or if someone is hurt by
something. If something valuable is broken it would cost a lot to replace it.
Also if someone is working for Hollywood and gets hurt by certain material
used, then they can sue the company.
Legal Issues:
Legal considerations that there may be when using
certain materials in media production, are things such as copyright. Copyright,
is when you take something else you don’t own illegally, and use it as if it
were your own. For example, if someone were to right a song and publish it to
the world, and someone stole that song and claimed it as their own and got the
credit for it. Copyright can be used in technology, music, sound recordings,
films and many more.
The copyright law affected our Depict videos,
because that meant that we couldn’t use certain sound effects and music in our
video, se we had to use sound and music that wasn’t copy right. It also meant
that we couldn’t use an idea from another video and twist it slightly, as it is
still classed as using that video idea, and is classified as copyright.
Clearance, is when a
written permission is required to use actors that appear in the film/video.
This also includes the music, location and the script.
Public Liability Insurance, is an
insurance that covers any injuries or harm to anyone in the film. This includes
anything minor such as a broken leg, to a person’s death.
Completion Insurance, is normally
used for independently funded films, which agrees that the producer of the film
will complete the film on the agreed standards and deadlines. It is a
completion guarantee, and the insurance is normally based around the expense of
the budget.
Regulation:
A regulatory body is not a membership organisation,
and its main focus to the protection of the public. They cover a large variety
of professions, e.g. medical practises. They help to maintain the health and
safety of the public.
OFCOM, stands for Office Of Communication, and is a
government approved regulatory, for broadcasting, telecommunications and postal
businesses. Its function is to decide what moving image product is displayed,
and what time this is, depending on its channel on tv or radio.
The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), are
regulated by outside bodies. For example, OFT (Office of Fair Trading) is one
of these outside bodies. This is different to OFCOM, because it is regulated by
outside bodies, whereas OFCOM are their own business, and control other
businesses.
The BBFC stands for British Board of Film
Classification. It is an independent body, which classifies cinema films based
on their content. For example, if a film has mature themes, flashing images,
violence and strong language, then it is classed as an 18 rated film by the
BBFC. This company was set up in 1912, and its act was made in 1984.
What I have learnt about the internet’s regulation,
is that there are many different companies that ensure the health and safety of
those watching these films, and what age the public should be to watch these
films. This may relate to my Depict project, because we had to consider any
health and safety issues towards the crew and the public.
Trade Unions and Trade Associations:
A trade union provides people with help and support,
who are employed by other companies, whereas a trade association is a group of
companies, who provide similar service to people, and their aim is to represent
the interests of the trade.
Trade unions are important, because they make people
feel more secure and confident about where they work. They also have a lot of
power, which they use to increase competition levels between other companies.
This also increases the wages of high skilled workers, so they’re making more
money.
PACT (Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television),
are the UK’s trade association for independent producers in television.
BECTU (the Broadcasting, Entertainment,
Cinematography and Theatre Union), is a trade union in the UK, and has around
roughly 25,000 members.
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