Jack Stevens

Requirements and sources for a film production: Task one

I am an independent student filmmaker and have set up a new production company and
taken on the role of producer/ production coordinator and I’m planning to make a thriller
production on a limited budget. In my role I will produce a report ‘Requirements and
sources for a film production’ which could be presented to potential investors in my project.
Pre-production is the process of fixing some of the elements involved in a film, play, or
other performance. There are three parts in a production: pre-production, production, and
post-production. Pre-production ends when the planning ends and the content starts being
produced.
Pre-Production
Pre-production is a fairly loose term which refers to the tasks undertaken before production
begins. Pre-production occur’s before the production and is actually the first production
stage in the film production.

Finance
Film Finance is an aspect of film production that occurs during the development stage prior
to pre-production, and is concerned with determining the potential valve of a proposed
film. Production companies rely on independent investors and companies.Film budgeting
refers to the process by which a line producer prepares a budget for a film production. This
document, which could be over 134 pages long, is used to secure financing for and lead to
pre-production and production of the film.
Aspects of the film production which need to be costed for are; pitching the project - the
producer uses the treatment and pitch, plus their powers of persuasion to get money to
develop the script, production companies - the producer approaches film companies for
development money, but they have projects of their own, sales, distribution, broadcast -
the producer can offer the future sales and broadcast rights to the film in return for money
to develop the script, private finance - Money invested by private individuals or
shareholders in a film production; their aim is to make a profit on their investment, public
finance - grants that are available to film makes to help fund theirs films. Funding might
come from sources such as the National Lottery or tax relief.
Films need to make profit to cover their costs and pay for the actors, studios and other
outflows. And also so they can make more media productions. It is important to budget a
film accurately because it creates a framework for all the decisions regarding the film and
therefore so you will not go bankrupt during production. If a film goes over budget or the
costing are too high they can either fold the production or request more money from the
film studios, private finance or public finances. However if they send more money they
might not break-even and make a loss. A film that made a loss after going over budget is
Evan Almighty, it should of costed 175 million dollars however only made 200 million
dollars and only made 173 million dollars in gross. Titanic had a budget of 100 million dollars
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however ending up costing 200 million dollars to make however it did make a profit off
1.843 billion dollars!
Private finance is money invested by private individuals or shareholders in a film production;
their aim is to make a profit on their investment. Papadopoulos & Sons was an independent
privately finance film that costed 1 million dollars to make. The problem with private
finance is that only the popular genres will receive finance as the investors will not be
looking to make a loss. However a positive is that a lot of money will be invested in the
production.
Public finance is grants that are available to film makes to help fund theirs films. Funding
might come from sources such as the National Lottery or tax relief. The National Lottery
gave 2 million pounds to help fund the “Parole Officer”. Public finance normal gives money
to the less popular genres which is good however they aren’t able to give a lot of funding.
Joint finance is the provision of funds for a project, etc, from two or more sources. Joint
finance is the best of both worlds and you can revive funds from private or public a
strengths of this is that you can get more funds however a drawback is that you have to do
two pitches.
Crowd funding is when people give small amounts of money for a project, a film that used
crowd funding to make their movie is “Veronica Mars” it raised up to 5.7 million dollars.
Crowd funding is good because it doesn’t cost you anything however you aren’t guaranteed
lots of money and it may take months or even years to gain financial sustainability.
Television companies will use profits from previously successful media products to fund new
films/ programmes. However, companies might play it safe and stick to successful genres
rather than funding less popular genres.
Logistics
The organisation of equipment, locations, materials and personnel for the shoot.Locations is
the identification of where the shooting is, what the weather will be like, how far away the
locations are and if it is easy to access. Materials are similar to equipment are consist of
audio, scripts, graphics, record music, sources and others. Personnel are people on the set
and in the pre/ post production, technical crew, actors, extras, contributors, stuntmen,
experts and specialists. These are all important to the shoot because it makes the
production organised and there will be set people to each area and it will be there job to
make sure their area is complete successful.
Logistics ensures productions run smoothly and all materials are in the correct place. If the
management of logistics is poor then the hole frame will fall apart. With any management
there will be no order and that will lead to failure of the film production.

Time
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Time based factors that need to be planned in pre-production are deadlines, availability of
equipment and personnel, timescales. These need to be planned because if the timing is
incorrect then it will set the schedule and production back by far.
Facilities
Facilities that are needed to be found for production/ post production would be sets, prop
houses and studios. The sets is where the action will all take place. It will include the
production and where the actors will be acting. The prop houses are houses which have
many props and have different themed showcase rooms. The studios can be editing studios
with many computers which will be used for adding edits to the production or even
animation. There are recording studios which will be set up with mics and the cast will
record voices for their character animation.
These facilities will be expensive and some times booked up. It is best to book the facilities
as early as possible also the sets will take time to set up and will be expensive to make.
When considering facilities things that need to be costed are sets, lighting, heating,
electricity, clearances and renting.
If there is effective pre-production planning then there will be no problem with booking the
facilities. To ensure there is no problem there should be a schedule.
Locations
The places where the production will be shot. When choosing a locations factors that have
to be taken in to considerations are the weather, distance, access and cost. If your scene is
shot at the beach and its meant to be a sunny day while your actors eat ice-cream and have
a family day trip out but if you haven’t planned that the weather may be raining that day of
shooting then it will throw you behind schedule and extreme example of not taking the
weather in to considerations is Hurricane Irma it effected , Eastern United States (especially
Florida) so if any media production companies was planning to go to Florida between
August 30, 2017 - September 16, 2017 then it would of thrown them behind schedule. If
your location is very far away then you will have to sort out transport and budget for fuel.
Also if you have a scene in Mexico but you’re based in England then it will take a lot of time
to then fly everything over and then set up sets. If you can’t access your locations then
there’s no point even mentioning it. You will have to gain clearances to use building from
local council, shops owners and private owners. The cost is the most important factor to
consider because it has to be budgeted for and be affordable. You will have to pay for travel
to the location, set designs and using the locations.

Personnel
The people involved in the production – onscreen and off screen. The personnel roles of a
film are director, producer, camera and lighting, production sound, art department, special
effects, stunts, post-production and animation. A film director is a person who directs the
making of a film. A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes
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the screenplay (or script) while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of
that vision. Film producers fill a variety of roles depending upon the type of producer. Either
employed by a production company or independent, producers plan and coordinate various
aspects of film production, such as selecting script, coordinating writing, directing and
editing, and arranging financing. Camera and lighting are involved with rigging stage and
location sets and controlling artificial, electric lights for art and entertainment venues or in
video, television, or film production. Production sound people are in charger of sound
boards and the sound system used on set and behind camera. Art department will be
responsible on making the set designs and posters. The Special effects supervisor generally
is the department head who defers to the film's director and/or producers, and who is in
charge of the entire special effects team. Stuntmen are the people who are in place for the
actors and do the stunts for them so the star actor doesn’t get injured. Post-production
would be the sales, marketing, exhibition, other windows. Animation is the process of
making the illusion of motion and the illusion of change, animators are artists who specialize
in the creation of animation. It is important to keep a time schedule for budgeting because
it allows you know if you are going behind schedule then you can spend more money on the
department that is falling behind also if you are a head in a department then you can save
money by not spending as much time on that department. Above-the-line refers to the list
of individuals who guide and influence the creative direction, process, and voice of a given
narrative in a film and related expenditures. Below-the-line film and television film crews
operate in pre-production, production, or post-production stages of filmmaking.
Roles that need to filled on camera would be actors and extras if you don’t have actors or
extras then you haven’t got a film. Roles that need to filled off camera would be your
camera men, directors, producers, set designer and other technical crew.
Materials
Materials are similar to equipment and consist of audio, scripts, graphics, record music,
sources and others. In a film production audio/ visual materials that will be needed would
be; photo library, sound library, microphones, radio receivers, AV receivers, CD players, tape
recorders, amplifiers, mixing consoles, effects units, loudspeakers, sound boards, PC and
green screens. All the props will have to be sourced such as; torches, costumes, cars,
anything that has to be involved with the film and the plot line. With out materials you
wouldn’t have anything to use and the film production would fail.
Codes of practice
Codes and practice are an organisation that monitor the content of media to ensure that it
meets standards of quality, taste and decency – e.g. the BBFC regulate all film and DVD
releases in the UK. It keeps the production company ethical. The role of the BBFC is to be a
guideline so films can be legally released in the UK and protects public and cast. Regulations
film makers need to adhere to ensure their film gets released in the UK;
U Discrimination
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PG Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of. Discriminatory
language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of, or in an educational or historical 12
context, or in a particularly dated work with no likely appeal to children.

15 Drugs

18 References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be infrequent and innocuous. References to illegal drugs or drug
misuse must be innocuous. Misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or give instructional
detail.

Imitable behaviour
Potentially dangerous or anti-social behaviour which young children may copy must be clearly disapproved of. No
detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy. No promotion of potentially
dangerous behaviour which children are likely to copy.

Language
Infrequent use only of very mild bad language. Mild bad language only. There may be moderate language. Strong
language may be permitted. There may be strong language. Very strong language may be permitted.

Nudity
Occasional nudity, with no sexual context. There may be nudity with no sexual context. There may be nudity, but
in a sexual context it must be brief and discreet. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational
context.

Sex
Only very mild sexual behaviour (for example, kissing) and references to such behaviour. Sexual activity may be
implied, but should be discreet and infrequent. Mild sex references and innuendo only. Sexual activity may be
briefly and discreetly portrayed. Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. There may be
strong verbal references to sexual behaviour,

Threat
Scary or potentially unsettling sequences should be mild. Frightening sequences or situations where characters are in
danger should not be prolonged or intense. There may be moderate physical and psychological threat and horror sequences.
There may be strong threat and horror.

Violence
Violence will generally be very mild. Violence will usually be mild. There may be moderate violence but it should
not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood. Violence may be strong but should not dwell on
the infliction of pain or injury.

Adults should be free to choose their own entertainment.

Tangled is a Disney film which is permitted in the UK. The Bunny game is an example of a
film which is not permitted in the UK because extensive unacceptably presented scenes of
rape and sexualised violence.

Clearances
The process of getting the required permission for all aspects of a film production such
assets, actors/ extras, music, stock film. It is necessary to avoid liability and any general
copyright/ trademark issues. Clearances ensures all items can be used legally and includes
produced placement. The legal ensures that a production does not breech any laws such as
copyright or health and safety.
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If clearances are not gained then the film production is in risk of losing many assets. A film
that breech copyright is Battlestar Galactica, who apparently borrowed a little to much from
Star Wars! 20th Century Fox sued Universal Studios (the studio behind BSG) for copyright
infringement, claiming that it had stolen 34 distance ideas from Star Wars. Universal paid
$20,000 to show that Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars were made from two different
cloths.
Actors are protective through legal elements and so are the below line crew.
Film production companies need to address factors linked to trade unions and professional
bodies because the organisations that protects the rights and interests of its members – e.g.
Equity, PACT.
Equity is the trade union for actors, stage managers and models. It requires its members to
unique professional names. It protects actors on and off screen. Another union is BECTU it
covers people in cinema and theatre arts. It protects jobs and increase membership. PACT is
the trade association representing the commercial interests of UK independent media
companies.
Establishing industry formats for presenting pre-production work
Locations Reece Checklist - it is important to check off things that should be taken so that
nothing is left behind. Things such as ID are used to get into the location and cameras are
taken to film the scenes.
Script - the script will be given to the cast and has lines and directions in.
Shooting Script - The shooting script is more elaborate and precise, version of the
screenplay. unlike what common sense may suggest, the shooting script is not written by
the screenwriter. It is written by the director alongside his cinematographer, while they
discuss their ideas for the movie.
Shot List - In the pre-production process a shot list is used to plan and organise the shots
that are going to be taken for the film, and where and how they are going to be taken in a
way that the director wants for the film to be done, to enable the cinematographer to
visualise the directors plans.
Storyboards - storyboards are a graphic organiser in the form of illustrations or images
displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre- visualising a motion picture. There two types
of story boards, client boards and shooting boards. Client boards are used to sell ideas to
companies and have great detailed visual pictures. Shooting boards is used on set by the
director, producer, technical crew and has all technical information and basic drawing on it.
Casting sheet - A list containing descriptions of the types of actors needed for a particular
play or other dramatic work.
Release forms - a release form is used to ensure that when a film is made it does not contain
any copyright to plagiarism. In pre-production, when making the film you need to go
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through an organisation called PRS who make sure that you have permission to use any
soundtracks or music within your production.
Health and safety risk assessments - An assessment of the environment is safe for working.
Budgets sheets - A budget sheet is used to estimate the amount of money need to produce
the media piece. The documents has information on the price of equipment, actors, props
ect. The document is either laid out of google spreadsheet.
Production schedule - is a plan for individual commodities to be produced in each time
period such as production, staffing, inventory, etc. It is usually linked to manufacturing
where the plan indicates when and how much of each product will be demanded.
Proposal - a film proposal document is where you move your film into development by
getting financiers interested by displaying which key cast and crew that are interested in
your film.