Pre Production Essay

Pre-Production Techniques in the Creative Media Industries Assessment

Types of Production: There are various ways that you can produce media products, film production is created in five different phases which is development, pre-production, production, post-production and then distribution. Main stream movies are developed and distributed by different production companies through cinema releases and then DVD/Blu-ray releases, as they get older they see further distribution through companies like Sky TV and their film channels or free to air TV channels.

However, if you are developing an independent film, they follow a different route as the producer might not have a distribution deal. Although that individual could then find another way to promote their film through social media, the internet or even film festivals to attempt at securing some distribution.

Our media product is a video recording/short film with the duration of ninety seconds. It is called Red Room and is about two girls, one of them unexpectedly receives an email with an anonymous link attached to it. When she opens the link a live stream pops up with a girl tied up in a chair, the girl is very unsettled and upset. She screams for help, when the girl behind the screen realizes what is going on she screams in shock.

Sources of Finance:

Lots of different ways of funding exist for the film industry. Like crowd funding, crowd funding is quite simply asking a crowd for your funding. If others pitch in a little bit, you are then able to quickly earn what you need. If you are trying to fund an independent film crowdfunding is definitely the way to go because you at this point you won’t be able to fund the movie without some help from others. Product placement is also another source of funding.

It is essentially a form of subtle advertising that allows companies to place their products that they have made into a film for advertising purposes, product placement helps to generate millions of pounds each year and is a beneficial way to help finance a film. For example, the film Skyfall starring Daniel Craig used product placement to help finance the film. They used the ford focus vehicle, so the company Ford would have paid the filming company a certain amount of money to have the product in the film.

Any type of funding must be secured by film producers and sales agents at the beginning of a motion pictures development in order to pay for all costs for that particular movie.

Requirements for any production – i.e., what will the money be spent on?

When organizing the filming for a media production like a video recording or a movie, you need to make sure that you have prepared the equipment. The most important things you require to film is the camera and lighting equipment of course. Which will already have been prepared and most likely paid for before they finalize the storyline and the scenes of the video/movie.

What did you obtain from your Depict Project?

We feel as a group that we gained or developed more skills on how to create a media product. As this depict project is the second video recording that we have filmed as a group. We have definitely learnt how to do certain things better this time, for example. The editing has been perfected and we each spoke to one another about which scenes needed editing the most. We were all able to prepare and plan this properly

Personnel/The Production Team

When developing a new production, it is very important to consider the time and effort you put on the pre-production process. If it isn’t planned effectively there would be very little organization of personnel which is the crew members and the actors/actresses starring in the production. If you were to make a low budget film, which would most likely be a group of students at college/university or even just a group of friends. It’s a good idea to use the people around you as the crew members. As you potentially might not have the funding to do otherwise. The production team are a very important part of the production, without them the film wouldn’t be finished effectively as they are in charge of the equipment and where it goes, the filming and the production itself.

What was your time frame? And how well did you use the time you were given?

Usually for Hollywood feature films, that make big amounts of money when they are released. They would most likely have the time frame of a year or two. But it can be different for all types of films like low budget films or independent films. For the depict project we were given a few weeks in total to complete. The first week we completed the filming, once that was done we started on the editing, it didn’t all go to plan the way we hoped it would because of the circumstances we are in at the moment. I couldn’t be there to film during the first week because I was self-isolating due to COVID-19 which meant that my character in the video had to be played by Millie who was originally just supposed to be filming and editing the video.

Equipment and Facilities

Equipment is one of the important things in the filming industry, the film cannot be made without the filming equipment. Before the development of a film. The filming company which ever one it is would need to contact a production facility house and talk to them about using or possibly hiring some of their equipment for the filming of the movie.  A production facility house is a place that stores media/filming equipment, they also have in house radio and TV studios so you can record video recordings or scenes for movies. They store the video cameras, tripod, camera light, three-point lighting kit, shotgun microphone, boom pole, shock mount, audio cables, wireless headphones, the digital audio recorder, light reflector, lenses for the cameras, video/photo camera bags etc.

Locations

There are many top budget films that have filmed in different locations for some of the scenes. But there are some things which are important that you should do first before going ahead with the filming. E.g. location recces, which is when the filming team visit the location that has been picked for the film and they gather information to work out the suitability for the filming. It helps the production team know exactly what equipment they need for the filming on the day so they don’t have to spend any extra time on anything else.

Location releases are also important; they are documented proof that gives you the permission to enter a property for the intention of filming/recording content for a film, or when taking photographs. Every production team needs to do this before the film that’s being made goes ahead with the filming. Nearly every single film is based in more than one location. For example, the film The Revenant starring Leonardo DiCaprio was shot in Canada, as well as partly in Italy. The filming took place in Alife. The scenes in the waterfall were filmed at Kootenai Falls near Libby, Montana.

Materials – what else is needed for a moving image text?

Besides the filming equipment there are other materials that can be used and needed for a developing production or film. The production definitely needs a well prepared storyboard so you can ensure that the filming and the scenes is going to be high quality. there are also important materials like special effects. Which will always most likely be included in every moving image production. You must consider the financial considerations that come with the special effects, depending on the amount of effects are used in the production. In some moving image productions special effects can cost up to a fifth of a half of the overall budget of the production.

Legal issues

There can be many legal considerations within a media production. With issues like copyright. Which can be very exhausting if you do not take it seriously when filming or recording. Copyright is a federal law that gives creators and influencers of media the exclusive rights to copy, distribute and mash up things they create for a limited amount of time. If you go against the copyright rules it can result in you facing legal action which would be infringement. It is usually treated as a civil offence but it can in certain circumstances be deemed as a criminal offence with damages awarded by a court. Depending on the impact of the infringement. The result can either be a fine or imprisonment.

Copyright didn’t affect the depict project, we made sure that there weren’t any barriers and we did our best with the planning so we could avoid using copyright in our short film.

There is a way around being able to avoid copyright. If you wish to include copyright material in your film or television programme. Such as archive film footage, music and consumer brands/products you must have the right to do so in the form of an outright transfer or a license of the copyright from the owner of these rights. Gaining rights in this way constitutes copyright clearance. Clearances can apply to individuals like for example, an actor or actresses’ performance in a film/programme. It must be cleared for all uses. This will usually be covered in standard engagement contracts for them.

Regulation – what is a regulatory body and what do they do?

OFCOM is a regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. It regulates TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate. OFCOM works with the department for digital, culture, media and sport. OFCOM becomes the first independent, external regulator of the BBC today. Under the new BBC charter and agreement. Our role if to hold the BBCs performance and editorial standards to account and also regulate the competitive effects of its services.

What does the BBC do?

The BBC is the world’s leading public service broadcaster, they are impartial and independent and every day we create distinctive, world class programmes and content which inform, to educate and entertain millions of people in the UK and around the world. They do this across a portfolio of television series, ten UK wide radio networks, there digital services including BBC news, Sport, Weather, CBBC and CBeebies, iPlayer and BBC sounds. Established by a Royal Charter. The BBC is funded through the license fee paid by all UK households.

Trade unions and trade associations

Trade unions, also known as labor union. Association of workers in a particular trade industry or company. Which is created for a purpose of securing improvements in pay, benefits and working conditions. They are important because they play an essential role in democratic societies, they provide services to members, including legal services. They also represent their members in their dealing with employers and through collective agreements to negotiate better working conditions.

What is BECTU?

BECTU which stands for The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union is the union for creative ambition. We represent over 40,000 staff. Contract and freelance workers in the media and entertainment industries. Our members work in non-performance roles in broadcasting, film and cinema, digital media, independent production, leisure: IT and telecoms, as well as theatre and the arts.

Bibliography

(Website:https://www.ipr.edu/blogs/digital-video-and-media-production/what-are-the-phases-of-film-production/ date: 25th April 2020, Accessed: 28th December 2020)

(Website:https://www.takeonetv.com/blog/2019-05-23-why-its-important-to-do-a-recce date: 23rd May 2019, Accessed: 5th January 2021)

(Website:https://www.desktop-documentaries.com/video-production-equipment.html date: unknown, Accessed: 5th January 2021)

(Website:https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/guides/clearing-rights-for-film-and-television date: 29th November 2005, Accessed: 5th January 2021)

(Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofcom date: unknown, Accessed: 5th January 2021)

(Website: https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc date: unknown, Accessed: 5th January 2021)


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