Production

What is production?

Production is the process of creating a media product.

Pre-production: Planning, scripting & storyboarding, etc.

Production: The actual shooting/recording.

Post-production: Everything between production and creating the final master copy.

These production stages are what is required to complete a media product; such as a film. These stages start from an idea and form into a final master copy.

There are three main stages when it comes to production, these are…

Every script has to start with a good idea and question you would like to be answered. Before your script reaches post production stages it will have gone through around 12/13 drafts.

Every producer and director wants something to tantalize them, invite them in.

They are looking for something that will inspire not just them but the audience they are appealing to.

In every script has to have a beginning, middle and end, without this your script will go no where.

How else can you tell you have been given a good script? That is a combination of instinct and knowledge of the market.

Once you have finished your pre production script, it is ready to move onto post production.

Pre Production Scripts

Transcripts and post production scripts are a necessary part of the post production process. They can either be done in house with your own production team, or you can

outsource them to a specialist service.

A post production script is your film on paper, shot by shot, word by word. Most film or TV makers

want a post production script (PPS). This is used for: dubbing

your film from its original language into a foreign one; to

reversion a film (changing major parts) and Subtitling.

Post production scripts can vary in detailed but will have

to include: Vision - Full shot log

describing the pictures, titles & on screen captions

Audio - Transcribed version of all commentary and sync

whether in or out of sightMusic - All music cues

named by titleTime code - All of the above

will be identified by time code

Post Production Scripts

Full post production scripts are complicated and time consuming, so booking a fast typist is not necessarily the best way forward.  Whoever produces the PPS needs to know what they are doing because they will have to go through the program a number of times to include all the required detail.  For example, a 60 minute program will take approximately:

Total:10 hours

     

Commentary & sync in & out of vision

3 Hours

Audio and Music 3 Hours

Pictures 3 Hours

Checking, spell checking and formatting

1 Hour

These timings are just a guide as many things can stall the process. For example, a program may have a lot of incidental music, and / or

contributors that have strong accents and are difficult to

understand. Factors like these can double the time it should take to

create the post production script.  However, you will know these

things about your program before you send it off to be turned into a PPS, so allow sufficient time and money to finish it, particularly if the contractual delivery deadline

is looming.

Here are a few ways to help speed up the process of producing a post production script(PPS): Use a specialist post production script service. Outsourcing your post production script can save your production time and money.Email your final "as recorded" commentary script to the transcription service you are using. They can cut & paste this into their document rather than having to audio type from the finished program.  But they will need to check it through toensure you've missed nothing.Email the producer's roughly transcribed sync script to the transcription service.  It may not be perfect,but it will give them a head start.  (Nowadays, most producers have to submit a rough sync script with rough cuts and fine cuts as well as VO lines to help execs find their way through the program when viewing).

Post Production Scripts

Audience

Even at the very early stages of development, the production investors are already thinking about what might happen when the film is in the cinema. It is critical that when you are developing the film you are specific on the audience type that you are aiming at. The most important thing is to connect the idea of the project to the audience, if you get this right everything in-between becomes a lot easier, however if you get it wrong, it will never work. As a producer you are the one person in the team who’s prime consideration is ‘who are we making the for?’ and are they going to spend their money on watching this, and if so will they do this in sufficient enough numbers to justify the cost of making the film.

In addition to all of this you also need to make something that the audience will understand, because if its to wacky and out there people aren't going to get or understand the storyline. However you need to be fresh without being completely way out.If no one is going to watch/read/play/buy the text, the producers aren't going to make any money or get their message across.

Audience research is a major part of any media company's work. They use questionnaires, focus groups, and comparisons to existing media texts, and spend a great deal of time and money finding out if there is anyone out there who might be interested in their idea.

Role of the producer The producer is the person that oversees the whole production of a film

and plans and organises it all. They are either employed by a production company or independent, and they help the creative people as well as the accounting personnel. there is generally one main producer who can sometimes hire executive/associate/co producers etc. to do particular jobs. Some of the producers roles include:Preproduction:•Find material from a book or script.•Get the script into good enough shape to attract a director (and studio).•Secure financing for the film, if it is not being made for a studio.•Choose the director and other parts of the creative team.•Cast the actors, working with the director.•Determine locations and budget.•Decide on cinematographer and special effects.•Hire a production team including crew and producers.•Develop a shooting schedule.•Create a detailed plan of action for production.Production:•Offer creative suggestions to the director.•Handle problems with actors or creative staff.•Monitor production timetable and budget.•Review video dailies, the film shot each day.Postproduction:•Discuss order and selection of scenes with the director.•Review the fine cut of the film after it is edited.•In some cases, polish, revise and restructure the film to create the final cut.•Work with a distributor to secure distribution for the film. This may include showing the distributors the final cut of the film.•Review the distributor's advertising campaign for the film.

Investment Attracting investment:• UK producers can go to

television companies for funding like Channel 4, BBC Film.

• If they are working in a particular region, they can go to the Regional Film Fund.

• It is more common to get a group of potential financiers, usually between 3 to 10.

• Particular financers like particular subject matter/ director etc. so producers go to them because they’re more likely to invest.

Foreign investment:• Most producers look to

America for co production deals if they cant get enough funding in UK, where an American producer can work together with the British one and find finance.

• It’s easier to find one funder but if they fund 100% then they control the movie, but if it’s multi partner where lots of people have funded, no one owns 100% of the movie so the producer and director control it.

Marketing

Depending on what genre of film it is there could a certain time of year it should be released when it will make more money, e.g. horror films released around Halloween.

They must think about if they have marketable stars or director.

The British Film industry usually gets the finance and shoots the film and then think about selling it later on, but Americans think about release date and how they’re going to sell it and market it first and then get on with making the movie and that is why they are usually more successful.

Budget

Budget is how much the film will cost and it must be paid for by film finance plan.

The budget must include costs for the actors, cameras, film stock, editing, script, locations.

The level of budget must be appropriate to how much you think the film will make.

Producer divides the costs into 2 parts, one called above the line, the other called below the line.

Above The Line Costs

Above the line costs is the creative side to making the film, so things like: the scripts; paying for the rights to a novel; the producer, director and their teams; money is also paid out for research as well. The above the line costs also pay for the principle cast which is usually the two main characters in the film, however it can also be several more highly paid actors.Overall the above the line costs are the costs of creating the story.

Below the line costs cover the people who are actually going to make the film and not the people who are controlling the sales of the film. These people start at the beginning of pre production, they put together the shoot, they schedule things and set up each day, they do the designing and even the photography.

Below The Line Costs

Costs