Neil Pre-Production Assignment

 Unit 4 Pre-Production Assignment

Financing.

Sourcing financing Is one of the key important things for the production of a film.

Money for a film comes into everything for making a film.

You have to pay the cast and crew for their work, you have to pay for locations also that you may need to use, you have to pay for studios for certain locations and scenes, you have to pay for props, costumes, editors and pretty much every other aspect that comes into a film.

There are two types of funding that can come into the funding for a film, we have Private funding and public funding.

Private funding comes from investors such as production companies or producers.

The way to get private funding for your movie is to pitch your film to the producer(s)/production company and give them a reason why they should invest into your movie. This way they can decide if they think your film is worth investing in and they can see a potential way for them to gain profit from the box office from the film.

Public Funding.

Public funding is provided from things such as public funded agencies that can come from things like Tax’s. A good example of this is the NHS and the National Lottery.

With the National lottery people invest a certain amount of money to buy a ticket(s) in hopes of winning the grand total of money that all the people have invested into that lottery.

And with the NHS they are funded from the publics tax’s so that they can then provide health care to the public.

Public funding also goes into places like the BBC Films, Film4/Channel 4 and others.

Upsides to public funding.

With public funding it can be a very good thing as the funding is always coming in from when people pay their taxes and other government kind of payments.

Another upside of public funding is that with certain companies they allow people who are new to the film making world and struggle for budget apply for help with funding for the film they’re wanting to make.

Downside to public funding.

Since public funding don’t generate the largest amount of money since they only take a certain percentage of taxes like other public funding places like police, NHS ect, they might not have a large amount of funds to offer the film maker(s)

It also doesn’t offer a massive amount of exposure for the film compared to private funded films that are funded by big time production companies like Warner Bros, Universal ect, so they don’t have as large of a reach than these private funded production companies.

Upside to private funding.

When it comes to private funding one of the upsides to the funding they can offer is that they can offer a higher budget to the film maker(s) and can even help give more exposure for the film they’re wanting to make. Since they’re a company that has it main source of funds in and out are from the films they help make/produce they don’t have to worry about only getting a certain percentage from things like taxes and other things that could hinder the company.

Downside to private funding.

There are a couple of downsides when it comes to private funding, one being that if your film idea/pitch isn’t good enough for the private funding source then they won’t help you make your film.

Another downside is that the funding companies involved in helping you make your film will want a certain percentage of the films earning along with the money they invested also. So if you’re film doesn’t earn more than the funding put into the film then it’s a massive flop for the production companies and makers involved and they either don’t end up getting the money back that they invested into the film or they don’t get enough profit to make it worth making part 2 for the film and could even hinder the reputation for the film makers and could cause doubt among the private funders involved (and possibly other private funders who hear about the failure) that they might not want to help fund any future films for this person(s) that made the film.

Timescales

Timescales are possibly one of the most important things to have/do when it comes to making a film.

You have to plan out the timings for pretty much everything in your film in order to meet the end of project date in time and to keep the film creation as smooth and efficient as possible.

A few examples of why timescales are important are;

Equipment (Availability)

When it comes to equipment you need to consider the fact that if you you’re shooting across multiple locations how long is it going to take you to set up all the equipment needed, how long you have to use that equipment for before you need to take down the equipment to then move to a new location if needed. And if you are renting this equipment out then you need to calculate how long you have to set it up all, use it and take it down before it needs to be returned or else you could possibly be fined. 

Transport

When it comes to filming, you may need to travel to multiple locations with a whole crew, make sure everyone who is needed is there on time to help set up, do the work required and then pack up and leave in the timescale you have for that certain location. You also have to give your timescale some wriggle room for if you happen to run into the problem of someone turning up late, unexpected issues that could rise and for the actual transport time from point a to point b.

Talent

The talent has a little more wriggle room to do what is needed in the time required, they have to make sure they show up on time to start their work, do their work correctly and then leave for home.

You will need to take into factor however the talent possibly showing up late, so they may be delays when getting into costume and possible makeup that needs to be done. You also have to try and put in some wriggle room for if the talent is struggling with their lines or some bloopers that may come up.

Crew.

The crew is what can take up the most of the timescale as they have to show up really early to get everything setup, like the makeup artists, costume workers, camera workers, sound operators and pretty much everything else that is needed for the filming to be done and to make sure the talent is ready to be filmed and then finally they have to take it all down for the end of the work day or to move locations. 

Clearances.

Clearances can become a big issue and part of the filming process, because if you for example book a studio out to film some scenes, you have to request that clearance and wait for the response of either yes or not they can’t have clearance and if you have the clearance then you have to setup and film then pack everything away in the timeframe the clearance lasts. If you don’t get the clearance you requested, then you have to put into factor asking another place for clearance in a possible different location and go through the whole process again.

Deadline

The deadline is the most important part, all of the previous timescales have to be completed either before the deadline or right on the deadline so that everything can keep running smoothly and you can give the final product out in an orderly fashion without stress of missing the deadline.

Facilities

Facilities can be a big part of production for films. Its where you organize everything you need to book out for when filming starts and links in with Timescales.

If you’re working with a production company that will give you all the equipment needed for the film to be completed, then you don’t have to worry as much when it comes to planning the facilities needed.

But you still need to organize booking out the equipment if you have different locations that need filming.

You need to book out the equipment needed for the filming and organize it all ready for when filming begins, you also have to book out the any studios or locations you plan on filming in so that once filming begins everyone knows exactly what will be being filmed and where. This makes it easier for cast and crew to travel to these locations on time and to set up and get everything ready for filming.

If careful planning does not take place, then everyone could run into multiple problems. If you didn’t book out the equipment or facilities needed in time or carefully then you could run into problems like filming delay, lack of equipment that could be really important for when filming starts and other problems such as travel. If you don’t carefully plan out everything then everything could fall apart and you will run in to multiple schedule errors for filming.

Locations

The activities that should be undertaken in pre-production to identify suitable locations are the recce, health and safety, filming permission for the locations if needed, possible booking out the area and transport to the location and see if it fits between the other locations that may needed to be traveled to not long after.

For an effective recce you need to consider the health and safety for the location to make sure that all of the cast and crew shall be safe and to put in all the needed precautions for if a hazard does occur.

Other things you may be looking for in looking for locations is the travel distance between the locations, so if you have another location in mind that you’ve set as a 100% going to film in that location after that scene, you need to look into the possible travel distance between the two locations so that everyone needed for the scenes can travel to them in the time needed.

You should also consider the weather as if you’re wanting to shoot a scene that is set on a dry sunny clear day then you need to factor in the weather for that location and if it will be suitable for the scene. As if its then a dark rainy day when you film then you will either have to change a couple other scenes or completely scrap that scene for another time and that could disorganize other things in your timescale plan.

You will also need to factor in if the location is suitable for any equipment you are wanting/need to bring for the scene and need to make sure that the area is a safe and good place for the equipment to be placed.

Problems that an effective recce avoid. It will avoid any timescale errors, the safety of the cast and crew, any weather issues that may occur, it will make your production plan more secure and helps you organize everything else you will need for that scene/scenes.

Personal

Other important personal that don’t include the cast and crew for the film are as the following.

Casting director.

A casting director(s) job is to organize and facilitate the casting of actors for all roles in a film to pick the perfect actors for the roles needed to be played. This can be either from watching audition tapes people send in, audition meetings people may attend or offering the roles to actors who they already think will be the perfect fit for a role in their film.

Casting director’s work closely with the directors and producers to understand their requirements, suggestions and ideal artists for each individual role, as well as arranging and conducting interviews and auditions with the actors.

Stunt Workers.

A stunt worker’s role is to perform all of the dangerous and possibly damaging stunts that the actors can’t do due to risk of injury. They talk closely with the director, actors and other stunt workers to figure out the best possible way to do the stunts with the least risk of injury to themselves and others around. Stunt workers can also consult in films, for example if an actor does his/her own stunts in the films then a stunt worker will consult with the actor to show/tell the actor the best way to perform these stunts in a safe manner that would lead to 0 injury or the least possibility of injury when performing the stunt.

Lawyers

A lawyer can play a very important part in the making of a film as they consult with the film’s producers and actors to either help write up a fair contract for an actor so that they can ensure the actor will do the work that is required of him/her and also give the actor any conditions they would require to do the job if all parties agree to so. Lawyers can also help work out any other legal issues that may arise

Runner

A runner is the most junior position in any film production department. A runner’s job is to carry out any tasks and aid to smooth over the running of a film production. This can include doing anything from setting up locations for shooting, like setting up food for the actors in between takes, hiring props and transporting equipment and a wide range of other tasks to make things smoother for completing the film.

Location Manager

The location manager’s job is to be responsible for researching, identigying and organizing access to sites for scenes that need shooting. It can be a very demanding role to have and a Location manager will need to manage cast, crew, stunts, filming and everything else on that location are all completed within the time and budget constraints for the scene(s)

Location managers are very organized and can be good problems solvers when working under high levels of stress as things can get a bit hectic when you have to complete possibly a lot of tasks in the short amount of time.

Programmer Researcher

A programmer researcher provides support to the producers, director and writers by carrying out factual and picture research to make sure what’s being shown in the film is accurate. For example, if you are filming a war film, that is all about the tactical and stealth missions that the characters do, then the programmer researcher’s job is to make sure that the director and writers understand the way these acts of stealth are factual and accurate to how they’re actually taken out in real life. It’s to make sure that when the audience watch the film they won’t be thinking “that makes no sense, a guy isn’t going to get shot 15 times in the chest and still be standing, dancing around like a ballerina singing Christmas songs.”

Programmer researcher’s use many resources to research for the film. As well as using the internet, film archives and museum collections to carry out the research, they are also responsible for gaining copyright clearance for the use of music and literary material.

Director of Photography

Director of Photography, otherwise known as cinematographers, director of photography work with film directors to realise scenes in line with their visions. They have to manage all the camera and lighting crews on the film set and make sure all the artistic and technical decisions and review footage in the post-production stage.

They normally have in-depth knowledge of camera and lighting equipment and what will and won’t work for certain shoots, an excellent eye for detail and the ability to make reasoned decisions quickly and both give and take direction fairly.

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