2. Introduction
•Film production can be a headache. There’s often a multitude of processes, stages,
members, factors to consider, and content to focus on. However, once complete, if
done correctly by utilizing a variety of film elements and production procedures, the
masterpiece playing upon the screen will make everything worth it.Within this
presentation, I will breaking down and expounding upon the 5 stages of production, and
a few of their elements.
3. Research & Development
Research is an essential first step to the creation of any great story and film simply because it
helps the creator define what he or she wants to create. Getting a feel for how long your
work should be, what kind of tone, and mood you’d like the audience to feel, etc., are all
things that the creator will define during the research process by observing and analyzing
other projects.
4. “
”
TO MAKE A GREAT FILMYOU NEEDTHREETHINGS
THE SCRIPT,THE SCRIPT ANDTHE SCRIPT.
Alfred Hitchcock
5. The Story & Script
Imagine how difficult it would be to build a home without a blueprint, that’s
how difficult it would be to shoot a film without a story and script!The story is
the spirit of the production. I think of stories as powerful sparks of life. From
dimensional thought, to a script, in which is the elemental guide of what the
audience will see and hear, a story travels and evolves.The story and script are
the very blueprint and back bone of a production.Without a good script,
creating a great film is nearly impossible.With a job so important, one could
only imagine that amount of difficulty and time that screenwriting actually
takes.
6. Storytelling
There are many aspects to Screenwriting.
Essentially the process begins with the
Screenwriter, or the person acting as the writer.
After researching a variety of factors, the outlining
of the story takes place, and the development of
the actual story happens soon after. Once the story
is ready, the script begins the outline process as
well. Once the outlining is done, the writer rolls up
his sleeves, and knocks the script out line by line.
While watching vids on Lynda, I heard the course
instructor say, “Writers write just to rewrite.”
As a writer, I have to agree.The first draft is nothing
more than that… a draft. Once the polishing of a
script, or sometimes during the creation of the
script, a Director becomes heavily involved.The
responsibility of the Director in the process is to
create a vision for the material by either rewriting
the script, or collaborating with the writer.The
producer may also step in and, either, play the role
of the Director until there is one, or simply guide the
phases and stages of production.
7. Don’t LetThe
Format Stop
You!
There are so many people that
get discouraged by writing,
simply because of the format and
structure. In comparison to other
kinds of writings, a script is the
alien of them all. It’s just really
different, and kind of weird for
beginners. However utilizing
screenwriting software such as
Final Cut Pro can help save a lot
of time, and headache.The
software adjust the papers
margins and additional settings
by following the structure of the
template, in which, you’ve
selected.
8. Financing
Remember how hard it was to raise the
money for whatever event or program
being held at your middle school selling
chocolates that only your grandparents
would like to eat?That’s how hard raising
the capitol for a film can be, but no worries!
There’s nothing the Producer can’t
handle…unless he’s a rookie, however.
Most independent producers spend tons of
time researching funding opportunities,
grants, searching for investors,
sponsorships, loans, donations and so on.
It’s hard work! Although there isn’t a
specific step-by-step or formula to find
funding, there is a proffesional way to do it.
Producers create a proposal call the
“Prosectus” in order to pitch the project to
private or corporate investors. This sheet
includes a...
9. Preproduction
There are so many things that take place during this stage of
production.Within this phase, every element of the film will be
combed over with a fine toothed comb.Trust, it’s as exhausting and
extensive as it sounds. However, this process is excruciatingly
necessary.Without it, the film’s chances of success can’t be gaged.
The more energy put into this stage, the better of the production
and final product.There are a multitude of departments operating
within this stage, therefore, preproduction can be a migraine.With
stress at an all time high, it’s important to followONE SIMPLE RULE
when working within Pre-Pro, and that is simply being positive.
Being on a set where everyone is acting as if they want to bite each
other’s heads off just makes things harder.
10. The Breakdown
• Breaking down the script is one the first things to happen during
preproduction.The Producer needs to start raising the money for
the filmASAP, but he/she can’t do that without knowing just how
much the film costs.This is why breaking the film down is
important. Breaking the film down consists of breaking down and
noting the necessary elements, equipment, etc. for a scene.
Everything written goes down onto the budget, hence, giving the
producer a round about figure to start working on.Will things
change? Of course, they always do, but the estimate that this
process gives the producer is what initiates the fundraising process.
The team member mostly involved in breaking down the script is
the Director. It’s her job to break the script down in accordance to
her vision in order to work hand in hand with the script manager
and producer.
11. The Schedule
• Scheduling is one of the most essential aspects of
preproduction.With so many people and departments to
operate, how could a production run smoothly without
any scheduling.There’s all sorts of schedules running
around a production.The shooting schedule is one of the
most important.The shooting schedule tells the crew
what to do and when to do it. It also has whose involved,
seen, needed, the time of the shoot, the location, list of
props and equipment needed, etc. Due to the shooting
schedule being so extensive, it’s important to create the
schedule, prior to creating the budget.
12. Budget
Being a producer is tough!There are
countless responsibilities, and seemingly
little time.The budget is another one of
the producer’s responsibilities. The
producer totals up the films grand total
by utilizing his/her desired budgeting
software. Breaking down the budget of a
film helps you understand that films
mainly run off of money. Every filmmaker
has to accept that money has to be sent
in order for the film to be created,
however, that doesn’t mean that a person
has to spend irresponsibly. A person must
be experienced to successfully produce.
Having to manage the overall production
while considering things like above, and
beneath the line costs can be a bit
overwhelming.
While researching more into
the budget, I discovered a few
truths that I wasn’t aware of.
The lack of certainty of
deferred fees was most
shocking to me. I had no idea
that when people choose to
get paid off of the revenue
generated from a project, they
aren’t promised to get what
they worked for back.
Although common sense, I
didn’t realize that some people
truly lose their opportunity to
make their money back
whenever a film doesn’t
succeed.
13. Where’sThe
Crew?
The crew consists of all personnel working
upon the production. It is the producer’s
responsibility to higher the crew.The crew’s
job is to assist within the daily progression of
the film, without a good crew, a great
production may be difficult to accomplish.
Essentially, bigger budgets come from
bigger crews, therefore, it’s important to
keep everything within a realistic scope.
Smaller productions typically have 3-30 crew
members. Regardless of how many, the crew
needs to consist of talented and hard
working people.
14. Pre-Pro
Casting Rehearsals
• Rehearsals are important, simply because they
help save time and money during production.The
Director’s core responsibility Is to assist the actress
into successfully playing her role, and rehearsals is
exactly where that happens.The Director will assist
the actress by helping research the character,
developing trust, and creating back stories for the
talent to indulge themselves within. Directing, in
my opinion, is the ultimate form of coaching.
Methods, theories, plans, etc. must all be related
for the Director to be able to handle the variety of
talent, their skill sets, and learning abilities.
• Having a great cast is just as important as having
a great script.With the right actors and
actresses, the director and writer’s vision can
truly be seen.There are a multitude of steps and
members included within this process.The
producers and casting directors handles the
auditions in a multitude of steps.Advertising the
roles, scouting the talent, arranging casting calls
and call backs, and dealing with the selected and
rejected talent are all the responsibilities of the
producer and casting director.
15. “
”
The whole thing about making films in an organic film on
location is that it's not all about characters, relationships
and themes, it's also about place and the poetry of place.
It's about the spirit of what you find, the accidents of what
you stumble across.
-Mike Leigh
It’s All About Location
Although, I hate watching the music videos shot in the back of the local corner store, I never realized just how important location is.
Not only does the location have an impact upon the budget, but it can also have an affect upon the production. If the location has an
echo that’s troubling the sound crew on set, what was once a fun scene can turn frustrating extremely fast. Just as color, the location
can speak to the audience. Certain locations may also impact the quality of the film. Securing a location is yet another responsibility of
the Producer, however scouting for the location weighs upon the shoulders of the Location Manager.
17. Art On Set
This is one of my favorite aspects of productions, although,
I feel as if I will never successfully play this role. I just don’t
have the decorative touch.This is what communicates the
value of the film and scene.The creative way in which the
props and set is structured truly gives any film a polished
look. A great recent example of Art on the Set is a show
called Greenleaf.The mansion in which they lived was truly
tailored to fit the actors and actresses. The character’s
bedroom conveyed aspects of the character that could not
be articulated.The room served as a history mark in a
sense as well.The director and DP work hand in hand
during the confirmation process during this stage. It is said
to be a rule of thumb for the creative aspect of the crew to
walk the set prior to the shooting date to iron out any
issues that may pop up during production.
18. Audio Ready? Camera
Ready?
• There are a multitude of
responsibilities on top of recording
clean dialogue. One of the other
responsibilities of the sound team is
to provide the communication for
the production.They also have to
understand the variety of ways of
approaching sound recording for the
benefit of the production. Not every
scene and production is shot the
same.The same crew is also
responsible for generating sound
reports also.
19. Post Production
What DoThey See?
Everything that the audience see’s is framed during this process.This is the making of the finished
product.The producer and director are, once again, heavily involved during this process. One aspect of
post production that most beginners fail to focus upon, yet is just as important as the picture side of the
film is the sound.
20. Sound
• What’s worst than a film with
bad visual quality? A film with
bad audio. Audio is one of those
silent killers. If you don’t think
about it, you won’t worry about
it during the production
process, however, if not
recorded correctly, bad audio
can completely ruin your film.
What can you do when the
sound taken from production
leaves holes in your film?
Luckily for many beginners, and
anyone that has audio issues
and mistakes, technology
comes to the rescue.
21. ADR
• TheAutomated Dialogue Replacement process gives the life that bad audio takes away. During this
process, actors visit studios to vocally fill in the missing holes within the film. Pretty cool huh? I thought so
at least. Although this process is a life savor for many unintentional and unavoidable mistakes, or
situations, it can also take lots of time and money.This process is also often difficult for many beginners as
well, however, if your sound crew consists of pros, there shouldn’t be a problem. The sound crew consists of
a multitude of people.The sound mixer, or recordist, being the head honcho. The recordist is responsible
for gathering the sound crew and selecting the equipment. Just beneath the recordist is the boom operator,
and the utility sound technician.The sound technician’s job is truly intriguing to me. I played this role during
a live production once.Wrapping the thick cord from the operators camera, trying to prevent him from
falling into the percussion section, as he did the previous service, while trying to stay off stage, tucked away
in corners in attempt to hide from the cameras was one of the toughest film jobs that I’d ever had. Second
to being a PA on a low budget film of course. One of the top responsibilities of the sound team is to simply
record clean dialogue.
23. FinalTouches
• Although color correcting and color grading are two
completely different things, they are both a part of the films
final touches. After everything has been edited and put into
place, a colorists will ensure that the brightness and color of
the film is leveled, and give the film life by color grading the
film. I’ve learned that color grading is just like another
language.The colors evoke emotion through the film.There
are a multitude of plugins, etc. that independent artist can
obtain in order to color grade a film more easily. ‘m currently
using MYEffects to easily color my latest short. Without the
appropriate color or effect upon a film, or scene, an element
may be miscommunicated, or completely missing from the
film.
25. Where’sThe Market for My Film?
Not every film is created equally. Just as there is a variety in the kinds of film,
there is a variety within how a film can be distributed. Maybe Netflix and
Redbox isn’t good enough four your big project, you need a bigger and better
platform. Regardless of what works for you, there are always multiple routes
to consider during distribution. Deciding whether to use the box office, film
festivals, or evenYouTube can be very difficult, that’s why it’s important to
create a plan from the very start. Asking questions, and networking is
essential during this process. Researching upon which option to consider
takes time and tons preparation to actually execute.To successfully distribute,
one must have a feasible distribution plan. Simply because the kind of
distribution can affect the totality of the kind of work created. For example,
creating a 2 hour long movie isn’t ideal if the creators plans to distribute the
film solely to festivals for shorts. If the creators have plans to distribute the
material to multiple platforms, research and knowledge upon the limitations
of those platforms are essential.Attempting to sell your short to certain
festivals orTV stations after releasing the material upon the internet can be
fairly difficult for a multitude of reasons. Different organizations may define
certain things differently from others also, therefore, self education is key.
However, regardless of the level of complexity, genre, budget, or kind of
project, there is a distribution solution.
