Outlining different pre production documentation

1. UNIT 2
PRE PRODUCTION
Understanding Documentation

2. Client Brief – A promotional video for
children’s shoes
■ A company that makes designer footwear is about to launch its first footwear for children.
They want to create a short promotional video to use on websites.You have been asked to
produce the video.The video must last between 20 and 40 seconds and be aimed at an
audience of between the ages of 8 and 14.The video needs to be ready for the launch of the
new range in five weeks’ time.
■ The video must include:
– Shots of the footwear range
– The name, logo and contact details for the company
– Shots of the target audience in the street with the product
– A range of different camera angles, shots and movement
– A minimum of four clips
– Background music that is up-to-date and appeals to children.

3. The Brief – A promotional video for
children’s shoes
Main issues with the brief:-
Client requirements  Timescale of five weeks
 Must show the product
 Must have background music
 Needs to include company name, logo and details
Logistical issues  Shooting on outside location – need to move equipment
 Multiple angles and movement required – may need multiple cameras or
reshoot shots from different angle
 Need to source and use new product
 Timescale of five weeks in total – really only four
Legal issues  Release form for outside location
 Consent form from parents of children in video
 Copyright for background music

4. What documentation do you need?
■ Proposal
■ Production Schedule (including personnel and equipment lists)
■ RiskAssessment
■ Storyboard
■ Production Script (or ‘Shooting Script’)
■ Call Sheets
■ Contributor Release Forms

5. Proposal
■ A single document setting out what you intend to make
– The content of your proposed promotional film
– Summary of equipment and personnel requirements
– Summary of legal/ethical issues
– Summary of appeal to target audience
– Summary of shooting schedule
– What does a proposal form allow you to do? What benefits does it have to
make your project work better? What would you struggle to achieve without
it?

6. Production Schedule
■ What are you going to do and when are you going to do it
■ Stages
– Pre Production – ideas generation – research – proposal – production schedule – call
sheets – contributor release forms – storyboards – production script – risk
assessment
– Production – when and where are you going to shoot and for how long – locations –
dates and times – personnel required
– Post Production – editing – reshoots/adr – finalising and presenting
– Why do you need a production schedule? How important is it to keep to the
production schedule, and why? What is contingency planning?

7. Risk Assessment
■ What might go wrong?
■ What will you do to make sure, so far as is possible, that it does not go wrong
■ What will you do to make sure, so far as is possible, that if something does go wrong it
will do minimal harm
■ Make a judgement that your plans are safe enough to proceed with
■ What happens if you have a risk assessment, and you follow it, and something still
goes wrong, causing injury or damage?

8. Storyboard
■ In a bigger project you may well have other stages here – narrative outline / tension graphs
/ dialogue scripts – before you get to storyboarding
■ A shot by shot plan of your production
■ Not an art task – don’t worry about your art skills – but don’t use stick people because they
don’t provide a reasonable guide of what the screen will look like. Bubble people are fine
■ It is a technical document. Shot number / shot duration / shot type / action / camera
movement / focus pulling / diagetic and non-diagetic sound / editing
■ What does a storyboard allow you to do that a script doesn’t? (Or, perhaps, what is a
storyboard better at than a script?). Why might you want to create a photographic
storyboard?

9. Production Script
■ A detailed shot by shot breakdown of what you’re going to be doing – a complement
to the storyboard which sets our all of your practical plans for the shoot
■ Shot by shot
– What shot
– What action
– What diagetic and non-diagetic sound
– What camera movement
• How will you use a production script as part of the planning process?What
does it allow you to organize?

10. Call Sheets
■ For everyone involved in production
– Where do they need to be?
– When do they need to be there?
– How long do they need to be there for?
– What do they need?
• What do call sheets allow you to
organize?Why is this important?

11. Contributor Release Forms
■ For everyone involved in production
– They confirm they have agreed to participate (and possible ‘for payment of x)
– They confirm they consent to their work / their image being used
– They confirm they have no claim to ownership of the finished production
• What are you protecting by getting participants to sign contributor release
forms? What could happen if they don’t sign them?