Model Answer for Unit 4 Pre Production Learning Aim A

1. Learning Aim- A
Revenue Streams
Sponsorship
When a brand gives money to be associated in the film or a TV show. This sponsor
usually mentions the brand name and logo after a tv programme has it’s
advertisement breaks. This lets the viewer know what the programme is sponsored
by, giving them a massive awareness of the brand or its specific products. This might
not result immediately the viewers going and buying their brand/product, but it is a
great way to finance money for the film or a TV programme to be produced so it
carries on being successful.
An example demonstrating a sponsorship is in ‘Coronation Street’ in which
Cadbury’s chocolate is being advertised. Now Cadbury’s aim is to not just get money
from the tv programme itself, it’s aim is to get marketing which will bring awareness
of their brand. This sponsor is shown before advertisement break, in which the brand
logo is shown with its own little actions of milk being poured in the title, only
mentioning that Coronation Street is sponsored by Cadbury’s.
When it comes to adding a brand in a tv programme, actions such as corresponding
to what the brand has chosen to be marketed as, planning to as how the sponsor will
be made have to be negotiated with the TV program itself and the brand that will
sponsor their film/show. A good example of this is ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’
in which Sunderland’s online bingo ‘Tombola’. Both of these partnerships are in the
category of entertainment which will get the same viewer segmentation, raising
awareness of Sunderland will get them the right audience. The sponsor is even made
in a way that it matches the theme of ‘I’m a celebrity…’ by involving bugs crawling
over a phone that clearly has Tombola app open for the audience to
Crowdfunding
Another way of generating the finance for a film/TV programme is by amateurs or
professionals. This is usually promoted by social media networks and funded by
people’s contributions. ‘Kickstarter’ is a good social network where people contribute
their film by whether describing the ideas or creating a video that shows elements of
what is already being done, whilst also mentioning the purpose, set out a target and
how will it benefit them. The public contributors then have a choice whether or not
they want to donate their money to that exact film. Each film will have a target to
reach by the help of others, otherwise, the film won’t be funded at all. The funding
goes towards things such as attorneys, fees, professional sound mixing, colour
correction, travel and lodging expenses.

2. A pre-production film called ‘If the dancer dances’ gives a good understanding to the
viewers of what the film will be about, why are they making it and how directors will
be making the film that even shows some little shots of what they have already done
and what will they do when they get the budget they want. With Crowdfunding, it is
important to have a great social media presence, otherwise this can impact the
money the film makers are receiving, which means that the support and financial
contributors might not be well aware of this project/campaign you’re making. The
downside of crowdfunding is that there will always be a higher percentage of people
that will ‘lurk’ you’re project, see what is happening, watching the funds but wont do
anything. A smaller percentage goes to the people that will engage by showing
support and tweeting, sharing and liking the project, but won’t really contribute.
Lastly, the least amount of people will actually be the supporters who will contribute
and support the project you’re doing, which will not be strangers but most likely, the
people that they already know.
Corporate finance
This is a way to raise money by corporations with businesses that will finance their
film, expecting a return of much more than they invested. This means that investors
who want to invest in your film, have to believe in the film you’re making. In order
for this to work, filmmakers will have to have a distribution and marketing plan
which has to explain how the film will get it’s money as well as how the film will be
marketed and promoted. For the investors- a plan to show how will this film make its
revenue. With the investors, money not only comes their finance but also their
contribution to the film you’re making such as the influence and opinions they might
have which can help with advice and mentorship but remembering to not let them
take the control wheel completely. Most of these investors that are interested in film
projects might already be experienced in filmmaking such as in being a producer and
executive producer, so it is okay to contribute and negotiate each other’s
expectations.
Recently Star Wars was bought by Disney which increases the films finance
enormously. This is a large amount of money invested, we’re talking about over
hundred million. Of course, knowing how successful this film franchise is, there is no
doubt that Disney will get less than what they financed Star Wars with, in fact, it will
be ten times bigger. In the diagram below, ‘The Force Awakens’ was only financed
with 245 million, later to receive a revenue over a billion which is a massive success
for the film and for Disney itself.
Advertising and product placement
This financing method is similar but differs in many ways to sponsorship. Except
that this time, the brand or organisation invests in the film, expecting in return for a
placement in the film or the production of a promotional material which could be
different ranges of products made by that brand. The right term for this is product
placement in which you will see a product being promoted within a scene or more in
a film. This method for the companies can be due to target a specific target audience
to increase the awareness of the product, hoping for more sales.

3. There are many films that use this method of financing. James Bond is one of the
most known franchises for its product placement, starting from cars such as BMW
and Aston Martin to watches of Omega Seamaster and Sony phones.
Franchising
To spend less money by manufacturing film-related products themselves, film
producers can decide to license companies and brands the right to sell products to
other companies. The benefit of this is that the licensee (the company) incurs all
manufacturing and distribution expenses. Later on, the producer then receives an
advance payment for each sold product, as well as royalty payments that are often
between five and 10 percent of gross revenues from sales to retailers. If the movie
does not succeed and the products do not sell, the manufacturer is responsible for
the loss. Although film merchandise often is very common, products promoting films
can be very risky for merchandisers, as they, unfortunately, might not be as
successful and often have short life-spans.
McDonald’s is one of the biggest fast-food franchise that usually creates products
based on upcoming films and animations to target specific customer segmentation
and awareness for kids. ‘Happy Meal’ is well known for their package design and the
toys that come together with it before or at the time when the film is being shown in
theatres. This is a great way to promote the film/animation, especially that the kids
are well aware of Happy Meals which already makes it a successful product. The
copyright of the film has to be considered and also contributed of how it should be
promoted- the logo, the font and images have to be exactly how the film producer
(and the investor of co-finance) wants it to be, otherwise, the company that this
license has been offered to, can be sued.
Costs
Before the film can be created from the bottoms of script writing and story making to
film being on the screen, the line producer, unit production manager, or production
accountant needs to prepare a budget for a film production. This includes three
segments that have to be covered by the budgeting- pre-production, production, and
post-production. This plan involves everything that goes in each budget segment and
so it breaks into these slots. Budget is in four sections- above the line which are all of
the creative talents such as the crew e.g actors, producers, and director member.
Then under, we have below the line which are all of the direct production costs such
as; set, props, and equipment. Lastly, we have the post-production costs which
includes the overall editing, visual effects, music, and even merchandise.
Depending if the film is based on a book or a game, there will be immediate costs of
story rights and screenplay. This is because the context has to be copied in order to
actually make the story and characters displayed on the screen. Spider-Man 2 budget
for story rights solely is $20 million, making the screenplay a good bunch of $10
million. This amount of budget already shows that the film production for this film

4. will be massive, which means that the directors and producers used in the film will
be well-known and heavily experienced in their job- for the producer and other links
that come with producer, they have spent $15 million which is more than a
director- $10 million. This is due to the number of commands and work they have to
do, the producer is at the top of the hierarchy which means they will be responsible
for everything and everyone. A short film feature that I have watched- Real Gone by
Seth Worley is a small production as it is only a feature. Worley is the producer of the
film who has created his own story by means drawing storyboards, he also is the
director for the film which shows that he is already efficiently budgeting his money
investment. Further money spendings for Spider-Man 2, have gone to the crew
members. The actors alone who are well-known and experienced will cost more due
to how aware they are to the audience in the film industry-
• Tobey Maguire: $17 million
• Kirsten Dunst: $7 million
• Alfred Molina: $3 million
Depending on what roles the actors get to play, for the lead actors they invest more
money such as Tobey Maguire, he got $10 million more than Kirsten Dunst who is a
supporting-role actor. In Real Gone, there is only one character- an actor that is
friends with the director himself, which shows that Worley has saved a ton of money
again, because for one, the actor is his friend who is most likely to help out and not
ask for much and secondly, he didn’t have to hold any auditions for which Spider-
Man definitely had to, which means extra cost. For the other cast that stands behind
the camera- cameraman, spark, gaffer, key grip, boom operator, colour timer,
greensman and so on Spider-Man spent $3 million. Comparing that to Real Gone, he
had a very limited amount of crew that were again, his friends, Worley saved (a lot of
money).
Spider-Man 2 is a massive movie, which means that the locations are expensive to
book, time-consuming and the cost of even traveling to them is costly, especially
when the location is in another country, the cost for the flight tickets, staying in the
hotel for how many days or weeks and ordering transport for all the crew,
equipment, and set will be a fortune. For the crew, especially for the camera-man,
things such as as the cameras, lenses, tracking rails, dolly’s, cranes and more (this
only is for the camera) will be in the list with other equipment needed, such as for the
sound mixer there will be microphones, boom poles and wires needed, for lighting
there will be the many amount of lights used for the best lit scenes to create. The
costumes will have to be specially-made, meaning that they will also hire well-known
and high profiled designers, especially fit for the characters such as the spider suit for
the spider-man. Not forgetting the props used that also have to be designed
specifically for each scene- Spider-Man 2 has spent in total $45 million on the
production costs which is logical because the movie is massive. Comparing this
to Real Gone, they have involved only a few locations- a home that they live in, props
that are their own and cameras that is Worsley’s own as well shows how small this
production is, meaning that he didn’t spend on the production more than $100,000.
After the movie has been shot, scene by scene comes the most important post-
production plan. This will involve everything that happens whilst editing. This is also

5. the place where the producers/directors realise the things that they don’t like, which
will result in more re-shooting. Knowing that Spider-Man 2 is full of scenes that are
not realistically possible to shoot in real life, there is a high chance that most of the
editing will be of visual after-effects due to shooting in the green room, so Spider-
Man has spent $65 million solely for special effects which makes sense due to the
mass of green screen they have used in the production. The whole editing process is
time-consuming, making sure that the duration of each scene, the use of transition
and sound is corresponding to the needs of the producer and the director. The music
is bought for copyright reasons, readjusted and cut for it to be applied in the movie
also has to be taken into account. For music, they spent $5 million ($2 million for the
composer Danny Elfman alone) which means that they had to compose their own
music/soundtrack suitable for the film. Whereas Real Gone is a feature film,
meaning that this film will be shot in a short period of time, could be up to three days
of filming and a maximum of a week for the post-production, this means that the
costs for post-production, especially for small visual effects at the end of the video for
Real Gone would be approximately $800. For big film debuts, there is also a need to
advertise their movie before it comes out in theatres. This can be done by creating
trailers that are advertised on social media platforms such as Youtube, also on TV
and of course in cinema ads. Posters will be created on billboards, buses and bus
stops and even in magazine/newspaper forms. This all goes for their advertisement.
Overall, Spider-Man 2 spent in total $202 million for its whole film production which
did go over the budget that they invested in. In the US film production system, it is
not allowed for the producers to exceed the initial budget. Exceptions such as the
producer/director giving back his fee to the studio can be negotiated. Although US
system is profitable and can afford to go over budget, film industries in other
countries tend to be financed through government subsidies. Another case can be
that the producers get less of their fee by paying back the overspent amount. Ways
that Spider-Man could cut costs is ‘day for night’ technique which eliminates the
scenes shot at night due to more cost of use of lighting and electricity for it. Shooting
the film in famous and overactive locations can also cost a lot due to the location fees
and stopping traffic. Usually by filming actions scenes of cars can be shot early on
Sunday mornings because that’s when traffic is at its lightest. Another way to cut
costs would be by using a non-union crew, but it is carefully to be chosen as some
non-union crew will be lacking the experience. But it gives the advantage for the
producer/director to pay their actors less of their full day rate for an hour of
rehearsal without the ‘Screen Actors Guild (SAG)’ getting involved. Lastly, a way
for the film to profit would be by selling merchandise. This is part of franchising
where film producers can decide to license companies and brands the right to sell
products to other companies. The producer then receives an advance payment for
each sold product, as well as royalty payments that are often between five and 10
percent of gross revenues from sales to retailers. By the end of releasing the
film, Spider-Man 2received $783.8 million in box office which is a total of $500
million profit made.
Logistics
1. Setting up the movie and its business

6. Establishing a business foundation which will be the backbone of the film. Films can
choose to be produced by a pre-existing production company, such as Disney in
which the company helps the film production financially and generation of pre-
production. Or the producer gets to create their own company for the film production
meaning that the producer will have to figure out where to get financial support. This
is usually seen in small productions such as short promo films.
The next big starter in films is the scriptwriting and screenplay where most of the
story is already sorted out; same as the choice of characters. This is the core of film
production as after script comes ideas.
1. 2. Budgeting and scheduling
Budgeting is massive especially when it comes to buying many assets for the film.
Not only money goes into pre-production, the numbers of how many people will be
involved in that too. This will include costs for their job and also provide them with
food during breaks, hotels, and transport. This again is easier for small film
productions as not a lot of crew are used in the film, meaning that there will be less to
pay for.
In order to do this, it is important to know where and how much revenue streams
and costs you will have overall. This money can limit some productions as there
might not be enough money – this is where the producer knows what to afford by
cutting things down such as locations or even down to actors.
After scriptwriting is done, scheduling what happens in next upcoming days, weeks
or months is crucial. Big film productions tend to use three different types of
scheduling documents during the time in pre-production- the one-liner, the day out
of days, and the call sheet. All of these processes includes figuring out what scenes
can be shot together on the same day, scheduling actors to work days in a row and
tightening the schedule so the film can be shot in fewer days- this will all benefit
finance which means cutting down costs.
1. 3. Hiring key departments head specialists
After you have your budget sorted out and by that time there will be people already
starting to crew in for the pre-production, you can start hiring key specialists such as
the director, cinematographer, production designer, editor, costume designer,
casting director. This also depends on how big or small the production really is, if it is
small, not a lot of specialists are needed, most of the time the producer will be in
control and directing the specialists following below the producer. Whereas in big
film productions, there will be many specialists hired as they all will be responsible
for the small things to make the film as successful as possible, especially knowing
that their budget can afford it.
1. 4. Creative planning

7. Following script writing, comes the visualizations and planning of what camera
shots, music, characters, props, and locations will be used in the movie. This includes
the production of storyboarding where scenes/each shot is being sketched out as the
director wants it to look when filming. Depending if it is a big film production,
professional drawers/painters will do the job, but they have to contribute with the
director and producer to make sure the film is what it needs to be in first place. The
storyboards mainly will start to plan out all the necessary things needed in each
scene, adding to the list of props, costumes, and locations. The storyboards will
change eventually until it fits the requirements of the producer and the director.
A shot list is also needed for creative planning- this shows how each scene will be
shot, meaning that it will help in making or using special equipment for the
production. This is very helpful when it comes to production and filming as there will
be already all planned out, with acting and filming left to do.
1. 5. The things you will need
All the things that you could imagine that is being used in the film are needed. Such
as the equipment, booking and rentals, props and costume pricings and building
supplies to build the needed set. Usually at this stage the location manager scouts the
locations that the film is shooting in, later on agreeing to what to book.
1. 6. Hiring crew & auditioning talents
After most of the pre-production is done, one of the last things needed for the film is
a secured cast, crew, production staff, key locations, and the tools to produce the
movie. This means that there will be auditions to pick the suitable actors for the film.
This also associates with crew members, especially if the film production is big, jobs
such as sound mixing has to be done by a professional. For each member that is
involved in the movie, documents such as call sheets and contributor release forms
have to be signed off.
1. 7. Final pre-production prep before the camera starts rolling
Afer the budget and schedule are all checked and completely done, the cast and crew
list are updated, call sheets and contributor release forms are prepped, the film can
start their next stage of production- filming.
What specialists are needed?
In film productions, there are endless of specialists needed for each section, whether
that be for sound, camera, props, costume or set. Each part will have their own group
of people needed to do the job right, so planning out for pre-production, filming and
post-production can run smoothly. Here are the main specialists needed for a film
production-

8. • Producer– this specialist carries a lot of responsibility in the production in the film.
They have to create a script and within that direct, edit and arrange finance.
• Director– mainly is the person that will focus on the visualization and creative
aspect of the screenplay/ script whilst directing the technical crew and actors to
requirements. The director has a key role in creative aspects of creating the film,
especially they are important in choosing the cast members and the overall
production design.
• Production Manager– they have to be responsible of planning and organizing the
overall production schedules that include call sheets. They have to assess the project
and resource requirements. This includes negotiating in budgets and timescales with
managers and clients. On top of that, they have to make sure that all health and
safety regulations are followed so no unnecessary accidents happen.
• Actor- usually referred as ‘talents’ are part of the filmmaking crew. They have to
contribute to the screenplay/script and act everything out and bring characters to
life.
• Costume designer- each character will have their own persona, costume designers
help to bring these characters to life by combining elements of color, fabric, and
textures to give the audience a visual understanding of characters. Whether that be
representing their age, social status, occupation, and era they’re set in. Their work
can also create fashion statements and is a critical element in movies.
• Editor- has to be responsible for editing and gathering all the recorded material into
a finished film that is suitable enough to be released out for the world to see. The
material will include raw camera footage, recorded dialogue, choosing the right
sound effects, creating graphics and producing special effects.
• Camera operators– are the ones that control the camera and its equipment both
in the studio and on location. They have to be aware of the screenplay and
storyboarding, which has to be practiced for a quicker outcome when on set.
• Sound Mixer– is responsible for recording all of the sounds needed when on set
during the filmmaking. They have to know how to use professional audio equipment
for a successful recording.
What types of paperwork/documentation are needed?
• Script– this is the document that will start the whole project, without a script,
producers wouldn’t know the sequence of the story, wouldn’t know what characters
and their costumes, props to go for and what locations to prep for the movie. The
script opens all the ideas which are later then taken into account and made into
reality for the screen.
• Film Budgeting– a document that could be over hundred pages long, is used to
secure financing for and lead to pre-production and production of the film. There will
be many budgeting drafts required to make sure that money is not wasted and even
in some parts, cut down.
• Story Boards- This is where illustrations or images are created in sequence to pre-
visualise what each shot in the scene will be looking like. This also allows the
director/producer to decide if some shots, angles, locations, characters, and props
should be used in the film. The storyboard has to be sequenced as to how the story
goes.
• Risk Assessment- This has to be taken into account for every location used in the
film. Risk assessment highlights the danger of any kind that can happen on set. Even
the smallest things should be danger examined because anything can cause an injury

9. to the actors and to the crew. This risk assessment then later should be analysed and
then considered to be prevented.
• Contributors Release Form- Actors and crew have to sign this form for their own
notice that they will be contributing to the film. If there are children talents, their
parents have to sign this form as their parents are responsible for whatever happens
to them due to them not reaching the legal age. If this form is not signed, the actors
can say that they don’t like to be involved in a scene which means that you will be
forced to take it down or change it which means a lot of money and time was wasted.
• Booking Form- This is important to consider especially if you have to use studios
or special locations in your film. Without this form, there would be no evidence of
you paying for that location, which could result in wasted time and no place to shoot.
Depending on how big the project is, for big movies that invest in a lot of money
would not need to book equipment as the specialists would have their own. Whereas
for small production, booking out equipment is essential.
• EDL- This is an editing decision list created after all of the shots have been taken.
This will be easier for the editor to know which shots are being used and which are
not. This will be time-consuming considering how many shots are being taken
altogether but it will cut down the time when editing, as in this document the needed
shots will be marked and so, later used.
Why are all these processes necessary?
Pre-production is vital for every single film. If there was no pre-production,
everything would be messy, paperwork would be undone and it wouldn’t even get to
the stage of picking up the camera and start filming. It’s important to know your safe
ground, especially when it comes to budgeting, money buys work and equals time. It
breaks down the hardest parts which are much easier to sort out when all the script,
storyboarding and crewing is done. Making sure that your film has enough time to be
made, the right people to do the job, the money to budget all of the things needed
and even the right way of telling the story to the audience, making sure that there is a
purpose for this movie and that it is successful when everything is done. Pre-
production process can be different for many producers/directors, some might
change the turns of what needs to be done, but it all comes down to one thing, there
would be no movie without no pre-production.
Codes Of Practice and Regulation
Copyright
The concept of protecting your own work from being copied and sold by other people
has been considered back in history. This has changed throughout decades when
authors wanted to save their work from being copied so, new acts from parliament
came through. The copyright law comes back to 1557 in England, where copyright
used to censor printing by allowing the Crown to confiscate unapproved books. In
1710, the Parliament broke the monopoly by issuing the Statute of Anne, which
established fixed term limits for copyrights. Today the Statute of Anne is viewed as
the first enactment of modern copyright.

10. The ‘Berne Convention’, established in 1886 in which most of the countries signed a
copyright agreement in order to protect peoples primary work. Before that, copyright
period grew through centuries, first allowing the authors to have a fourteen year plus
another fourteen years of copyright period. It essentially grew to twenty and only
after 90’s, the copyright was extended to the authors lifestyle plus 5 years and two
generations, which also then was increased by thirty which lead to authors lifetime,
extra seventy years and two generations after finding out that people live much more
longer than they did back in century.
After the copyright period ends, the content then goes into Public Domain. This
means that an idea, music, written book, art or anything else is free for everyone to
access meaning that they have the right to copy the content. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
who created stories about the famous English detective Sherlock Holmes died in
1930 but the character is still used in many forms today. A legal ruling has
announced the character and all other characters that were written in Doyle’s stories
are now in the public domain which means that the story, idea, and character are not
protected by intellectual property law, making it accessible for anyone to use. Disney
has also used stories from the public domain, such as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, written
by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm which was originally published in 1812,
meaning that the period for copyright for these authors have ended.
The consequences if Copyright is not followed
• In 2011, Apple sued Samsung for allegedly copying Apple ideas using technology,
such as ‘pinch-to-zoom features, scrolling styles and the overall appearance of the
phone and its interface’. For this Samsunghas been sued, making Samsung agree to
pay Apple £352 million.
• For film productions, ‘Fair Use’ law allows movies to copy a sample from another
movie. This usually happens in parodies such as Scream.
Health and Safety
Filming people
When filming, there has to be contributions to respect people that pass-by during
filming. This means that anyone that walks in front of the camera or is seen in the
shot has to sign a contributors release form as this can get the production in trouble
if not. Especially if one disagrees with a scene that they’re appearing in, resulting the
scene to be taken down. To make this easier, when filming out in public locations
such in streets or shops, it is a good idea to use extra talents as they will have to sign
the contributor release form before even filming. For children under the age of 18,
their parents have to sign this form, making sure that whatever happens to the child,
their parents are responsible and allowing them to appear in the film. In the process
of signing all the documents needed from the talents, a risk assessment should also
be presented and read through to acknowledge possible risks and what can be done
to avoid them.

11. Filming buildings
Most of the buildings in UK are protected under the copyright law. But there is an act
under ‘Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988‘ that specifically permits you to take
a photograph or film a building without the permission of the owners- not breaking
the copyright law. Although, if the film tends to recreate the set of the building, that
might not be so simple. It could still be within the period of copyright protection-
which lasts for the life of the architect plus 70 years, then in order for you to be able
recreate it as part of a film, there will be a need of the permission of the copyright
owner.
If filming takes place on a private land in order to film certain buildings, a consent
from the landlord and/or owner of the land has to agree and permit you to do so. If
there is a need to film inside a building, there has to be a permission from building
owners.
Media Insurance
All UK productions need Public Liability Insurance proof in order to continue their
filming. This document is a legal responsibility to whatever happens in production,
may that be a third party injury or a damage to the property. This insurance should
be gathered at the start of pre-production until the production is finished. An
‘Contingent Motor Liability‘ can also be insured for vehicles that are hired for
drivers, and so for the employees’ own vehicles- in case anything happens to the
vehicles during their production.
It’s a rule for a film production to cover £2 million for street filming, if the
production takes place in other areas, you might be required to cover up to £5
million. But this all comes down to what locations is the film being produced at and
how big the production actually is- meaning that more professional productions will
cover more.
Child performance licences
If the film requires children of compulsory school age as actors, it is important to
have a Child Performance Licence. This policy is issued by the Education Welfare
department of the local authority in which the child is permitted to reside from
school. This licence is designed to protect the child’s health, welfare and education,
and prevent them from exploitation. If the child is under 18, they must be supervised
by their parent or guardian, school teacher or home tutor. There is also an option for
them to be supervised by a chaperone that has been approved by the council. If
children cannot be supervised by a parent/guardian in some call times, big
productions tend to use a chaperone as they can be responsible for up to 12 children.
A good example is Harry Potter, which is mainly based around children lead
characters, starting from the age of 11.

12. Minimum wage
Filmmaking requires to employ crew members and talents, which means that the
production has to be aware of the ‘National Minimum Wage regulations and
National Living Wage rates‘. Depending on what age their actors are and whether
they’re an apprentice, these rates can also change. If the actor is 16, the ‘National
Minimum Wage‘ applies to them. Actors from the age of 25 are payed the ‘National
Living Wage‘.
Regulation
What is BBFC?
The bbfc is the British Board of film classification. They examine every single film,
trailer and advertisement and judge of what context is applied and what things are
being involved within for it to be shown to a specific audience. Their guidelines
follow and reflect the public opinions about what is acceptable for the society, this
can change due to how different society forms during the times and what is morally
seen as the right or wrong thing to show to a younger audience.
Age ratings
• U – (4+) A film that should be suitable for all audiences. U films are always set in
positive context and should show good counterbalances to any violence, threat or
horror.
• PG – is a film for parental guidance. A PG film should not put a child aged around
eight or older on the edge. If the children of any age watch without accompanied by a
parent, they are allowed to do so but parents are to be advising their children if the
content may upset younger or more sensitive children.
• 12a – films that are suitable for 12 years and over. A child younger than 12 should
not watch a 12A unless they are accompanied by an adult. Adults are responsible for
taking their child that’s under 12 to see a 12A.
• 15 – films only suitable for 15 years and over. A child under 15 cannot see a 15 film in
a cinema.
• 18 – films suitable only for adults aged 18 and over. A person younger than 18 may
not watch an 18 film in a cinema.
• R18 – these films are only to be shown in specially licensed cinemas, or able to buy
in licensed sex shops for adults only. The R18 category is a special and legally-
restricted classification that includes explicit works of sex and strong fetish material
that involve adults. R18 video works cannot be purchased and sent by mail order.
Factors that affect classification of the film

13. Context, theme, tone and impact
There are general factors that influence the decision of what classification the bbfc
should rate a movie, trailer or an advert. One of the factors include the context of the
film. This makes the overall decision of it being acceptable to the public expectations,
making sure that the issues covered in the film are suitable for the right age of the
audience. The theme is another general factor that influences the decisions especially
how much of it is being represented and taken in account. The tone of the work can
also influence the overall classification of the film, such as themes covering use of
drugs and representing this with no visual evidence of it being done can be given a
lower classification whereas if the tone is set much more darker with the influence
for it to impact the audience, the classification might go higher.
Discrimination, drugs, imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex, threat and
violence
Other specific factors that influence the classification of a film is discrimination,
drugs, imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex, threat and violence. Each of these
factors have to undertake a certain extent to be suitable for the younger audiences. In
terms of discrimination, there are films that will cover context of race, gender,
religion, disability and sexuality. The strength and impact has to be examined
because some of the context can be bearing, especially where discriminatory
language and behaviour is shown that it is not a right thing to do or there is a small
amount of appeal to children which will give a lower classification.
The classification will get higher if the use of drugs is glorified by showing the details
of the activity taking place. If the use of drugs are glamorised, the movie is likely to
receive a higher classification as it emphases the dangers that drug use can cause. For
the use of imitable behavior, a very detailed portrayal of violent techniques and
accessible weapons such as knives being glamorised will be rated at a higher
classification. Also, media that will show anti-social behavior such as bullying will
likely receive a higher classification.
The presentation of dangerous behaviors such as hanging, suicide and self-harm will
receive a higher classification because there is a possibility that children and young
people may copy. Bad use of language referring and religious, racial and sexual
association can easily offend the audiences. This will reach a certain extent
depending on age, gender, race, background, beliefs and expectations of the viewers
in which they judge if they are offensive or not.
Nudity can be acceptable for all classification levels if there is no sexual context to it,
meaning that it should not be shown occasionally if the film is rated at U. Whereas
nudity will immediately receive a higher classification if there is a strong sexual
context- showing much detail occasionally. This context will be usually given the
classification at the adult categories (18 or R18).

14. Sexual activity can be portrayed in different stages, starting from kissing to detail of
unsimulated sex. Mostly sexual activities are only classified in higher classifications,
starting from 15 and upwards. Of course, the stronger are the portrayals of sexual
behavior the higher will be the classification. Sex whose primary purpose is sexual
arousal or stimulation will be given the classification at the adult categories. Sex
works which only contain simulated sex will usually be passed at 18. The R18
category is suitable for sex works containing clear images of real sex or other very
strong sexual images. R18 films can be shown in specially licensed cinemas.
Factors such as frequency, length and detail of unsettling and scary scenes as well as
the impact of the music and sound will be taken into account by the examiners,
analysing what is suitable for younger audiences. The classification of threat and
horror will be decided of the level of detail each individual scene provides. Also, the
general tone, impact, realism and supernatural elements used in the film will impact
this decision.
The film will get a higher classification if; violence is portrayed as a normal solution
to problems, characters responding to pain and injury, unsympathetic actions are
being made towards victims, visible encouragement of acting aggressively, characters
are humiliating and taking pleasure from pain. Glamorisation of violence, sadistic or
sexual violence will also receive a higher classification. Any heavy portrayal of
sadistic or sexual violence that poses a harm risk will be sent for a discussion in
intervention through higher classification, the film might even be asked to cut scenes
out or even refused to be classified. If the content also looks acceptable, appealing
and reinforces the idea to the viewers that victims enjoy sexual or sadistic violence or
other harmful violent activities will be refused to be classified.
The purpose for bbfc to classify films
Mainly it is to protect children from being traumatised and vulnerable adults from
potentially harming themselves or others as this media content can be an
information source for the intention to do so. For BBFC, it is also about empowering
consumers, especially parents that hold responsibility for their children to make
right decisions of allowing children to witness contents that might not be suitable for
younger children. Films and other media sources are good at impacting and
influencing people, so classifications are there to set barriers and help to prevent that
from happening.
Regulators
There are other organisations that regulate what’s being shown on the TV and
advertisements. Ofcom regulates the TV, radio and video ‘on demand’, fixed line
telecoms, mobiles and postal services. This organisation accepts complaints for
anything mentioned above. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regulates in
advertisements as well as looking at if shows are age appropriate, also watching over
‘watershed’ times. But this might not apply to all TV channels. Sky is a paid

15. broadband in which times might differ to others, such as for the watershed, Sky
allows to show these to be broadcasted at 8pm rather than 9pm.
Types of Documentation
Ideas Generation
This documentation is the first document to be made in pre-production as this is
where you put all your ideas down for your movie. The theme will be the same, but
the story plots might change in each idea, helping yourself to choose what idea
sounds and looks best when visualised. This document can be done by your own
preference, most ideas generations are in form of spider diagram where new details
can be written down. Others prefer to just sketch around the paper.
Proposal
After considering what idea is put forward, proposal lays out all information about
your film. Things considered in the proposal are the name of the film, running time
and the genre of the film. This proposal will also include the content of the film,
summarising what it’s about. What will the purpose of the film be, where will it be
screened and distributed, what are the ethical considerations and what resources will
be needed for the movie and why. As well as setting out who the target audience is
and what crew members you will have.
Script
This document is the core of the film, this sets out everything starting from
characters lines to their positions, as well as locations and props. The script is the
movie that has been written down, which will allow you to create visions of how the
movie should look. The script allows you to continue with making the film happen,
on screen.
Storyboard
After the script is done, by looking at characters and their lines, intentions, and
positions storyboarding is vital for the film to happen. This is very helpful for the
cameraman to operate when shooting the film, meaning that when production starts,
there is no time wasted as storyboards visualise the film before the cameraman starts
rolling.
Lighting Plans

16. For each scene or even a shot, a lighting plan is made to know how these lights
should lit the characters or the atmosphere around them. Lights come in different
sizes, depending on how powerful they are and what exactly has to be lit on. There
are three main lights used on set- back light, fill light and key light. This has to be
considered in these plans to know where to place them when it comes to production,
so no time is wasted setting up.
Production Schedule
This will consider all the scenes used in the film. For each scene, it highlights what
camera techniques and angles are used with the description of what exactly happens
for that specific angle- this can be about a character doing a certain action with this
angle/technique. This also depicts the time of how long this film is going to be,
making it easier to plan out everything for the film.
Location Recce
This document is really necessary, especially for all types of filming productions as it
determines the suitability of the location for it to be filmed. This means that the
producer/director has to visit the intended location, including access to the needed
facilities which then can be assessed for any specific lighting or sound requirements.
Risk Assessment
This is very vital for every production as this will ensure that all of the crew members
are safe in the place they are shooting. Without this document, the film production
can be sued. This document mentions all the possible risks of each object, prop or
location that crew members have to be aware of and in this case, avoided.
Budget
Money has to be organised and looked after in order for the film to go well. The
income might be big to set up a film, but so will be the outcome, so it is important to
keep a track of what is spent and what is the limit. The budgeting is divided into two
most important parts- the pre-production and the crew/talent members. Money has
to be calculated correctly so no mistakes occur, which is why this document is so
important.
Call Sheets
This document is issued to the crew and the talents of a film production. It mentions
the characters, what scenes are filmed, the duration and dates of filming to inform
the needed crew members of where and when they should come in for a specific
scene or a day of filming. This means that there should be no late arrivals or even

17. absence of a needed crew member, this also informs the crew members what scenes
will be shot so they can bring the right documentation for that too.
Booking forms
An important documentation especially if studios, special locations, specific assets or
props are used for a film production. This form is an evidence of whatever is booked,
meaning that there should be no problems of getting whatever is needed, as usually
equipment can run out in the stock, this document makes sure that the equipment
needed, will be put on your name and given on the day needed. The same thing goes
for locations and studios.
Contributors Release forms
For the awareness of crew members and talents participating in a film production,
this document has to be signed. For underage talents, a parent or a guardian is
responsible for this person and has to sign the document. The consequence of not
signing this form is that a person can state that they don’t like to be involved in a
scene which then results in the scene to be taken down and of course, re-shot which
means time will be wasted.
Evaluation of Documentation
Pre-production is massively important when ensuring the success of the end result
for a film production, and so is the importance of organising the right documentation
to avoid any complications which can result in delays and, more money. Pre-
production documentation is vital for planning, allowing you to look into the
production from different viewpoints and analyse each section. That’s why ideas
generation, proposal, script and storyboarding is essential. When it comes to actual
filming, it will all be considered and planned out, which means a lot of time will be
saved and crew members will know what they are doing. Preproduction also
contributes to teamwork, call sheets will ensure that the right people arrive on set so
there is a job to do for every person standing there, it also allows them to work
together much more quickly and efficiently. Storyboards set out a lot of planning for
each scene and shot, which means the production will run much faster as everything
is planned out beforehand. Documents such as budget will allow the producer to plan
out the expenses needed for the production, this is why location recce, script, and
storyboards are essential as they help to prepare them financially, considering what
is profitable for costs, such as the expenses needed for each location, scene, props,
and actors.
Pre-production is vital especially when it comes to health and safety. Risk assessment
does consider all the risks and injuries that can be caused when filming so this will
prepare them for any kind of accidents, but most importantly, they will be prevented.
By this, they also save time as any kind of injury can cause delays when shooting.
Pre-production can also contribute to the use of resources and comply with
regulations. Such as when organising a shoot, booking form is an evidence that

18. prevents legal action and permits the production to specific locations and needed
equipment to rent. Pre-production also helps the production to visualise the content
before rolling the cameras. Documentation such as scripts, storyboarding and idea
generations allows them to see if the content fits well with meeting the needs of the
audience. In the contribution to BBFC, the production has to be aimed at a specific
age rating, these documents will allow the producer to follow the regulations for a
specific classification to avoid changing content if it was to be aimed at a specific
audience. This demonstrates how much pre-production affects the production, so it
is substantial to follow all of the documentation for it to be successful.
BECTU
BECTU is the media and entertainment union set up in the UK which gives personal
support and guidance for legal regulations in the media industry. BECTU considers
to protect individuals in this industry by providing:
Recommended rates- To avoid being underpaid; a similar concept to minimum
wage, the recommended rates measure out the smallest amount a cast, crew or any
other individual involved can be paid whilst working. For freelance and self-
employed individuals in this industry, this gives them a fair amount to be paid. If
productions do not know the wage to pay their cast and crew, recommended rates
should be followed and considered to avoid any consequences.
Public liability- An insurance that BECTU offers productions to prevent shutting
down or stopping the process of production if someone get’s injured during the time
of production. This is a document that each crew and cast member sign to show
evidence of them being responsible for themselves and anything that happens to
them. This also prevents the production from getting fined.
One to one support- BECTU offers one to one support for individuals that need
support in things like training or other personal aspects such as finance and setting
up for organisations and productions.
Collective Bargaining- If there is an individual that thinks should be paid more
than recomended rates, BECTU helps them to negotiate the salary paid to them,
which usually depends on the actual job, it’s conditions and working hours.
Tax and National Insurance: For individuals that are freelance and self-
employed, BECTU provides financial information and guidance when paying taxes
and national insurance and supporting when organising their money in general.
Financial areas that BECTU also have available information and guidance for-
• Advice on tax status
• Accepted self-employed grades
• The 7 day rule
• Self-employment v PAYE

19. • The Lorimer letter
• Expenses
• VAT
• Personal service companies
• National insurance
Networking: As being the union that brings together all people in the creative
industry, BECTU is a place people can sign up to, have discussions with other people
in productions by learning skills and new information. If there is a production that
calls creative specialists, BECTU will advertise and offer people a position in this
production.
Education: BECTU is very helpful for people that are new in the creative industry.
They offer training for things like editing, using equipment or even consulting
professionals. BECTU offers many courses in education to improve skills and prepare
them for working in bigger productions in future. Courses that BECTU offers-
• Screenwriting
• Freelance courses
• First aid training
• Creative specialist areas such as- make-up