Outline of logistics and job roles in media production

1. UNIT 4
PRE PRODUCTION
LOGISTICS – WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE DURING THE PRE PRODUCTION PROCESS
AND WHO IS GOING TO DO IT

2. OVERVIEW
• This is the next part of Learning Aim A (following work on sources of funding and on
where the money goes)
• This work is about identifying the different things that actually need to be done
during the pre-production process, and understanding what job roles within media
industries are responsible for what kind of work.
• We’ll do this work by focusing on one episode of a TV show and looking at a guide to
its planning and production.
• You need to write notes on what each of the job roles involves, and then explain
what they would have done in pre production for this particular episode.

3. LOOKING AT ONE TEXT – BUFFY THE VAMPIRE
SLAYER – THE ‘I’ IN TEAM (S4EP13)
• You can demonstrate your understanding of the logistics of pre-production by
looking in detail at the pre-production for one media text – I’ve chosen this
because there is a detailed guide to the whole pre-production process published
in one of the official season guides. And because it’s great.
• This guide will talk you through what different things you need to cover – one
slide at a time in a PowerPoint. You can select whatever is relevant from the
episode as your evidence for each point

4. IDEAS GENERATION AND WRITING
• This is episode #70 of the series (plus an earlier film version). The core ‘ideas generation’ that
dealt with the set up, characters and setting were done long before this episode came along.
• For long-form television drama you have a show-runner who is in charge of the overall narrative
shape of the show. There will be a writing team (especially in the States – in the UK there is
more likely to be a group of writers who work individually – in the States there will be more
teamwork) and there will be a named writer in charge of each show
• ‘Writing’ will mean pitching a narrative outline for the episode, meeting with the show-runner to
discuss where it fits in the long-term arc and deciding on key narrative ‘beats’ that have to be in
the episode.
• Everything that follows will be under the ultimate control of the show runner and episode
director.

5. SHOW RUNNER – DIRECTOR - WRITER
• Most of the focus will come from the episode director – occasionally, in key
episodes, the show runner might be the episode director and the writer.
• As well as generating ideas and overseeing script development and finalisation
they will also rehearse the cast (including having fight choreographers come in
and oversee rehearsals for fight scenes), delegate tasks to all other departments
and check everything is being done, storyboard sequences and make plans with
the Director of Photography and her/his department

6. VISUAL IDEAS DEVELOPMENT
• A show like this will have some specific design issues – there will be concept art to design the
‘monster’ creatures and it’s done by the specialists who will then make the costumes,
prosthetics, props and make-up designs that will create the ‘monsters’ for the show.
• There might be storyboarding. Not everybody storyboards scenes and I can’t find any evidence
that there was a lot of storyboarding going on here. TV does this differently to film – especially
episodic TV. It will work on roughly a three week turnaround after all of the initial ‘background’
concept work for the whole series is in place
• Week 1 – Pre production and planning
• Week 2 – The shoot
• Week 3 – Post production – special effects and editing
• Week 4 – The episode screens

7. CASTING
• The core issues in casting – the recurring cast members for the 'whole' run and for individual
seasons – are dealt with in the initial series planning. This may change over time – new
characters arrive (Spike in Season 2, Tara in Season 4), and minor or occasional characters
become more important and move up to 'recurring' status (Spike in Season 4) and sometimes
major characters leave or become 'occasional' (Oz in Season 4, Giles in Season 6/7)
• Every episode will have a range of 'occasional' casting decisions and a range of extras.
• Casting directors and assistants have files of actors looking for regular work, have regular
contact with actor's agents, run casting sessions, and keep an eye on lots of other shows to spot
people they like the look of. They will make most if not all of the 'lower level' choices. For more
significant parts they organise auditions and the director or show-runner will decide.

8. COSTUME
• Costume designers will have a settled wardrobe for the 'look' of recurring characters that will have
been developed with the director/show runner and the actors involved.
• They will be responsible for the nuances of costume design for recurring characters required for each
episode
• They will be responsible for the way that featured characters in a particular episode are dressed –
working with the episode director and show runner
• They will be responsible for the way that extras are dressed – more than anything to make sure that
nothing stands out unless it is meant to
• They will be involved in discussions with effects departments about the costuming of 'monster'
characters (where appropriate) and with hair and make up departments about how costume, hair and
make up will need to work together. There will also be 'make up tests' in pre-production to check the
look of make up designs under the lights and to check the skin-sensitivity of actors to the make up.

9. ART DEPARTMENT
SET DESIGN AND SET DRESSING
• The art department designs and dresses sets
• The set designers may work with location to find settings and use what's there, or may
design sets for the construction department to adapt or to build from scratch
• Set designers will work to ensure that everything that appears on camera is there
because it's meant to be there, and that sets work to develop characters and their
narratives (Xander stuck in the basement, Buffy and Willow sharing a dorm room,
Spike's tomb...)
• Set dressers are responsible for all of the detail – they will work with the props
department to fill spaces with the right things. They will also, on a show with lots of
stunts like this, work with the cinematographer and director to ensure things like crash
pads are out of shot or hidden.

10. PROPS
• Short for 'properties' and means the stuff on set that characters handle, pick up
and use. Things like mugs, hammers, crystals as opposed to furniture and
pictures on the walls and so on.
• They will source props but will also often make things from scratch to be used.
• In the prop room... "gallon bottles of prop blood, a jar of plastic rats' eyes, an
African mask, the devices that lock demons to the operating tables, rope, colour
sand, magazines, towels, herbs and spices, playing cards, cell phones, spectacles,
candles, flashlights...

11. CONSTRUCTION
• They will build or adapt sets
• They will build or adapt fittings for sets or props
• A construction crew of 20 people – plasterers, electricians, painters, carpenters …
• They will become very good and realising when they can adapt and reuse things
they've already built
• Will average six to eight sets each episode to have right (although quite a lot will
be recurring sets that just need to be tweaked.)

12. LOCATION
• "My job is to read the scrips, work out what will be shot in the studio and what needs to be shot
on location, and come up with different ideas and places to make it happen and...
• Make sure that I can get everybody where they need to be, with permits, insurance and
contracts, parking spaces, catering, fire and police, maps... everything in place so we can just
shoot."
• The First Assistant Director is the other person whose main job is to make sure everyone is
where they are meant to be when they are meant to be there with what they need – s/he will
work closely with the Location manager to achieve this.
• Southern California, in wide are around Hollywood, is full of movies and TV being shot. Location
managers lay a trail of colour coded signs to show people how to get to where to go!

13. SPECIALIST DESIGN
• Optic Nerve are the company who design monster costumes and make post-
production special effects for Buffy
• Will be involved in working with costume, hair and make up departments and
with the actors who will be wearing their costumes or prosthetics
• It's worth remembering that like everyone else they are working to tight
timescales – they will have around two weeks to design, approve, make and test a
costume or prosthetic before the episode shoots

14. LEGAL AND CLEARANCES
• Employment contracts (especially for featured cast and extras – recurring cast will
be settled series-long)
• Health and safety – risk assessments – prop handling

15. THE EPISODE – THE 'I' IN TEAM
• There are 28 scenes in the episode - I've given you a print out overview.
• You need to choose three or so very different scenes and write an analysis of
what would have been done in Pre-Production in order for that scene to reach
the screen.