media

1. Assignment 1
Pre-production
Requirements
By Layton Mensforth

2. Financing
When it comes to films, financing plays a huge role in the making of a movie. This is because, films need quite a lot of funding, for example a
blockbuster movie costs around 90 – 200 million pounds to make. Low budget movies can also cost anywhere from 2 thousand to 100
thousand pounds, these movies can be funded in two different way this being private funding and public funding. When budgeting for a
movie you must keep in mind that you need to pay the cast and crew members which will take up a fair bit of the budget. The cost of the
crew will vary dependent on how important their roles are. In addition, the hiring of facilities will be required to shoot the video, the cost of
this will vary depending on how big the facility is.
Other costs which take up a lot of the budget but will nevertheless need to be taken into consideration are:
• equipment that will need to be purchased or hired such as cameras, microphones etc.
• the purchase of props are required for your movie, these vary depending on what type of movie is being made.
• consideration into how you will transport the actors, props and equipment to the various locations will also need to be taken.
• soundtracks which will be used in the movie may need to be purchased if they are copyrighted.
Private financing: The movie ”No Country For Old Men” and “True Grit” were
directed by the Oscar winning directors The Coen Brothers. The Coen Brothers’ first
film “Blood Simple” had struggled to raise $750,000, this film had been invested in
by 65 private investors as part of a film partnership. This film partnership included
entrepreneurs, doctors and smaller business owners with the majority investing
around $5,000 - $10,000 each. Blood Simple then went on to make just under
$4,000,000 when it was released into the box office.

3. Timescale
Time management is a huge factor in pre-production as you need to ensure that everything has a deadline, for example you must
make sure that locations are scouted before you start filming so that you know the location that you are going on the day of
filming. You also must bear in mind that the actors who are starring in your movie may have other commitments which you will
have to work around, for example other jobs. This means that you will have to find days when all cast members are free. You also
must ensure that equipment required to shoot the movie is available for the days in which you are filming. This means equipment
should be booked ahead of time for the required days. Realistic schedules should be created for the production, as over-running
on the deadline can affect the budget due to the having to pay the cast and crew extra additional monies as well as extra costs for
the traveling to possibly additional or previous locations. Hired equipment would also be required for a longer period which
would further affect your budget. Another reason as to why you must have realistic shooting schedules is that editors would have
to create more time in order to edit the movie. Realistic schedules also must be put in place so that you don’t have members of
your cast and crew working too many hours.
The movie Jaws for example was mostly set out at sea, this had caused delays to the movie production schedule due to members
of the cast and crew becoming sick. There had also been delays due to the cameras which were getting too wet from the sea, this
caused them to start to malfunction and as a result certain shots could not be retook for hours. The director of Jaws (Spielberg)
also went on to estimate that an average of 4 hours were spent shooting the movie on each 12 hour working day. The movie had
originally been scheduled to take 55 days to film however, the director did not take into consideration the fact that due to it being
shot at sea people may get ill or that weather may be poor meaning that they couldn’t film. The film was eventually shot after
159 days, this meant that it went 104 days over schedule and extremely over budget. Spielberg's career could have been ended
before it had even started due to this. However, the movie went on to gross over 400 million worldwide, the budget had been
estimated at around 7 million.

4. Facilities
One of the key elements of movie pre-production is taking into consideration what equipment and materials will
be required in order to produce your movie successfully and where you will source the equipment, for example
will you buy it, or will you hire it. you also must think about what days you will need this equipment as it may
need to be booked for that certain day. Equipment such as certain cameras, lenses or even microphones may
need to be booked in advance. This is also part of the reason why a shooting schedule is required so that you
have a timetable of the days during which filming will take place. You must also consider what props are needed
for certain scenes and the location they are required at and which costumes will be needed at what time.
Additionally, what equipment will be required for post-production for example editing software's such as Sony
Vegas and premier pro and access to Foley tracks and the use of specialist effects software . Failure to complete
adequate planning during pre-production may result in the unavailability of required items causing delays to
filming which may have a knock-on affect further down the line.

5. Locations
Locations play a huge part in the production of a movie meaning that for a successful pre-production all locations
are required to be fully scouted, researched and considered prior to the production including identification and
recce forms. This is actual location scouting therefore, it is important to meet potential contributors and assess
locations. You also must consider the limitations to the site, for example; distance, it is not feasible to be travelling
huge distances to each location and planning as to how the cast and crew members will get to the locations.
Additionally, how will you access the locations, depending on the location it could be closed therefore, you may
need to email the owners in order to discuss obtaining access to the site after hours. As well as the planning of the
location, the cost must also be taken into account. Typically there will be a charge to hire out particular venues.
When it comes to locations for pre-production you would usually have a location scout who will source appropriate
locations for the filming of the movie. Health and safety could also be an issue when it comes to locations, outdoor
locations especially may have potential hazards that have the possibility to cause harm you or others.
Finally, the chosen locations are highly important to the success of the production as they must fit into the theme of
the movie and therefore, follow the typical codes and conventions of the chosen genre, if they do not then the
movie will not work.

6. Personnel
When it comes to what type of movie is being made you may need different types of crew, examples of which are listed
below:
• To film an action movie you may need stunt crews, for example; the inclusion of dangerous stunts will require
experienced stunt crew to complete those stunts as regular cast members are not likely to have stunt experience
meaning that they could end up severely injured.
• A medical crew may be required at the shooting location in case one of the stunts goes wrong and causes injury. You
may also need a body double for the main actors in case there is a stunt or a scene in which that actor is unable to
star. This will lead the audience to believe that it is the regular actor in such scenes.
• Costume/dressing crew will be needed to gather the costumes and makeup etc for the characters.
• A film crew will be needed such as camera operators and assistants and lighting technicians.

7. Additional Materials
Quite a lot of additional materials must be considered during the pre-production of a movie, for example:
• a draft of the script must be provided for the producers and the cast so that the producer and actors know what the
film will be about.
• a script also must be provided so that the actors know what their parts are.
• a storyboard needs to be provided so that your cast have a brief idea of how the shots are going to be setup before
actually going to the locations to shoot .
• You need to consider what the scenes are going to look like, for example; will their be any props and if so, where will
they be placed. This also means that you must have the props before the time of filming.
• Another thing that may need to be considered, depending on the genre of the movie is special effects, for example;
in a sci-fi movie you usually see special effects
• Finally, you will need to make sure that you go to important locations accompanied by all of you cast. This will
prevent going to the same spots multiple times.

8. Codes of practice and regulations
Making sure that you follow health and safety procedures is important in the production of a movie for example; you
need to make sure that the locations in which you will be filming are safe and there are no potential hazards that
could seriously injure any of your cast members. You will also require medical staff and support staff to help out in the
event of something going wrong on set.
It is also important that the company producing the movie has insurance. This is in case a cast member gets seriously
injured or even in some severe cases die. In a severe case during the production of the 2013 GI Joe movie a cast
member named Michael Huber was crushed to death and was pronounced dead on scene. This meant that the
producers had to pay the family of the deceased the insurance money in order to pay for funeral expenses etc.
Another important feature of pre-production is making sure that you own the rights for any copyrighted material
which will be used during the movie in order to avoid any legal complications with the original company. This prevents
the possibility of being sued, which would cost more money overall in comparison to the cost of obtaining the rights
to the song.

9. 2 The formats of pre production process
The proposal
A proposal is a visual representation of your vision in respect of what it will look like as a end product. This includes the
plot of the story and the characters who will be in the movie. The proposal will outline an estimate on how long the
movie production will take and give an estimate of how much the movie will cost.
The proposal will also be shown to potential investors which will help them decide if they believe it is worth investing
in the production. This means that a good proposal is required in order to entice investors and convince them that the
movie will turn a profit. You may also take your proposal to a director who if they see potential, may help with the
investment of the movie.

10. Scripting master scene script
A master scene script is standard for a film production. This is a an industry standard script because it is rather
straight forward and is easily accessible and is used to show investors. A master scene script makes it easier for you
to visualise the movie and could also be read much like a story making it easier for people to understand what is
going to happen. However, along with master scene scripts come some conventions meaning that the font of the
text must be courier and additionally, must be size 12 which makes the text neater and easier to read. Footers are
also required at the bottom of the page.
If a master scene script is written clearly and shows what the story of the movie is about then you may have a higher
chance of finding investors to invest in the movie .

11. Shooting script
A shooting script will include things such as, what camera angle each shot will use. This will save
time if you know what you are doing straight away. The shooting script will also tell you what
characters are going to be in each shot and where the characters are going to be positioned
making the production of the movie a lot easier and quicker. These scripts can often have more
detail than a master script but can be difficult to understand, especially if you don’t fully grasp
the purpose of the movie. Due to this shooting scripts are not shown to potential investors.

12. Storyboard
A storyboard is a very useful aspect of pre-production this is because you can use the images which you drew and
make them into a scene in the movie. It is also very useful when filming the scenes because you will already have
a brief idea of how you are going to shoot that scene, for example; you will know what camera angle you will use,
how you are going to set up the shot props and where the characters will be. A storyboard also helps you to
visualise the scene before you actually film it. Additionally, a storyboards can help you pick up on potential
problems before they actually arise which will save time overall.

13. Shooting schedule
A shooting schedule is made in order to plan out the scenes beforehand and therefore, makes it easier to shoot
when in production. It also creates a more organised environment when it comes to production because you
already know what is going to be done.
A shooting schedule needs to include where you are going to film, meaning that all location scouting must be
completed beforehand . The times that you are going to be on set and on what day also need including, this also
means that you must arrange when certain facilities are free especially if you are filming on somebody else's
property. The schedule must also detail what actors and members are going to be there on that day to help
produce the movie.
Shooting schedules are used to help the director understand what scenes need to be shot first as certain actors
may only be available for a certain period of time, meaning that you need to prioritise scenes which involve those
actors.
A shooting schedule is also used in respect of filming locations as during the period of time you are shooting at that
location you will need to film each scene which needs to be shot in that set period of time. This avoids having to
return to that location weeks after, which could cause problems especially if you are filming on private property as
you may not be allowed access to that location again which could cause a lot of disruptions in the production.

14. Other paperwork
Other paperwork is required such as:
• A location release which verifies your ability to go onto private property and shoot your movie. This is used to avoid any
possible misunderstandings with owners of the property or possibly security.
• Locations scouting forms also need paperwork to show that the scout has collected all relevant information about
locations before you start production. This is to show that the scout has made the producers aware of potential health
and safety hazards before you start production.
• You must ensure that you fill out risk assessment forms which must be completed in order to make everyone aware of
all potential risks which may occur at the locations. This is to make sure that everybody is safe whilst producing the
movie. Another form which must be completed is the the copyright papers, this is to verify that you have the ability to
use copyrighted tracks throughout the movie. These must be completed to prove that the owner of that track has
allowed you to use their tracks and must be filled in to avoid any possible lawsuits which may follow the use of the
tracks.

15. The functions of pre production
The functions of the pre-production are very important because you will receive script feedback from the director
which will give you some time to work on the feedback and improve the script I.E. you will have time to add IN extra
scenes which could help with the storyline, you could also remove certain scenes from the script if they do not meet
the directors requirements, as well as this you can also take time to add to existing scenes in order to make them
more suited to the storyline. In addition to this, storyboards help you to visualise the scenes before you actually
shoot them. This gives you a better idea of what you actually want the scenes to look like during production.
Another function which is important during pre-production is location scouting forms these help you to ensure that
you find the right location to fit in with the storyline. Additionally, you must to make sure that you verify the ability to
access the site and consider all possible health and risk hazards.
Shooting schedules are also important to pre production because you will more than likely have a deadline for when
the production needs to conclude. This helps to make sure that you are organised and know what needs to be done
as well as helping if you have limited time on private property. Being on private property will mean that you are on a
tighter schedule and will need to make sure that everything needing to be shot at that location is shot. It is also
important to ensure that you don’t go over you time limit which would cost more money.

16. The purpose of pre production
As well as playing a rather large part in the success of a product, pre-production has a practical purpose which
relates to legal and ethical responsibility. One of the main reasons behind the use of pre-production is to make
sure that the right codes of practice are used within the movie, that everything is legal and follows each law and
regulation controlling the movie industry.
Health and safety is something which requires legal consideration, for example; you must ensure that each and
every cast member is working in a safe environment and that they have an extremely low chance of being
severely injured. As well as this, movies have insurances in order to make sure that if an injury does occur on set,
the injured party will be covered for the treatment etc.
You must make sure that you are not using copyrighted materials as this too has a legal interface, if you do not get
the rights to use the music etc from the creator/owner then there is a high probability that you would get sued by
their production company. Evidently a lawsuit is likely to cost a lot more money throughout a legal battle than the
cost of obtaining the permissions to use that track.

17. Acquiring filming permissions may also be required, if you wanted to film in a specific area which would usually be
crowded, for example; a town centre. This would be dealt with by your legal teams who would obtain the
permissions to use the location from the owners. You must make sure that you are organised, as you may get a
very limited time to actually shoot due to the fact that the property would have to be closed. Therefore, you will
need all of your cast and crew ready to start shooting as soon as possible to fit into the given timeframe.
Additionally, you will have to make sure that you avoid getting pedestrians in the background of your shots, as you
would need to get that persons consent to use them in your footage.
Legal actions also occur when an actor signs a contract to star in the film. This means that they can not leak any
information about the movie to anybody, unless, they are given the authority to do so.
The BBFC is a regulator for UK film and videos which provide age ratings to film material. The BBFC have the legal
powers to provide age ratings to movies and can also cut and reject work if they believe that it isn’t suitable. Each
decision that they make is based on a public consultation and these decisions have the target audience in mind.
The purpose of pre production 2