The document summarizes the initial planning and pre-production process for a short film project. It discusses developing initial ideas and writing a proposal, script, storyboards and budget. It also covers project management tasks like creating personnel, resource, and risk management lists. Some challenges encountered included an actor's scheduling conflict, having to cut a character, and needing to find a new filming location due to health hazards in the original space. Overall the planning process helped visualize the film and prepare logistically, though contingencies could have prevented some issues.

1. Initial planning
Initial ideas
I began my pre-production by writing down my initial ideas on paper. I did this so I could get a
clear image of what I wanted for my short film which would prevent me from changing my ideas
halfway through because I hadn’t thought them out enough. This was successful because,
although I did change some ideas around when writing my proposal, I had a good idea of what I
wanted and the only reason I changed my ideas was due to limitations when filming, not
because my ideas were unprepared or not thought out.
Proposal
Next, I wrote my proposal which includes the synopsis of the film, the logline, screenplay
structure, information about the characters, a film treatment and the target audience. I did this
because when pitching your idea for a film, the proposal is the first thing they will look at when
reviewing your idea. It is important that the proposal looks professional, tidy and detailed so that
the company you’re pitching to will be able to understand it and take it seriously. It was
successful because, thanks to the initial ideas that I previously wrote down, I knew exactly what
I wanted. The only problems I ran into were limitations with filming which made me have to
change some of my ideas around. If I were to do this again, I would consider the filming
limitations beforehand such as locations and actors in my initial ideas to result in a better
proposal.
An example of detail in my proposal is when describing Lil Hacky’s character. I included
information such as his age, nationality and what other people think about him to paint a better
picture of the character for the people reading it. If I didn’t include this detail, they might not
know if Lil Hacky is meant to be a good or bad character, or what to expect him to look/act like.

2. Script
Next, I wrote my script. This includes stage directions and dialogue for the actors to follow so
they know what to do in each scene. I wrote the script to allow the actors to practice what they
are doing in the scene rather than just being told what to do when they show up for filming
which can improve their performance in the film. It also helps paint a better picture of what the
film will be like for the producers since it includes things like location, time of day and stage
directions. I wrote my script in master scene script which is the standard/accepted format for
screenplays in the film industry. This is an example from my script of master scene script:
It is very important to use master scene script because if someone pitches a film to a network
and the script isn’t written in master scene script, they most likely won’t even look at the script
and move on. My script was successful because it allowed me to think more about how long
each scene will be and think in more detail about the characters such as what they are wearing
at what times and how the film would look better that way.
Storyboards
Once I had completed my script and had a good idea of what my film was going to look like, I
made storyboards which are hand-drawn visual representations of the film. I didn’t focus much
on the quality of the drawings but I wanted to think about what kind of angles and shots I’d use.
For example, you can see here that the drawings are only stick-men but I annotated around it
showing where the characters are moving, where the camera is and how the camera moves.
This was very successful because it helped me a lot with getting a good idea of what the film will
actually look like on completion. It also helped me change the script a bit because I could see if
things would look out of place or not.
Budget
At this point I had finished the first stages of planning my film and moved on to the logistics and
financing of it. I wrote down my budget which is everything that I’d need in terms of money.

3. The total budget only came to £17 which was ideal, and I set the cost to £0 for anything I
already had or that was provided by the college. I did this to make sure I’d have enough money
to make my film. This was successful because I managed to buy everything on the list that I
needed with the knowledge of how much I need. However, if I did this again I would add things
such as food and drinks for my crew when filming as well as a checklist on whether I had bought
it yet or not.
Project management
Resources
At this point, I had finished my initial planning and needed to move on to the management of the
project. I started small by listing the resources I will use for the film, where to find them and
whether I have them or not.
This allowed me to keep track of what I need and to prevent me from forgetting something. I
would update this every lesson to check off anything that I had obtained since the previous
lesson. This was successful because I did manage to keep track of it and in the end, I had
everything I needed without any issues.
Personnel
I made a personnel list to organise my cast and crew and how to contact them. This is important
because, without their contact information, I could need to make a change in the shooting
schedule or location and wouldn’t be able to update them, leaving them out the loop. This was

4. successful because I managed to get full names and e-mails for everyone involved in the
filming, and didn’t struggle to get in contact with anyone.
Crisis Management
When deciding on which days to film, I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t find one time
where everyone in my cast was available. The most ideal time to film would have been a
Thursday or Friday when myself, Matthew and Molly all had college and we could use our time
in the lesson to film. However, Kerry was unavailable on both these days. I decided my best
way around this would be to recast Kerry, although I didn’t have anyone to replace her. I looked
through my script and noticed that I could cut out Kerry’s character altogether which is what I
decided to do in the end. I realised this will make the quality of my film worse because I have
planned it around having all 3 actors but it was the best way to work around the casting issue.
I also encountered an issue with locations. Originally I was going to record in an old staff room
in the college, but after a few weeks, I was contacted by the manager of the property saying I
couldn’t use it to record in due to health hazards. This was an inconvenience but I managed to
find a new room to record in near my home. The initial room I was going to record in is what I
based my script and storyboards off so therefore I knew I’d have to improvise when recording.
As well as that, the room I was going to record in originally since it hadn’t been used in a while,
had the same aesthetic as I wanted for the ‘Gang hideout’ location in my film. However, the new
room I chose was a quick decision as I had no other ideas for locations and it doesn’t look as
good as the old room for my film. In the future, I’ll consider backup locations when location
scouting to avoid this.
Risk Management
I made a risk assessment list to mark all the possible risks that could happen during filming.This
is important because it makes sure that the people involved in the filming are aware of the risks
they are taking during filming and know what kind of precautions to take before filming. As well
as that, without these forms you could face legal issues if someone is injured during filming and
you don’t have the correct paperwork.