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1. UNIT 4: PRE-PRODUCTION PORTFOLIO
1.) THE REQUIREMENTS OF A MOVING IMAGE PRODUCTION
FINANCING
The requirements in financing is crucial. Films cost a lot of money and many people may not
realise how much in fact. In the case of Hollywood, productions cost a lot more, for
example, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides- which cost $397 million to produce.
There is many things what you need to take into consideration for the finance. For example:
the cast and crew; facilities which may need to be hired; equipment which may be
purchased or hired; props and costumes which need to be provided; transport between
locations and clearances which may be used, for example, the use of a soundtrack.
The way finance for filmcan be provided is through funding, this may be public or private.
Public funding is referred to funding which is provided by a public source. This may be
through the publically funded agency, monies allocated via tax relief, the national lottery or
via grants provided to support the arts from the department of culture. Private funding is
funding which is accrued from investors- therefore the filmproduction often has to be seen
as financially attractive which is the ability to make profit. Another example is equity
financing. This is having investors contribute money to production in exchange for a
percentage ownership interest in the filmand profits derived from the exploitation of the
film.
A more recent phenomenon is crowdfunding, for example, kickstarter. This collects multiple
small investments via private donations. An Oscar winning directors, The Coen Brothers
struggled to raise $750,000 for their first film Blood Simple (1984). They ultimately locked in
about 65 private investors which included entrepreneurs, doctors and small business
owners. Most of these contributed from $5,000 to $10,000 each. The filmthen grossed just
under $4,000,000 at the box office alone.
There is some disadvantages and advantages to both public and private funding. The
advantages for private funding is that you get to choose your own investors which increases
the chance of having investors which have similar objectives to you. This may mean that not
just funding, but they can provide advice and assistance as well. Where as, with public, you
have to take what you’ve been given as that may be the only funding what you will get. If
you don’t get funding, you will struggle to produce your film. The disadvantages of private
funding will be to find the right people for the job. Usually, people just take the offer as it is
money. However, if you don’t get the right people, you could be stuck in an unpleasant
agreement.
To find funding, you have to apply. This may be through the internet or in person.
Applications take time to be processed, therefore, you may have to apply in advance to the
production for it to come in time for schedule.
TIMESCALES
The effective management of time is essential to a pre-production. The cast and crew will
often have other commitments in their schedule. Therefore, planning must be carefully

2. considered so none of them clash together. All the required components must be available
at any given time with the schedule created. When creating a schedule for the cast and
crew, you have to consider whether the equipment or the location is available at these
times also. Realistic schedules for production and post production must be accurately
thought through also. This is because setting a deadline for the release date and actually
meeting it in time is crucial. Moreover, if shooting overruns, this can impact not only the
cast and crew availability, but also the budgets which have been set. For example, Jaws-
“shooting at sea caused delay after delay, as cast and crew members got sick, cameras
malfunctioned and resetting shots took hours. Spielberg went so far as to estimate that out
of a 12 hour workday on jaws, only an average of four hours were spent actually filming
something. Originally scheduled for 55 days, principal photography droned on for 159 days
in total, extremely over budget and over schedule.” The film wrapped up on October 6h
1974. Speilburg, reflecting on the protracted shoot, stated, “I thought my career as a
filmmaker was over. I heard rumors… that I would never work again because no one had
ever taken a film 100 days over schedule.”
To make sure timescales are successful, communication is key and will needed to be
discussed with everyone involved in the process of making the film.
FACILITIES
A key element of pre production is the consideration of what materials and equipment will
be required in order to successful produce the film. What needs to be thought is: what
equipment is required; where will it be sourced; does it need to be purchased or hired; how
much it would effect the financing; are there an specialist pieces of equipment required for
certain scenes or days for shooting; for example, certain cameras or lenses; what
props/costumes or set designs are required at given times? Whilst having pre production
materials, there is also post production considerations, for example whether you may need
editing software, access to foley tracks or use for specialist effects software.
Problems which may occur will be not being able to finish it to a standard for recognition.
Also, if equipment is hired, you have to make sure that it is all available on the days you
need. Moreover, you will need to make sure you have enough space of memory to film.
However, you cant just rely on the memory you have filmed with, you will need to back it up
so it doesn’t get lost.
LOCATIONS

3. A successful pre-production requires all locations to be thoroughly researched and
considered prior to shooting. This involves: identification and recces- annual location
scouting; a consideration of any limitations of the site- distance, access, hiring cost, weather
issues; all health and safety concerns considered- are there any risks associated with the
location or requirements of the scene in relation to this?
Whilst thinking about locations, it is common to do a mood board of locations and explain
which is going to be chosen and why, this would include all the information including health
and after to why this decision was made. An effective recce would include things and
information which general paperwork would not include. Location is one of many important
aspects of filming, just as finding right actors to portray the role and just as important as the
choice of music used in the film. Choosing the location for the film could be the single most
powerful and persuasive affect in the movie toward the audience. A recce for the location is
to get the preparation and research processes to meet potential contributors. It will
determine if it is a suitable location for shooting, including access to necessary facilities and
assessment of any potential lighting or sound issues.
PERSONNEL
Any filmmust clearly identify the personnel required- this is not just cast and crew, but also
any extra needed, or the advice of experts or specialists who may be working to ensure
accuracy/smooth shooting. For example, stunt crew, advisors etc. careful consideration
must be given to match peoples skills with jobs allocated.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
This would include all the things additional required for production and post production:
 scripts
Scripts are a written piece of work by screenwriters governed heavily by format, length and
structural elements within the script itself for film or television. A script will mention
information in order to follow the storyboard: character movements, gestures, actions, as
well as dialogue and expressions with cues.
 Storyboards
Storyboard is a graphic representation of how the video will unfold, shot by shot. Its made
up of a number of squares with illustrations or pictures representing each shot, with notes
about what is going on in the scene and what’s been said in the script during the shot.
 original filmed materials
Sometimes this is kept and not used, however, most production companies put this in the
credits at the end and it is seen as ‘bloopers’.
 archive or library materials
 sound or sound library materials
This may include a practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. In filmmaking,
sound common involves foley and editing composed or recorded audio, such as sound
effects and dialogue for the purpose of use. A sound designer is one who will practice these
sound design.
 props and costumes

4. A prop, is an object used on set by actors during a performance or screen production. In
practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or set
distinct from the actors, scenery, costumes and electrical equipment.
Costumes are the outfits which the actors will wear to either become someone or
something.
 assets (anything purchased or produced for production that carries value)
CODES OF PRACTICE AND REGULATIONS
 What codes of practice or regulations are important when planning pre-production?
Consider the importance of extensive health and safety procedures
 the importance of checking and obtaining permissions regarding copyrighted
material
 the involvement of trade unions.
 Why are effective and robust procedures here vital and what could be the problems
if they are not?
All filming projects must make sure they adhere closely to accepted codes of practice
and follow any regulatory requirements. Health and Safety – rigorous health and safety
and risk assessments must be maintained and stored. All relevant clearances for
copyrighted materials must be obtained and documented. Trade union and professional
body membership, pact- the producers alliance for cinema and television, which
campaigns for producers rights.
2.) THE FORMATS FOR PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS
THE PROPOSAL
The proposal sums up the premise of your film- it provides a brief synopsis, key character
information, sums up the structure of the narrative and considers a target audience.
Proposals are used as a basis with which to formulate ideas over a project, and then
ultimately to ‘pitch’ the concept to prospective investors. To write a proposal, you will need
to include a synopsis, the logline which is 30 seconds to describe the plot in a captivating
way to be able to state the main concept of your story in one sentence, screenplay
structure, characters/actors, film treatment which should read like a short story and be
written in the past tense, this presents the entire story and is in more detail than the
synopsis, production crew. For example, who the producer, director, writer etc are. It
should also include a mood board, storyboard templates, target audience and budget. Once
the proposal is complete, a script can be written.
SCRIPTING: MASTER SCENE SCRIPT
The accepted formatting for filmscripting is done in what is known as master scene script.
Prospective studios will not even read scripts that are not produced in this format. This is
the standard and accepted format for filmproduction.
It is designed to offer a straightforward and accessible format for producers to show to
investors. It offers a mix of description and dialogue to allow the reader to easily follow the

5. story – the story is the most important thing, and as such technical information is very
limited within MSS format. MSS is split into SCENE HEADINGS, NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION,
and DIALOGUE BLOCKS.
A scene heading is known as a SLUGLINE, and is composed of three parts:
 Interior vs. exterior
 Location
 Time of day
The three parts are written on one line and capitalized, as in the example below. Interior
and exterior are always abbreviated as INT. and EXT. Time of day is limited to DAY and
NIGHT, with the occasional use of DAWN and DUSK. For example INT. THE MEDIA
CLASSROOM- DAY
Narrative description is the telling of the story as it unfolds on screen. It begins directly
below the scene heading.
The writing should be lean and visual, focusing on action that moves the story forward.
Though concise, it should have enough flair to engage readers.
Write Only What Can be Seen and Heard - Unlike a novel, everything in a screenplay must
be recorded in terms of picture and sound. Therefore, narrative description should never
include anything that cannot be seen or heard.
For example, you cannot describe a character's feelings, since this cannot be recorded. To
convey a character's feelings, thoughts, and memories they must be externalized in some
way. This can be through action, dialogue or flashback scenes.
Timing - It is a customary assumption in the movie industry that 1 page of screenplay equals
1 minute of time on screen. This is convenient for planning purposes. Since the average
feature is 120 minutes, the average script should be about 120 pages in length.
Because of this convention, description passages should cover as many pages as the scene is
expected to run in real time. For example, if you sense that an action scene will take a
minute of screen time, it should be written to cover 1 page, rather than 1 line.
Dialogue blocks, also called "speeches," are composed of three parts: character name,
wryly, and dialogue, as illustrated below:
Character names are written in upper case, wrylies are written in lower case inside
parenthesis, and dialogue is written in normal sentence case.
A wryly indicates how a line should be said. It was named after all the novice screenwriters
whose characters say things in a "wry" way. Wrylies should only be used if the subtext of
the dialogue is not clear. Keep them to a bare minimum.
MSS-
 Font always courier and size 12.
 Sluglines and character names in dialogue in capital letters.
 Voiceover and offscreen used as (V.O. and O.S.).
 Footers at the bottom right of a page say (CONTINUED) only where a scene moves
from one page to the next, the next pages has (CONT.) top left.
When writing a spec script don't use:
 scene numbers
 camera angles

6.  page footers are not always required on spec. scripts
 caps for sound effects in narrative description
 caps for character names in narrative description (except when first appearing)
 third person use of "we" (e.g. "We see John storm out...")
SCRIPTING: SHOOTING SCRIPT
Shooting scripts are scripts used during production to shoot the movie. They are written
with much more detail than spec scripts and may include, among other things, scene
numbers, editing transitions, and camera angles.
Since shooting scripts are used in production, they are formatted to include any helpful
information that the director may request. They are not used for selling purposes.
Shooting scripts can be difficult to read and will turn off prospective investors.
This approach is used when the script is going directly into production.
In broad terms, the main difference between the screenplay and the shooting script is that
the screenplay is a selling tool, whereas the shooting script is a production tool.
Scene numbers are added – these remain constant through any revisions (which are printed
on coloured paper)
Techniques are included to help the crew shoot on set – these can include camera
composition/movement, and editing.
STORYBOARDING
Once a script is completed, this is converted into a storyboard
Storyboarding evaluates a screenplay and pictures it in terms of separate shots that can
be visually translated into individual storyboard panels.
This helps film directors and cinematographers visualize the scenes and find potential
problems before they occur.
Besides this, storyboards also help estimate the cost of the overall production and saves
time in shooting.
Some directors such as Alfred Hitchcock were famous for storyboarding in great depth,
visualising the filmextensively prior to shooting on set.

7. SHOOTING SCHEDULES
Utilising the storyboards and the shooting script, a shooting schedule is created
This is a breakdown of everything planned to shoot for each day of the shoot –
organised into the most logical and efficient order to shoot.
As opposed to a schedule for the entire shoot, focusing on scenes and days, this
schedule focus of shots and hours.
A shooting schedule is essential for a smooth and efficient shoot (which cuts down on
time, hence budget and allows plenty of coverage to be shot)
OTHER PAPERWORK
Location Release Forms – to formalise permissions to use locations owned by other
people
Location Scouting Templates – to collect relevant information about shooting locations
Risk Assessments – To collect relevant inromation about potential risks relating to
shooting
Sound Templates – To chart where sound may be used
Copyright Clearances – To collate any rights issues that have been actioned
PRE PRODUCTION IS A DETAILED TIME CONSUMING PROCESS

8. 3.) THE FUNCTIONS OF PRE-PRODUCTION
Scripts for example can go through multiple drafts and redrafts. Script editors can be utilized
to identify potential problems with scripts. Multiple writers may write on one project.
Likewise, visual ideas may be adopted then dropped. For example, costumes and set
designs. Locations may be considered and discounted. This allows for collaboration and the
weighing up of pros and cons to each idea. For the starts of a movie and in the beginning
stages of pre production, everyone needs to establish team goals and team members
strengths. This will encourage innovation and expectations better. To build the success
between a team, you will need to encourage people to socialize outside of work which will
release stress and will help with clear collaborative. The team needs to create an action
plan. This will help with the development of the production as it will see if ideas work, this
will help to see if anything will need to be tweaked is advance and will give an advantage.
4.) THE PURPOSE OF PRE-PRODUCTION
As well as assisting in the success of a project, a robust pre-production has some specific
practical purposes relating to legal and ethical responsibility
One of the reasons that media companies undertake pre-production work is to make sure
that what they are planning to produce adheres to the relevant codes of practice, laws and
regulations that govern and control their industry.
LEGAL ISSUES:
• Health and Safety procedures and paperwork in place
• Permissions in place for the use of copyrighted material
• Permissions in place for the use of privately owned locations
• Permissions in place in the form of contracts for those appearing in work
Public liability

9. • Public liability is another legal requirement for companies and organisations who are
involved in creative media production, particularly when they are recording on
location where members of the public may be at risk from the production activities.
LEGAL ISSUES:
• Street Filming
• Permissions must be sought and approved for filming in any public spaces, and
filming licenses obtained.
COMPLIANCE AUDITS:
• A compliance audit is a comprehensive review of an organization's adherence to
regulatory guidelines. Independent consultants evaluate the strength and
thoroughness of compliance preparations. Auditors review security polices, user
access controls and risk management procedures over the course of a compliance
audit.
• It is essential therefore to maintain a thorough pre-production to adhere to any legal
responsibilities in the event of such an audit
The BBFC is the UK’s regulator of filmand video, providing age ratings to film materials.
They are a designated body and as such have legal powers to rate, and sometimes cut or
even reject works.
All decisions are based on public consultation and our Guidelines, which form a contract
between the public, the filmindustry and the BBFC. They are updated every four years
following a major public consultation.
Film productions will have target audiences/distribution platforms in mind, therefore
careful pre-production decisions may by influenced by target audiences/envisaged
certificate requirements