Requirements for production (P1, M1 & D1)

Requirements for production

The task that each group was set was to film a 90 second short film which would eventually (if good enough) be entered into the Depict short movie competition. If our short movie is good enough to make it onto the Depict short list, it would be accessible to watch via the internet, through Depicts website. There are many different types of production and media forms which exist in the creative industry. These include television, internet, film, magazines, newspapers and radio. For our Depict project we used the media form of film.

There are many sources of funding available to film makers. One source of funding that film makers can use is product placement. Product placement /embedded marketing is a form of advertising when a branded item is placed into a film, television programme, music video, or news programme to advertise a company or product. For example in the movie “Castaway” the company “FedEx” is seen on Chuck Noland’s (Tom Hanks) postal van. Another source of funding for a film maker is the National Lottery. A film maker can gain access to funding produced by the Lottery if their project seems worthy. In April 2011, the BFI (British Film Institute) became the lottery distributor for film funding. The BFI has an online film fund application form that film makers can fill in, if there project is good enough the BFI may accept their application and give them their required funding. Self-finance is another way that film makers can pay the costs which their movie requires. Self-funding is when a high net worth individual (somebody with a lot of money) pays for everything needed for their own film. A British billionaire, Megan Ellison, is a person renowned for using her large amount of money to produce films like “Walking Madison” which was released straight to DVD on July 12, 2011. Aspiring film makers can gain funding through competitions. For instance if a person was to enter a short film into the Depict film competition, and there film was then selected the winner, they would win £1500 cash which can be spent on producing films. Another type of funding available to film makers is gaining money through private investors. Megan Ellison is also known for using her riches to fund other films, not just her own. The “True Grit” remake was co-financed by Megan. Loans are also used to provide financial aid to film makers. But with Britain being in recession this method of finance isn’t great as loan companies are reluctant to give loans because they are unlikely to be paid back. Sponsorship is also an available method of finance for film makers. Sponsorship is when a company offers financial support in return for their company to be mentioned as a sponsor. This helps to advertise the sponsoring company. An example of this is when the Kellogg’s owned crisp brand, Pringles, signed a contract to sponsor peak time films on channel 5. The final way that a film maker can fund there film is through development funds. A development fund is the process by which organisations use fundraising to help sustain the film making process.

As explained in the previous paragraph there are multiple ways to fund a film, but what will the money acquired be spent on? The first element that the cash could be spent on is the film’s personnal. There are two important aspects of personnal, these are the talent (actors and voice actors) and the crew.  Obviously the talent in your film aren’t always going to be cheap depending on who you want in your production. Usually in a low budget film, like the ones we’ve created, the talent will be friends or the crew who will be acting to cut down on cost. But in large scale high budget movies talent can cost a large sum of money. For example Tom Cruise was said to have made an estimated $75 million dollars in 2011(www.theguardian.co.uk). The other type of personnal that the budget can be spent on is the film’s crew. The crew are the people hired by a production company to help produce the film. There are hundreds of crew members involved in making most high budget films. The main types of crew are the production team and directing staff. The production team are the people that help to produce the film. The production team members include the production team which consists of editors, sound engineers, casting directors, screen writers, stunt coordinators etc. The post production team are very important in making sure the actors are picked and ready for performing, to polish the film and make sure that it flows well and generally to help make the movie. The camera crew are also an essential aspect of the crew. These are key workers as they are the experts in controlling the cameras and using them to their best ability. The crew involved in making films are specialists and don’t come cheap. The following sums are the average salary for movie crew in LA, America:

Camera Operator

Avg. Salary: $75,723.00

Cartoonist/Animator

Avg. Salary: $64,527.00 

Production Assistant

Avg. Salary: $29,191.00

 

Set Designer

Avg. Salary: $47,171.00

Film Editor

Avg. Salary: $34,608.00 

(www.moviestaff.com)

Another commodity that the films budget can be spent are materials. The main materials required for making a film are the props, costumes and makeup. An example of a film and television prop supplier could be Men at Work. Men at Work are a prop supplier based in West London.There also are a lot of additional costs that go alongside these materials. For example if you want specialist costumes you will need to employee an expert to make them, and then you would have to pay for the materials to make the costumes. The same expenses go alongside the makeup and props as people need to be employed to apply the makeup (makeup artists) and people need to be employed to make the props if needed.  Legal clearances are another aspect of film making that costs money. Clearances are required if a film maker wants to use a copyrighted piece of music. For example if you wanted a piece of music from a band you would have to pay them the appropriate loyalties in order to have the song in your movie. Other expenses include paying for the necessary locations for your film which can, again, cost a large sum of cash. The final thing that the budget needs to be spent on is transport particularly to and from locations. The amount of transport needed depends on how big a crew you have and how much equipment you have. On a large budget Hollywood film an excessive amount of transport is usually required.

In our short film (Bodies in Fiction) we had to obtain a variety of items. The main items required were the camera and tripod, fake blood, a fake gun, lights and props for our cooking scene (utensils). We also needed to enrol extra talent for our short movie.  The locations that we filmed at were acquired early to ensure that they would be available.

To film our short movie we were given around a week to film and a week to edit. In my opinion we used the time well, especially when filming, as we managed to finish filming in the time given.  But the editing process took a lot longer and we didn’t manage to finish this in the allocated time.  I think this is due to the length of our piece as the short movie we created lasted 2 minutes 48 seconds (including the credits) when it should have been around 1 minute 30 seconds.  So we didn’t manage to finish our film in the set time. In a large scale film going over budget and time can prove to be career breaking. For example the film “Heaven’s Gate” directed by Michael Cimino had an estimated budget of around $44 million and only managed to gross around $3 million at the box office (www.wikepedia.com). Michael Cimino went way over budget when filming the movie and spent a lot more time than he was allocated. Heaven’s gate has been considered as one of the largest box office bombs of all time and almost single handily ruined the United Artists studio. Michael Cimino’s reputation was in tatters and his career was more or less destroyed.

The equipment that was available to us was the camera, tripod and lighting. The equipment was easy to attain as there is a rental facility on college campus. But if we were professional film makers we would have to either rent the equipment or use a rate card.An example of a film equipment rental company could be FilmEquipmentRentals.com. Film Equipment rentals are a large company who supply equipment to Europe and USA, with their main base being in New York. A rate card is a document containing prices of ad placement options for a media outlet.  And the final option available for a film maker is to just buy the equipment. Buying the equipment is obviously the most expensive option but means that you can reuse the camera.  Being at college we are very fortunate with the equipment available to us. We only really needed extra talent to perform in our film other than that we had everything that we needed.

There were three members of our group who all contributed in making the short film, they were: Josh, Shauna and me (Matthew). Josh mainly directed the film and made decisions on the shot types, shot angles, and music. Josh also acted, so did Shauna and myself. Shauna also filmed most of the movie when she wasn’t acting. Other contributors in our film were Ryan and Sean who helped by acting. I have acted in a short movie previously at college and feel that my acting has improved since then. Having an experienced actor can really make a difference in your film. An experienced actor will have very good acting abilities which would make your film seem even more realistic. Also experienced actors tend to have a big fan base. For example if you were a Liam Neeson fan you would probably want to watch all of his films. Often movies sell their films on actors and having a famous experienced actor can really help your film to make a lot of profit. Furthermore it is just as beneficial to have an experienced crew. Experienced camera men will have more knowledge on the camera and will know how to get the best out of the camera in comparison to less experienced camera men. Also having other experienced personnal can really make a film. The more experienced personnal will be quicker than less experienced ones which will help a movie to get finished in its allocated time span.  The resources that we had to furnish our personal with were: a suit, fake blood, a chef’s costume, a gun, cooking props and some videos. When deciding the roles that each member of our group would take on we particularly looked at experience. Josh explained that he had directed some films in the past so he naturally took the lead and directed the film, whereas myself and Shauna acted.  In a more professional production the casting director would look at the applicants Cv’s and résumés this will help them decide who is best for a role.  In the résumés the casting director will be looking for who has the most experience of the applying actors and who is the most skilled applicant. The same process would apply when employing other personnal. To ensure that your personnal are available a contract will normally be drawn up or a talent release form would be filled in.

The equipment that we required for our production included a camera, some lights and various props and costumes.  For the post production process we used Final Cut Pro to edit our short film.  A facility studio and house are sets/editing facilities that a film maker can hire to film/ edit their movie. An example of a facility studio could be “Screen Yorkshire” or “Light and Magic”. “Screen Yorkshire” has been a production base for the film “Wuthering Heights”, whereas “Light and Magic” has been a production base for films such as Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Terminator 2. Outsourcing is when a film maker hires in groups of people or facilities (like the ones mentioned previously) to better their film. For instance a film maker might outsource their editing to someone. When securing a facility a film maker has to consider the cost of the place, (whether it’s within their budget) the availability of the facility, and the suitability of the facility. It’s no good hiring a facility because it’s cheap, if it isn’t the right size or setting for your film it would be useless.  That’s why it is important to look around when looking for a facility.

A location recce is a document that contains a record of locations that a film maker has scouted out that he/she might use in their movie. Whereas a location release is a document which gives a film maker legal permission to film on a particular site or location. A Land owner’s signature is required when doing a location release. We picked specific locations to film our short movie because they seemed suitable and complimented the narrative. For example we needed a DVD shop to film a scene and there was one on college premises that was accessible, so we used it. The other location we used was the corridor leading to the DVD store. The corridor seemed like a relevant place to film and went well with our narrative so we filmed in that area.  When deciding on our locations we had to follow codes of practice and regulations to ensure that the areas we were filming in were safe. In the professional film making industry various location staff consider possible, viable, locations which could be suitable for their film. A shortlist of locations with the most potential is then created, which a member of the production department will use. The member of the production department will then personally go and tour the locations to see if they're suitable for the film. The role of the location scout is typically to take photographs or videos of possible locations. The location scout should take photos which show off the potential location to its fullest and they should be visually in-depth. The scout will then take pictures of inside the location (if applicable) to show where various equipment could go. For example, lighting, camera and sound equipment will need space and room. Photographs of the ambient lighting are also taken if neccesary. Other areas that the location scout needs to consider are accessibility. Is there enough parking for everyone involved in the film, is there enough space to manuever and unload equipment and props, is the location safe to film at, does any work need to be done to the location before filming there, and will the weather effect the location, these are all questions that the location scout needs to ask and check before adding the location to their possible locations shortlist. The location scout will then need to write about the possible locations writing about more than just what will appear on screen. The locations and findings will then be presented to higher members of staff, like the production team. As you can tell this is a very expensive process with big films like 'The Avengers' spending large sums of money on there location and location scouting process.         First we completed a risk assessment form to highlight potential health risks with our locations. As with any location, there were many potential health risks and hazards with our locations. The main hazards that were outlined were: tripping over, slipping over, and knocking head against a door or wall. Because our film was shot in a indoor, low risk location not many health risks applied. The potential health risks associated with these hazards include: potential bruising, risk of breaking a bone, risk of injuring muscles, and risk of death. Many fatal accidents can and do happen when filming. When shooting for the film 'Return of the Musketeers' actor Roy Kinnear broke his pelvis after falling off a horse and subsequently bled to death. We also contacted local authority to make sure that they were aware that we were filming. Finally we wore “Crew” t shirts to make sure that people were aware that we were filming.

There are many types of material available to film makers. The first types of materials that a film maker can use are original materials. Original materials are created by the film maker himself and his crew. The internet is also a good place to access materials, there is always a large array of documents on the internet that a film maker has at his disposal.  Archives and library materials are also accessible to film makers. An archive is a specialist library that consists of specialist materials in chronological order. Archives have a variety of documents and materials which can be accessed. There are often local archives in the area, like the East Anglian film archive. Other main types of materials include photo library materials, video library materials and sound library materials. These materials can normally be obtained via the internet. Recorded materials are also available to a film maker and can be obtained from the internet or CD’s.  A script is an essential material which is original and is created by the film maker and his/her team. Interviews are also a handy material which can be attained by the film maker themselves. Finally prop and costumes are available materials which can be borrowed or bought.  When using any materials in a media production it is very important that you have permission to use them. A contract or written permission is normally filled out to act as prove that the use of the material is permitted and to show that you have got clearance. A charge is normally required when using someone else’s material; this can be paid in a lump sum or an agreed percentage of the films profit can be given. There are a large number of people who contribute to the production of a media text, these people are: extras, talent, members of the public, experts and specialists.  A contributor’s biography is information on a particular person to get to know more about them and to find out whether they’re employable. This normally includes information of previous work that they have done

A clearance is making sure that you have all required permissions and that the permissions have been granted. You might require a clearance for talent, music, locations and images/ videos. If you don’t get clearance when it’s needed legal action can be taken against you in order to reclaim the money that you owe. Also you might have to pay compensation to whomever the material belongs to. Copyright can affect a film in a large way. For example if you have a narrative that is similar to a narrative from another film you could be unable to produce your film.  Also if have a set music track that you want to use and you find out you can’t get permission you may have to find an alternative track. Public liability insurance is insurance that exists to pay compensation if an accident happens whilst filming.  Completion insurance is a contract taken out against a film maker to make sure the film will be finished in the agreed time frame and budget.

A regulatory body is usually a government agency that is put in place to protect the public from harmful or unsafe content. For example some regulatory bodies like the BBFC protect viewers from watching content which could be harmful or physically scar someone. For example an 18 film certificate is put on films like 'Saw', to make sure people under the age of 18 don't view films that could cause harm to their mental wellbeing because of the gorey content. In short regulatory bodies are there to protect various age groups from viewing harmful content. Regulatory bodies exist in all media forms, these include radio, videogames, films, magazines and other platforms.  Ofcom is a regulatory body that protects consumers from harmful and offensive material on television, television adverts and radio. The PCC does the same as Ofcom in the sense that it protects people from offensive material, but for print material. ASA is the advertising standards authority who are in charge of advertising on all platforms and media forms; they also protect consumers from abusive/ harmful content. PEGI stands for Pan European Gaming Information; PEGI protects consumers from harmful content in video games by giving them age certificates. The BBFC are the British Board of Film Classification who are in charge of giving movies age certificates.  This relates to our Depict videos as they could be given age certificates. If our short movie was given an age certificate it would probably we a 12 this is because it has two uses of swear words and some violence.

A trade union exists for workers who fight together for rights and fairer treatment. A trade union is an alliance of workers who have joined together to achieve collective goals, like improving working conditions and earning higher wages.    Two trade unions are PACT and BECTU. A trade association is very similar to a trade union and again exists for workers to fight for better treatment. BIMA is the British Interactive Media Association, ELSPA are the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, and TIGA are the Independent Game Developers Association. These are all unions for workers working in various media types.Whereas, a trade association is an organisation that represents the interests of a particular trade group. A trade associations main aim is to work with other industries to  help establish industry standards. They particularly work on problems that their industry faces. An example of a trade association could be 'PACT'. PACT are a Uk trade association who represent the interests of independant creative content producers.