Blog Report For Pre Production Process

Blog report for the pre-production process

Over the course of 3 weeks in a group of 3 we created our own 90 second short film to be uploaded as a Depict! entry. We were given a budget which was funded by the college but we decided against cutting into the budget as we really didn’t feel the need to, throughout filming and production there were no financial expenditures made and the equipment we used to film, produce and edit (camera, tripod, editing software) was also all provided by the college. In a big Hollywood film they would also have a set budget to produce the film, the budget would be typically large and would cover every financial expenditure in the films production. We were given a 3-4 week timeframe to complete filming and editing, in our group we finished this all within the timeframe given. In a professional made film the timeframe in which they would have to create the movie would typically be much longer and it wouldn’t matter too much if they went over the timeframe to finish the film, in these types of production the focus is more so on getting everything right. 

Our group was a group of 3 but we used some other people to help us film as we didn’t have enough people to film at certain points in making the film, we used some students from our own class to help us film as we needed more characters/extras to be in the film. In bigger productions they would hire extras to be a part of the production if they needed. We used the W block in college and the pathway outside the front of the college as our filming location, all of our filming took place in these 2 areas. Normally in bigger productions the shooting is done in several locations but as we were only shooting a 90 second short film we felt no need to use any other locations for filming. The size of our team for this production was very small compared to what you see in other bigger productions. We had a team of three to film, edit and produce the final product, which is a huge contrast when you compare that number to the amount of people involved in a Hollywood film. The amount of personnel involved in a bigger production is so large as there are so many more things that need to be done in these kind of productions and so many more finer details to be catered to, in our production we didn’t really have the need for any more people to be involved in the production aside from extras in filming. In terms of budgeting for larger productions, it can come from several different sources. For example, in a BBC production the budget for each program is funded by the taxpayer. In another example, some smaller productions will set up a Kickstarter page which is where their production is funded by donations to the page. Some other productions are self-funded.

Before filming the production we drew up storyboards and wrote up a shot list detailing what we would film, which type of shot it would be, where and when we would film each shot and included the dialogue for what was happening in each individual shot in the storyboards. This was helpful and essential to have before we filmed as we would have had no organisation when filming otherwise. Bigger productions in the professional industry would typically do the same as what we did but with much more detail as well as writing up a script, which is something we merged into the story board.

In our production we filmed in and outside college, as we were doing this we needed to get location recce forms filled in and signed as well as risk assessment sheets to address any health and safety risks we might have encountered whilst filming. In our production

Our production is a 90 second short film detailing the modern world and social media. Our production was made to be uploaded and distributed to our media blogs and to be uploaded to the depict website as a short film entry. We had to obtain release forms before making the film in order to be able to film with permission from the college, whose location it was we were using to film the project.

For a moving image text there are many things that may require financial expenditures, there are sources of funding for things such as travel expenses and props. Filmmakers tend to have a budget for their productions, which covers every financial expense they make in the process of making the final product. For a TV show that is broadcasted by a company such as the BBC all the budget they have for TV shows is funded by the tax payer.

In our production there were not many contributors as it was such a small production, larger productions will generally have a much larger list of contributors to the production which would be needed in many more areas. A larger production has more contributors behind the scenes as opposed to a smaller production.

When putting together a production there is also a lot of legal requirements involved, for example you need to get permission and clearance for the locations in which you choose to use for the production. Also there are things like insurance on things like the equipment you use in the production.

In a typical production the producers will set a deadline in which they wish to complete the production, this is an important part of a production as without a deadline the production may take much longer to complete as there is no time in which they hope to complete the production. Having a deadline acts as a guideline to help with the production in a similar way to having storyboards and a script before filming, it gives an idea and a clear vision of how they want the final product and when they want it.

Sources of finance in a production can come from many places, for example some productions are funded by the tax payer, which would be mostly be considered a higher budget production as opposed to a production funded by a Kickstarter project, which depending of the budget you receive can be a high or low budget production. Typically, a project like this is a low budget production.

 Our production was distributed through YouTube, then embedded to our blogs and then uploaded as a depict entry on their website. We completed the production before the deadline we were set, this allowed us to add some finishing touches after.

You can only distribute your work if you have the clearance for it, this means that you must have permission to use everyone and everything in the production you have made. You must have permission/clearance in any production otherwise you would not have permission to produce and distribute the work.

Public liability insurance for a production is very important in any production as it protects the health of the people in the production and anyone else should they suffer injury or health issues. This covers the cost of any legal expenses. You would need this in most productions as it is a basic form of protection in your production should anyone get injured or suffer any health issues.

A completion guarantee is useful especially in independently financed films. A completion guarantee is a form of insurance offered by a completi0on guarantor company in exchange for a fee which guarantees the production will be completed in time.

Copyright issues were not really a problem with our production as we used copyright free music in the film. This is the main issue we would have had with our production if we had chosen different music in the background. Copyright is a legal right which grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution. This is what prevented us from using certain copyright music in our short film, meaning we had to search for and use copyright free music in the background of our production.

As far as all the equipment we used in our production, it was all borrowed from the college to make this short film. We used a DSLR camera to film and a tripod in most shots to provide more stability to the camera when filming and to allow us to position the camera better for different shots as well as allowing us all to be in certain shots if needed.

A regulatory body is a public authority which exercises authority over human activity in a regulatory or supervisory capacity. OFCOM is a communications regulator in the UK. They regulate broadcasting and telecommunications in the UK. The BBC is regulated by the office of fair trading. The BBC is also covered by OFCOM’s fairness code. The British board of film classification was founded in 1912 and is responsible for the censorship and classification of films within the United Kingdom.

A trade union is an organisation made of members who are usually workers. Their main aim is to protect the interest of its members in the workplace. The producer’s alliance for cinema and television (PACT) is a UK trade association for independent producers in cinematic or television productions. The broadcasting, entertainment, cinematograph and theatre union is a trade union in the UK which has over 25,000 members currently who mostly work in broadcasting, film and theatre, the union was founded in 1991.

A trade association is an organisation that is founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry.

The choice of location in our production was decided based on what was more convenient for us. we chose to only film in the college area as it benefited us more in the long run as opposed to going somewhere further away, this way we had all the time for filming and there were no issues getting permission to shoot on college grounds. Because of this it cut out any timing issues we could have faced, our decision to film around college saved us a lot time where otherwise we might have had to travel to a location every time we filmed a scene, instead we were pretty much already there which gave us more time to shoot.