Section B report

Section B report

• 1.
  BISHUN PRODUCTIONS Section B – Pre-Production Report
• 2.
  SOURCE AVAILABLE FINANCE,PREPARE BUDGET AND COST Within the pre-production stage of a film, the planning section is essential to success in the industry. For my production, I successfully created an outstanding pitch which enabled me and my team to secure the commission to produce an anti-bullying awareness video with the financial support from the StopIT charity. Not only will I receive financial support from this charity, I will hope to have monetary backing from a local charity which aims to prevent bullying online. Furthermore, the government have introduced an initiative which means small projects will gain economic help. The BFI and National lottery also aid towards the success of smaller firms. This company has produced awareness videos which have been broadcasted in local schools therefore I believe with the correct support I can also display my video to schools and other local communities. Budgeting is essential within the blueprinting stage because it allows the producers to see if they can afford specific equipment which was first planned. If there was no clear budget, companies are at a high risk of spending too much meaning a reduced profit margin or potentially meaning my project will fail. Budgetingwithinthe pre-productionisthe mostimportantstageas it allowsyou to outline the whole production. We need to draught a spreadsheet with all our costs and current budgeting allowing us to clearly see profits and losses. However,weare creatinga non-profitable productionthereforethe spreadsheet will allow us to maximise our budget without spending too much or too little. By having a clear layout, we can see if we can afford special equipment or props. If we are too ambitious about our plans prior to filming then realise we don’t have sufficient funds, we can almost accept failure as most of our idea is now seriously limited. Budgeting is elemental within the film industry due to the large timescale the directors have to create the film. All directors and their team, budget and plan their funds prior to shooting the film. This way they have enlarged their chances of success. Films have a large budget because of the shear amount of work that is needed to make the film, each production company needs many workers to edit the film as well as actors and makeup artists. For my production, I will have a minimal timescale with plenty of deadlines. All of these deadlines are realistic meaning they will be reasonable targets for me to reach before finalising the product and sending it off to the charity. The charity will also require regular updates therefore by creating these deadlines I can make sure I satisfy them with my production. Within my production, I hope to have various sources of finance. Large public sourced companies have enormous budgets which allows them to create long and outstanding creations. However, for my production I have a limited budget therefore the allocation stage of production is vital. If I budget myself too much money on the actors, I may subsequently spend less on props which are key genre signifiers. Other sections which I need to allocate for are, the possible licensing costs and location costs which are fundamental to success. If I didn’t have a sufficient license for my production, there is a high risk of my production being shut down by the industry professionals. Firms such as PACT may criticise the diversity within my production. If my production got shut down, I would lose money meaning my whole project would be a failure just because of an error in the planning process.
• 3.
  SOURCE PERSONNEL NEEDEDAND AVAILABILITY Sourcing my staff is also vital within the pre-production planning stage therefore prior to my production I will approach local schools/ universities and drama schools to see if any actors will feature within my film. This benefits both parties as they will too also want to bolster their portfolio. Once I have found the perfect actor, I will need to discuss with each of them their contract and the terms and conditions for this project. Their availability will also be an important factor for me approaching them. If the actor cannot be available for filming, I simply cannot afford to waste time waiting for them therefore I need actors with flexibleschedules. This further allows me to refilm those scenes which I don’t feel 100% happy with. The identification of available resources is a pivotal part in the planning stage of my production. I need to make sure the perfect equipment has been booked for my needs and especially I have to make sure it is booked for the length of my filming procedure whilst allowing time for possible unexpected errors e.g. ill actors. Not only will I need to book the equipment but the location is also key to success. If I didn’t book my location, it is possible it is being used by another filming team therefore I may only be limited to certain times of the day especially as the lighting is key in any filming production. I will have to create a checklist prior to booking anything to make a clear track of my progress with each reservation. Furthermore, I will do a reccee prior to filming to outline any possible dangers for my actors and staff on set. This safety check is fundamental prior to filming as it can make aware of possible faults/ dangers which we need to tell the team about before starting filming For my media production, the use of actors can really be the difference between success and failure. This is because if my actors are unprofessional, there is a high risk that the genre could be misunderstood which subsequently loses the aim of my production.For my production, I alsohope to use expert camera equipmentinorder to maximise professionality. If I used my phone as the camera source, the genre would more than likely misinterpreted. CONTRACT PERSONNEL The contracting stage of a job offer is the most important stage for both parties involved. This is because a contract is legal paperwork and outlines all the conditions which need to be agreed. Within a contract, the wage, working hours and agreements about illnesses are all outlined. Every member of my team needs to have an appropriate wage for their contribution to the production therefore I won’t pay an extra the same wageas a mainactor. This meansI can save moneycreatinga greaterprofitmargin.If one of myteamdecides not to turn up, we have signed a legal document therefore can be liablefor further repercussions. I will make sure prior to filming all staff have signed the contract. By signing a contract, it benefits the producersby makingsure the actors/technical staff wontmess you around meaning they will definitelyturn up. Within the industry, the reputableactorsrequirean extensive contractthereforeby clearlyoutliningthis, they can seeeverything that has beenagreed between both parties.
• 4.
  AVAILABLE RESOURCES Within mypre-production stage of my production, the source of my resources is fundamental to success. As a private low budget production company, we rely on other people’s resources for own production. For example, prior to filming we need to plan where we will source our camera equipment from. This means that we will have to research possible targets, for our production we hope to use a camera which originated from the school which we will work closely with. I hope to reserve a camera and tripod 2 weeks before filming. This is to make sure that we can use that equipment for the allocated time. As well as booking the filming equipment, we need to book the location and the props required to film. The location required needs to be booked multiple months prior to filming. Along with booking the location, we need to make sure we have relevant licenses to complete the filming successfully without any trouble from the legal professionals. Another amenity which needs to be booked is the travel requirements. These include how we are going to get our actors and crew from set to set. Luckily within my production, I use only 2 locations plus an editorial suite. Prior to filming, we sat down and had a meeting with my crew the plan for the shooting days, this increases efficiency upon filming day. PREPARE SCHEDULES Prior to filming, I created a schedule which allowed me to stay efficient as possible throughout the project. Efficiency can save money and most importantly time, especially as we are on a limited timescale. This schedule will be handed out to every member. It will be published a long time before filming as if there is any mistakes or problems, we can rectify this without causing confusion. I will use professional file sharing tools which allows everyone to keep up to date and organised with my plans. If I didn’t create a schedule and just told my crew a date and time, there is a high risk that they will be confused. Another negative to this way of planning would be the fact that at the beginning of the day I will need to tell everyone what they need to do and when. This saves vital time and with a limitedperiodevery minute is precious. I will create a timetable and a timing sheet for every crew member meaning it is clear for them. If I created one long timetable for every member there is a high chancepeoplewill get disorganised.Thereasonabilityformyschedulehas to be perfect,forexample if I was unreasonable I may have allocated not enough time to complete the project meaning I have to film another day. Furthermore, I will have to create a new schedule again, this wastes more time and potentially money. For my production I will aim to film on two days. These two days will be about a week apart so after I have completed my first recording I can look over my footage and then see if any of my shots are poor or out of focus. By filming on two days I can re film on the second shoot any footage which I didn’t get on the first shooting. My schedule has been accepted by all of my crew, so everyone knows what they are doing and when. Moreover, my schedule is accurate so has allocated timings for breaks and for each scene. If I spend too much time on one scene, there is a high chance that I will run out of time which means I may not film all my footage. As an amateur director, I would need to spend more time shooting. To make sure I don’t run out of time, in my free time I will practise my filming skills by doing different shots and making myself familiar with the camera and other equipment.
• 5.
  HEALTH AND SAFETYCONSIDERATIONS For my own production, I will need to carry out sufficient health and safety regulations which allows me to makesure all my actors and crewmembersare safeduring filming.Prior to filmingIwill undergo an extensive reccee which enables me to highlight any possible hazards. For example, if I am filming in a forest there are multiple possible hazards e.g. tree trunks on the ground. Furthermore, this safety reccee allows me and my producers to eliminateany possiblelegal issues. If we are sued by our crew members, this would mean we could possibly have to waste money on a pathetic preventable error. This would subsequently decrease our profit. LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS The legal constraints which production companies have to undergo can be extremely complex and a long process. However, this is fundamental to success because if a company doesn’t have the right licensing the industry leaders have the right to shut down that production. Therefore, all that time and money would have been wasteddueto a legalisticerror. Priorto my production,I needto adhereto all the codes andregulations which are required for my production. These regulations include copyright. Copyright is a lawwhich gives the creators of a specific media product security and exclusive rights to distribute this for a specific amount of time. If copyright was not in existence, the film directors could gain a profitablevalue for a media product which they didn’t produce.Within the professional industry, largeproductionfirmshave specialistswhomake sure all their production adhere to these strict rules to prevent any mistakes. The BBFC is an organisation which regulates the film industry in Britain. This firm is in charge of age rating every film. As this is such an important process, the government feel like they should create an organisation who check this. If each individual company createdan age rating for their film, there is a chance that they will possibly issue a wrong rating meaning younger children could possibly watch explicit content. Ethics within the media field now plays a major part for every medium. With today’s world becoming more cultural with different religions, beliefs and sexualities being introduced every day, media producers must not discriminate to any of these demographics. The PACT firm issue requirements to state an increased respect for diverse cultures suggesting that they should be presented more within the media. For my production, I have only included one race and gender therefore if I was to improve my production I would include various demographics in my film to expand the target audience beyond teenagers.