The Pre-Production Process Blog Report

What type of media product did you produce and what was it for? How did you distribute it?

Screen Shot from http://www.depict.org/competition

We produced a 90 second short film initially made for a website called Depict! Which hold a competition every year called ‘can you do it in 90 seconds?’ it is for film makers worldwide to make a 90 second film and be creative and innovative with an idea for a film and to put it into 90 seconds. We were given this as a brief to what we had to do aim towards in the fact that we had to create an inventive short film which was 90 seconds or shorter.




Screen Shot from http://www.depict.org/competition/

DepicT! Is an international short film competition that was created in 1998 by Brief Encounters they have an aim to challenge filmmakers to create ultra-short masterpieces. Every year they gain thousands of entries which gains a lot of recognition for young filmmakers and the company, every year they host a DepicT! Showcase where they show all of the short listed films and decide on a winner they also have guest judges some in the previous years have been Peter Jackson, Pete Postlethwaite and Damien O’Donnell. The Depict! Competition is very worthy for young film makers who want to start off their career as it gains a lot of recognition because it is received by a lot of people and also has a lot sponsors such as The Royal Photographic Society, Random Acts (Channel 4) Aardman, Films@59. It is presented by Watershed and Encounters which is Bristol’s International Film Festival, all of these companies are very well received and popular so by them sponsoring the competition it gives even more recognition to the film makers. References from http://www.depict.org/about/

The cinematic Trojan horse returns, smuggling short film-makers into the big league, even more so now it’s a qualifying festival for the Oscars and Baftas.

The Guardian on Encounters International Festival 2011
So we used this outline to create our 90 second short film. We also distributed our video by uploading it onto the ENBTECMEDIA YouTube channel therefore people from around the world who are on YouTube can view and comment/dislike. YouTube is a good way for people to distribute their short films or video clips as it can be easily viewed anywhere. Also the video was embed onto my blog which can be viewed by people who are on Blogger, also it connects with my google+ account so anyone on their can view it as well.


What other types of moving image media products are there? What different distribution methods are there?There are a lot of other types of moving image media products out there such as Movies, Television Shows, Music Videos, and Short Films such as indie films, web shows like webisodes.

With Movies there are a lot of different types such as short films which are normally an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits which was defined by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The term has been carrying on in the industry for many years dating back to the first short film in 1920’s now a days the term has been abbreviated into “Short” in which a lot of amateur film makers use to showcase their short films. [Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_film]

Indie films are another kind of films (formally known as independent films) which a professional film production is resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. Most independent films are sometimes distinguishable by their content and style and the way in which the creator’s personal style is shown, most independent films are often screen at small local, national or international film festivals before distribution. [Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_film]






Pulp fiction was a very popular indie film directed by Quentin Tarintino it gained 213.9 million in the box office which is a big gross for an indie film.


There are also feature length films which are vastly popular in today’s society, they’re determined to be feature length if the running time is more than 40 minutes according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Most feature length films are between 70 and 210 minutes long in today’s cinema releases, the first considered feature length film is considered to be The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906 60 minutes). [Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature_film]


In Television there are several different types of moving image media products. You have the usual TV Series where there are a certain amount of series and episodes but then there are types of them such as a miniseries, serial, documentary, spin-off, reboot, micro series (a full list can be found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_television_programs)


The most popular type of television programs are seasons/series which can alter in different countries but are normally a series which is connected to a set of television program episode that run under the same title, possibly spanning many seasons. Now a days new seasons are debuted in the fall season and normally contained around 24 to 26 episodes, this is commonly done in North American, in UK and Australia they don’t have a fall season where they release new seasons.

[Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_program#Seasons.2Fseries]




Game of thrones is a very popular TV series and is rated 9.5 out of 10 on IMDB and just in season 1 had over 25 million views for the whole season, season two had over 37 million viewers, and the new season 4 has over 68 million.

There are also things such as Webisodes which is an episode of a series that is distributed as web television and is available as either for download or in streaming, as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cable television. Webisodes have become increasingly common in the midst of the post-broadcast era, which shows how audiences are drifting away from the common television design.



Orange is the new black is a popular webisode which is a netflix original series, as it is a webisode it can be hard to measure figures exactly but we can see how well it is doing due to the ratings online. It has an 8.5 out of 10 which is good for a netflix original series.

For distributing films and television programs there are numerous ways such as Online services which can include Netflix, Love Film, Nowtv and Amazon Prime Film. Netflix is vastly popular around the world and has surpassed over 10 million subscribers, it is 6.99 (depending on currency in country) and offers a collection of 100,00 titles of various films and TV programs which can be accessible on computers, phones, Xbox, ps3 and certain smart TV’s. It also offers a post rental service in which the DVD is sent to you via the post and can be returned in the same envelope.


Apart from Netflix which show cases a lot of recent TV programs, documentary’s and films, there are websites in which you can watch TV Shows on demand if you have missed them etc. Channel 4 have 4oD which is a video on demand service from Channel Four, it was launched in 2006 and offers all of the shows and programs which were broadcasted on Channel 4 to be viewed by various devices and by the web, platforms include an On Demand TV box, PlayStation, XBOX, IOS, Android, Freesat, Samsung TV, and Windows




It connects in with various channels such as Channel4, Channel4sever, E4, More4, Film4 and 4 Music which all show the recent UK and American TV Shows and films at times as well, membership is free but you have to have made an account to be able to watch anything.


Another online and on TV demand service is BBC IPlayer which was created in 2007 in which it allows you to catch up on the last 7 days of BBC TV & Radio by platforms such as Windows, OSX, Linux, IOS, Android, Wii, Roku, Freesat, Sky Go, TalkTalk, Xbox, PlayStation and such others which can all be found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_iPlayer.



A lot of young new film makers distribute to either one of these websites or Vimeo which is a good portal for various film clips. Also some feature length films get sent straight to DVD release either because the production company aren't very popular therefore can’t afford to send it into cinema also some films are only played for a couple of days because they can’t afford to pay for it to be shown for a long time. Or it will get sent straight to DVD release because they don’t think that it aims to a wide enough audience therefore wouldn’t profit a lot in the cinema.




What sources of funding exists for film, television and other moving image productions
There are various ways that people get funding to make films and television and other moving image productions, the funding type always depends on the type of Film to start off with, for example if a big production company is going to make a feature length film they will usually invest and purchase the rights to the film, and the money will be from the value of the company which they gain from making successful films and the gross that they get etc. If new film makers want money to help get their film signed they can get help from a film company but it would mean that they would have rights for the film and could be changed by the film company in which some film makers don’t want to happen so there are other ways such as crowd funding websites like Kickstarter which is a global crowd funding platform based in the United States, it is made for people who want to make films, music, stage shows, comics, journalism, video games, and food related projects, but they need money for it so people from around the world donate to each project. Kickstarter has reportedly received over $1 billion in pledges from 5.7 million donors to fund 135, 00 projects. [Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickstarter]




Kickstarter Home Page https://www.kickstarter.com/?ref=nav

There are also other methods such as Bank loans, friends and family, competitions, private investors such as Megan Ellison, Selling your body to science by participating in medical research studies (Robert Rodriguez done this for his first film), the British lottery and getting sponsored by big companies to have product placement in your media production.


Requirements for any production- i.e., what will the money be spent on?

· Talent and Actors they will need to be paid either hourly or for the whole production.

· Equipment such as all of the different cameras, lighting, sound tools.

· Crew for example people who will have to operate equipment, caterers, and runners.

· Distribution for the film to be uploaded or put onto DVD.

· Advertising for the product so it reaches all audiences.

· Location for the production to be filmed might have to pay for the license.

· Expenses such as food and water for the cast and crew.

· Props for the production which can include anything for small items to cars.

· Transport to and from the location where everything is being filmed.

· Makeup for the talent.

· Costumes for the talent in the production.

· Accommodation for the cast and crew if filming at a faraway location.

· Soundtrack/score for production will have to pay for the rights to use it.


What did you have to obtain for your depict project?
For our production we didn't have to obtain many requirements as we were mainly filming in and around the college area so we didn't have to pay for big factors such as transport, location and accommodation. The things we had to pay for were only the costume and the scythe which didn't turn out to be too expensive so we saved a lot of money; we had to obtain a video camera to record everything with and used a SD Card also.

Personnel: ‘Talent’ and ‘crew’ that work in a media production

Crew:
The makeup of a typical team for a low budget short would most probably be just normal makeup that the crew or talent have bought into set whilst filming so then the team wouldn't have to spend money on makeup.

The makeup for a television programme would most probably be a group of professional makeup artists who would work in each individual actor on the programme and it would probably cost a lot of money to pay the makeup artist’s.

The makeup for a Hollywood feature film would be a large amount of people possibly around 50-100 makeup artists who would work on everyone in the film individually and it would take a lot of time and money as they would all be professionals because everything would need to be perfect for a Hollywood feature film.


Explain how you allocated work in your very small group. Who performed what role? Did they have any experience of that role before?
We allocated the work by me and Will taking it in turns filming certain aspects of the production as Stuart was the talent he couldn't be behind the camera but we did take it in turns whilst editing the whole of the production, we had shared experience of working in groups on production during out induction project towards the start of the course in which we had to create a short clip including some sort of package.

Cast/other contributors: people that have contributed to the production of a media text.

Other than the production crew behind and in front of the camera there are a lot of other people involved in the media production process, there is the pre-production process which a lot of people are involved in such as the director, illustrators and concept artists who are involved with story boarding the media text, assistant director who manages the shooting schedule, unit production manager who will manage the production budget and production schedule, location manager who finds and manages film locations, production designer who creates the visual conception of the film working with the art director, costume designer who will create clothing for the characters, casting director who will find actors to fill the parts in the script, choreographer in case of any dancing during the production, director of photography who is the cinematographer, director of audiography who is the audiographer, production sound mixer who is the head of the sound department, sound designer who will create the aural conception of the film and work with the supervising sound editor.



In production the production is created and shot, more crew will be recruited at this stage such as the property master, script supervisor, assistant directors, still photographer, picture editor and sound editors .[information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmmaking#Pre-production]

Time: what was your timeframe and how well did you use the time you were given?
We started our pre-production on the 30th of September in which we started drafting ideas on what we wanted our 90 second short clip to be about and what we were going to do, we were given a week (8 lessons) to plan and arrange our pre-production work such as locations, script and forms. We managed to use the time well and even had time spare as we finished before the deadline. We then had another week to film it and we ended up finishing it within 4 lessons and then we started editing earlier on. We then had a week to edit our clip but also we finished earlier because our film was documentary based so we didn’t need to do any technical editing which was helpful because we got an early start on the evaluation side. [information from [http://loisturrellenbtec14.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/pre-production-depict.html]



Equipment/Facilities: how do you obtain equipment in professional moving image productions?

When making professional moving image productions a lot of equipment is needed for professional level of production, many high end studios will have a lot of equipment which they have already purchased due to previous productions, or they will rent equipment. Renting equipment is vastly popular now a days for media productions and many stores will offer it, Hughes a big electrical goods and electrical appliances company offer a renting service in which offers low cost outlay, hassle free same day or next day service. They have an extensive range of equipment such as various cam corders and cameras and audio equipment. There is a Hughes located in Gorleston high street approximately a 15 minute walk from the college. Also there is The Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) who have a Media Lab, which contains portable equipment for location filming including lighting sets, dolly kits, film and digital video and audio recording kits with relevant accessories.

For our Depict project we had a range of Camera’s, tripods and audio equipment, all of which was available from the AV Room free of charge all that was required was show off our student card, equipment needed to be returned by the end of the day as well.







Location

What are location recces and location releases?
Location recces are risk assessment forms in which you go to the location where you are filming and check everything that will be there and asses the dangers if there are any and if so what changes will be implied to make sure that there are no dangers which would disrupt the filming, here is an example of one of the recces we done for our filming. As you can see I wrote down several items in the room which could cause a risk and what I would be doing to assure they wouldn’t get in the way.





A location release is a letter in which you get permission for whoever is the owner/responsible for the location in which you are filming, these can include information such as the address, what dates it will be used, who is responsible for this location and signatures from both parties. These are used to insure if anything gets broken or anyone is hurt that the owner has signed permission for them to use the location, this is an example of a location release from our project

As you can see there is information about the location, the site and the address.




How and why did you pick specific locations for your Depict video?
Firstly we chose Stuart’s house for our location in which the dead body would be found because we thought it would be effective in the fact that his house looks like a typical house, we then planted the dead body there which then makes the audience think that it is his house in which he was found dead. With the second location which was the college we thought because this is a big location in which loads of people work it would be ideal for the place where Death would work, both of these locations were very east to hire as it was just a simple sign of a release form and we had permission for the afternoon.




What logistical issues and risks did you face?
With logistical issues we didn’t have many complex ones just the basics like moving something 10cm to the left or the right, or asking some of the general public to move out of the way of our shot so it didn't mess it up. We also had to change one of our filming days because it was raining on the day we were going to film near the college reception and we felt that there would be a vast amount of people therefore could mess up our shot. With risks we did not face any major ones, in the office scene we had to move a few things around like the fan, computer wires, and basic filing stuff to insure that the talent or the camera man didn't trip and fall over and mess up the shot and hurt themselves.






Materials:
There are various types of materials needed to make a moving image text, aside from the equipment and crew and cast such things are needed like stills and postcards which are to use as the main image to publicise the film, these are normally a set of stills/images from the film of the actors and important scenes, making of shots, photographs of the director on- and – off set etc. these are used to help promote the film, the more striking and colorful the image, the more likely it is that it will be used in festival catalogs, film reviews and general marketing. [Information from http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/distribution/press-and-publicity-materials]







A lot of makeup and costumes are needed for production because it is always mandatory to make sure that the talent are up to scratch of the production, costume can vary with a big number of clothing and accessories for the crew such as an Ac Pouch, production crew belt, utility belt, chest pack and water bottle holders. There is also a lot of kit supplies in which all of these items come under there is then hardware items such as dulling spray, endbac, tape, garment bags, pyrolite, scotch guards and various other items that can be used in production, all of these items are available for purchase from [https://www.hollynorth.com/]. With costumes for the talent there are thousands of various costumes available from online and there is some local shops which you can rent out costumes from, Arnie’s Attie is a fancy dress shop located in Dereham, Norfolk they offer a various amount of costumes and accessories from masks, wigs, cowboys and Indians, 1900 centuries, children characters, Halloween, film & TV and other characters. Items are available for hire in exchange for a deposit.






What financial considerations are there when using certain materials?
When using materials money is always a key issue because not many first film makers have a big budget therefore can’t go ahead and buy expensive things for production, that is why it is handy when companies rent equipment needed for production, or you have a friend or family member that would be willing to chip in or lend you equipment and materials needed for production. You should always consider the budget and should make a budget form in pre-production to make sure you have considered everything; here is an example of our budget form for our production.





As you can see we had listed the materials we needed for our production, why we needed them, the receipts and the total cost. We also wrote down the journey because that would cost money as well as the materials needed.




Legal Issues


What legal considerations might there be when using certain materials in a media production?
There are a lot of legal issues to consider when using certain materials in media productions, products are a key issue because if they are placed or used in the wrong light the company can have a problem with that, such as if the character were to drink a certain drink and then make a comment about it that could cause a lot of disruption and issues. There is also permission for things such as using location and an actor’s image, screen plays, hiring crew, location permits, any products or music used in the production, you will have to do a risk assessment on each location you are using to make sure it is safe and suitable for the type of production because if anything were to go wrong you would be the one paying for it as you have assessed the area and been granted permission for it and a permit. You need to make it clear to them what their role will entail, this includes their wages, length of employment and what scenes they will be taking part in, for example an actor is told they have to do a nudity scene but it wasn't mentioned in their contract then they have every right to refuse and even sue you. Most legal considerations in the media are covered by certain acts such as the Human Rights Act, The Licensing Act, The Video Recordings Act and The Obscene Publications Act.

Copyright information from www.gov.uk/copyright/overview
Copyright works in the way that it will protect your work and stop others from using it without your permission. You will a copyright protection when you create:

· Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work, including illustration and photography.
· Original non-literary written work, e.g. software, web content and data bases.
· Sound and music recordings
· Film and television recordings
· Broadcasts
· The layout of published editions of written, dramatic and musical works.


Although there are many ways that you can protect your work and prevent people from; copying your work, distributing copies of it, renting and lending copies of your work, performing, showing or playing your work in public, making an adaption of your work, putting it on the internet by just making sure you have copy righted your work.



How did copyright affect your Depict! Production?
Copyright didn’t affect our project too much because it wasn’t that professional and we weren’t planning on publishing it to any major audience, the only copyright issues we had to face were using certain sound effects and music. We couldn't use music that was from other films, music videos or games because they were uploaded to YouTube it could get flagged or taken down. We also had to have legal permission to use the talents in the film and to use each location.


Define: Clearance
In order to be able to distribute and screen your film in public you'll need to ensure that everything is 'cleared'. This means that you have written permission to use everything that appears in your film. This includes script, brand names, logos and stock footage, images and music.
This comes a lot under copy right issues with products, brand names and logos that are featured prominently in your film will need to be cleared for use by the manufacturer or businesses concerned.



Public Liability Insurance
Public liability insurance is an essential cover for most types of business. It’s especially important for customers to be sure that your business has the right business insurance, it covers the small business against legal costs and compensation payments resulting from injuries or property damage to your clients, contractors or members of the public which was caused by you or one of your employees.


Completion guarantee/ insurance
it can also be referred to as a completion bond is a form of insurance offered by a completion guarantor company that is often used in independently financed films to guarantee that the producer will complete and deliver the film (based on an agreed script, cast and budget) to the distributor(s) thereby triggering the payment of minimum distribution guarantees to the producer (but received by the bank/investor who has cash flowed the guarantee (at a discount) to the producer to trigger production) information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Completion_guarantee


Regulation: what is a regulatory body and what do they do?
A regulatory agency or regulator is a public authority or government agency responsible for exercising autonomous authority over some area of human activity in a regulatory or supervisory capacity. Regulatory bodies exercise a regulatory function, that is: imposing requirements, restrictions and conditions, setting standards in relation to any activity, and securing compliance, or enforcement.
Information from http://www.totalprofessions.com/more-about-professions/regulatory-bodies


What is OFCOM and what is its function?
Ofcom is the communications regulator in the UK. They regulate TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate. They insure that people in the UK get the best from their communications services and are protected from scams and sharp practices, while ensuring that competition can thrive.


Their main duties are to ensure:
· the UK has a wide range of electronic communications services, including high-speed services such as broadband;
· a wide range of high-quality television and radio programmes are provided, appealing to a range of tastes and interests;
· television and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations;
· people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material;
· people are protected from being treated unfairly in television and radio programmes, and from having their privacy invaded;
· a universal postal service is provided in the UK - this means a six days a week, universally priced delivery and collection service across the country; and
· The radio spectrum (the airwaves used by everyone from taxi firms and boat owners, to mobile-phone companies and broadcasters) is used in the most effective way.


Ofcom has certain powers to regulate the BBC's licence fee funded television and radio services aimed at audiences in the UK, but not the World Service which is grant-in-aid funded. Ofcom's Broadcasting Code applies in the following areas:
Protection of under-18s

Harm and Offence

Avoidance of inciting crime or disorder

Responsible approach to religious content

Prohibition of use of images of very brief duration

Fairness

Privacy.


The Editorial Guidelines reflect the provisions of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code in these areas
In addition, the BBC's commercial services (whether broadcasting to the UK, or from the UK to our international audiences) must comply with the whole of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.
Information from http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-accountability-ofcom/



The BBFC
The BBFC is a trusted guide to media content. Working as an independent, self-financing and not-for-profit media content regulator, the BBFC operates transparent, consistent and trusted co-regulatory and self-regulatory classification and labelling systems in the UK. Their mission is to protect the public, empower the public, recognise and respect adult freedom of choice, respond and reflect changing social attitudes, work in partnership and provide an effective service. Information from http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-bbfc/our-mission



The regulation of moving image products distributed via the internet are filtered through OFCOM and BBFC for legal regulations, filtering of explicit content and copy right issues.
Ofcom ensures TV and radio audience are protected in areas such as taste, decent, fairness and privacy.

On TV, the 9pm watershed - before which programmes are supposed to be suitable by children - becomes less meaningful when programmes are available at any time from the internet. The Ofcom Broadcasting Code ("the Code"), the most recent version of which took effect on 21 March 2013, covers all programmes broadcast on or after 21 March 2013. The Code Guidance can be found here http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/guidance/programme-guidance/bguidance/.



This could relate to our Depict! Project in the fact that we would have to go through each individual scene and shot to make sure that there are no legal implications such as products being used or people who are in the short. We would also have to make it child friendly if we decided to show it post-watershed and not and make sure we took away any illegal things.



Trade unions and trade associations: what are they and what do they do?
A trade union can be several things, trade unions are organisations that represent people at work. The word representing can mean someone from the union meeting with management on behalf of a member or a group of staff or taking up a problem with your employer for you. They’re very important because they aim to protect their members and make sure work places are safe and that people’s health is not being put at risk through their jobs, they also aim to improve their members pay and conditions, formed to protect and further their rights and interests.



PACT and BECTU
Pact is the trade association representing the commercial interests of UK independent television, film, digital, children’s and animation media companies. It supports its members with legal and business affairs advice and support, as well as a wide range of services and campaign work Pact is socially responsible and seeks to influence the wider industry to commit to diversity on and off the screen. Pact works closely with broadcasters and producers groups to create training opportunities and promote fair access for all.




BECTU is the UK's media and entertainment trade union; sectors covered include broadcasting, film, independent production, theatre and the arts, leisure and digital media BECTU provides a wide range of services to its circa 25,000 members, including:

Negotiating pay, conditions and contracts with employers

Personal advice and representation for individual members

Advice and representation on health and safety

Benefits and services for BECTU members

Training support and courses

Networking events and career development opportunities

Union journal, Stage Screen and Radio, published six times a year.

Website designed to improve access to the union's advice and support.



A trade association is an organization whose members are involved in a particular business or trade, such as retail and wholesale, fabrics, food and transportation. Can also be known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, its main focus is collaboration between companies or standardization.