Unit 1 Pre-production techniques for the creative media industries

Pre production is a major and vital part in media production due to the role of pre production organising and speeding up the production of a media project during actual production (filming). There are several aspects of pre production that require paperwork etc. such as the type of production, Finance, Time, Personnel, Facilities, Materials, Contributors, Locations and codes of practice and regulation. 

Types of production

The different types of production can change the way pre production is approached on a media project due to the different requirements for each type of production. The different types of production include Film, Television, Radio etc. The type of productions i am going to focus on is Film and Television due to the project i worked on having a similar type of pre production. Although film and Tv projects can be considered different projects due to scale etc. all the pre production is very similar as they both require the same type of pre production planning such as getting actors,  finding suitable locations and getting a film crew together, even when making and independent film or a high budget film all the pre production is the same just on different scales. The project i created was an advert promoting chewing gum, For this i completed pre production paperwork similar to film and television. Pre production that is involved in film and Tv takes up the majority of the time over all of production such as the filming and post production due to pre production being part of the planning process of a film etc. which will also speed up filming as everything has been planned before production has taken place. The type of paperwork and pre production involved in film and television productions include several pieces of documentation that needs to be completed such as recces, Actor release forms, shooting schedules, Call sheets, Storyboards and risk assessments. All these pieces of documentation have to be filled in prior to actual production which for my project completed before i began filming. Film and Tv pre production mostly involves finding actors, locations and a film crew such as camera men to be able to create a production in film or Tv, whereas pre production on radio does not need any of this pre production therefore being considerably different  in the way pre production is taken place. Overall the type of production you are doing could determine what type of pre production is needed, which is why type of production is important to know so you can complete the required pre production paperwork for your project and know how approach all aspects of production.

Finance

Finance is possibly the most important requirement during pre production as it can make the project possible to create if you have a big enough budget or can make the project impossible or difficult to make due to your finances being smaller than what you require and need for your production. Finance of a project is used for various aspects of pre production such as money for Equipment, Transport, Actors, Film crew, and Locations (Facility Hire). Finance for projects can be determined by many factors such as if producers wanting to invest to make your film or Tv production possible or investors do not want to finance your project before pre-production has begun therefore stopping production of your project, Finance can also be achieved by kick-starters on the internet which is where people can donate towards a a film project of yours adding to your budget and finance. The budget of a film production goes on several aspects of pre production the first being equipment. Equipment is needed to make a project, depending on what type of equipment you use can determine the type of finance you need such as prices of cameras, lighting, sound equipment etc. due to better equipment costing considerably more than if you used basic types of equipment. Equipment can also be hired which could possibly reduce the amount of money being spent on buying equipment therefore allowing your budget to be used for other aspects of production. For my advert i organised what equipment i was going to use during my advert by creating an equipment list, this allowed me to see what i needed and what i had available to use due to me being able to look at the equipment list.

      

Another part of pre-production where finance is needed is for actors and a film crew. On most projects you will need both actors and film crews due to them being the most important aspect of production as without either of them it would be near impossible to create a film or Tv production  etc. Film crews and actors will charge for there services when being on set which will be taken out of the budget and finance of the project. They will also require transport to and from sets, during pre production i created call sheets that abled me to plan what transport the crew and actors where taking to the filming location and what their travel arrangements will cost, how many actors and crew will be there during filming and what equipment will be using during filming. This part of the pre production paperwork allowed me to plan all the arrangements for transport etc. prior to filming and gave me an idea if there was any transport cost which will all come out of the budget and finance of my project.

Another important part of finance is spending budget on shooting in certain locations such as hiring facilities for filming. Many film and Tv productions require certain locations to film therefore having to spend money on hiring facilities. For independent films this could impact there finance and budget drastically due to the possibility of having to film for maybe a week in one location which could result in a vast amount of money being spent on a renting a particular location especially if filming takes longer than you had planned. For my advert i did not have to worry about hiring facilities as i  filmed outside in a park therefore no money was spent on hiring facilities.

Time

Any type of production requires time to create especially when making a film or tv show, Time is a vital part in the production process as everything you do will have deadlines such as availability of a location you want to film and of actors/crew and availability of equipment etc. If you are filming at a location you are hiring it will most likely give you a filming period in which you will have to stick to as it will have a start and deadline date due to the location possibly being used for another purpose therefore only giving you a certain amount of time to film at that location. Pre production will allow you to plan when and where filming is going to take place giving enough time for production and finish before deadlines, An example of my own pre production paper work that i used to help me plan when to film to reach the deadline for my project was a shooting schedule, The shooting schedule gave me the information I needed to help me know when actors and equipment were available to film on different days therefore allowing everybody and myself working on my project the information of the days i will be filming, which keeps everything organised and prevents wasting time finding appropriate filming dates last minute. From using my shooting schedule it prevented me from finishing after the deadline but instead before the deadline giving me enough time to correct any errors I made during filming by allowing me more time to go and film as shooting finished before the deadline, This is due to me following and sticking to the shooting schedule by filming on the days available.

Actors and film crews will also only be available over a certain period of time therefore only allowing you to film them when it is convenient for them. Pre production will allow you to plan what actors and film crew are available during production, most actors and film crew will be on set throughout the production of a film but if production finishes after the set deadline then the crew and actors will possibly have other projects to work on which means working on your project will affect there work schedule making them unavailable to work on your film production. Another piece of pre production paperwork that i completed which can help you plan production and reach deadlines is a production schedule, The production schedule ables you to organise when each stage of production starts and will finish such as filming and editing, this will keep production organised as actors and film crews will know how long production will take place and when production will finish. An example of a production schedule is one i completed during filming my advert which helped me stay within the start and finish date of my advert.

Personnel

Personnel such as film crews and actors are a vital part in making a production possible especially when making film and Tv. Film crews are an important factor in production as they are needed for several different aspects of a production such as cinematographers, location managers, camera operators, Lighting and sound technicians etc. without these people film production would be near impossible to make. Depending on the size of a production will depend on the size of the film crew, bigger productions such as 'The avengers' will require a bigger film crew than smaller, independent films such as 'this is England', This is due to financing. High budget films are able do have a larger, possibly more experienced film crew for a production due to the films having a bigger budget whereas independent films don't have the finances to allow for a larger film crew which will make the films rely on a smaller, less experienced film crew because they will be cheaper and more affordable. Film crews and actors will only be available for a certain period of time as actors and film crews will have other productions to work on, This means during pre production planning what film crew and actors you want to use is important due to the possibility of them being unavailable. To source actors for your production you can look for acting agency who will supply you with a variety of different actors you can contact through their agent to see if they are available for you to use during production, Film crews can also be hired through websites such as 'BluefinTv.com' which have varying prices depending on the size of the film crew you are hiring and the equipment they use. Film productions with only a limited budget can also find film crews and actors in universities which is cheaper than hiring and sourcing from an agency due to actors and film crews from universities not being professional but still wanting to gain experience. Actors and film crews will be required to fill in some form of contract to show they are apart of the production until their contract has expired or production has finished. Actors will also have to sign actor release forms which would possibly be part of their contract giving permission for their face to be shown in the film.

For my pre production i had my actors fill in an actor release forms, this allowed me to film them and to use their face in my advert. Actor release forms were filled in prior to production to prevent any complications and problems during production.

Facilities

Facilities are another requirement within pre production as it is an important part of the production process. Types of facilities include Production equipment , post production equipment and facility houses. Production equipment is vital part of production due to the equipment being what is used to capture footage, sound, and other important aspects of a production, production equipment includes Cameras, sound mics, tripods etc. Pre production will allow you to plan what type of equipment is required on your project due to some production needing different types of equipment such as productions with bigger budgets will use equipment that cost considerably more than equipment used on smaller productions due to all aspects of production determined by the budget and finance available for the film therefore limiting the choice and type of equipment you can use. Equipment can also be hired through companies, reducing the amount you spend buying equipment due to renting being a lot cheaper therefore allowing you to spend your budget on other parts of pre production. To organise what equipment i will be going to use  i used an equipment list which abled me to plan what equipment i will be taking with me to film my advert and stopped any confusion during production. I also used call sheets which allowed me to see what equipment i will be taking with me on the day of filming.

Another reason why facilities are an important is due to finding locations being a vital part in the production process, without locations you would be unable to film therefore hiring or renting places out to film is very important, this means it will affect your finance as you will be spending money on hiring facilities etc. Depending on the budget available for the production some locations may be impossible to film at due to the cost this means hiring smaller locations to film at will mean saving on cost and finance meaning you are able to use finance for other parts of production.  During pre-production i created recces for potential locations and facilities i could film at, This provided me with the information about cost and available facilities allowing me to decide whether there are any issues with filming at the location.


Materials 
Materials are another source of requirement during pre production, This includes Scripts, Audio, Recorded music, costumes etc. Scripts are possibly the most important part of the production process due to it allowing you to plan and form the structure of your production such as dialogue and events that happen in each scenes, Scripts are also good for the crew and cast to follow what needs to be filmed and acted in each scene, without a script this would not be possible as nobody would know what they have to do. So creating a script prior to filming will help you form your story and have the information you need to know what you are filming in each scene. For my own production (Advert) instead of using a script i created a storyboard which acted as my script and to plan to what i was filming.

Costumes are also important for a production due to costumes bringing the characters to life from the script to the screen, This is so you are able to put the appropriate costumes on your actors for the characters they are playing therefore giving the characters the look you had written for them. To be able create the appropriate costume you will need costume designs which will make the costumes that match how you picture the characters looking for your production. Pre production ables you to design and plan what each characters costumes will look like which would speed up production due to you not picking out costumes during production. Another aspect of materials is audio this includes sound library materials and music, Sound library materials are sound affects such as background sound (cars, wind etc.) and sounds that are present in the scene (diegetic sound) that the characters will be able to hear. To find  these sounds you are able to find a large collection on the internet that are free to use with no copyright infringement which i found during pre production for my advert, you can also record your own sounds using recording equipment which can be done during pre production. Most productions require music which can be obtained online through youtube etc. this means the music has to be royalty free to avoid copyright infringement.

Contributors

Contributors are another source of requirement for pre production. Contributors are the people who are involved in working on your project such as the Talent, Specialists, and Experts. Actors (Talent) contribute majorly to a production due to actors being at the forefront of any project as they are the ones being filmed and playing the characters you have created. Experts are needed so actors are able to follow correct procedures such as ex police officers and soldiers to train actors for a specific role such has how to act in a convincing depending on the type of characters you are playing. Specialist such as stunt doubles are also required on set of a production therefore allowing films containing action sequences appear realistic due to the production looking as though the actors are performing the stunts required.

A variety of different film productions a based on biographies possibly iconic figures from the past. The biographies will help film directors vision the persons life, also having the person who the biography is based on, on set during production will give the director a better insight to their life and how the production should look therefore having contributors biographies during a film production is a huge requirement as it allows the director to follow the biography accurately.


Locations

Locations are always required when making a production due to appropriate locations making productions look the way it is intended to look otherwise productions would not look right within certain scenes. locations need to be safe for everyone working on set such as the actors and film crew otherwise people could get seriously injured, For my advert i completed a risk assessment, this allowed me to assess potential risks that were present at the location i wanted to film and to find solutions for these risks. The location i filmed at only had very minor risks therefore being safe for actors and crew otherwise if the location had multiple risks and dangers filming would not of happened as people would of been at risk. This is why pre production is important when finding locations due to the ability to asses risk prior to filming and seeing whether locations are safe enough to be used for production.

When filming in different locations the majority will require permission from local authority or council especially when filming in any public place. If the production requires you to use props such as guns and explosives contacting the police prior to production will prevent any complications during filming due to the police being informed not to come out as it is all just props. Pre production is important in finding locations as it allows you to evaluate the cost of renting locations for filming which would affect your finances, Distance to and from locations in which some locations may possibly be too far to go and film, and access to locations. A piece of pre production paperwork i completed to help me evaluate these factors was a recce, Recces allow you to gather information on the locations you want to film at this includes aspects such as availability of lighting, power, sound, etc. this lets you see if the location is appropriate for filming and suited for what the production needs.

Weather also needs to be taken into consideration when finding locations especially when filming outside. Pre production will help you plan for weather affecting production by using risk assessments which will help you asses the risks caused by weather and if the weather is a risk itself, Another way pre production will prevent any problems with weather is by checking prior to filming which days are most appropriate for filming and without the risk of conditions being bad, This can be done by looking at the weather on the internet for the days you are considering filming on.

Codes of practice and regulation

Codes of practice and regulation is a very important requirement during production due to it being legal requirements and regulations concerning whether your project is appropriate to be shown to the public and if so what type of age rating is most fitting. For this requirement i will be focusing on Tv advertising, Tv advertising has various rules and regulations for allowing adverts to be shown on Tv therefore preventing advertisers showing inappropriate content that could potentially offend the public who watch the advert. Adverts are regulated through the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) before shown on Tv, The role of the ASA is to make all adverts responsible stopping any adverts with offensive material to be broadcasted to the public avoiding controversy and offensive amongst the general public. The ASA also have to regulate any misleading and incorrect information put out in UK adverts that could potentially be harmful to people. Another role of the ASA is to deal with complaints about any ads that have offended the public and investigate further into the ad and potentially ban and stop that ad from being put on TV. For my advert i followed the rules and regulations of the ASA during pre production when planning the what content to use within my advert to prevent any offensive or inappropriate material being shown in my advert which could possibly offend audiences when watching the advert. Also when writing my proposal i wrote down several legal and ethical considerations concerning content that could potentially be put in my advert, For the legal and ethical consideration i said i would not use any offensive language such as inappropriate racial comments etc. therefore following the ASA guidelines for UK adverts preventing my advert from offending my target audience.