Assignment 1 Feedback Sheet

Essay on Pre-Production Process including Depict Entry and brief evaluation

Pre-Production Process

The Pre-production process plays an important part in making a moving image text. Pre-production planning is to make sure that everything, such as personnel and equipment is organised. There would also be no creative direction for the media text being made. The start of the process is the conceptualisation of the media text, this is done using many different creative processes such as script writing, shot lists and storyboards. If this process didn’t happen then there was be a lot of complications in the shooting of the media text as there would not be a platform for the team to work from. After the creative planning is finished there are legal and logistical issues that come into play that need to be dealt with, including equipment hire, props and location organisation. Risk assessments need to take place and a location release. Anything used or needed for the project haste be within the budget of the group or company. Nothing else can happen until the Pre-Production process is finished.

Types of Moving Image Production

There are many different types of moving image productions, with many different types of distribution needed in order to promote it. Big time movies usually have a cinema release then a DVD/Blue-Ray Release. Films that have been around for a while will be added to places like Sky Movies or movie Channels like Film4. For independent films its quite a bit different, the promotion is usually through Social media like Facebook and Youtube. Some other ways to promote films could be film festivals or publicity stunts.

There are more popular ways of distributing films than just cinema and DVD release, as mentioned before, independent film makers tend to use Facebook, Twitter and various social media to promote their films but even mainstream movies are using social media now. We see trailers from films on Youtube mostly but if people like what they see the trailers tend to make their way across Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and such popular social media apps or websites. There are Official Trailers promoting mainstream films to the public to go see in the cinema and once the film isn’t shown in cinemas anymore they’re usually released out on DVD/BlueRay or places like Sky Movies as mentioned before. There is usually some sort of trailer when the film is shown on tv maybe a couple of years after being released in cinema. For example Jurassic World is having its Official TV Premier on ITV on Boxing Day and ITV have shown a trailer advertisement during their Ad breaks. 

Different Channels show us different types of Television shows. For example BBC and ITV are the primary channels as they are the most mainstream, showing Soaps Operas and known Sitcoms. Its harder for Mainstream Channels, as they have to be quite picky on what they show as it needs to be something that people will watch and enjoy, whereas channels such as Channel 4 and E4 tend to show independent shows, though, mostly after nine o’clock. Channel 4 does show Hollyoaks -a soap opera-but after nine o’clock Channel 4 shows things like ‘The Sex Robots Are Coming’ and ‘Naked Attraction’ but Channel 4 will also show repeats of Sitcoms, the things they show tend to range whereas you’d never catch BBC1 showing peoples naked bodies for everyone to see at nine o’clock. BBC ONE and ITV1 tend to show gripping dramas at nine o’clock. nine o’clock is a prime time as its the borderline known as the watershed between things like Soaps which are family-orientated programs and the programs that are suitable for mature audiences including things like graphic violence or nudity.

My group ‘NOËL’ created an independent short film for our first assignment in Btec Film and TV. We worked on a low budget, filming with a college camera and filming some shots in college. Our short film is on the Btec Film and TV Youtube page and our Pre-Production paperwork is on each one of our blogs. Most of our shots were filmed at Gorleston Beach, we started off with long shots of the beach about six or seven seconds with cut off shots to the Dark room shots filmed at college that start off as half a second shots. Throughout the film the Dark room shots get longer and the Beach shots get shorter showing how depression is taking over the mind of the boy in the film, portrayed by Lewis.

Finance and sources of funding

There are different sources of funding, especially when making a moving image production. There are independent production companies such as Channel 4. Channel 4 features in 12 of the largest production companies although it is an independent production company, Channel 4 is for the Public, and get quite a lot of their content from independent production companies. Different sources of finance are used when making a moving image text. Many companies can pay for their production themselves if they’re worth enough money and are able to earn the money back from the production. Disney is worth $165 billion and can then fund their own films and usually make twice as much money in the takings.

Other production companies don’t tend to do this as many can’t afford to fund their own projects and use different ways of funding their projects such as Public funding and by using The British Film Institute who use funds from The National Lottery who get their funds from the public so it mostly links back to Public Funding for most production companies. Crowd funding is a popular way to raise money and most production companies use a large group of people to fund their projects, crowdfunding mostly takes place on the internet and money can be made quickly and lots of people will see it as billions of people use the internet. Some companies are funded by people or companies that think the film will be successful. 

Requirements

There are many requirements when making a moving image text. All the Pre-Production paperwork needs to be finished before any filming can take place as the filming could be different to the pre-production paperwork and would then not link together and would make it very hard to work with, as things will be out of place.

In the Pre-Production Process location recce’s and location releases are an important part as you can’t physically film without checking where you’re filming and getting permission to film there. Everything included in the Pre-Production paperwork is completely necessary in order to maintain a completely legal and safe moving image text. If there is acting in the film actors are needed and therefore actors will need to sign permission to be in the film, there are different forms to sign depending on whether the actor or actress is 18 or over or under 18. 

There needs to be a budget if there is going to be crew members and actors that need paying. Someone needs to be in charge of money in order for the production company to stay within the budget as there will possibly be props, costume design and makeup artists needed. Money needs to be used for feeding cast and crew as well as paying them. Another thing that needs to be in the budget is special effects/SGI if necessary for your moving image text.

In our project we didn’t really have a budget, we used a college camera to film and we feature one actor ‘Lewis’ in our film, Lewis didn’t require payment and he signed a permission form to appear in the film. We did a risk assessment of the beach during our location recce. We used the college lights for lighting in the dark room at college to get a shadowed effect over Lewis’ face. 

Personnel  

The personnel of a film or TV show is people employed in that organisation. In a low budget short film there will have to be a producer, writer and director. If actors are necessary in filming, they’re just as important as the director. If its just one short film including dialogue then only one script writer is really needed. Someone will be needed to manage the production, a camera person or crew will be needed to film and a costume designer may be needed. In a Television show a lot more crew his needed the actors that feature in the show are needed, maybe stunt doubles if there is violence involved as well as extras. You’ll need script writers and more than one, with the amount of episodes especially with soap operas, Eastenders for example has a range of script writers in order to keep a consistent amount of scripts coming for each episode. In a Television show a set will be needed whereas in a low budget film they wouldn’t really be able to afford a good set and will use whatever is available. In a Hollywood feature film the makeup is similar to a television show because both will be on a higher budget than a low budget short and will be able to afford sets, a camera crew and costume design and will be able to afford celebrities they want to star in their TV show or film.

In our low budget short we only had one actor (Lewis) and he was playing the starring part, and the rest of my group took turns filming and our short film turned out pretty good considering we had such a small group of people involved. We put sound over our finished piece and therefore didn’t have to worry about editing out unwanted noise. When doing the Pre-Production paperwork we all took over certain roles to get the work done quickly, it was good to get more experience in filming and writing up work by doing certain roles ourselves. 

Time

Our timeframe was 2 weeks Pre-Production, 2 weeks filming and then a further 2 weeks to edit videos and write the essay about the Pre-Production process, we did meet deadlines set in class and our video was finished in the two weeks we were given to edit and was put straight on YouTube. 

Its important to stick to deadlines in the professional media industry because if not things will get pushed back. For example if a production company released a trailer and told the public when it was going to be coming to cinemas and then the people working on the film didn’t stick to their deadlines the release would be put back and the film would not be released on the date originally set. By not sticking to deadlines and pushing releases back the public will not be happy and if one deadline is missed many more will be.

Equipment/Facilities 

In a professional moving image production the equipment and facilities are usually obtained by a professional media facility house. They can provide sets and studios for post production as well as equipment as long as its within the budget of the production company.

The equipment needed for this assignment was a camera in order to film, the people behind the production of the film.

For our Depict project college cameras with SD cards and tripods were available and a dark room in college was available for us to film in after signing a permission form to be in the dark room, there was also lights we could use and college has costumes that can be used, although we didn’t need to use them. We were able to take out one of the cameras by showing our student ID Cards and we took the camera to the beach to film. We were able to edit our short films in college due to the editing software on the Apple Macs.

Locations

Location Recce's are when you visit the location you want to film in and determine its suitability for filming and you can take photos to see where you want to film certain scenes. A location release is the contract between the owner of a certain location and the photographer or filmmaker that wants to use the location in a project. When the release is signed then the filmmaker can use that location.

We picked Gorleston Beach as our first location as we wanted to film at a beach and Gorleston beach is huge which portrayed our actor as isolated, away from everyone which was the plan in the whole project. We also needed water to play a part in the film so the sea was the perfect place to film the dunking head scenes. We picked the dark room as we could film in the dark and add our own lighting to add the shadows on Lewis’ face. 

We faced a few risks of hurting ourselves on stones on the beach and Lewis dunking his head into water had the risk of him drowning. We filmed in small parts so Lewis didn’t have to have his head under water for very long and we all wore shoes to protect our feet from being cut.

Materials

To make a moving image text a good idea is needed to start from and the idea can bud into many other things. From the idea storyboards can be made, after doing the pre-production of the idea the equipment and cast and crew will come into it in order to make the idea into a moving image text.

The different types of materials needed for a production would be cameras, boom mics, lighting, costumes, props and a set etc. All materials needed will need someone to operate them for example a camera person would need to be filming and a sound person with the boom mic.

When using certain materials there are financial considerations such as sticking to the budget, only using equipment and materials that the production company can afford on the budget. This makes filming quite hard for low budget film makers as good equipment cant always be afforded in order to film.

Legal Issues 

Legal considerations that might come into play when using certain materials in a media production are making sure that any music or sounds used are copyright free so that you won’t be committing a crime by using certain songs in your film. Also any branded clothing or product placement without permission could have your film taken down and its not legal, these things would have to be blurred or just not included in the moving image production.

Copyright is there to protect your work and it makes sure no one else can use it without your permission. You don’t have to apply or pay for copyright you automatically get copyright protection when making, illustration or photography, software, web content, databases, sound and music recordings, film and television recordings, broadcasts, written, dramatic and musical works. Copyright prevents people from copying your work in order to sell copies off or just show it, maybe as their own work. It ranges in how long it lasts for different types of work, in most countries copyright lasts for 70 years after the authors death for different types of written work or artist work but only 25 years after its published for photographs and dramatic or musical works. For sound and music recording it also lasts until 70 years after it was originally published and films copyright lasts 70 years after the death of the director, screenplay author and composer. With Broadcasts the copyright lasts 50 years after its first broadcast. 

In having a copyright protected piece of work you have moral rights that include being identified as the author of your work, object to how the work is presented and object to changes made to your work. You’re responsible for defending your copyright material against infringement. Some schools may be able to use copyright work without permission and it should be checked whether their use of your work is permitted.

Copyright didn’t really effect our Depict Production, we used copyright free sounds and music in the background of our film and we didn’t feature any brands that would need to be covered.

Clearance is getting permission to add copyright material in your own work. An example of clearance would be ‘property’ which is when there is material included in the film that was created by someone other than the film-makers. Another example would be ‘people’ as release forms need to be filled out before anyone can make an appearance in a film. One more example would be ‘locations’ because you need a location reelers before being able to film in certain places.

Public Liability Insurance is being covered for the cost of claim made by a member of the public that has suffered an injury or property damage as a result of your business. An example of Public Liability Insurance could be someone a client or member of the public slipping on a wet floor in your business place and you will be protected against the cost of compensation.

Completion Guarantee/insurance is insurance offered by a completion guarantor company to guarantee that a film ill be completed. An example of a Completion Guarantee would be a producer saying he/she will deliver a film and there for has to guarantee that they will. 

Regulation

OFCOM is the communications regulator in the UK. OFCOM regulates(administers) the TV, radio and video-on-demand sectors, phones, mobiles and postal services.

The BBC is regulated by OFT(Office of Fair Trading), The European Commission and OFCOM. The OFT was responsible for protecting consumer interests throughout the UK. Whereas OFCOM regulates communication services.

The BBFC is the British Board of Film Classification, its function is to issue age ratings and content advice in accordance with published guidelines.

Moving Image Products distributed via the internet- OFCOM ensure that TV and radio audiences are protected in fairness, decency and privacy. 

Trade Unions and trade associations

A trade union is and organised association of workers in trade, group of trades or profession, they’re formed to protect and further their rights and interests. Trade Unions are important to employees as they will have higher wages and their rights are protected more.

Its important to employers as their employees will be better protected and more motivated and there will then be higher levels of efficiency.

PACT is the trade association representing the commercial interests of UK independent television, film, digital, children’s and animation media companies. PACT helps shape the best possible regulatory and legislative environment for an independent production sector to grow domestically and internationally. BECTU is the UK’s media and entertainment trade union. BECTU play an important role in representing and promoting the best interests in the industry’s workforce.

Trade association is a body representing organisations within the same trade. It aims to protect their collective interests in negotiations with governments and trade unions.

My role in this task was to film Lewis, choose the appropriate shots and music for the video and help edit the video to create our final piece of work. Although filming did take a while as the weather kept changing we managed to film some good shots and overall I'm very pleased with the finished video.

Isolation-Depict Entry-Storyboards

Depict Short Films

‘The Kiss’

I liked the short film 'The Kiss' I thought that it was a good use for a 90 second video, although the camera shots don't change the people move in a weird way almost like the video is jammed or stuck on repeat, this is also shown by the static noises in the background. The quality is grainy at points but there is a continuous change between static and blurred focus on the two people that 'the kiss' is based around. I think that the video is portrayed as a kiss but there is connotation behind it its showing love and a warmth in a relationship. Although the love involved gives us a warm feel, the static noises and the lack of dialogue gives a creepy vibe. It sort of reminds me of a creature maybe from Doctor Who and the rippled look reminds me of some sort of portal that could take you somewhere but I don’t think it would take you anywhere nice. I like how the editors have changed the image to make it look like it is actually moving, they stretch it just and blur it which gives it the effect of the couple moving up and down and they also do similar things to make the couple look like they’re going left to right. As the figures are stretched around it takes me back to the creature look, in parts the male it stretched taller than the female which gives him a more superior look and at the same time making him look scary as he is almost transformed into a monster by the editing made to his figure. My favourite part is the abrupt stop at the end of the video, everything just stops, I got the feeling that it was all normal again. 

‘Rubber Guillotine’

This short film featured quite a few different shot types including Close-ups, panning, zoom, extreme close ups (a zoom in to an extreme close up) medium shots and long shots. I liked this short film because of how many different shots are used. The filmmakers really thought about how they wanted their short film to work. The film is showing what the girl wants with her future, although she just wants to become green gelatine as she says, everyone around her thinks it’s a bad and weird idea but she won’t take no for an answer, she doesn’t seem to have any friends or any cares.  The dialogue is relevant and the girl in the film is telling a story. The short film includes a voice over, this has the effect of feeling closer to the character, and it’s quite a personal film and lets us into the thoughts of the girl. 

‘Family Dinner’

This short film shows a family sitting around a table, it uses a lot of panning as the camera goes around the table from a perspective in the middle of the table. It shows different conversations as it goes around the table. When the panning stops there are 4 different two shots of 4 sets of people sat around the table. I like how it shows the four different conversations as separate parts of the video but then towards the end everyone is part of one conversation but it still pans around the table to everyone who talks as part of the conversation. There is basically just dialogue with some quiet music in the background. This short film shows us the type of conversations families have at the dinner table. The dialogue is the most relevant part as it all leads to the outcome at the end where the brother gets a slap. 

Pre-Production Paperwork

Isolation - Initial Idea

Isolation

Isolation is a short film depicting the feelings of those experiencing mental health issues.
 The piece is surreal in nature, not aiming to give a realistic representation of the feelings of isolation.

An unnamed subject wanders along an empty beach; they look stoic, and calm, but inside they are being torn apart.
 They proceed towards the sea, the waves lapping at their feet. They wander out into the water, they stop and stare, they kneel down.
 They drop their head into the water, attempting to drown their self. They realise they are not strong enough to do it, and jump out.
 They stare at the camera, dripping with water, looking stoic and calm.
 They stare at the camera, with the world playing behind them, looking stoic and calm.


Cut in and out of this piece will also be quick shots of the subject in a dark room, thrashing around, yelling out. This is intended to represent their inner emotions, the fact that they are being torn apart inside.
 It also contrasts against the calm, and quiet scenes of the subject on the beach, representing that what they show on the outside is not necessarily how they feel on the inside.

As mentioned before, this piece is intended to represent the feelings of isolation that people feel when they experience mental health issues.
 The shots of the beach will need to be empty, except from the subject (representing the feelings of loneliness), the sky will need to be dark, and cloudy, and the colours will need to be dark, and cold (giving the scene a cold feeling).