Pre Production theory assignment

Step One- Overview
For any type of production which involves filming (a film, a tv show, a video) there is planning which needs to be done so that everything gets done in time. This blog post will focus on the documentation needed for planning a film, however following research that I carried out, I have not found there to be any different documents for a TV show or a video. The choice between productions does not affect planning.

Step Two- Time Management Managing time when creating a film is possibly the most important thing to do, especially if you are working to a deadline as things that aren't done will hold you back and will cost you extra money. Documents that you need to create which help you manage time are a script, script breakdown, schedule, and a call sheet.
 Scripts help manage time as they tell everyone what they need to be doing at what time. This is an example of part of a script from the film Pitch Perfect. We can see that this certain scene shows which actors are needed, which setting they need to show, which costume the characters need to be wearing, 

A script breakdown helps to also tell the crew what to do and when but in more detail as it is specific towards parts of the scenes, such as props. This is an example of a key for a script breakdown. It involves colour coding a version of the original script, so the colour is specific to the right department. 


A schedule helps with time management as it includes times and locations to let people know when they need to do things. This is an example of a film production schedule.

A call sheet helps with time management because it tells all crew when they need to be on set in the morning. This is important as one person being late can cost you a lot of money! This is an example of a call sheet which has contact details for the crew on.

Step Three- Resources

It is important to keep track of your resources when working on a film production to make life easier for both yourself and the other film crew.

A script would help you with resources as it shows what you need in each different part of the scene.This is another scene from Pitch Perfect showing what resources are needed.

A script breakdown would help with your resources as it colour codes the different types of resources you might have, so you can look at the key then know when they are needed in regards to the script.
Within the script breakdown example I posted earlier, I have screenshot the parts that apply to resources- with being something you need to achieve something like hair or make up, or being a resource in itself like a prop or a vehicle.

A schedule would help with resources by telling you which scene is being shot, and therefore which resources you need that day. Again, with reference to the schedule I used earlier, for this scene you would know that a resource you needed was a car.

A budget would help you with resources, especially when creating a low budget film as it would enable you to see how much you had to spend and whether you were able to get everything you needed, such as a camera, locations, props, actors, and sound equipment.  
This is a budget that I produced for my short film, however I did not need to buy any additional props.

A risk assessment would help you with resources because it would tell you if there were any problems with any of the resources prior to filming which would give you time to secure new resources. This is an example of a risk assessment which shows risks and what to do about them.

A call sheet would help you with resources as it has the phone numbers of the crew and you would know who to contact about a resource if they were running late or hadn't shown up. From the example I used earlier, here is the section which holds the contact numbers.

Step Four- Budget managing

Budget managing is important when working on producing all types of films, because of how bad it would be if you were to spend more money than you had available.

A Script and a Script Breakdown would help you with budget as they tell you exactly what you will need to produce the film scene by scene, for example costumes, props, etc. Here is another scene from Pitch Perfect, and we can assume that the script breakdown would be the same as the one I posted earlier.

A budget sheet would help with managing the budget that you were able to spend as it simply lays out the costs and in a program like Microsoft Excel, will also add them up for you, so it is easy to keep track. For a professionally funded film, the budget could look something like this, although this spreadsheet does only show the total amount for the cast and crew, so we would then have to add in cameras, audio recording equipment, as well as props and locations.

Step Five- Communication

As a film maker, communication with your cast and crew is vital to getting the result you want from the finished film. 

A script helps communicate your ideas as the cast need to gain an understanding about their characters from that, wardrobe need to know what the characters will be wearing, and set designers need to know how to decorate.The script also gives a first impression to the director. This is another scene from Pitch Perfect which shows how subtly the script communicates with the right people.

A storyboard is essential for letting the crew know how you want the film to be shot as you can be specific with shots whilst producing it and also show camera movement if it is needed, otherwise it can be written in the description.

This is part of a storyboard which I produced for my film. It has shot types, drawings depicting these shots, a description of what is happening in the drawing, and the speech that is happening in the shot.

A risk assessment communicates your film ideas to the cast and crew by letting them know which shots are important to you, as if you are putting precautions in place, the shot is too valuable to change to a safer shot.

 A call sheet helps communicate how you believe the film should be shot by letting the crew know what time every scene is being shot, especially for outdoor shoots, the time of day would have an effect on the scene's look.  This particular part of the call sheet says whether the shots are interior or exterior, and then what time the cast and crew need to be there.

Step Six- Clearances

In order to gain the right kind of permission to broadcast your film, you need a set of contracts (e.g. actors contracts) and clearances to say that everything used was legally yours.
Clearances cover the script, any brand names or logos used, stock footage, images, and music. 

You must also get a location release form. This is the one we used in college.

You must have actors contracts to cover your film if they ever decide that they do not want the film to be shown publicly.

As well as these, the clearance form for music must be sent off prior to editing as it is a request, not a cover after using it.

























Copyright protection is automatically yours, given that these forms are sent off properly and that you have not used anything still under copyright protection.