Pre-production essay:
Productions either start with an idea or specifications for an idea (for example the broadcaster may be looking for a new children’s breakfast show). But there is a lot of work and considerations that are needed to turn it into a reality. In this essay I will explore what is needed in pre-production.
If you have the initial idea the first thing needed is to develop it a little, however you cannot fully develop an idea unless you know your audience, and this is where the first part of research comes in. Market research is conducted to get a better understanding of the market for the media product, what age group, gender and other social types would be interested in the product and how you can adapt a product to make it suitable to your chosen audience for example if you wanted to make a documentary suitable for middle class people aged 60+ then you would conduct research to find out what they like. Ways of finding out this information includes surveying, observation and focus groups as well as looking at secondary data from research others have conducted however it is important to check sources for reliability and sometimes on personal subjects the honesty of the people involved in research may play a part. Also part of market research is to research the competitions so you can see where other programme makers have went wrong or done well and possibly get ideas for a format from others. For my 3 minute wonder project I conducted surveys utilising the brilliant tool that is the internet which is very good method to get surveys to many people as well as observing people in the process of developing their ideas and asking people about their ideas and what they thought of my idea as my 3MW is based around ideas and inspiration.
The next stage of research is on the topic, makers need to be sure of facts before they begin a script or other planning including interviewees etc. Facts need to be checked so they don’t show false information or be accused of defamation (if the documentary is based around someone or a group) or sued for false facts, or even provide false information that could be harmful to the public. I researched using the internet looking at many different sites and I watched some videos also where people talk about where ideas come from.
After the topic has been researched the makers need to decide on the content of the programme, they need to research any possible contributors so they know in interviews what to ask the interviewees and how much they know about a subject and their opinion. Its also important to know what the target audience think about the interviewee so they get maximum views for example a documentary on teenage musicians may get more interest with a bigger star, for example Justin Bieber may get more teenage girls to view the programme but if all of the interviewees are more appealing to girls and guys don’t like them or listen to them then the programme may lose male viewers. Research on interviewees is easily conducted with celebrities; you could read the magazines, watch entertainment new, and watch previous interviews, with them, for less well known interviewees you can study what they do for example read an authors book and read about what people think of it. Discussion forums are very useful to gauge opinion, as are previously mentioned surveys and focus groups. Also in fictional programming or films it is important to research the Talent, if people aren’t liked then it may not get many views for example a film with an unpopular actor as the lead. Also Talent includes presenters and other people in factual programmes so they also need to be liked for a show to be successful, for example Ant and Dec are very popular. Obviously all contributors and talent need to sign a contract to give their consent to recordings of them being used in the programme. For research on my contributors I looked at their work (Nikki’s video report, Daniel Bradshaw’s photographs and listened to Daniel Page’s music) I also researched them on their Facebook pages (social networking has changed research a lot, many normal people and celebrities use sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and others which makes research quick and easy), and looked at photography websites Daniel Bradshaw uses and the website for the studios Daniel Page uses, also researched them through their and my mutual friends.
Other production (content) research needed includes filming locations; they need to consider the suitability of location for the topic and suitability in terms of space for equipment, whether they can gain permission to film, also the cost, background noise and activity and the safety of the location-which goes into risk assessments in planning I will mention later. Contracts need to be signed to agree for permissions to film in any private location such as shopping centres, and in some public areas like the high street or a park consent is needed from the borough council in some cases. I didn’t require permission for my locations as we have permission to film within college- I filmed in the blue room, media corridor and Mac room, and filmed in my own house.
Finally with regards to content music, achieve footage and images need to be researched and you need to find out the copyright owners and gain permission for use of any such material. When you have researched this you need to get written consent for any achieve footage being used and you need to input information onto a music reporting form so that music gets paid for through PRS (Performing Rights Society). I made a photography release form for Daniel Bradshaw to sign so I could use some of his images in my video and I got Daniel Page to sign a consent form for his song (audio consent form) to be used in my video, though I’m currently waiting for him to send me his song.
Then other production research is needed, research of who will be needed to make the programme or film crew wise and how much it cost to employ them for how long they are needed- so you can decide how long you need them for when it comes to planning and budgeting. Also the cost of different equipment is needed to be researched to find the best deals and again for budgeting and to find the best equipment for the particular project for example you may need a dolly in one production but not in another so you need to think what you need for that production specifically to make the programme and for props or background in a scene. Offices and office equipment also need to be researched and paid for so there is a base production people can work from like researchers. Other things that need to be researched cost wise are facilities like studios and editing suites, transport costs for crew, talent and other contributors as well as transporting equipment and what is the quickest easiest cheapest way to travel- travel insurance is also needed for everyone involved and sometimes other special insurances are required for different things in productions for example stuntmen. Also there needs to be some hospitality in most productions, for example catering and in some cases- more in films- trailers for cast, so that needs to be researched too. I used a lot of the research the class conducted when making my budget and thought about what was necessary for my production if I was making it in the real world.
Now I shall move on to what planning is needed in pre-production. There are many parts to planning a production, first is the idea the topic it is based around, you need to develop your idea before you can write a script and plan other things. You can start with brainstorming about the idea and about the audiences interests and then expand ideas from there and see how they can come together.
Budgeting is very important in all productions so you don’t overspend on one thing and run out of money or end up not being able to finish the production. Everything that costs anything must be included, from the equipment, staff and talent right down to the pencils used to storyboard everything costs something and must be paid for within the budget. It is better to leave some money left over from the budget to use if plans have to be changed say for example if you don’t get the necessary shots within one day and need to stay in a hotel near the location overnight. Were given a budget of £30,000 for our 3MW project if were doing it in the real world, within mine I allotted for extras on things just in case things didn’t go to plan or so I had more options, for example I budgeted for 5 photographs to be used in the video yet will probably use only 2 or 3 and I allotted extra money for travel.
Risks assessments need to be carried out before filming starts as it is important to insure all cast, crew, talent, contributors and the public are safe in productions or someone could get seriously hurt or equipment could damaged in some cases which can cause major problems for programme makers. For example loose cables could make someone trip and hurt themselves or more severely pull over equipment damaging equipment and possibly seriously injuring someone like if a hot light were to fall. The aim of risk assessments are to identify the possible risks and how they can be prevented from happening like taping wires down and weighing down lights and other precautions depending on the risk. If equipment is damaged it could halt production for a while or even mean it cannot continue and if someone is injured again it could halt the production or you could be sued for negligence and of course the fact that no one wants people to get hurt. My risk assessment is rather short as I only filmed in a few locations and I chose locations that the public wouldn’t be at any risk in and made sure I took precautions so that no one involved in production and contributing could be harmed.
Another important part of planning is booking necessary equipment and coming to agreements and signing contracts with all the people involved so that people don’t back, equipment that you need is actually available at the time you need it and you have all the necessary permissions and don’t get turned away for example filming in a shopping centre if you don’t get prior consent and arrange time and day then you can be turned away. In my production I used my own camera so didn’t need to book one however checked in advance then the Blue room was available and arranged my interviews in advance.
Booking is part of Production Scheduling which is necessary in productions so that everything is planned before so you can keep an eye on how the production is progressing and to organise when what is being done so you can get things done more quickly- sometimes there is a separate filming schedule other times it can be incorporated into the production schedule.
Part of production scheduling also includes Call Sheets, call sheets are basically like a list of who and what is needed at what time on whatever date for example the list of equipment for production, props and people needed and it says where they need to be at what time and sometimes may say what scenes are being filmed.
Before filming can begin a Script, Storyboard and Shooting Script need to be made. The script is who says what at what point and the stage directions for them, its important to know what your saying rather than add lib at very least in fiction though parts of factual programmes if not fully are scripted and in interviews questions are mostly prewritten though the interviewer may improvise questions based on responses. The Shooting Script is basically like the script but the list of shots that are needed and descriptions, they specify camera angles etc. From the script and shooting script a Storyboard is made, it is a visual representation of what will be filmed, drawings of the scene and a brief description of what is happening is sometimes written underneath, it is used to show what type of shot it is for example close up shot the subject will be big where as in a long shot the subject will be smaller, these are used so people know what they are filming and can see what it will look a little like and how it is planned to be edited together, though sometimes things change from the storyboard stage to editing depending on what footage is obtained. I used all 3 of these in my production though I adlibbed a little on an interview and one of my interviewees changed from who was originally planned so my back up interviewee did it instead so I needed to change my questions, my introduction and outro was scripted though. Also within the script the programme makers need to check nothing is offensive and that opinions are not stated as facts and that there is a generally balanced objective view in factual programmes and nothing harmful is shown in factual or fictional programmes or films.
And so this covers most of the things needed in pre-production though different productions may have special other requirements for example if you’re making a film where a character needs to ride a horse in one scene they may need lessons beforehand so that sort of goes into pre-production as it is before filming starts.
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