Renata Pereira

Unit 1- P1/M1/D1

Miss Schutze

Unit 1- Pre-Production Techniques.

In film making there are 3 parts to the production of a film, these are known as PreProduction, Production, and Post-Production. It all begins with Pre-Production which is
essentially the most important; this involves:
-

Making sure you have hired all the right crew from director to editor.
Finding/funding the right locations and making sure its legal for you to film in those
areas (contact the councils of the areas to get permission etc.).
Get the cast together.
Prepare the costumes/props/set dressings.

Pre-Production is the most important part of the film making process because this way
you will be organised, and know whats going on in your film. The type of production I
will be working on as part of my unit 22 is a short film, so I will have to under-go the
same process in order to make it successful and professional.
The funding for any form of creative production is important, but short films in particular
get funded by things such as:
-

BFI- also known as the British Film Institute. They give grants to people making films.
They give you the money which you do not have to pay back.
Private Investment- this is where a company/person gives you the money to fund
the production of the film, which they will then expect a return on.
Product Placement- this is where they lend you some money if you put their
products in your short film. This is a form of advertising for the company/product as
all the people watching your film will be able to see their film.
Credit cards- this is a risky way of funding your film. If your film does make a profit of
which you can pay the bank back the money. But if your film doesnt make a return,
you will be left in debt, as regardless if the film makes money you will still have to
pay them back. An example of a film that was paid for using credit cards is
paranormal activity. The budget for this film was $15,000 (adjusted by inflation:
$16,608) and the box office made $193,355,800 (adjusted by inflation:
$206,912,000) so they made a profit of which they could pay their credit cards off
with.
Lottery- the lottery can give you a grant to finance the making of your short film.
They will give you the sum of money that you need, in which you dont need to pay it
back. An example of a film that was funded by the national lottery is Venus which
was directed by Roger Michell. Their budget was 3,000,000, and their gross Profit
was 4,546,074.

When researching, I found out that Baz Luhrmann had released a short film in 2004, this
short film was financed by Chanel. Their budget for this short film was $42million. This
short film was set out to be an extended advertisement for the perfume Chanel No. 5,
and the two leading roles in the short film were Nicole Kidman, and Rodrigo Santoro.
Nicole was paid $12million for her role in the short film/advertisement. This was was shown on
primetime (the hours when the television audience are usually larger) on many different TV
networks in Canada and the United States. The original short film came to 360 seconds after the

Renata Pereira

Unit 1- P1/M1/D1

Miss Schutze

post production, but was then edited down to 180 seconds as they thought this was more
manageable- they then further cut it down as there was a 90 second clip that was shown in the
UK.

An example of a film that got financed is Attack The Block. This film got financed by
Film 4, The UK Film Council (which has now shut down) and a private investor. The
budget for this film was 9m, and it was distributed by Optimum Releasing Studios. In
the end, it only grossed 3.8m, which was a big loss of money compared to what they
had spent on the film. The average complete film crew costs around 1,900 per day. This
includes all the crew members.
Having good time management is vital when making a film. This is because you need to
have deadlines, and a realistic time scale in which you will be able to complete all 3
stages of production. From the original writing of the script to cinema release, it took
about 15 years for Avatar to get to cinemas; the production to create the movie itself
took about 4 years.
James Cameron (the writer, director, and producer of this film) had the idea and wrote
an 80 page mini-script for the movie in 1994. Announcing in 1996 that he would begin to
make Avatar after the release of the world famous film Titanic, James Cameron was
going to begin production in 1997 and planned to complete the film in 1999. Cameron
soon decided that the technologies that were already available would not be able to
properly create the vision he had seen for the film, so he decided to postpone the
making of the film till later.
In 2005 James Cameron had begun to work on the movie again, and in early 2006 he
began work on the actual script, cultural development and the features for his fictional
universe. The beginnings of the photography began in the middle of 2007, with live
photography starting in October of 2007. The official release date of the movie was
December 18, 2009.
Below is a grid of all the things I will need to finance for my own short film.

Renata Pereira

Unit 1- P1/M1/D1

What is needed

Miss Schutze

Where to get it from, and how much it will cost.

Cameras

http://www.tallboy.co.uk/prices/camera-crews.php - 1,250

Lighting equipment

http://www.tallboy.co.uk/prices/camera-crews.php - 1,250

Sound equipment

http://www.tallboy.co.uk/prices/camera-crews.php - 1,250

Camera Crew; the camera

crew will be used to record
the film to make sure the
filming looks professional.

http://www.tallboy.co.uk/prices/camera-crews.php - 1,250

Sound Crew; the sound crew

will be used to make sure that
the sound being recorded is
clear, and recorded properly.

http://www.tallboy.co.uk/prices/camera-crews.php - 1,250

Costume

Props

Music Clearance

Film Editor; the film editor

will be used in the postproduction of the film to edit
the final footage, and make it
look professional.

Lauren & Adam

-

Scream Mask; 1.50

Jeans (girl); 12.00
Jeans (boy); 12.00
Jumper (girl); 8.00
Sweatshirt (boy); 10.00
Jacket (girl); 20.00
Jacket (boy); 15.00

Fake knife; 1.00

Scream Mask; 1.50

This will cost nothing as we can make the music ourselves on the
piano/guitar, or in the studio.
http://www.bluecat-productions.co.uk/video_production_price_list.html 350 - 375

Renata Pereira

Unit 1- P1/M1/D1

Script Writer; the script writer

will be used in the preproduction to make the film
interesting, and write what
will be said by the talent.

Miss Schutze

http://thescreenplaywriters.com/services/screenplay-writing - 2,300

Total Cost
4,006 approx.

When watching a clip by Charlie Brooker he informed us, that for his short clip he had to get
certain clearance before he could show his clip. The only time you can use copyrighted
material for free is for the use of criticizing and reviewing. In his clip, he held up a copy
righted picture for a few minutes, and just to be able to use that picture he paid 500.
The Personnel are also a vital part in film making, but it is also important to make sure you
have the right skills and experience. This is important as you have to know what youre
doing, but also, you need to have experience in what they do. Below is a grid of 3 of the job
roles I researched, what they do, and their salary.
Job Title

Film Director

Job Description

The directors job is to

translate the written
script into a visual
performance.

What skills would you need to be one? What

activities does the job require? Average
Salary?
Directors need to have a creative insight; they
must be able to see things in a creative way in
order to make the film interesting. They must
be able to work in a team and, have a deep
passion for film making in order to make an
original film. Directors can either write the
script, commission it to be written, or they can
be hired by a film producer after an early draft
of the script has been written. To become a
film director, it is best you learn from practical
experience, in order to know what works in a
film and what doesnt. for a famous film
director, e.g. Steven Spielberg the average
annual salary would be $ 330,000,000.
monthly

330000000

euro

Renata Pereira

Film Producer

Unit 1- P1/M1/D1

Miss Schutze

The producers job is to

Producers need to be good business
come up with the idea for men/women; they have to be able to have a
the film.
good motivation/motivate others, have a
creative vision, and have the ability to spot,
and deal with potential problems before they
materialise. There are no set qualifications to
become a film producer, but they must have a
deep understanding of film, and some
elements of business and financial studies.
Producers have the job role of taking care of:

Pre-Production;
Development;
Post production;
Marketing;
Distribution;

Film producers annual salary ranges from

$32,902 - $155,846 depending on how good
you are (not based on a famous person).

Film Editor

The editors come into the

post-production of the
film. They make sure all
the scenes in the film run
smoothly.

Editors work with the Director before the

shooting of the film begins, deciding how
increase the potential of the film screenplay.
Editors make sure all the scenes fit together,
and run from one scene to the next
seamlessly. If the editing of the film isnt good,
the film will lose potential. The skills required
by an editor are:
The ability to be creative under pressure;
An imagination and an understanding of
narrative;
excellent communication and interpersonal
skills;
developed sense of rhythm and timing in
story telling;
leadership skills;
patience, attention to detail and good
organisational skills;
A good film editors salary range weekly starts
from around $2,814.73.

Renata Pereira

Unit 1- P1/M1/D1

Miss Schutze

Facilities can include the following things:

-

Equipment
Computers and software
Post-production facilities
Studios

But specifically, for my short film, I will need to get the following facilities in order to
produce my short film:
-

Actors
Lighting
Cameras
And the above.

In production of films, these things can be hired from a facilities house, an example of a
facilities house would be the VET. As well as being a facilities house they are also a postproduction house. They allow you to hire the equipment needed in order to carry out a
successful film. You can also recruit crew from
As well as facilities, you will also need materials.
-

In order to make sure you are filming in the right area, you will have to have raw
footage of the place you will be filming in. this allows you to make sure that the area
isnt too noisy or too busy for you to film in.
the main foundation of your structured short film is a script, you will have to have
written/got a writer to have written your script.
You will have to have costumes for you to make your short film interesting. You will
need to make sure you have a costume designer to make sure they fit the characters
e.g. you wouldnt have an evil person in bright coloured clothes, because this doesnt
match the characters profile.
You will also have to make sure you have cleared the rights for your music/sound if
they have copyright on it, or you could face the consequences of having to pay a big
fine as you do not have the right to use that piece of audio in your film.

Renata Pereira

Unit 1- P1/M1/D1

Miss Schutze

The extras in your film will have all had to sign a release form in order for them to be
allowed in your film legally. If they do not wish to sign it, they will not be allowed to be
shown in the film/TV programme etc. so they will have to be blurred or cut out. Talent will
have a contract rather than a release form. Their contract will state the fees, their role time
etc. they have to sign this in order to be legally allowed in the film.

This is an example of an actors contract.

This is an example of an extras release form.

Before filming, you will need to visit the site you are filming in, to make sure that it is
suitable. You do this to identify the limitations, and see if you can overcome the limitations
and problems that you might have. Some of the limitations may include:
-

Noise: if the setting you are filming in is too noisy, you may have to re-think where
you are filming. You may be able to find similar places to film in, which will be a way
of overcoming the initial barrier.
Distance: if your setting is really far, you will have to pay more for the crew, as you
will have to pay for the distance they are travelling, to be able to film. A way to
overcome this is trying to find a suitable place to record in so you dont pay extra for
the crew.
Cost: the cost may be a problem, as recording a film, whether it be short or long will
cost a lot of money to record. You can over-come this by getting funding from
several different places in order to be able to film a good quality film.
Weather: this could be a barrier if your scene is supposed to be set on a sunny day,
and it is raining. The only way you can overcome this is by filming a different scene
on that day so you dont waste the time you have.

Renata Pereira

Unit 1- P1/M1/D1

Miss Schutze

I also had to think about the health and safety risks that were included in this, and I made a
grid that outlined all the possible hazards, and how I will overcome them, on the next page.
The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) are the main source of film industry
regulations. In order to stay an independent company, they rely on the fees it charges for its
services, which is decided on how long the films are. Although the BBFC has fees, they do
not work on a profit based business, as the fees are only changed for the covering of costs.
An example of the BBFCs work would be The Lovely Bones; it was initially given a 15
certificate, but Loads of public members had complained about this, as they thought the age
rating was too low so the BBFC had to look into it and see why people were complaining.
In the end, they agreed with the 15 certificate. Another example would be The Human
Centipede. The BBFC had to watch this film, and the makers had to make 32 cuts before it
could be shown. The difference between film regulating, and TV regulating is that Ofcom are
in charge of regulating the TV. Ofcom have a duty to take into account the interests of the
people who live and watch TV in the UK. If they think a TV how doesnt comply with the
rules of Ofcom, they can shut down the TV show.
In order to keep to the law they have to keep to certain codes of practice. E.g. if I was to film
on Sidcup high street, I would have to contact the council of Sidcup and ask for permission
to film on their premises, if they do not agree, I wouldnt be allowed to film there.
BECTU is a union that protects the creative media sector; it protects and represents the
staff, contract, and freelance workers who are based in the UK. The union is financed by
individual subscriptions from members, and the membership is voluntary.
The aims of the union are:
-to protect jobs
-increase membership
-win new recognition agreements
-and improve pay and conditions of service, including pensions.
This would impact the makers of a film because if they are working unfairly against their
contract, Ofcom could help them to get treated like they are supposed to be.