Media Notes on Video:

Pre-fabricated sets: a set already made and ready to use for films or television programmes i.e.
Gavin and Stacey, This is England. Big name companies such as Universal and other large companies
create their own sets for production to suit the genre of the film/television programme.

Film financing and production companies: production companies can get the financing for the films
they invest in, in a range of ways: Government Grants; Tax Payers; Pre-sales;

The Producer: One of the most important jobs, the whole film will not work without a producer.
His/her job is to find the financing for a film; find the people involved e.g. above the line costs;
‘Developing it, making the money, making the film, and selling it’ – quote from video.

Scripts: Script is originally written by the scriptwriter (author), in which it has to inspire the director
to make the film. Usually about 12-15 drafts are made before the final copy is made. During this time
of change, anything can be changed including the settings, lines, and maybe even characters to make
sure the script perfect. A script developer is brought in to re-write the script and to make any
changes for a final copy.

The Package: Before filming starts, key film makers get together, to think about things like
budgeting, then who they can use for the cast and the rest of the above the line costs. This is called
‘the package.’

Attracting Investment: Producers go to television companies, film companies etc; most have co-
production deals with foreign companies; usually films have between 3 and 10 different production
companies; some particular companies prefer the work of specific people. So they will only get
involved if the people they want to work with also agree to do so. Actors, directors, producers and
other above the line cost members that work with the same production company several times, over
and over again, are called stock actors, directors, or whatever other type of job it is that’s involved.

Planning: Generally the hardest scenes are thought about 1 st, and then everything else is based
around these scenes. Scenes may change due to the cast; when the cast first reads the script, he/she
may make the scene different to what was originally planned e.g. the scene may have originally been
quite or boring, but the actor/actress may make it funny.

Budget: A finance plan is derived, how are the cast, director, location, prop’s etc going to be paid
for? Usually a table is made to get a general idea of how much money it will cost – then it will be
split into above the line costs and below the line costs. Audiences and places have to be thought
about – if you know a big enough audience can be generated to make back the money invested,
then filming can start, whereas if not, then the budget needs to be lowered just in case.

Marketing: Very expensive. The film will be marketed to a range of countries, then to most cities
within each country; Advertising, posters etc. The big stars from the film hopefully get involved
straight away drawing more people in. Most times, the marketing can cost more than the film itself.