Unit 1 Pre-production techniques for the creati e media industries

BTEC Level 3 National Creative Media Production

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Mapping out the pre-production process

The pre-production process is a ery important stage in any creati e media production !or" that you !ill #e underta"ing. Careful planning and preparation at the pre-production stage !ill allo! you to chec" that you ha e e erything in place to monitor and control the production process itself and should alert you to any potential pro#lem areas that you may face. $efore loo"ing at each stage of the pre-production process in detail it is a good idea to get an o er ie! of the sorts of things that you !ill need to consider to ma"e sure your production is a success. $elo! is a list of the "ey elements that you !ill need to in estigate for this unit in relation to your chosen area of production !or". The areas of pre-production that you should consider are% & & & & & & & & finance timescale personnel facilities materials contri#utors locations Codes of practice and regulations.

Choose a production pro'ect !hich you are planning to underta"e in one of your practical units. Consider each element of pre-production in turn and discuss !ith the rest of your group. Then !rite do!n your thoughts a#out !hat you !ill need to do and ho! you !ill do it. (ou might !ant to present your ideas in the form of a ta#le. )ere is an e*ample to help you get started.
Element o preproduction +inance !hat " #ill need to do , potential source of re enue includes ad ertisingsponsorshipssu#scription fees- co er price and sales. The financing comes from my collage !ith the equipment and materials used- so this means the finance needs to #e "ept to a minimum 1earching for the right personal for my short film. 0 !ill need to ensure that the production team is the right si2e for the 'o# and each mem#er has the right #alance of "no!ledge. 6y production !ill in ol e the use of equipment and $o# " #ill do it +ilms li"e colour #leed on the $$C film net!or" !as funded through the ./ film Council. There are many !ays to promote my short film- through an ad ertising campaign !hich includes posters- articles- #logs and feed#ac" on !hat to e*pect. The resources !ill #e su#sidised #y the collage- as 0 !ill #e using materials and equipment and !ill not ha e to pay for the personnel on my team. .sing a simple spread sheet- 0 !ould !rite do!n !hat 0 plan to spend on equipment- props- locations- actors and cre!.

Personnel

There are many different roles !ithin the industry that 0 !ould need to ma"e my production happen. 3irector has creati e control o er the pro'ect from !hen he4she comes on #oard until the pro'ect is completed. Producer is !here the #uc" stops on money- organisation- the team and rights. 1cript 1uper isor 5 ma"es sure e erything seen on camera is consistent from shot-to-shot. The facilities that 0 ha e the opportunity to use for my production are the green screen room and apple macs !ith the highest

+acilities

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Unit 1 Pre-production techniques for the creati e media industries

facilities to capturerecord edit the material into the finished product.

BTEC Level 3 National Creative Media Production

soft!are to help me get this production loo"ing as good as possi#le. +or a short film li"e lo e field !here it7s mainly in a corn filed the facilities used to create the music and sound effects !ould #e a recording studio !hich 0 ha e at my disposal. Then it all comes do!n to the cameras- 0 !ould li"e to use a single camera so 0 can ha e more control o er !hat7s happening on the film. .nderta"en a series of test shoots or recordings can help me further to de elop ideas during the pre-production stage- it !ill also help me decide !hat original material 0 !ill #e a#le to include in my final product. There is some e*isting archi e material- such a photographs or film footage. 6aterial from a sound or photographic li#rary or searched on the internet or some e*isting music. ,s !ell as needing a production team- 0 !ill need other people to contri#ute to my production= 0 need to get actors !ith to ma"e my product sound loo" more professional. 0 !ill need to get permission from the people !ho are featured in my film and get them to sign a release and consent form so that 0 ha e e idence of their permission to #e featured.

6aterials

,ll media products require ra! material for the actual content and 0 can use it in arious !ays.

Contri#utors

,nyone !ho su#mits information for display on the site. There is a huge ariety of data that can #e added- such as a ne! Title 8i.e. 6o ies- T9 sho!s- 9ideo :ames etc.;- <ames 8actors!riters- film cre! etc.;. +ilming location is a place !here some or all of a film or tele ision series is produced- in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a mo ie studio or soundstage. 0n filmma"ing- a location is any place !here a film cre! !ill #e filming actors and recording their dialog. The reason that media companies underta"e pre-production !or" is to ma"e sure that !hat they are planning to produce la!s and regulations that control the industry.

Locations

)a ing cre!- talent and equipment out on location can #e ery e*pensi e so 0 need to ma*imise the amount of material that my production cre! can produce in the shortest time possi#le. The locations also need to #e suita#le for the purpose of the film- e.g. a school !hich is one of the main locations #ecause !e are on a #udget= 0 am de eloping a narrati e that !ill !or" !ith the location. 0 !ill also need to secure permission from any people !ho might #e featured in the film #y accident E.g. people !al"ing around to get to other places and people !or"ing at the location that 0 intend to use.

Codes of Practice and regulation.

0 ha e to loo" at legal issues that 0 might need to consider during pre-production- including and o#taining permission to use any copyright material if any. The health and safety considerations that 0 should #e a!are of #efore production can #egin- and gaining permission from !ho may appear #y accident in my !or".

,re there any other issues that you thin" you !ill need to consider for your particular production>

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