Unit 1: Pre-production LO1

Comprehensively explain and present to a quality that reflects near-professional

standards fully detailed requirements and sources of requirements for a specific
media production

TASK

From all the pre-production you have carried out over the past year you need to pick one
and complete the following task.

You will need to show an excellent understanding of the requirements for the proposed
production and will be able to explain fully why each element is required.

You will give detailed explanations of how these requirements will be sourced and give full
consideration to codes of practice and regulatory issues.

From the table below you need to explain why each element was important to your chosen
production and detail how you would source them.

For example

Type Importance Sourcing
Finance:
Sources of finance

Equipment
Transport
Talent
Crew
Materials
Facility hire







Importance
It is important to have finances in place before production starts, as every producer
needs to pay for Equipment used such as Cameras, tripods, green screen, lighting and
sound. For an Advert production for example, a producer may also need materials such
correct costumes, items for correct mise-en-scene and talent in order to fulfil the
desired effect. Crew will also be needed such as cameraman, soundman lighting
engineer researchers editors and runners in order to produce a professional looking
advert.
Once all is complete facilities such as editing suits and postproduction equipment will be
needed and these cost a lot of money.
Sourcing
Crew


Facility


Materials

Transport
Crew can be sourced trough websites such as Creative England
http://www.creativeengland.co.uk/index.php/portfolio/location-
production-support/
Editing suits such as Dynamic post Production
http://www.dynamicpost.co.uk/index.php/final-cut-pro-suites/ can
be hired for 350 per day. This will include the editor and sound
engineer.
Materials can be sourced from high street shops, retail outlets or
studio Props departments
Transport can be sourced via Transport for London
http://www.tfl.gov.uk, National Rail http://www.nationalrail.co.uk,
hertz car hires etc..
A days travel card in London will cost the producer 12 per person.

List of all items that need detailing

You can either create your own table or upload this one to Weebly and
complete. Either ay, a table like the one below needs to be used.

Finance:
Sources of
finance

Equipment
Transport
Talent
Crew
Materials
Facility hire

Importance

To produce a good advert you will need all the equipment, if all the key equipment is
not present the video produced will either be of low quality or will not work at all.
Things like not having a working tripod, the camera of low quality, the lighting
around where you want to film is either to light or to dark, have you got all the
costumes and props.

Some other problems could be not having a wind shield to stop all the background
noise on the microphone. The producer in charge of the whole set needs to make
sure everything is planned out and to think of the different possibilities where
something can go wrong. Having high quality equipment can be good but the price
for it will be expensive so you need to spend more on the things that will actually
make the production good and make the whole operation balanced.

Transport is a very important thing but can also be very tricky, things like getting the
crew to the location they need for a specific time or date, so having a plan can be
essential. If the cost of getting some of the crew is proving to be to high see if any of
them live close or near each other and arrange lifts for them.

Things that can help are if the crew have the skills and individual talents that benefit
each other and make the production a success. Each person has their own specific
role which they need to keep on top off and focus on making sure there are no
mistakes. Making sure everyone is in the right place so putting someone who isnt
very good at camerawork on the camera is bad planning so maybe seeing or asking
what position the crew feel are confident and strong at will help the production
flow.

Having done my own advert I needed to learn how to film using tricky cameras and
lots of camera angles, have knowledge of how to use the editing software (Premier
Pro) being able to act and speak to a good standard. Spending money on a good
director could be a good Idea because they can check the material, an actor to act
out the scenes and a writer who can produce scripts.

Material can be stuff you have filmed before but if using make sure you are aware of
copyright, if the footage is filmed by someone else you must either use something
else or get the permission of that person to use it In your production. Archiving
content can save time because you can stream it whenever you want and maybe a
sound library so that all the sounds you are going to use so sound effects and
soundtracks. Having sound can make an advert a success because it attracts the
viewers attention.

In each stage of the production you can hire facilities to do post production (editing
suites) all though hiring out can be costly just depends on the quality of the
equipment they use.


Sourcing

Crew can be sourced trough websites such as Creative England
http://www.creativeengland.co.uk/index.php/portfolio/location-production-support/
Editing suits such as Dynamic post Production
http://www.dynamicpost.co.uk/index.php/final-cut-pro-suites/ can be hired for 350
per day. This will include the editor and sound engineer.
Materials can be sourced from high street shops, retail outlets or studio Props
departments
Transport can be sourced via Transport for London http://www.tfl.gov.uk, National Rail
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk, hertz car hires etc..
A days travel card in London will cost the producer 12 per person.




Time: Deadlines
Availability of equipment Availability
of personnel (size of team; roles)

Importance

When producing an advert, you will need to produce a schedule so that all the pre-
production is done for the deadline. If these terms are no met the advert will have a
delayed time slot and can just cause many problems like the producer losing money
because of it not being aired on time. A classic example would be BBC News because
nit talks about occurrences that happen in the world so the scriptwriters and
presenters need to stay on top of things otherwise they might get fired.

When filming adverts you need lots of different types of equipment, depending on
whether they are available at the time you can hire equipment out at a cost. The
director needs to plan where everything will be placed when filming, making the
users go to their desired place so that you can see if anything is missing because if
there is you would rather sort this problem out now before filming and realise that
the advert you are filming will be of low quality. Making sure all the crew are on time
and know exactly what they are doing can help the final product considering that
everything is put together to make the perfected piece.


Sourcing


Can be sourced through websites such as Creative England:
http://www.creativeengland.co.uk/index.php/portfolio/location-production-support/



Facilities: Production equipment
Post-production equipment facility
houses

Importance

The facilities needed for the production will need to be purchased or hired by the
producer to film the advert. You will need cameras to film all your clips of
footage, Tripods to keep the cameras steady while shooting to get a clear shot,
Editing software to fix or change the footage and add or take out audio,
Microphones and sound shields to record diegetic sounds without getting
background noise in but also use editing software to add sound effects.
Setting all this equipment will help because if anything were to go wrong they
might have time to quickly re shoot footage.

Having post production facilities will aid when making finishing touches to the
TV adverts to make sure that things like: wrong information provided can be
changed and the advert will flow. Using this will help Impress the audience and
sell and promote the product you are trying to sell. If the videos quality is not of a
good standard it can make the company lose a huge amount of money that they
have invested on the product.
Using sound studios will help with creating any music or sound effects that they
will need for specific parts of the advert.


Sourcing

Production - Any large retail store may be able to source you with electronics, props

Equipment - other equipment that is necessary http://www.amazon.co.uk/

Post-Production equipment facility houses - Editing suites such as Dynamic post Production
http://www.dynamicpost.co.uk/index.php/final-cut-pro-suites/ can be hired for 350 per
day. This will include the editor and sound engineer.

Materials: Original materials,
Archive and library materials

Photo-library materials
Sound library materials,
Internet
Audio
Script
Interviews
Costumes
Importance

Original materials: Having original footage that has not been edited means that
you will not have to deal with copyright issues because it your own footage that
you spent time filming.

Archive and library materials: Pre-recorded footage that someone else has
compiled together to make a collection of desktop files that you can use for the
video production. A good example could be pampers nappy advert where a pre-
recording off a babies happy laugh will give the viewer the impression that the
baby is happy due to using Pampers. Having an archive or library is a lot quicker
than using original footage but you may need permission or licensing to use
certain things.

Photo library materials: Is a collection of all the photos you have taken that you
might want to include in the new channel or a documentary. Having photos of
positive things will help the product look more appealing.

Sound library: a collection of all the sounds that you that can be used for a TV
advert, which would include the soundtracks and all the sound effects that would
make the advert standout and enhance the visuals for the audience.

Internet: Using the internet is one of the best ways of finding research you need
it is used by most of the worlds population and can be used to store or upload
data.

Audio: In advert production audio is used for things such as voiceovers that can
add to the effect the visuals are trying to explain, this helps give out a lot more
information in case the viewer didnt understand the visuals. Having recorded
music ready can help when adding it into the production as It is quick to access,
the music Is mainly used to build tension, entertain the audience but making the
advert have its own distinctive sound can make it stand out so people will always
remember what advert it is due to the sounds.

Script: This is one of the most important things for your advert to run smoothly
and be effective. Having someone improvise Instead of recording a script can be
Ineffective for getting your message across a classic example of this is in a live
news programme their script is either displayed on an autocue or printed out for
them to use.



Interviews: Interviews are important because they are used for gaining primary
research; most interviews are seen in news channels and documentaries so that
they can get information for their show.
Examples:
Interviewing a celebrity about how they grew up.
A statement to the police is kind of like an Interview.

Costumes: To make any drama stand out, you will need costume designers which
can produce clothing to match the actors role so that the viewers can see the
concept of the advert. A good example would be people dressed as race car
drivers which will let the audience assume the adverts is about racing and cars.


Sourcing


Archived and library
footage

Photo Library


Sound Library


Costumes







You can search for stock footage that can be used in any video
http://archive.org/details/stock_footage

Royalty free images can be sourced for free through
http://www.alamy.com/

Royalty free sounds can be source for free through
http://www.freesfx.co.uk/ once the user has signed up.

Can hire a designer through websites such as
http://www.costume-designer.co.uk/


Locations: Recces
Limitations and risks:
Distance, access, cost, weather

Importance

A recce is when one member of the production visits all the locations that they
plan on using when filming to see whether they are suitable. When making a
recce the member will need to take In to consideration the weather, is the area
safe?, how much it will cost to get there and whether or not you need permission
to film there. If the team where planning on filming In harsh weather conditions
for affect the member will need to look at the forecast so that they can take
precautions.


Sourcing

Recce form


An example template of one can be sourced here
http://www.slideshare.net/jadajadajingjing/recce-location-form
Codes of
practice and
regulation:
Location permissions
Clearances
Copyright
Health and safety
Insurance

Importance


Before you start filming you should always check that the location you plan on
using does not require permission to be there and if it does make sure you get
the permission first.

You will need clearances to make sure you are able to use the things you would
like to incorporate in your film things like your script, the brand name, logos of
the company but also images and music.

Copy right is very important to film writers because it gives them the right so
that if anything they film is theirs and that no one can use it without permission
or right from the film writer. This helps with if someone is looking to build a
career other people can't use their work to become wealthy or gain a reputation
from copying.

Health and safety precautions should always be taken because there is always a
possibility of something going wrong and can cause harm to another person.
Things like using dangerous machinery, Is there hazardous substances lying
around but also psychological hazards like stress can affect how the team work.
So making sure they are all protected and in a good frame of mind can help
shorten costs and the risk of losing money through compensation.

The need for Insurance has grown to protect the interest of people by providing
certainty of payment. In film productions there could be insurance to look after
the set and location. The things normally Insured are the actors and actresses,
equipment, rushes and locations.


Sourcing
Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act

Health and Safety
at Work Act

Insurance







The different laws of the legislation can be sourced here
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/contents

The different laws of the legislation can be sourced here
http://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/hswa.htm

Filming insurance can be sourced here
http://www.filminginsurance.co.uk/






The below only requires you to discuss the importance
Regulatory
bodies:
Ofcom
Press Complaints Commission (PCC)
Advertising Standards Authority
(ASA)
Pan European Game Information
(PEGI)
Entertainment Software Rating
Board (ESRB)
British Board of Film Classification
(BBFC)

Importance

Ofcom is a communications Manager. They manage TV and radio sectors,
telecoms, mobile phones, postal management, but also the network that wireless
devices operate on.
Having a communications manager makes sure that all the communication
services used by the population of the UK are protected from scams and anything
that might threaten it.

My final product will need an evaluation in certain areas for the viewers so they
can see that the work has been thoroughly checked. To be able to do this you
will need the Advertising Standards Authority which is the UK's own
Independent manager of all types of advertising across all different types of
media. They look administer advertising codes which are written by the
Committees of Advertising practice, they look and reply to complaints but also
check the media for misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements.

Even when producing a game, whose target audience is normally children and
teenagers, have an approved age rating so If say a game had swearing in it should
have and age rating of either a 15 or and 18 because you wouldnt get a game for
8+ and it have lots of blood, gore and violence because this can have a bad
influence on the younger generation, So the PEGI is used throughout the UK and
Europe and has help from the European Commission. The European
harmonisation aids in the protection of children worldwide, they confirm the age
rating for each game and the Entertainment Software Rating Board are the
managing body of phone apps. The British Board of Film Classification does the
same with films and their slogan is ''Protect the public and younger generation
from content which might raise harmful risks''.









Trade unions:





Producers Alliance for Cinema and
Television (PACT),
National Union of Journalists (NUJ)
Broadcasting Entertainment
Cinematograph and Theatre Union
(BECTU)

Importance

Trading Unions are organisations that show of people at work. They have a
purpose to protect and improve pay but also their conditions of employment.
The have a campaign which includes Laws and policies that can benefit people
that work. Any individual worker doesnt have much power to influence that is
made about the type of job they do. Rather than making a stand on your own try
and do it in a bigger crowd as this can aid In being heard and influence others
around you.

The Producers alliance for Cinema and Television is that the UK trade Represent
and promote the Interests of independent films, television, digital, childrens and
also animation media corporations. They offer their support and service for
members with business affairs. Included in this are being able to access a library
of contracts and advice on documents that can help with business.

The National Union of Journalists is the worlds largest journalist union that has
over 30,000 members in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. They produce
services for legal advice, support, and training, training advice, insurance advice
and representations in branching, industrial sectors national and international
forums.

To conclude the British Entertainment Cinematographic and Theatre Union Is
and media entertainment trades union which is based in the UK, and consists of
these sectors: Broadcasting, Film Production, theatre and arts but also leisure
and digital media. The staff consists of freelancer, people on contract but also
staff workers who are based in the UK.


Trade
associations:
Entertainment and Leisure Software
Publishers Association (ELSPA)
British Interactive Media Association
(BIMA)

Importance

Trade associations have an important role in promoting best practice, but also
help the company become more competitive and gain effective public policy and
deliveries. They have a lot of potential to co-ordinate as being the voice of the
business when discussing terms with the governments and can gain the value of
being able to quickly distribute messages about the governments policy to
fellow members.



The Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Associations look at providing
sales charts which show figures for computer games sold in the UK and promote
anti-piracy. This means that Creators of these games are rewarded and paid for
the quality of their content.