Report

Pre-Production Report 

This report will give information on the contents of what takes place when making a creative digital media production. There are many pre-production elements which need to be taken into action before resulting in the final product. By doing these, you are ensuring that everything is thoroughly planned out with caution and judgement so that the final product of your media production is successful.  

I have been studying some case studies in which I will refer to in this report. These being ‘Monsters’, ‘World War Z’ and ‘One Mile Away’. These products contain different elements of pre-production like Planning, Risk assessments, Cast and crew etc.  

 

Finance and Budgeting 

When creating a digital media production, it is essential that you have a film budget and a way of obtaining the money. There are various ways in which you can get the money for your media product, some of which are crowd funding, government funding or private investors. These methods can change depending on the level of your production, so you will need to consider all the methods to see which one best for your production.   

Before starting any further pre-production, you should always weigh out how you are going to spend the money you acquire. Making a plan of the different categories in pre-production you will spend your money on, and how much you wish to spend on it, is essential as you are more likely to refrain from making any mistakes down the line once you have started making the product. 

When making a media production, there is a chance that if you are partnered with a well-known studio model like Paramount Pictures, then you budget will be higher than a small studio model. ‘World War Z’ is a Hollywood blockbuster film that received its funding from big companies such as SkyDance and Paramount Pictures. This film had a budget of $190M which is common for a film of its level. Towards the end of the film, the producers were not happy with how it ended so this resulted in the company receiving an extra $10M to rescript the whole ending. Fortunately, this ended in favor of Marc Forster as the film released and made over $500M. Much of the budget in these blockbuster films goes on the famous actors that they pay to partake in them. This film contained infamous actors like Brad Pitt which resulted in 9.5% of the budget being instantly spent on hiring him.  

The film ‘Monsters’ was funded by the bank who gave the producers Allan Niblo and James Richardson a budget of $500,000. As the film was loaned to the producers by the bank, it meant that they had to pay back what they borrowed from their $4.2M result. Bank Funding requires a film pitch meeting where you talk to the loaners and decide if they will fund your project or not. In my opinion, a bank loan could be a dangerous area to obtain a loan for your product from as there is a chance the film won’t make a big enough profit to what you borrowed and will result in debt. 

Crowd funding is a very popular way of getting the funds for the film you require to make. ‘One Mile Away’ is a low budget documentary on crime and unlawfulness that looks in depth into the different methods and strategies gangs use to create havoc in Birmingham. Even though this is a low budget documentary, it was still funded by companies like The Britdoc Foundation who gave the producers a loan of £5,000 and they received another £10,000 from Barrow Cadbury. The film also requested crowd funding from the public which brought the total budget to $21,000. When filming a small documentary, crowd funding is the best and easiest way to obtain money. If you were to request money for a low budget production from a big studio model, it is very unlikely that they will accept your offer as they will be looking to give an extensive amount of money to films with recognizable actors that will bring in more desire from the audiences. I would personally recommend this method of funding as it can be done as simply as asking for donations from the public, which can also be a method of spreading the word about your production. Furthermore, once you have the money from the public, you are not required to return the money made in post-production to the crowd as it is a donation and not a loan. There are many crowd funding websites on the internet that are used by new arising producers and some experienced producers that are still using them to this day. A popular crowd funding website is called Kickstarter which allows you to set up a page where you promote your film and receive donations to fund it.  

 

Logistics 

When Producing a media product, you need to contemplate many different aspects when it comes to pre-production. One of these aspects can be utilizing your time efficiently and effectively so that the film releases on the day it is meant to, avoiding extra budgets being spent and a delay on the final release date of the production. Planning the days in which you will begin and finish each part of pre-production will result in a more prepared and thought out production. This will ensure that you don’t miss any deadlines and accomplish each aspect on time.  

In my opinion, time management with a smaller film like ‘Monsters’ will be easier to plan as there aren’t as many problems you are likely to face. Medium budget films like this one are usually only filmed locally and don’t require much travel abroad. This will allow you to spend more money and time focusing on different priorities in the pre-production process. On the other hand, time management will be more difficult for a higher tier film like a blockbuster as it requires more thinking and planning out. It could take days, even weeks to plan the order in which the different segments will take place when making a bigger film. For example, In the film I studied ‘World War Z’, There were many issues that could have been solved if they had a better schedule for what they were going to do beforehand. The Wikipedia page on ‘World War Z’ exclaims that once they thought the recording had concluded, they were obliged to return to Budapest for 2 months as they had to reshoot the ending of the film. This meant that they had to pay extra to fly back and for accommodation when in Budapest for all the cast and crew members.  

As a producer, you need to think about all aspects that could happen when planning your production. If you realize your production isn’t 100% how you would like it to be and you begin filming, you should anticipate that you may need extra time to film and extra money if needed for travelling and accommodation.   

A low budget production that only takes place in one country can use the extra time that a high budget production would use for planning abroad to look for other pre-production aspects that need completing. For example, you could use your time looking for extra safety precautions if working on a documentary like “One Mile Away”. The directors knew that this would be a dangerous shoot beforehand as they are dealing with gangs. They used their time and budget searching for bodyguards and bullet proof vests so that if any violence was inflicted on them, they were less likely to be harmed. Ensuring that you have fully assessed every situation when looking into safety precautions is always essential when preparing to film in any environment. I think when making a plan for a smaller budget project, it is important to keep to the plan and make sure you don’t go off it as it could lead to unaffordable amendments.  

 

A way of preparing for routes you can alternate to if something goes wrong is by once again preplanning and creating a contingency plan. Here you can create a multitude of different solutions before they actually occur when producing the product. A good producer will think of good solutions and assess every possible one with each section of the film making process.  

 

Codes of practice / Regulations 

To allow for a successful final outcome for the production, many legal attributes must be taken into action before you begin shooting the film. You may need permissions to use certain objects like props or dangerous equipment, music, cast and certain areas to film and have these areas secured for your filming.  

In “World War Z”, many of the locations used to film were in sectors of land that needed approval from the landowner to use. It is crucial that you ensure you have permission to film on land that is owned by somebody as this could lead to serious consequences like suing and lawsuits. Well known locations like Hollywood sets are a lot harder to film in as the council don’t usually allow producers to film there, and they could be extremely expensive. This is why you should refer back to your contingency plan and look for other options that you could possibly film in. It is always good to have a back-up plan so that if a situation arises such that you are unable to record in a certain area, you have alternative options that you can use to film in. Additionally, if you were to ignore that you need permission for locations, you could be putting yourself, and many of the cast and crew members in danger. It is essential that as a producer, you always put the safety of an employee before anything else and ensuring that everything you do is written on the contract sheet they are obliged to sign. Furthermore, there is a chance that when filming a documentary, there may be people who want to keep their identity safe. People may ask for their face to be blurred in the editing process, or they could deny your request for them to partake in the product. By respecting their privacy and considering the person’s feelings, you will not be sued by anyone and no issues will arise. However, if you were to include a clip of a person in the production who didn’t want to partake in it, further legal actions could take place. In my opinion, it is always necessary to ask the person you are filming for your production for their permission beforehand and ask for a signature after so that if any charges were pressed, you have proof to back your argument.  

If you were to make a local film, you will need to ask the local council to film anywhere as someone could report this. There is no illegality for recording people of the public, but if you wish to remain respected and not lose your credibility as a producer it is wise to receive proof of permission so that if the police do arrive, you have an excuse as to why you are doing so. An example of when the correct permission documents are needed is in “One mile away”. The police attempted to stop the recording of the whole documentary due to criminal activity taking place. The producer was taken to court for the case and fortunately, she won due to the documentation she produced and ensured she had. This was good as she prepared the documents beforehand, preparing for a situation like this to happen. This saved the documentary and the crew continued to film without and police interruptions.   

The risk assessment is a necessity when looking into “codes of practice” during the pre-production stage. In “one mile away”, looking in depth into each and every risk was essential as the danger levels of being in the locations the documentary was shot in were extremely high. During the filming process, there were many situations where the crew members were highly intimidated by the local population and even a situation where the producer was threatened with a gun. This was inevitable and was taken into consideration when the risk assessment was made. Risks like these are difficult to avoid, but Woolcock decided that the best way to avoid risks as great as death was to hire a multitude of bodyguards and bullet proof vests.  

In “Monsters” a huge risk was taken when the producer of the film Gareth Edwards decided to cast people who had no experience in acting into his film. This was a risk he was willing to take as he couldn’t afford to cast multiple actors for different roles, so he asked members of the public to volunteer to be in the final product. Fortunately for him, the performance of the public impressed Edwards and the final product was flawless. In my opinion, I would not take this advice as it can set back the release of a film hugely and require trial and error with different public members to see whom the best at acting is. I think that hiring a specialized actor would be better as they are reliable and have the experience within the area.  

Additionally, a producer should always consider the music they use. Most modern music nowadays is all copyrighted and cannot be used in any form of media production without permission from the owner of the song / soundtrack. This usually involves having to pay the owner a certain amount of money to use the product within the production you are making. Using a song without permission can lead to copyright claims and can have the whole production compromised. It is essential that a producer looks and analyses the songs they can use in the pre-production process to avoid legal issues arising in post-production. 

 

Pre-Production Documentation 

When a producer is in the pre-production process, they will need to oversee all aspects of the documentation for a successful final outcome of the production.  

Firstly, you will need to come up with a general idea for the production. This can be done by looking at different things that inspire you and basing your product on them or basing the production on subjects that are currently trending in the modern world as this will give it a higher demand. The producers of “World War Z” would have looked into the films containing popular public demand and seen that both action films and science fiction were very popular with audiences at the time. This resulted in creating an action / science fiction film that contained famous actors to make the film successful in post-production. I would recommend that initial ideas are made in the form of a mind map as it is a good way to separate the different topics you can base the production on. Additionally, a mind map allows the information to be easily laid out and can be altered if needed.  Refine from making the mind map flashy with colour and adding pictures, this is only the initial stage, so it only needs to be a basic way of plotting a variety of different ideas down. 

Storyboards should be the first stage of designing a film after the initial ideas that you have come up with. These are a great way of beginning as you can plan what your film is going to look like, the style of the characters included in the film and the dialogue they could say. Remember this is only a planning stage so this can all be changed later down the line. In some cases, the storyboard will not end up linking to the final product. There may be something that you planned in the pre-production stage that becomes an issue when filming the real film. For example, in “World War Z”, the whole production team had to return to Budapest to re-film a huge section of the 3rd act. This was due to miscommunication between the producer and the scripter which resulted in damage to the producers’ name, and rewriting a big part of the film, the ending. If your budget is small and you don’t have the money, then like the initial ideas mind map, the story boards do not need to be flashy and creative as this is only early stages. If your budget is large and you can afford to hire a professional storyboard maker, this may be worth the money. Higher production films like “World War Z” did this as they had a high budget and wanted to see the first ideas of the film laid out so they could make any changes early in the pre-production process. On the other hand, this can also result badly as the whole last act of the production had to be re-filmed. I would recommend that having a professional would benefit you greatly as they can create a better picture for your ideas, but if you lack the budget, then making one yourself can also work as the money can be spent on more important things like props, costumes etc.  

Creating a list of shots can be a great aspect that you can eventually apply to your production. This can link with the storyboard such that when making it, you could display the picture from the camera angle you wish to use or make notes of the shot. This may be a time-consuming aspect of the pre-production process to look through all the different possible camera shots that can be used, but in the long run it will help greatly and reduce time in future stages of production. Personally, I would recommend creating a shot list because when filming, as you already have your shot ideas planned out, you don’t have to think of them on the spot giving more time to focus on other aspects like ensuring the edit is to the standard you require. Again, this may be different for documentaries as most of the events that take place are unplanned and sudden. In documentaries like “One Mile Away”, there are small interviews they have with the local people of Birmingham. When being interviewed, the camera is locking onto the face of the person being questioned. Medium shots and close ups are mostly used when interviewing so Woolcock will have planned her shots to relate to these shots. Additionally, there are many establishing shots of the local area that are used to show the audience the type of environment they are in.  

A contingency plan creates alternative directions you can follow if a problem arises through any stage of the pre-production process. In “World War Z”, the producers made a contingency plan as there were many different countries, actors, and most importantly money involved. The crew initially had the idea to film a huge battle scene in Russia but ended up moving to Budapest due to different inconveniences. They will have had to look at the contingency plan that they made previously for the alternative locations that they could film in. This saved them a huge amount of time and money as they didn’t have to spend days looking for locations that fit the style of the film, or extra money on flights for all the members of the cast and crew. Furthermore, contingency plans can come of significant importance when filming in dangerous environments like Woolcock did in “One Mile Away”. She would have had to ensure she looked into each and every possible alternative for each issue that could greet her. She couldn’t afford to spend any extra time filming in this dangerous environment as the risk of injury to her and the rest of the crew was high. I recommend creating a contingency plan because a huge amount of time can be saved in the future by looking at the alternatives for each issue that may approach when filming.  

It is important that every piece of documentation is with you at all times of shooting to organize your time and the rest of the crew’s time. Having all of the aspects completed will always give you ways in which you can change your plans when you begin filming.  

  

Pre-Production Process 

The order in which you choose to create each section of pre-production can be completely up to you. There isn't a specific schedule that needs to be followed, but life may be easier if one is made to help things flow at a good pace, ensuring no time is overspent or under spent on different parts. Sometimes, some of the aspects can’t be made without others being made first. For example, “Monsters” had to find its method of funding before the producer could begin to hire the cast or crew. If he did try to look for these aspects before looking at budgeting, he could have been in serious debt, as he will have had no money to pay for the cast or crew. Furthermore, he could have wasted their time as they could have been booked for different productions to be hire onto. I recommend following a set schedule that you make yourself. Give yourself plenty of time to complete each of the elements. If you rush to get straight to filming, you may have to go back to adjust them later down the line as you may not have the correct requirements they needed. Like if you wanted to film in a certain area and you didn’t have permission, you will need to return to your pre-production stage to gain permissions, and this could take a few days, even weeks.  

Using money efficiently can also play a big role when creating a production, even a huge blockbuster like “World War Z”. The producers had the chance to film the required scenes in Philadelphia, but still resulted in filming in Glasgow and adding in “fake shop fronts” to replace the real ones. Doing this saved them a lot of time with getting the permissions to film in Philadelphia, and money. Finding a cheaper alternative for many aspects of pre-production is recommended to save money and ensure you remain under budget.  

Overall, maintaining a good balance on what you spend your budget on is essential to make sure you don’t overspend on any of the aspects of pre-production.  

 

Recommendations and Conclusion 

In conclusion, completing every aspect of the pre-production process is vital to ensure your production is successful. Planning budget, and time around each stage can benefit each different type of production individually, these being High tier (World War Z), Low tier (Monsters), and documentaries (One Mile Away). Although there may be issues that arise throughout the process, high budget productions can nearly always overcome these and become successful in the end. This is because they have remaining money from the budget that they saved if anything was to happen. Low budget productions have a higher chance of failing if there are mistakes throughout the process as they may not have as high a budget that they need to overcome the issues. Smart planning the documentation of the process can be the be all or end all of the future filming / editing. Successful projects could help build up your recognition and become more famous within the production making industry. This can lead to higher budgets, therefore better productions. On the other hand, if your production isn’t successful, you will struggle to gain further budget loans and will be left with a bad reputation.  

Risk assessments are vital when considering the safety of the cast and crew members of your production. You as the producer are in responsibility for ensuring the people you have hired are safe at all times. Having a contingency plan is one of the most important aspects to consider so that you have different routes you can travel down if an issue arises. For lower budget productions, the best way of funding is crowd funding. The amount of money you get can be relied on by the rest of the pre-production and if the film is even able to make. Finally, ensure you always keep the elements of pre-production you have completed in a safe, accessible place at all times for things like permissions and contracts.