Task 1

Storyboarding

What is a storyboard?

A storyboard is created after the initial idea/ script has been written. A storyboard shows a picture and a small description of each shot. The storyboard will depict each time the shot changes. A general storyboard should explain:

Which characters are needed in each shot and their movement.
Where the camera should be and the cameras movement.
Which props are needed in each shot.
The time period of each shot.

A storyboard helps the crew and cast to pre-visualise the entire production. The director can turn to the storyboard to get a visual understanding of each scene. The story board helps the director to plan shots and most importantly turn the script into visuals – you can see the film before you begin to shoot anything. When directing you can use the storyboard to help the cast and crew understand where they need to be and what they need to be doing. A storyboard also helps illustrate what props and costumes are needed to help the production team organise what is needed and when. An editor also relies on the storyboard to help place each shot/ scene together. The storyboard makes sure that everyone is working on the same production, and not guessing to figure out what the direction envisions.

I create a storyboard for all of my productions as I believe it helps each member of the production team to fully understand what I envision for the production. It also helps me when I’m directing to turn the script/ ideas into visuals. I can change scenes around and mess about with the visuals before we begin to film to cause less fuss. If a production was on a budget then a lot of money would be lost if the director messed around with scenes during the filming process. For these reasons especially, I will be creating a storyboard for my FMP, to generally make sure that I am aware of each scene and character and everything that will happen during my production.

Budget

A typical films budget will cover everything from pre-production to filming, to post-production and promoting/ advertising the film. This includes wages for the cast and crew, props, sets, costumes, the list goes on!

This chart depicts the budget for the top 10 highly budgeted films:

(Many studios keep their budget quiet to seem like they made a larger budget then they actually achieved).

A budget can either limit the media producers ideas or broaden them; depending how big the budget is. I have never had to work around a budget during my work at BOA, since the equipment is provided and the cast/ crew work for free.

Many crew members benefit from a budget such as the production designer who organises all the props and settings. The location manager will also benefit from the budget as it will indicate how much can be spent on the locations. If a million pounds is dedicated to the location then better locations will be chosen over a budget of £100 – the budget will show the location manager how much money can be spent.

Casting

Casting is so important when creating a production since they will be the face of your idea/ program. You’re cast needs to be reliable, hardworking and fluent in front of a camera. Auditions allow the crew to access the actors ability and judge whether they will be suitable for the production. Auditions however do not always portray the actors full ability, nerves can often limit the actors ability, or the audition can make them seem better than they actually are.

When casting you should focus on the main characters first and then move onto the smaller roles after. You can send your script and a list of characters you need to casting agents and talent agencies to filter out the actors that would/ wouldn’t suit the roles. You should also film the auditions to refer back to them at a later date, or to show the rest of the crew so you can all make the casting decisions together to reach a cast everyone is happy with. You should only do this however, if the crew is a small group otherwise it will be someones specific job to decide roles for everyone.

Actor release forms are also needed as a legal requirement. In this form the actor will agree for the crew to film/ record them and use that footage however they choose to.

I will have to cast for my FMP if I choose to have specific people starring in it. I have auditioned many people before for my products, such as my short film – Floor Number Six. When watching this film some of the acting is not up to scratch but in the auditions they seemed a lot better, proving that auditions are not always reliable.

Call sheet

A call sheet is a 1/2 paged document providing the important contact details along with all the times and information for the shoot. It is important to have a call sheet so the crew and cast know where to be and when.It should inform everyone how to get to and from the location, what times to be there, who has to be there and what equipment, clothes, props ect should be there.

A typical call sheet will include:

All the dates.
The title of the production.
Transport information.
The weather.
Nearest hospital/ police station.
Address and phone number of the production office.
Important crew/ cast contact details.
Location of first aid kit and fire extinguisher.
Scenes needed to be shot.
Crews positions and names.
Casts names and roles.

You can attach some documents to the call sheet to provide further information. These documents could be a risk assessment, shooting schedule or a script, but you shouldn’t overload everyone with information so you should keep everything basic and simple.

I have previously created call sheets for all my productions, and when I book out equipment, as it provides all the details of what equipment I need and who will be using this equipment. The cast typically find the call sheet the most useful as they know when they’re needed and where they have to be.

For my FMP call sheets will indicate who is needed and when. It’s a way to let the cast and crew know when they’re needed to sheet each scene. It’s a lot easier to create a call sheet then spend ages remind everyone when they’re needed and what to do. The contact details will also allow cast to keep in contact with the crew – if they can’t turn up for a certain reason they will be able to inform the crew a head of time.

Synopsis

A synopsis is the most vital part of a submission to a client. A client can view the synopsis and quickly decide whether the project should be taken to the next stage of production. The synopsis will usually include an opening image, an introduction to the protagonist, the main incident, first turning point, conflicts and character encounters, the middle turning point, the thought of achieving victory, the lowest moment of the protagonist, the climax, the resolution and finally the final image. This should be covered in small detail and be no longer than a page.

You should usually include:

The genre of the film
Title of the film
Writers contact details
Setting, time and background information of the film
Summary of plot in third person and present tense.

I have always created a synopsis for my productions to allow the cast, and crew to envision the writers ideas. It is also a good way to pitch your idea to peers or teachers to see their opinion of your product. You could use your synopsis as part of a focus group to improve your idea.

For my FMP a synopsis will allow me to plan out the production, airing my ideas to different people seeing their opinion of them. I will be able to reach a final idea which I am happy with by changing some of my ideas after hearing everyones comments.

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is a document which must be completed for any production to ensure everyones safety, taking into consideration the public, the cast and the crew. Whoever creates the risk assessment should think about the filming period of production and identify the potential hazards of filming. These hazards could be anything from tripping over wires to acting potential dangerous scenes (Fight scenes ect). The risk assessment should also inform you of what injuries the hazards could create and how to prevent these injuries.

Risk Assessments I have previously created identify hazards, suggest who would be at risk, and label what action should be taken, hospital, first aid ect. They then suggest how likely the hazards could occur and rate the risk out of 25, to identify if any action should be taken to minimise the hazards. Lastly, the risk assessment suggests what action needs to occur to prevent any accidents.

I will create a risk assessment for my FMP to make sure that noone on set is at risk. I will be able to assess each scene to identify every risk to ensure that the cast, and crew are safe.

Proposal

A proposal is the productions bible. It includes everything; treatment, script, synopsis, equipment, cast, ect. The point of the proposal is to inform anyone reading it of your ideas, having no previous information of you (the director/ writer) or your work.

I have previously created proposals for my productions, as they allow me to get every aspect of the production organised down on paper. I can refer to the proposal when booking out equipment, or organising the cast/ crew. When directing, a proposal is a way of telling people information about the production without having to spend a long time discussing it with them. A proposal can help many people. A storyboard artist can refer to it to get an outline of the script, as well as looking at the script which is included in the proposal.

I will use a proposal within the pre-production for my FMP, as it will help me organise the whole production by getting all the information down on paper. A proposal makes you to think about every aspect of your production allowing you to evaluate every shot, character, piece of equipment, cast ect.

Treatment

A treatment is a short description/ narrative of your production using non-technical language. The overall point of a treatment is to get your story across as quickly as possible. Characters should be introduced along with the setting and storyline. The reader should be able to visualise exactly what you envision for your production, just by reading your treatment. It should all be written in present tense, including the whole story, beginning, middle and end, key scenes and some dialogue. You should include:

A title
Writers name and contact information
A logline
Introduction to key characters
Who, What, Where, When and Why
Act 1, Act 2, Act 3

Treatments help producers, as they have to organise the entire production. They can turn to the treatment to remind them of the main scenes as well as settings and main characters. A storyboard artist will also benefit from the treatment to again remind them of the main scenes.

I will create a treatment for my FMP to finalise my ideas and storyline. By creating a treatment all my ideas will be finalised so I can cast for the different characters that will be included in my production.

Location Recce

A Location Recce is completed when visiting a potential filming location. The location manager and producers will visit different locations to assess how suitable it is to film there. The main things to assess when creating a Recce are:

Health and Safety – Create a risk assessment to make sure the hazards are limited
Logistics – Is it actually possible to film there? Will you have access to power? Is the area big enough?
Weather – If you’re filming outside check if it going to rain or not. If you need to film in the rain check for appropriate dates and bring protective gear for electrical devices.
Lighting – What additional lighting will be needed? Is there a lot of natural lighting?
Efficiency – You can plan where equipment will be placed when filming ahead of time.
Catering – Are there shops nearby? Are there water fountains ect to keep everyone hydrated?
Outside your filming location – Is your location under a flight path or near a train track creating constant noise?

The Location Recce helps to plan out the filming day minimising the time it takes to set up equipment and figure out what additional lighting, props ect are needed. This primarily helps the crew to shorten the time of filming one scene in that location leaving more time to film additional scenes. The director will also benefit from a Recce since they can visit the location to assess what limitations they may be faced with, leading to certain changes to the scene.

I plan on filming in BOA meaning I am already aware of the surroundings, however I will still create a Location Recce for my FMP to make sure that certain rooms around BOA are able to be used for filming. When filming previous production I have had issues with natural lighting; one of the classrooms was missing a blind making us unable to film facing that window, therefore we had to improvise using a sheet of cardboard to cover the window. If we had created an in-depth Location Recce we would have been able to quickly overcome the problem of not having a blind instead of spending time coming up with a solution.

Shot List

Shot lists contain every shot the production will contain from when the camera is turned on to when its turned off at the end of the shoot. When creating a shot list it often helps to work form the script and visualise each and every visual of the production, however you need to keep it simple. If you are shooting a conversation you wouldn’t write the shot list as ‘A CU of Jack then a CU of Bill, then back to the CU of Jack’. You’d write it as two shots instead of three – CU of Jack and a CU of Bill. You should also note down the Camera Angle, will the shot be a CU, or a WS ect? Another thing to include would be the camera movement to suggest whether the camera man should tilt the camera or do a panning shot of the environment.

This is a shot list that I created for a music video. I numbered each shot for reference – I could ask the camera operator to shoot ‘shot 5’ first and they would know exactly which shot I was on about. I also wrote the camera angle and location of the shot and a short description of what each shot would be.

For my FMP a shot list will help me to identify every shot I need to film, making me more organised overall. I will be able to turn up at my filming location and know exactly what I need to film and what shots to use. I will also be able to give the shot list to other people who are involved with my FMP so they have a checklist of shots to film.

Shooting Schedule

A shooting schedule is simply a list of when each scene should be shot, who is needed and the locations of each shot. The main things it will include are:

The projects name
Main Times (Arrival, time scene will be shot, end time).
Location
Props needed
Crew
Short description

A shooting schedule is vital for the cast to know when and where they have to be for filming. A shooting schedule also benefits the crew since they can refer to it to see when they’re also needed. Shooting schedules are basically very useful for forgetful people, they make sure everyone is organised and know where to be and when.

For my FMP a shooting schedule will be helpful to get everyone organised and in the right places at the right time. I have previously created shooting schedules and I find them useful for letting everyone know where they have to be at certain times, therefore I will definitely create on for my FMP to ensure production runs smoothly.

Production Schedule

A production schedule helps your organise and plan your days efficiently. It is simply a calendar of what you will be doing on each day of production. It may be easier to create a production schedule by working backwards from when the production must be complete to what work you should be doing on this day. The schedule doesn’t have to be carved in stone it can be tweaked and moved around when necessary.

I create production schedules to make sure we have enough time to get al the pre and post production done. When creating a schedule I can work out how much time to spend on specific things. I can also work out if I spend too much time on something and if I don’t finish something in time I can re-arrange the schedule to find time to finish it.

Production schedules are made to help to producers organise what each member of the crew is doing; making sure everyone has a respectable time frame to work to. The crew benefits from a production schedule as they can manage their time easily working out how long to spend on each piece of work.

For my FMP a production schedule will help my organise everything making sure my work gets completed one time. If I have a team working with me I will be able to hand the production schedule to each team member so they are aware of what to complete during which time frame.

Legal and Ethical Requirements

Intellectual property refers to an invention whether that be artistic work, designs, names, images or literary. There are five main forms of intellectual property that can be protected: Copyright, trademark, patents, mask works and trade secrets.

Copyrights apply to work that is physical, whether it is written down, recorded or created. It allows the creator to receive rights in relation to their work.

A trademark is typically a name, slogan, logo or design that is specific to a product or company. They are registered at a national level with an appointed government body. The process can take between six to 18 months to get processed.

Anyone can make, use and sell anything they desire, however a patent can be issued to stop anyone else from selling that initial product.

When creating a product you must also ensure that you are meeting the requirements of OFCOM who monitor TV, radio, fixed line telecoms, mobile, postal services and the airwaves which wireless devices operate through, making sure that UK residence get the best from their communication services. They make sure that laws aren’t broken including copyright. The ASA monitor advertising, and act on complaints and take action on misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements by continuously monitoring adverts. They have created many rules for advertising, stating that adverts should not mislead or offend and specific rules are created to protect children.

When filming my FMP there will be many people inside BOA who are under 18, this means that I need to follow ASA’s rules regarding children. (http://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes/Non-Broadcast/CodeItem.aspx?cscid={e6da4940-2a3f-40e1-9820-72f248e750d5}#.VEjknb7NVUE). This link discusses the rules regarding children and what can and can’t be broadcast for that target audience and what can and can’t be filmed regarding children.

I need to make sure I have permission to use music and shots which I have not created myself, so that I do not break OFCOM’s rules regarding copyright. Every actor should also sign an actors release form to approve of me filming them, if they are under 18 then their parents should also sign this form.

Bibliography-

http://accad.osu.edu/womenandtech/Storyboard%20Resource/

http://nofilmschool.com/2013/08/storyboarding-with-coen-brothers-storyboard-artist

http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/budgets/all

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/movie-cost1.htm