Depict

Pre-production process

Pre-production process refers to tasks that need to be done before the production of a media piece can begin. The tasks that need to be done before hand depends on what sort of media is being produced. For our production (a short film) pre-production was things such as researching, talent releases, location planning, etc. Pre-production mainly includes:

· Finalisation of the script

· Location permission

· Production schedule

· Recce

· Talent Releases

· Story boarding

· Budget management

Types of moving image production

For the project we were given, we were told to make a DEPICT film. A DEPICT is a 90 second short film which can be submitted on to the DEPICT website to enter the competition, however ours was just for learning purposes and was to be uploaded and distributed via YouTube, with the option to enter the competition. DEPICT is open to short films of all production techniques, including animation, documentary, drama, experimental or artist film and hybrid work, as stated on their website. There are many different types of media other than short films, including:

· Animated films (Lion King, Wreck-It Ralph, How to Train Your

Dragon)

· Documentaries (March of the Penguins, Blue Planet, Blackfish)

· Live action films (Dora and The Lost City of Gold, Space Jam,

Maleficent)

· Narrative films (Inception, Blade Runner, The Wizard of Oz)

· Feature length films (Les Misérables, Forest Gump, The

Matrix)

· Silent films (The Jazz Singer, Nosferatu, The Artist)

· Music videos (Despacito, Shape of You, See You Again)

There are many different ways to distribute media to the public with some of the main ones being YouTube and TV. For big budget media productions made by a big company, they usually agree a deal with a distribution company to gain licencing for their product. They usually do this by agreeing to a split of the income profit of the film or sometimes they agree to split the film franchise meaning all other films in the same franchise are only to be distributed by that company. Some examples of big distribution companies are Lionsgate, 20TH Century Fox and Warner Bros. Once a deal is agreed, the two companies work together on a distribution plan to ensure that the product’s release timing is perfect for the type of product it is and also that it is targeted at the most suitable audience. The distribution company may then speak to cinema agencies to work out a deal to get the film put into cinema. On the other hand, if the production company is working on a small budget or if it is only a short film, they may choose to post it onto the internet via social media for free. This is the method in which my film is being distributed as we have a very small budget.

Financing and sources of funding

One way of funding a film or media production is through the use of donations via webpages such as Crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a website where first time film producer or even low budget producers can set up an account and ask for public interest and donations to make it a reality. The details of the whole film and what the money is going to be used for must be stated by the producer. Sometimes film production teams can give out rewards or gifts to donators as a way of saying thankyou or to entice more people to donate. Usually these prizes vary depending on how much is donated with things such as signed photos, a tour of the filming set or even a mention in the credits. Another way of gaining some funds for a media production is by having the film be recognised by a bigger, more financially stable, company that would be interested in funding the film. A lot of companies such as the BBC studios and Film4 studios fund a lot of up and coming film makers in hopes of that film either becoming a hit or gaining a financial profit. Films such as The Blaire Witch Project and Paranormal Activity were both made with low budgets but went on to make millions and millions of profits due to their success amongst cinemas. Another company that help out with funding is the British Film Festival Institution which are sponsored by the national lottery and aim to help give new film makers some funding to get them started in the creative media industry sometimes with a budget of up to £26,000,000. One other way in which a film is funded is via the director or producing company funding it themselves and an example of this is the film Primer which was produced using a £7,000 budget. This budget was kept so low due to the writer Shane Carruth also being the editor, director, music producer and main actor. He also kept it low budget by having close friends and family star in the film to save time and also to save having to pay for actors. As well as initial ticket and DVD sales, a film also makes money through selling merchandise relating to the film or franchise. An example of this is the Harry Potter films which have created lots of profit from selling merchandise due to the massive fan base in which the films created.

Requirements

With every production that is made there are costs involved with production. The higher costs usually are from large scale productions such as the Titanic film with the lower costs consequently coming from small scale productions such as The Blaire Witch Project. In some films which are set in a different world or a world of fantasy, a large part of the budget would be spent on costumes and set as it would need to be made specifically for the film. These big scale productions also have to spend a lot of time with the artists and designers creating their set to make sure it’s perfect and exactly how it needs to be. Other media products such as SOAPs don’t need these expensive new costumes or set and just use what they have or what they can get hold of for a relative fee.

Depending on the scale of production being made also depends on the camera equipment that is needed. Larger and more expensive productions will need much more expensive equipment and may want things such as pyrotechnics, drones or cranes whilst also needing an expensive camera. The price of a high-end camera starts at around £30,000 and that’s without any of the other things it needs such as lenses and tripods. On the other hand, small scale productions would mainly just need a camera and tripod, with the camera not needing to be the best and could already be owned by the production company. There are also other things which a film needs such as lighting and sound effects, again a small-scale production probably would stick to natural lighting and sound but a large-scale production would need the best calibre of equipment possible. Another cost for these larger productions would be for any CGI used as well as the computers and green screens needed.

Film locations are also a big part of the budget and a massive part of the production in general. For larger scaled productions that require multiple scenes in ‘different worlds’ such as Game of Thrones they have to either purchase of hire out land in which suits the atmosphere and area the characters are in. On top of this there is also the cost of transporting all the members of the production team as well as the equipment to and from these different places.

The budget of a film is spent on many different things to ensure the film is produced to the highest calibre possible. A filming company will usually hire out camera equipment and somewhere to film such as a studio which takes out a large proportion of the budget. As well as this, companies also need to pay actors and anyone else involved with the films production as well as paying for their food and transport when they’re on set. Luckily for our film, we had free access to any of the filming and recording equipment in which college had as well as free access to any sites near college in which we could record in. We also didn’t have to worry about paying for actors as we could star in the film ourselves, which I was very eager to do. We also didn’t require any extra props or set which saved us spending any budget.

Personnel

Personnel refers to the talent (actors) and the crew (production team) that work in and are involved with a media production. The amount of people working on the media production depends on how big or small the project is. In terms of talent there are usually three different types which someone can fall under. The first being a main character which are normally in all, if not most, of the scenes in the film and the story usually revolves around them, this is usually a big well-known actor. Then there are side actors who are usually in around half the scenes and have a character name as well as a little plot involvement but aren’t super important to the storyline. The final type of actor is just background actors who are in scene mostly to fill space and act as a crowd with the occasional one having a line of two to say. For big budget films, there may be multiple main characters and dozens of side and background actors making up a huge cast list which are needed to ensure the film is made correct and professionally. An example of this is Lord of the Rings which had a cast spanning of around 30 main actors for all the films and more than 15,000 extras casted per movie made. These numbers don’t even begin to include the countless number of members working off set such as artists and designers which goes to prove how big a large-scale film really is. For a small-scale production however, there would be a lot less people working on the film with normally only one or two main characters. As well as cast and talents there are often other people needed in film productions such as sound engineers. These are key in order to provide sound and music throughout the film to help create a feel of realism and to emerge the audience into film. Other than sound there are also things such as editing software that help to make a film and many productions use Adobe Premiere Pro. For my group we also used Adobe Premiere Pro as the college had access to it which made it free for us to use on the Apple Macs so we obviously opted to use this to edit our film. In my group I was a talent and also helped out with the editing as they were the aspects I felt most confident in.

In terms of television, there is a very different look to the amount of personnel working on the production. For example, in SOAPs such as EastEnders there are the same actors in every episode for the entire duration of the programmes running with new people being added occasionally, meaning to a lot of the actors it is like their second home and is the producer’s job to make sure they are treated well and all their needs are fulfilled. A programme will require a number of people including script writer, light and sound engineers and extras, but no where near the amount needed in the production of a film.

Time

Time is a massive factor in the media industry as there are lots of deadlines which need to be met by everyone involved in the production of the media product. If these deadlines aren’t met in times it could cost the producing company lots of money as they then have to pay the actors more to stay filming as well as paying to keep hiring out cameras, equipment, props or locations. In terms of our own film production we suffered a lot of time due to people being absent and going on holiday which meant we had to work a lot harder to make up time and it also meant unfortunately that we missed the first deadline.

Legal

For big mainstream films, paperwork is important as without it (due to legal reasons) a lot of scenes and shots wouldn't be able to be shot. With smaller productions and independent films, it isn't as much of a big deal and it is much easier to shoot on public places. Location release forms are a form of paperwork which grant permission that you can shoot in a certain area if it is private or anywhere that you would usually not be able to. It is basically an agreement between the filming company and the landowners to use the land for filming. Another important piece of paperwork is location recces which is a form that is completed by a scout when looking for potential locations to film in. The scouts have to check that the location is suitable to be filmed in and that it matches what is needed in the film. 

When creating any production or product, legal issues always need to be thought about as it could lead to being sued, court cases or fines. These legal issues could also be things such as product misplacement and copyright infringement. Copyright is something that lasts for 50 years and is put into place in order to protect the ownership of someone's ideas or property such as designs, music, ideas, etc. This means that if someone was going to try and use your ideas or product without your permission then you could sue them, as it would be illegal.

Connotations of Emotions

Poverty

For this photo, I chose a birds-eye-view angle and close up shot for this image as I thought it improved the feeling of weakness in the shot. The empty wallet with only 1p in represented poverty and lack of money as well. I made sure that the only thing in the photo was the wallet so nothing was being taken away from the image or being added by another character or object. I then later turned the colour to black and white in photo shop to give off this feeling of sadness and poverty.




Love

For this photo, I chose a medium shot for this image as I thought it went well the emotion we were trying to portray. The shot could also be seen as a wide shot which works as you can see the relationship
of the characters in the scene. I chose the straight on angle as it represented the way the two lovers were looking at each other, in a gaze of love. I had the two characters sit somewhat close to give off a feeling of affection. I then added a slight saturation to this picture, to give the whole thing a 'warmer' feel which can be connotative to the feeling of love.

Strength

For this photo, I chose a worm's eye view for the angle for this photo to further express the superiority of the person in the image and the amount of power he has. I chose a long shot to show off the whole body of the person again adding to this feeling of power. I decided to situate the person on top of a chair to further show how dangerous and reckless he is. I decided not to focus on anything in particular and rather have the focus on the whole picture.




Fear

For this photo, I chose a wide shot to show off the two characters' surroundings and to show that no one else was around. I chose a straight on angle to not take anything away from the action being done center screen. I showed the emotion of fear by having one character in control of the scene and having power over the other, who was screaming for help. I then added a slight red saturation in photo shop to help portray the danger being captioned.




Loneliness

For this photo, I chose a straight on angle to imply normality and that the emotion on display can happen to anyone. I chose a medium shot to show off the body language and feelings of the character. The character is looking off into the distance to show that he's looking for something he doesn't yet have. He also has a slight smile to show that even through the pain he's trying to be happy, this may make the viewer feel sorry for him. I then made the character lose his colour to represent that he currently has nothing.

Enrolment Task

One piece of media that has had an impact on me and my life, is the film series: Rocky. I remember watching the first film with my dad and falling in love. It combined two things I love which is boxing and a passion for doing something. The way Rocky rises to fame from starting as nothing is something I aspire to do. The speech in the sixth film which Rocky gives his son is what took the biggest hit on me, and when hearing it for the first time made my hairs rise. After finishing the series, I got into boxing and started training at a local gym which helped not only improve my physical health but also my mental. I would say that the Rocky series is one of the reasons I decided to do Acting and TV and Film at college, as I aspire to be like Sylvester Stallone.