The Pre-Production Process

There is lots of work that goes in to Pre Production to create a media product i will define and explain this in this essay.

We made a 90 second media product for DepicT. we came up with the idea of four people sitting on a bench but we tried to make it look like one of the four people was a out cast but actually he's a ghost and you find that out at the end of the short film. We distributed by posting it on YouTube.Here it is:



There are lots of ways to distribute a moving image media product. Tv is one of the main ways to distribute because all different types of people watch Tv this means you will be able to distribute your moving image to many of people. YouTube is also one of the main ways to get you media product out to the world because you can get YouTube on basically every phone/computer/tablet. You can also submit your film of to film festivals and hope that your film gets picked to be shown. Films can lose money now a days because of Web 2.0 because people can just watch films on the internet for free.

There are many ways how to fund a film. There is crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter what you can put your film idea on and people can donate money to you to make your film but if you don't hit your goal you don't get to keep any of the money. Some rich people (Private investors) who are interested in a film with fund it e.g. Megan Ellison. You can also enter competitions and if you win you can use the money to fund your film. Mega global multi corporations e.g. Sony and New corporations also fund films. Some people can ask the bank for a grant to fund there film. 

There are a few requirements that you need to spend money on to make a production. You will need to buy the right equipment e.g camera and tripod. If your not filming on private property you will have to pay to use a location to film on, you will also have to pay for travel to get there. You will have to pay for someone to film,edit and you will have to pay your cast. If you use music that has been copyrighted you will have to pay them to use their song. If you want props and costumes you will have to buy them or hire them out. For our DepicT film we didn't need any props or any specific costumes just normal teenage clothes but we did need a camera and a tripod.

If you're making a media production you will need a 'Production team'. For a low budget short film you will have a small crew of 1 to 10 people. For a television program you will need a pretty big crew from 40 to 50 people. For a Hollywood film you will need a massive crew, the average crew number is 588. 

We had to allocate the work in our small group of 3. We had 2 people making a story board and we had 1 person doing a script. after we finished the story board/script we all worked together to fill out the rest of the paper work. When we were filming we had 4 people acting and 1 person filming. As we only had 3 people in our group we had to borrow people from a other group so could film the story how we wanted it. Our group didn't have much experience but i think the end product came out really nicely.

There are various people that may contribute a production such as actors who are in front of the camera that are getting filmed. There will be a camera man behind the camera filming. You will need a Director to call what shots are up next and he will tell the camera man when we needs to start filming. You will also need a Gaffer to sort out the lighting of the set to make it prefect to film. You might need a key grip, a key grip is somebody that sets up the lights, pushes dollies and sets up all the equipment. When it comes to audio you will need a Production sound mixer so they can check all the audio is being recorded properly, you will also need a boom operator who holds the boom microphone near the action. You will also have a producer to coordinate the production and also to handle all the money that is involved in making a film. If you have the money you might want to get a Make-up Artist/Hairdresser to sort out the cast's hair and makeup throughout the shoot.


For our DepicT short film we were given a week and a half to shoot, we used this time very well and we manged to finish filming in that amount of time. We also got the same amount of time (a week and a half) to edit our short film we didn't need to use the whole week and a half because we finished editing and there wasn't much more we could have done to make our short film any better. This meant we easily met the dead line.

You can obtain equipment to make a professional moving image by either buying the equipment yourself or renting it out. The nearest facility house is in Norwich and it's called White Label. http://www.wlms-ltd.co.uk/ You can also rent equipment from a website called Hire a camera. https://www.hireacamera.com/ 

When we were making our DepicT product we had lots of equipment available to use but all we needed was a camera and a tripod for the shots that we were planning to do. To obtain our equipment we just had to go to a room and scan our student card and ask for the equipment that we wanted to use and then we were ready to go out and film! 

A location recce is when you visit a location to work out if the location is suitable for filming and take pictures so you can remember how the location exactly looks. 

When were making our DepicT short film we knew we wanted to film on a park bench so we went across the road from the college to the park and found a bench that we decided to film on.

When it came to filming we didn't face any logistical issues or any mega risks i would say the only risk we faced was crossing the road with all the equipment. 

To make a moving image text you will need materials like a camera and tripod you could either buy these or rent them out. You will also need to save your footage on to a SD card. You will need a script so your cast know what to say. You might need some music and a title to add on to your video when editing.

There might be some financial consideration when using certain materials. If you have a high budget and you can afford more and higher quality materials. 

There might be some legal considerations when using certain materials in a media production. so you cant use copyrighted materials unless you pay to use it, If not you will have to pay to make your on materials. If you do use copyrighted music you can be fined and taken to court.

When filming our DepicT short film we had to get clearance from our cast to film them so we had to get there permission. We where filming in the park so we didn't have to get clearance but if we were filming on a larger scale we would have had to get clearance.

Public liability insurance covers the cost of legal action and compensation claims made against you/your business if the property you are filming on gets damaged. With out public liability insurance you would have to pay out off your own pocket.

Completion guarantee/insurance is when you have insurance that you will meet the dead line of the moving image product.

Ofcom is the communications regulator in the UK. Ofcom regulate the Tv, radio and video-on-demand sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles and postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate. They also make sure that people in the uk get the best from their communications services and protected from scams and sharp practices. 

Ofcom regulates the bbc this is different for Ofcom because the "different standard of accuracy and impartiality"

The BBFC is a British board classification that is independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/DVD's since the video recordings act was passed in 1984.

There isn't any regulation of online videos at all because it's very hard for the police to apply laws.

You shouldn't post illegal stuff on the internet because of the regulation but not always will something be done about it. With our DepicT product we didn't use any copyrighted music or audio so we didn't break any regulations.

On a website it said "The trade union is an organized association of works in a trade, group of trades, or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests." The trade union is founded and funded by businesses. 

Pact is there to support it's members with legal and business affairs advice and support, as well as a wide range of services and campaign work.The BECTU is the uk's media and entertainment trade union; sectors covered include broadcasting,cinema, film, digital media, independent production, leisure, theater and arts.

BECTU was founded in 1991, BECTU are there to help you if you work in film or media. They are just a phone call away. PACT was founded in 2003. "Pact supports its members with legal and business affairs advice and support, as well as a wide range of services and campaign work."