Production Flowchart

Film Production Title Flowchart Inspirational Sources - these sources could be anything from just a conversation with a friend or another media source (newspapers, TV programs etc.) The producer is the centre of the film’s production and is the person that decides if this film can be turned into reality. Pitches and presentations are made to present to the director.

Idea

The director is the person who can visualises how the producer’s idea will be shown to the audience on the big screen and then the writer starts to break down the idea into a treatment; which makes it something malleable that the director can use.

The film This Is England was written and directed by Shane Meadows, who used his own experiences in life as a basis for this film. Shaun of the Dead however was inspired by the horror Dawn of the Dead and this spoof was directed by Edgar Wright. Because this was a spoof, they have taken the idea of Dawn of the Dead and made into more of a comedy than a horror film.

The treatment is then created so that the main overview of the story and main personas can be described to the financers when doing the pitch to gain the film’s funding.

The pitch is presented to the financers so that funding can be secured. This funding will enable the writer to then go on and start to break down a script. The producer can then go to production companies (e.g. Working Title) for funding for development. However, they can sometimes have their own projects to deal with.

Developing the Film’s Financing

Or, the producer can offer the future sales and rights to the film. In return for the rights, the producer can then gain funding for their production. (An example of television pre-sales could be when FilmFour made a deal with Warp Films). The UK Film Council or a Government Grant can be an option, but the producer needs to make sure that they have a certainty on their audience that this film will sell to. Private Investors are hard to persuade to invest (just like Dragon’s Den) because they will be wanting a lot in return for their money. The Writer’s Agent is the person that protects the writer when he or she is trying to seal a deal with the producer and director. There will be a number of drafts before the script is just right. A Synopsis is produced by the writer and the producer together, noting the key scenes and events that will take place in the film. A Step Outline is created by the writer which describes all of the scenes that will make up the script; showing where the scene breaks will occur.

Script Development The hardest part of Screenwriting can be producing the first draft of the script, which is then sent to the financers to check it and incorporate their own ideas. Once the drafts have been completed and checked, the Final Draft is produced and the writer is then paid. The Sales Treatment is then created in order to promote the Final Draft to the potential financers. The Producer and Director then need to package the script so that it is ready to finance; this package is the script in a full commercial proposition.

Packaging

Attaching well known stars to the script is a very good way of making the script commercial. The HODS (Heads of Departments) are the people that discuss the package with the knowledgeable financers. The budget is now split into the vital Above the Line and Below the Line costs in order to make sure that the producer and director know how much everything will cost. The Finance Plan (how the producer will raise the money) is shown to the potential investors as well as the Recoupment Schedule (how the project will make the money back). The Completed Package is shown to potential funders (which contains all of the above). The Producer must travel in order to secure financing; as they can be anywhere in the world. The Producer’s Lawyer draws up contracts in order to seal the deal with financers; which could be private individuals, production companies and public bodies.

Financing

Presales can be made in order to secure funding by the producer selling the rights to the film. Departments of Banks also can give loans to the producer. Insurance for the Production is when most financers will insist that a completion bond is in place before they put their money on the table.

If we looked at Warp Films for instance, we know that they get their funding from NESTA (National Endowment for Science Technologies and the Arts) and also we know that Working Title gain their funding from Universal Studios because they are part of a conglomerate.

Once the financing and insurance is secured, the Producer will get the ‘Green Light’ for the film. When the HODS are hired, the Pre-Production begins when the Shooting Script is circulated. The Casting process begins with the Director, Producer and the Casting Director and who would fit into each persona.

Pre-Production

Storyboards are the Blueprints for the film and are made by the Director and the DOP; these storyboards are the plans for each shot. The Production Designer plans out how each part of the film will be visually displayed to the audience.

The Storyboarding process was developed by Walt Disney Studios during the early 1930s.

Effects Shots are planned to a far greater level and can take months to actually design and build. The Line Producer and the Production Manager start to create the production’s Key Logistic Triangle. This is the key part of Film Production. The shoot now begins and the funding is distributed between the departments. The Camera Department are the department who gain all of the footage that the Director and Editor want to tell the story to the audience.

The Shoot

The shooting can begin once the Lighting and Sound have been set up and the Make-Up has been checked. The Actors must then play the part and put emotion and drama into the story to make it come to life. Special Physical Effects are constructed and created with the effort to make injury and risk as little as possible.

A good example of showing that the shots that they shoot are not necessarily in chronological order of the narrative is Star Wars: The Clone Wars because one of the main personas called Anakin has his hair at different lengths during the film. This shows that the shooting of the film was not done in the order of the narrative and therefore his hair has grown throughout the shooting process and was at different lengths in the final cut.

Military Precision is made when the Film Production process is taking place and financers and investors may want to step in to help if the schedule is falling behind. The Editor starts to assemble the footage together into scenes and into a Narrative Sequence for the story. The Sound Department then takes the sequence and starts to work on the Audio Track Laying. Specialist Effects Compositors add the Digital Effects and the Titles and Credits are added in a Compositing Suite.

Post Production The Colour is Adjusted and the Fine Aesthetics of the Film are established. The Rough Sound Mix goes to a Dubbing Theatre after the Picture Lock and the Sound Mixer sets the Final Levels.

Avatar used a lot of CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) to create the world around the characters and make the creatures seem real to the audience. The music selected also related well to the narrative because of the tribal singing.

The Final Cut is then produced and is made into the Full Lock when is ready for Duplication.

A Sales Agent, who specialises in Film Sales, provides his service to the producer and helps him to secure sales. The Trailer is producer in order to attract the Target Audience.

A Sales Toolkit is produced by the Producer and the Sales Agent and lengths need to be taken in order to attract attention to the film.

Sales A High Profile Screening can be set up in order to raise awareness to the audience and get the overall ‘Heat’ of the film intensified.

Distributors around the world will now make the deal with the producer after the successful Film Festival.

The Marketing Team run Test Screenings in order to see how the film is received by the audience. Posters, Cinema Trailers, TV Spots and many more methods are used in order to grab the audience’s attention towards the film.

Marketing

Word of Mouth is essential on getting the film’s positive reviews out to others and can be in Newspapers, Magazines, Radio and Television. The Internet has enabled films to flood out towards the audience and has also allowed Niche Marketing possible. Cinemas also need to have deals made with them in order to Screen the films.

A lot of films now are publicised the media greatly and would not be there today without the newspapers, radio and television. Also, the internet has played a huge part in making success for films, although all of the business with pirate and watching films illegally online has been a downside to the making money from films because people can therefore just watch them online instead of buying them legally.

A Premiere is constructed in order to launch out the film to the audience and make them highly aware of it because of the Media and Stars invited.

Exhibition

Prints of the Film are Distributed by to the Exhibitors and the more Screenings the film has, the more prints that are needed.

A great example of this is Warp Films’ deal with FilmFour because that include presales for the institute and also they know that it will be shown to the audience on the FilmFour Channel and so know that it can defiantly be shown after being exhibited at the cinemas.

The Exhibitors take their share of the Box Office Receipts. After this process, the Distributors recoup the Marketing Costs and the Recoupment Schedule can be used to recover back the money that the financers put in. Hospitality Sales from In-Flight Entertainment and Hotel Channels can bring in millions to the Additional Revenue and DVD sales play an import part in gaining profits.

Other Windows Television Broadcasting and Games Based on the Film all will add to the Additional Revenue made and the Profit can be then distributed out to the Key Creative People and the Producer.

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Matthew Dalby November 3, 2010