Moving Image Productions
For this project we were asked to create a 90 second short film that we would then be distributing via the YouTube streaming service. Also if we choose to next year we might enter our films in the DepicT shorts competition.
There are different types of Moving Image productions as well as short films these include Feature Films and Television Series/Serials. To distribute there are options as well: DVD/Blu-Ray, On-Demand Streaming Services (Netflix, YouTube etc....), Television, Cinema viewings and social media, the type of media you've created will depend on how you distribute it- Feature films will be distributed by Cinema Viewings followed by DVD/Blu-Ray and eventually T.V. A short film will most likely be distributed on a steaming service (YouTube) and Social Media.
Finances & Sources of Funding
Getting finance for your production can be difficult but there are several ways to source funding. One option is to get your production funded though a big studio, however the studio will usually want the last say on anything you try to do in the production. Another way would be to fund it through Private Capital (with your own money), an example of this would be when Robert Rodriguez funded his first film with money he got from doing private medical trials. Another way is through Crowd-funding services such as Kickstarter, where you pitch your idea and people can put a bit of money towards it and they then get a perk such as a draft of the script or cheaper premier tickets etc.... Yet another example is by getting a Loan and hoping the film does well enough that you can pay that money back. This was the method used by Kevin Smith to fund his film Clerks. He went round getting credit cards from everywhere and then was able to pay all the money back from the films earnings. Other ways include Grants, Sponsors, Competitions and Bursaries.
Requirements
So for a production of any kind there's a lot of things that the finances for the film will need to cover such as...
Equipment such as the camera, sound recording equipment, software to edit etc...
Props and costumes, Crew, The main talent- the main actors in the production, Background artists, Locations and Permissions, as well as Marketing, Travel costs, Accommodation, Distribution and perhaps one of the most important Catering for everyone.
For our production we needed:
Location Releases for the West Block Corridors and the Reception area so we could put them in the film. We also had several props we used such as the two duck beaks that one of the racers used, the Pistol the Referee used to start the race, and the awesome hat awarded to the winner. The gun we used we were able to get from the prop room, and the Hat we used at the end was mine (we only used it because of last minute difficulties). One of the beaks we were able to borrow from a friend of someone in the group, however we had to purchase the smaller beak because the other one turned out to be not very practical, so apart from the first few scenes we ended up using only the smaller beak.
Equipment such as the camera, sound recording equipment, software to edit etc...
Props and costumes, Crew, The main talent- the main actors in the production, Background artists, Locations and Permissions, as well as Marketing, Travel costs, Accommodation, Distribution and perhaps one of the most important Catering for everyone.
For our production we needed:
Location Releases for the West Block Corridors and the Reception area so we could put them in the film. We also had several props we used such as the two duck beaks that one of the racers used, the Pistol the Referee used to start the race, and the awesome hat awarded to the winner. The gun we used we were able to get from the prop room, and the Hat we used at the end was mine (we only used it because of last minute difficulties). One of the beaks we were able to borrow from a friend of someone in the group, however we had to purchase the smaller beak because the other one turned out to be not very practical, so apart from the first few scenes we ended up using only the smaller beak.
Personnel
The typical make-up of a team for a low budget short would be:
Director/Producer- for a short the directing and producing role can be merged to keep a small crew,
Camera Man- although this role can also be merged with the director role, it is better to have it as a separate role,
Actors
The typical make-up for the teams of a T.V. show and Feature film are basically the same though some roles have slightly different responsibilities for example:
A T.V show's Director does not have as much creative control over the production and mainly oversees technical issues and supervises the overall project.
A Film Director on the other hand has a large majority of the creative control over their production.
With T.V. shows the producer has the main creative control over the production.
Producers on a film set still have some creative control as they are the only people the Director answers to.
For our production we volunteered to do the roles needed, Jac volunteered to operate the camera, I volunteered to Direct and offered to act as well, Jamie (before he left) was going to act and do a larger chunk of editing than Jac and I, however as Jamie left, I reached out to a few friends asking if they would act in the film and James was the only person who turned up. I had co-directed the previous short I had made so I had some experience, Jac had done a small amount of camera work before and I don't know if James had any previous experience being in a production.
Director/Producer- for a short the directing and producing role can be merged to keep a small crew,
Camera Man- although this role can also be merged with the director role, it is better to have it as a separate role,
Actors
The typical make-up for the teams of a T.V. show and Feature film are basically the same though some roles have slightly different responsibilities for example:
A T.V show's Director does not have as much creative control over the production and mainly oversees technical issues and supervises the overall project.
A Film Director on the other hand has a large majority of the creative control over their production.
With T.V. shows the producer has the main creative control over the production.
Producers on a film set still have some creative control as they are the only people the Director answers to.
For our production we volunteered to do the roles needed, Jac volunteered to operate the camera, I volunteered to Direct and offered to act as well, Jamie (before he left) was going to act and do a larger chunk of editing than Jac and I, however as Jamie left, I reached out to a few friends asking if they would act in the film and James was the only person who turned up. I had co-directed the previous short I had made so I had some experience, Jac had done a small amount of camera work before and I don't know if James had any previous experience being in a production.
Time
The time frame we had to make the short film was about 5 weeks, with 2 weeks for pre-production work; 2 weeks to film; and 1 week to edit. Unfortunately due to a team member leaving the lesson before we were to start filming, we had to spend extra time re-writing the pre-production to replace him, as well as this we had to change our film slightly again after we found out that due to health and safety we couldn't use some props in our film so we spent another day re-writing our production again, and this time we were using up filming days doing this instead. Then when we were finally able to start filming one of our team members was ill. In the end we overran filming and editing but we were aloud that extra time due to Jamie leaving at a crucial point.
Equipment/Facilities
There are different ways you can obtain equipment for a professional moving image production. One way would be to rent the equipment from online rental companies for example- www.filmscapemedia.com rent cameras, camera accessories, lighting rigs etc....
Or some of the equipment may be povided/loaned by the production company.
For a low budget production you may just bring you own equipment or rent (like above).
For our project we out of available equipment we used a camera and a tripod which we signed out of the AV room in the college.
Locations
A location recce is part of scouting locations and is when you visit the possible locations and assess their suitability for shooting, for example looking for potential lighting/sound issues and other things like access to necessary facilities etc...
A location release is a form you need to get signed when filming in a public or private place that gives you permission to film tere.
We chose the locations out of ease of access as they were inside the college and all we needed to do was get the releases signed by the head caretaker and then film.
Legal Issues
Some legal issues to consider when filming are copyright, Health and Safety, Insurance, Licences.
What is copyright?
Copyright protects your work and stops people using it without permission.
How do I get it?
You get copyright automatically when you create ORIGINAL work be that a book, film, photograph, software, music, etc...
How long will my copyright last?
The length of time copyright will last depends on the type of work, for example:
Copyright for written/musical/artistic work will last for 70 years AFTER the authors death,
Copyright for sound/music recording lasts for 70 years after the date it was first published,
and Copyright for Films lasts 70 years after the death of the Director AND the Screenplay Author AND the Composer.
Copyright affected our production because it meant we couldn't add any music/sound effects we wanted into our production, instead we had to find music and sound effects that were royalty free and were able to be used as long as we added the owner's details somewhere in our production.
When making a production there are several different types of clearances you need to get, including clearance to use locations, clearance to use peoples 'likeness' in the film (so they can appear in the film), and clearance to use property including music, stock film, etc... Basically any media you whish to feature that is owned by another person.
Public Liability Insurance is Insurance that protects you if clients or the general public suffer personal injury or damage to property because of your business (in this case - filming).
A Completion Guarantee is "A form of insurance offered...in return for a fee...that is used to guarantee the producer will complete and deliver the film"
Regulation
OFCOM (Office of Communications) is "The government-approved regulatory authority for broadcasting..."
The BBC is regulated by the BBC Trust
The BBFC is the British Board of Film Classification. The BBFC give Films rating for who it is suitable for to watch the raiting they give are U-Universal, PG-parental guidance, 12-suitable for ages 12 and above, 15, and 18-adults only.
Trade Unions and Associations
Trade unions are organized associations of workers in a trade formed to protect their rights. They are important because they stop people in those trades being exploited.
PACT is the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Televison. PACT is the trade association for the commercial interests of independent television, film, animation, etc... media companies in the UK.
BECTU is the media and entertainment trade union.
A Trade Association is an organisation founded (and funded) by businesses that operate in that particular industry.
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