Requirements for Production

Type of Production We had to create a media product for a competition called DepicT! the objective of which is to create a 90 second short video or in DepicT!s own words DepicT! challenges filmmakers on any budget from anywhere in the world to show their stuff in just a minute and a half. Im not sure whether to call our 90 second short a video or a film because the line between the two has become somewhat blurred and it has become a lot harder in modern times to make a clear distinction between these two terms. This of course is just one of many media platforms that can be used, there are a lot of other creative media industries such as magazine, television, radio, film, newspapers, etc. There are also many different platforms you can publish such creative media products on because of the new digital era we live in, you can watch and gain access to all these creative media products on the internet, mobile phones, tablets, TV, etc. and they are becoming easier and cheaper to use and gain access to. This new digital era also ties in with the emergence of what is known as the pro-sumer this term is used a lot nowadays because the line between amateur and professional work has become very blurred, amateurs can now buy and use all of the products and software that professionals use and then distribute them cheaply and easily across many platforms to a very wide audience. Finance and sources of funding Development Funds and Financial Aid

The BFI (British Film Institute) is the leading body for the film industry within the UK, they distribute lottery money to parts of the UK film industry and are also highly involved in the development of film, production, training, distribution, exhibition and supporting the film industry UK wide. They provide funds and financial aid to many different sectors within the UK film industry. The BFI have set up a 5 year plan that will span from 2012 up until 2017, this plan has three steps: Step One, expanding education and learning opportunities and boosting audience choice across the UK. Step Two, supporting the future success of British film by investing in film development, production, talent and skills. Step Three, unlocking film heritage for everyone in the UK to enjoy by investing in preservation, digitisation, interpretation and access.

For further information about the BFI and what they do or to see more detailed information about their 5 year three step plan visit - http://www.bfi.org.uk/

Advertisement, Sponsorship and Product Placement

Companies and creators of products will pay to be able to place one of their products within the film, sponsor the film itself in order to gain advertisement and endorsement or to be able to place their advert before the film shows in cinemas. Advertisement and sponsorship were by far the most common but within recent years the regulations surrounding product placement in the UK have become less stringent which has allowed the use of product placement and is being used a lot more. Below are some examples of these types of advertisement: Advertisement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcABeDWdWH0 (Sony/James Bond Skyfall) Sponsorship: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVUVmq1zRSY (giffgaff mobile network/big bang theory) Product Placement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LFQIoc49ZM (shows many product placements within the Transformers film)

Requirements There are many different things that have to be paid for or financed during a film production, these things can vary depending or budget, genre, etc. Many films will require financing for personnel (talent and crew), equipment, materials (props, costumes, make-up, etc.), special FX (facility hire), transport, locations, copyright and permissions (clearances and licenses). The budget for are DepicT! project was very low, but we obtained talent, crew, props and location permissions through ingenuity and the kindness of others. Time Like most professional media products or productions we were given a time frame in which to complete are work and had a deadline to meet, we successfully completed are DepicT! project within the given timeframe and met our deadline. In the professional media industry time frames and deadlines are extremely important, your reputation and dedication to the production means a lot. In the professional media industry the stakes are high, a lot of money gets put into producing and completing productions in order to turn over a profit, if you fail to meet deadlines it costs more money, if your fail to complete the production it loses a lot of money. If you get a reputation for not sticking to time frames, missing deadlines or producing media products that are essentially a flop you risk losing financing for future products and being shunned by everyone within the industry. There is a lot of money involved within the professional industry and that money will always go to the people that can be trusted, can meet

deadlines, stick to time frames and are a safe bet to produce something that will be received well by audiences and turn over a large profit. An example of this is Micheal Cimino, he was the director of the 1978 film The Deer Hunter which was a rousing success, it earned him fame and acclaim as one of Hollywoods fastest rising directors when it won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director in 1979. However Micheal Cimino went on to direct a production named Heavens Gate, he ran horrendously over his $11.6 million budget as the estimated budget by the end of production was a whopping $44 million, he also missed his December 14th 1979 deadline when filming finally finished in March 1980 and didnt produce a final cut until later that year in June. This effectively finished Micheal Ciminos and erased any reputation he had within the industry. Within the time frame we were given for our DepicT! project we also had to attain equipment in order to film, we did this by getting equipment from the college which they very kindly lend out to all their students should they need it. Within the professional media industry you would have to contact different companies and departments in order to rent equipment to use for a production, they will have rate cards which provide information to anyone that needs it about how much it costs depending on how long you wish to use the equipment. Personnel For our DepicT! project we were in group of 3, all three of us had to fill multiple roles in order for us to create our product, we hadnt really had any previous experience within the roles we filled, however we did have one person who very kindly acted within our project who has had previous experience. Professionally experience can affect a production a lot more, it can help to create a more professional looking and complete product, but experience and skill always costs, the more efficient they are the more they can cost. Cost can also be affected by the size of production, a film with a large budget can cost a lot more simply because you have to hire more personnel. Our group was able to attain equipment and props to use for our production easily without any cost to ourselves. One of the other important things in a production is deciding who to use, for our DepicT! project we didnt have much choice so we used the people within our 3 person group and 1 other who kindly helped us out. In the professional industry you would most likely decide who to use by conducting auditions, interviews, looking at CVs and looking at past work, using the information collected you could then make a well informed and productive decision on which personnel to use. Also within the professional industry you have to ensure the availability of your personnel by drawing up contracts or filling out release forms, allowing them to dedicate themselves to your production and putting your mind at ease knowing that they will be available to you when you need them. Facilities Many facilities are needed to complete production of a film, such as editing software, cameras, lights and acquiring a facility house or studio in order to complete production. For DepicT! product we had are facilities made available to us by the college so that we could produce and complete our work. Professionally you would have to outsource and hire extra people in order to complete production or post-production and gain access to facility housing or a studio. This can affect the cost of

production and will have an effect on the budget for the production, you also have to consider availability and suitability for such assets. Locations In order to find locations you go out and do location recces, this is when you go out and find possible places in which to use during production and obtain information you need to know about the area. In order to use a location you have to complete a location release, this is when you get permission of the owner of the location and obtain their permission in order to use it within your production. For our DepicT! project we were limited by the fact we had to stay reasonable close to the college because of time issues and risk factors, in the end we chose to use my house and the nearby streets in which to film our video as it wasnt too far from college. We had to take into account risk factors to ourselves and the college equipment we were using, we did this by filling out a risk assessment form and evaluating the risk we were presented with and coming up with suitable solutions to them. Materials There is a variety of many different materials film makers can obtain and use in their own work from many different sources. These sources include things such as internet, books/archives, photos/images, video, music/audio, etc. In order for filmmakers to be able to use some of these materials they must obtain permission and licenses in some cases, once this has been completed and checked they will then have clearance to use the materials they require. In some cases when copyright is an issue the filmmaker will have to pay royalty fees, this is when the filmmaker pays a small lump some of the profit to the copyright holder, this is normally a set percentage that will be agreed upon. Contributors People that may contribute to a media production are extras, talent, experts, specialists, etc. they will help to create a more professional and well-rounded media text. A contributors biography can be used by filmmakers in order to see what previous experience a person will have before they hire them to help with a production, in our Depict! production me and my group had no experience but one of our actors had some training and previous experience. A contributors biography will contain things like a CV, portfolio and records of past experience. Legal issues There are many legal issues to consider within a media production and it is highly important to consider all of them and adhere to the rules and regulations, as it can hugely effect a production. Team clearance is important, this is when you make sure that your production team has all the permissions that are required and that they have been granted. Our Depict! group filled out a large amount of paper work to gain the requirements that were needed and we checked before production that we had clearance. Clearance is normally required for copyright on photo, audio and talent, also location clearance is required so that you may film in a certain location. Our Depict! group did location recces in order to gain location clearance and got talent release forms for our

actors to fill out in order to avoid any legal infringement there as well. If you fail to get clearance for all aspects of production this can result in legal action being taken against you, prosecution and compensation in order to repay the people/company you may have illegally used materials from when they had copyright or ownership of them. Copyright can be placed on things such as concept, audio, music, etc. it is important to gain access to these materials as you will most likely need to in order to go forward with your production, our Depict! production didnt hit any issues with this as our brief told us we had to stay away from copyrighted music/audio and that we had to come up with an original idea. Public liability insurance is needed in order to pay-out cash to the public in case of any accidental damage or injury. A completion guarantee or completion insurance is also agreed upon by the filmmaker and the production company or the investors, this is when a deal is made and the filmmaker has to complete the production within a certain time frame and on a particular restricted budget. Regulation A regulatory body governs a particular part of the media in order to keep the public and the media viewers safe from harmful or offensive content. There are many regulatory bodies such as: Ofcom, they regulate TV and protect viewers from harmful or offensive content PCC, they regulate newspapers and magazines ASA, the advertising standards authority regulate the content within adverts PEGI, they regulate content within video games BBFC, british board of film classification regulate content within UK films and then classify it with an age rating Our Depict! video was kept PG as we wanted it to be suitable for all audiences. Trade unions and trade associations A trade union is setup so that people and employees may join in order to make sure they receive fair treatment. A couple of examples of trade unions are: PACT, representing and promoting the commercial interests of independent creative content producers BECTU, the independent trade union for those working in broadcasting, film, theatre, entertainment, leisure, interactive media and allied areas -

A trade association is an organization founded and funded by business, some examples of this are: BIMA, represents the diverse interests of the UK digital industry ELSPA, the trade association for video game publishers within the UK TIGA, the trade association that represents the UK game industry