Pre Production Essays Usefulness of Paperwork.

Within this essay I will be talking about a variety of different paperwork used when creating a corporate film. I will be talking about how useful all the separate documents are and also how important each document is. 

StoryBoard

This is the storyboard that we created when we was planning our corporate film. This was useful to us before we created our corporate film because this allowed us to have a visual image on how the film is going to look with the school logo on at the start of the film and at the end. We thought this would be vital to the film to help the schools global reach around Tameside and this will allow parents to find out about Cromwell if they hadn't already before. A storyboard is also important because it is helpful for the editor of the film because they have something to fall back on if they are stuck for ideas on how to create the film then they can then go back to the storyboard they drew out to refresh there memory.

Production Schedule

A production schedule is useful for when you are creating a corporate film because this has all the deadlines for when your film is due in such as the start date and the deadline. For example when we was creating our film for Cromwell high school we had 3 separate deadlines these were to have all the planning done by the 22nd of October. We also set ourselves another deadline to have all the filming finished in one week at the school this being from the 10th of November till the 14th of November. The deadline for the whole project was the 18th of December and this was to have the whole film signed off and everything completed and we had all these dates written on the production schedule and we kept one a computer and one in the paperwork file. A production schedule is important because it has all the vital information you need written down for all your deadlines and this is important so you don't hand in everything late and you work to all your deadlines written down on the sheet. 

Shooting Schedule

A shooting schedule is also as useful for similar reasons to why a Production Schedule is useful because it carries the vital information such as the dates to where you are going out filming. For example this is a screen shot of our groups shooting schedule and as you can see there is all the dates for when we were filming, the locations for where we were filming and the times that we arrived at the school that time was 9:00am and the time we left was 3:00pm and all these times were recorded. The only time we didn't spend all day there was Tuesday and this was because we had finished filming for that day and we had collected everything that was needed for that day. A shooting schedule is important when creating a corporate film because it is a project plan of each days shooting. Both of the schedules represent a timeline stating where and when production resources are used.

Proposal

A proposal is useful when creating a corporate film because it allows you to iron out what you intend to do to for your client such as all the dates for when everything will be started and completed. For example this is a copy of the proposal wrote out before the creation of the our corporate film on Cromwell high school. On the proposal we have wrote about the days of when we intend to go and film which was from the 10th of November till the 15th of November. Within this proposal another thing that is useful from this is it allows the client to see what we intend to do once we have collected all the footage and that the editor will start the editing once we have collected the first piece of filming from the 10th of November. This proposal is also important because we have wrote about our target audience and also the legal issues that we have to follow. It is important to have follow all the legal issues such as getting all the paper work signed such as Actor release forms before filming because some of the parents of the children don't want there child on camera and this is also to avoid any trouble with the school or parents this is why a proposal is so important because it can be used as a guide to what to do and what not to do when filming. 

Treatment

The treatment is also useful when you are creating a corporate film. The treatment is given to you by the client when you first pitch your idea to them they give you the treatment as to what they want from you when you are creating the film such as what shots of the school they want. For example when we first met with Andrew Foord one of the things he said he would like to see in the film is lots of children smiling showing that they are enjoying themselves in school and enjoying there work. He also said to us that he would like lots of shots of all the teachers showing care and support for the children as this is one of the main things that the parents want the school showing care and support. Our client also wanted us to promote the school by showing shots of the school such as all the classrooms and all the facilities Cromwell has to offer.  The treatment is also important because the client will give you a set time frame for when he would like the film to be complete ours was the 18th of December for marking but our client wanted it all done by the 20th of January to show to parents and children at an opening evening who could be coming to Cromwell High school in the near future. 

Call Sheet

A call sheet is important for when you are creating your corporate film because it is a document that allows you to write various things onto it such as the different roles in your team. For example Mike was the production manager so he was in charge of everything and gave out all the roles. Joe was in charge of all the paperwork and blogger account. Shaf was in charge of all the filming and signing in and out all the equipment. Meg was the editor so she was in charge of all the film that we gathered when we were at the school and the call sheet allows us to write this down. Another reason why a call sheet is important is it allows us to record all the different shots on that day. Here is an image of a Call sheet Joe filled out on the first day we went filming and the call sheet shows us what we filmed on that day and the main focus of the first day was to get cut aways of the children and get to know the children and staff. A call sheet also allows us to record all the different equipment we had taken out for this day and for that day we used a Cannon 600D to film we had two of them, two tripods to put the camera on and two spare batteries for when the battery dies so we have are prepared for when they die and were not in the situation where we have no spare batteries to use. 

Edit Log

An edit log is important for when we was creating our corporate film for Cromwell School because an edit log keeps a record of all the editing that we done on that day. For example here is an image of our edit log right at the start of production and what it does it allows you to add all the dates and times of editing to show how many days you spent editing and also the amount of hours in a day editing. There is also a little box on the page that allows you to write what you have done on that certain day and on the first day of editing meg sorted out all the good shots and all the bad shots because you want to use all the good shots and not any of the bad ones in your film. As the editing progressed you can see that there is a progression to around 30 seconds of the film done in a week. This shows an edit logs importance because you are able to keep track of what you have edited on that day or week. 

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is important because this allows you to go to the school and record all the risks in the school class rooms and what you shouldn't do. An example of this was that when we was at the school we were not allowed to let the children touch the equipment we had with us or mess with it because this could lead to damage to the equipment and then we will not be able to film on that day. Another risk was not to film in rain such as when we were getting shots of the children playing football or shots of the school from the entrance because again this could cause damage to the equipment we were using. A risk assessment is helpful as well because we did these before we started filming and filled these out for every part of the school we went to and we did this when we first met Andrew Foord so we had an idea before we even went into the school of what the risks were which was very helpful to us. 

Recce Sheet

A location recce sheet is important to the creation of our corporate film based on Cromwell high school because it allows you to write about the shots you took in that location on that day. For example here is a screen shot of one of the Location recces which were filled out before production and what this document allows us to do is write about that location such as the lighting information for that room and the room on this document is the hydro. The lighting we will be using is the lighting from above the pool. A location recce is similar to a risk assessment because you are able to write down possible hazards in that room and one we came across filming was not to get to close to the water with the camera as we could drop the camera in the water and this would damage the camera so that was helpful. Also another hazard was make sure we had a spare battery as we were filming in the hydro for over an hour so we needed a spare battery. A recce sheet is also similar to a call sheet because this allows you to record what you will be filming in that location and in this room we were filming the children being supported and learning how to swim whilst taking photographs on another camera although we had to get the child parents permission and also asked if it is ok with the child to film him. 

Transport Log

A transport log is important when you are making a corporate film as it is important to record how you got to and from your location. Here is an image of the Transport log I made showing the different types of transport we used. On the first two days we used taxis which were provided for us to use by the college but on both days the taxis didn’t turn up to pick us up and became unreliable and we recorded this on our Call Sheets. After this we decided to use public transport and the bus we used was a 330 bus to get to college and the 346 bus to get to the school as this bus dropped us off right outside and the bus stop wasn’t to far away from the school or college so didn’t have to carry all the equipment to far.

Edit Research

It is vitally important that when you are making a corporate film that you do some research into the topic and look at what other students have made. As we were creating a corporate film to promote a school to children with profound disability we did some research into videos promoting schools. This is a screen shot from our editing research. What this does is it allows you to use the best production that you have seen and you use it as a guideline to help you make yours. You can’t copy it as that would be copyright and the school can get us sued for copying there film. But you can use it as a guideline and take some ideas from it. Like we did we used the idea from this one of using an interview at the start with the head teacher then move it on to some cutaways of the children we used this idea from this corporate film of Sackville High School.

Budget

A budget is important in film as it allows you to create a film to the set budget that you are given. For example all the Transformers films were given a budget of 150million dollars to create this film so this allowed them to add all of the special effects to the film. Such as how realistic it looks when all the robots Transform from car to robot within an instant. This also allows them to be able to get the actors they want in the film and the best production team as they have a lot of money to be able to pay them the money they want. Films like this will make a lot more money than other films Transformers alone made 702 million dollars when it was in cinemas so they have already more than trebled the amount of money in one film so this will allow them to up the budget to create the next set of films and make them look better. In the corporate film we created we didn’t have a budget as we had all the equipment at college such as cameras, tripods, memory cards and batteries. We did this as part of a project at college so we didn’t get paid for it we did everything for free. 

Location Plans

Location plans are important when you are creating a corporate film because this gives you an opportunity to be able to plan where you are going to do your filming. When we was in process of making our corporate film on Cromwell High School we set out a plan of where we were going to film. we planned to do all the interviews in a quiet place and the best place we choice was the library as this quiet and there were no children around to make any noise when we were asking questions. The only interview we didn’t do in the library was the one with Andrew Foord we did this in his office. Most of the cutaways we gathered together were of the children doing work in lessons and enjoying themselves and also outside playing with there friends. This is because it was a film trying to promote Cromwell High School to parents with children with profound disabilities and don’t known which high school to send them to. We wanted to be able to show the children enjoying themselves and also show them being supported by the teachers as this shows to parents that they will be cared for in school like they are when they are at home. 

Actor Release Forms

Actor release forms are one of the most important documents you can have when you are making a corporate film. As we were making a corporate film for Cromwell High School which is a school for children that have profound disabilities we made sure that we got these signed. This is because we as a group wanted to look professional. Also we didn’t want to film any children until these documents were signed as some children didn’t want to be on camera because there parents may not want there child on the internet or maybe because the child didn’t want to be on camera. The same for the teachers who got involved with this corporate film. We didn’t want to film any teacher who didn’t want to be in the film that is why we handed them to the teachers we wanted in the film these forms to ask if they would like to be interviewed for the corporate film. We got all these forms signed off when we went for a tour round the school with Andrew Foord so we didn’t have to worry about this when we was creating our film. 

Shot List

A shot list is important when you are creating a corporate film because it allows you as a group to write out all the shots you need. When were creating our corporate film on our shot list we had an idea of what shots we needed. We had a number of 5 interviews with teachers and the headmaster because this would give us a range of opinions to put in the film. We didn’t have a number on the cutaways we needed but we had the ideas of shots we wanted. We wanted shots of the children being supported to show to parents that the children are always being supported and helped out by the teachers. We wanted shots of the children enjoying learning, dinnertime such as playing in the playground with there friends. This was to show to the parents that Cromwell High School is a fun place where children can learn and enjoy themselves in a clean and safe environment. 

Studio Plans

Studio Plans are important because they allow you to record what times you will be interviewing people on different days and getting cutaways. When we were creating our corporate film we met with all the teachers and staff and spoke to them about when will the best times to be to come in and get interviews with the teachers and get cutaways of them with the children. As a group we planned with each teacher to do one day in a classroom with each teacher as this was best suited to there availability as it allowed them to prepare for when we were coming in and plan a lesson ahead for us to come in and film. Most of the interviews we did with the teachers were first thing in the morning before all the children came in so there would be no disruptions when we were filming them teach the children. We also organised when it would be best to film the children and this was on certain days that they put on for us like on Tuesday they went Daisy Nook Wednesday the children went swimming and on Thursday the children went to a Motorbike facility to look at how motorbikes were put together and they put these days on especially for us to film for them to put in the film.

Crew and Cast List

The Crew and Cast list are important for when you are creating a corporate film because they allow you to record the names of who are in your group and who you will be filming. When we were creating our corporate film we recorded the Crew which was Joe Dootson, Mike Blair, Megan Duffield and Shaf Islam. We recorded the roles of the group as well and these were Joe Dootson was in charge of Filming and Paperwork. Mike Blair was the production manager and in charge of   filming, Megan Duffield was the editor and Shaf Islam was in charge of the camera. With the Cast  list this allowed us to gather names of the teachers and children that were going to film. We gathered all these names when we first went into the school to meet all the staff and children.This then allowed us to set out a plan of when we were going to go into the school and what were going to do on that day. We then showed this to the staff and they all agreed on the filming if we went into one class room a day which helped us be organised and prepared for the week of filming.

Equipment Booking Forms

Equipment forms are important for when you are making a corporate film because it is proof of you borrowing that equipment. it has also got your signature on there so if the equipment was to get damaged then it is on you because you signed the equipment out and the equipment is your responsibility if it was to get damaged. We recorded our equipment each day this is  evidence of us taking equipment out when we went to meet the children and staff to take some pictures of the school. The pictures we took on this day were where we were going to film such as the hydro that being the swimming pool in the school for the children to learn how to swim. We took pictures of the front of the school, the class rooms we were going to film in and also the playground and other facilities the school had. 

Copyright Clearance Forms

Copyright clearance forms are very important when creating any film. These have to be filled out whenever your creating a film or a corporate film. A copyright clearance form is a document you have you have to sign to say that you will not be copying any film any film. A director or production manager has to fill out one of these. For example when Marvel make a film on a superhero they can’t go and then copy what Warner Brothers did with the Batman movies as that is illegal and they can be sued by the company Warner Brothers for doing this. The same went for our group when we was creating our corporate film we had to fill one of these forms to say that we will not go and copy Ashton Sixth Forms film about there college trying to attract students who are leaving school to go and study A Levels or a Level 3 BTEC at Ashton Sixth Form. 

Pre Production Essays

Pre Production Techniques for the creative media have their similarities and differences, there is Film, TV, non-broadcast videos, radio, audio, media, web, computer games and photo imaging.

Film

Film has similarities and differences they have lots of similarities such as finance because you need to have a set budget on the film and they cant spend over that certain amount of money. Another similarity would be the editor of the film because you would need a editor because you will need someone to edit the film and you also need a editor for photography to add effects to the photo and you will need this for making a film. There are some differences because for a film you need a age certificate to show who the film is suitable for a certain audience to watch the film. Another difference is the genre of the film because you can make the film a comedy, action or ScFi film where as for photo you don't need a genre for the photo these are some of the similarities and differences for film.

Video


Video has similarities and differences they have lots of similarities such as finance because if you are making a film trailer or a music video you need a set budget of money to spend on this video or trailer. Another similarity would be actors because you need actors in the video and you need to get the right actor to play in your video or film. There aren't any differences because film and video are the same so there will not be any differences.

TV

TV also has similarities and differences such as copyright because they will not want a company copying the film that they have made so they will sign documents saying that you cant copy the film and it is also illegal. Another similarity would be target audience because you need to make a film for a certain audience such as 15-40 and they need this so they don't make a film that will not get watched and they do this in video and film. A difference would be TV license because TV has a license to show certain movies and shows and TVs and if the film is not suitable to be seen on TV they will not show the film that you have made. Another difference would be channel because you cant always show your film on a channel it has to be suitable to go on that channel if the film has swearing on it cant be shown till after 10 where as Sky movies and film 4 show films with swearing throughout the day.

Photo Imaging


Photo imaging has its similarities and differences such as recruitment you need to get the right crew in to take a picture say if you are doing modeling you want your best directors and photographers taking the photo and everything has to perfect like in film and video. Another similarity would be Deadlines because in the media you always have a set deadline whether it be making a film making a music video or a trailer you always have to meet your deadline and it is the same in photo imaging. A difference in Photo imaging would be equipment because you need different equipment you will need a better equipment better lighting equipment it all needs to be the best you can get. Another difference would be photographs you need to get them on posters especially if you are doing modeling for Armani you would need it on a big poster outside the store advertising there brand new product.

Radio


In Radio there are similarities and differences such as recruitment for example if you are recruiting for radio one with it being aimed at people aged 15-29 you need someone within that age and it is the same for other radio stations they will employ people in that age range. Another similarity would be Restrictions because like in films you have restrictions in what you say and you cant swear and this is the same in some films you can’t swear. A difference would be in the car because you listen to the radio in the car and that is where people listen to the radio and you can watch films and videos in the car. Another difference would be pay to play song because they pay to play the songs that they want on where as films doesn't do this.

Computer Games


When making a video games there are some Similarities and Differences such as Age Certificate you need a age certificate for the game so it can be suitable for a certain age to play this game and it would be illegal if it didn't have it. Another Similarity would be Recruitment because you need to Recruit the right team to create the game and do all the editing for the game and put the music onto the game and create the cover for the game. A difference would be that you will not need a director or a producer into making the game where as you will when making a film and you will need this in a film to direct the film and also produce the film. When making a computer game you also need to think about the budget in how much you are going to spend on it for example if you are going to make a game and you have 1 million as your set budget too spend on it you cant go over that amount. Something else would be that time if you have a set release date that means that the game should be coming out by that time but they sometimes games get put backwards because they haven't finished making the game yet this can sometimes happen.

Interactive 


Interactive has its similarities and differences such as computer games because you are interacting with them you are using the controller and with the new generation of games you can tell the Xbox, PS3 and the Wii to do what you want for example if you say play game it will play it for you. Another Similarity would be that you need a Designer a Producer people like this and say if you are making a Spanish you will need a Language Specialist to make the DVD. A difference would be Age Restrictions because you wont need a age restriction for making a language DVD for people to learn Spanish it can be for all ages. Something’s to take into account for interactive would be that for example if you are making a Spanish Learning Language DVD you would need materials to make it. Also you will need personnel to make it like a Spanish language Specialist, Editors and Designers in there to make it all by putting all the sound in there and putting everything onto a Disk by burning it on there.

Web

Web has its similarities and differences such as Age Restrictions because there isn't an age restriction to log on to the internet you can get on to the internet at any age. Another similarity would be that video because you can go onto youtube watch music videos, trailers for the latest films. A difference would be that in the in the car you cant watch videos because you wont have a very good internet connection and all it will do is buffer lots so you will not get to watch the video. Somethings to take into account would be that you have finances with the web incase you want to make a web page you will have a set budget on what you want to spend on making the web page. Another thing to take into account with web would be contributors who are you going to hire to make the web page and also are you going to contribute in making the webpage yourself.

Pre Production Techniques Essays

Understanding the Requirements for a specific media production

Type of Production

The type of production that I will be making is a metrosexuality documentary on why do men care more now about there appearance now to maybe 20 years ago and why do men go to salons to get there hair cut now and get things done at salons more often than what they used to. I would also like to find out why single men care more about there appearance and why men also care more about there hairstyle and spend more time in front of the mirror styling there hair. I will be going to a salon where I go to get my hair cut called Jo Ferns in Ashton to get not just the mens point of view and also the womens point of view as to why do men care about there appearance more now and why do more men come to salons to get there hair styled and cut.

Finance

When making a TV factual the group that you may be in will all chip in money to help fund for the certain area that you might want to film but sometimes you don’t need money and where you will want to film will not cost you anything to film. For example if you wanted to film in a hair dressers you will not end up having to pay to film there but if you wanted to film something for a film that it coming out in cinemas then that will cost you money to film in a certain area. The paperwork that you will need for Finance is Actor Release forms so you will then have a signature showing that the actor has agreed to be in your film. You will need a production schedule showing when you start filming and when it all needs to be completed by. You will need Recces so you can make notes on the location for each shot. You will need a Risk Assessment showing if there is any risk to be taken where you are filming. Whilst filming you will need a Shooting schedule to show the days that you are filming your factual.

Time

Time is very important in making factuals for example if you are making a factual that is due to go on the radio in a week you will need to use your time well by having a day of filming your interviews and a day of editing and a day of getting cutaways for the factual to allow the documentary can run smoothly the factual so then the factual will be able to be released on time. You will also need a day to fill out and do all the paperwork because you will have to fill out lots of paperwork such as Shooting Schedules Actor Release Forms and Call Sheets. A shooting schedule will be important when managing your time when making factuals because this allows you to write down dates when paperwork has to be done it has a dates on there for when you start and finish filming.

Personnel

A producer would choose people depending on the size of the production for example if you are making a 5-minute factual you will only need 4 people maximum to interview and you will also need cutaways to go into it a introduction to the factual and a conclusion explain what you have found out during the course of making your factual. The producer will also choose people on skills such as someone who is really good on camera and good with camera work.. The producer will also choose people who are reliable and are trustworthy and he will also choose someone who is good at editing cause they will be editing the factual and making the factual look good and bring the viewers to watch the factual. The Producer will also choose people on cost if your making a documentary on metrosexuality then your not going to interview David Beckam cause it will be to expensive to interview him. What you will do is go to salons and get their opinions on how men have changed and how they care about the appearance now. 

Facilities

The facilities that are needed for Factual can depend on what you are making if you are making a metrosexuality documentary the place that you are going to need to film is a Salon or a hair dressers so you can interview the stylists in there and get cutaway form there you could make your whole factual in there. You could also go to a barber to get their points of view on metrosexuality. If a facility is not available in Manchester for example if you are not able to go to a salon and film your documentary you could go to a barbers and get there points of view because they would cut men’s hair or you could go to the Gay Village in Manchester and ask them about metroseuality and why do men now care more about their appearance and why is it acceptable for men to wear make up.

Materials

The Materials that you will need for a factual is a camera that allows you to film, You will need a tri pod to put the camera on so the camera will not wobble whilst you are filming your factual, You will need spare battery’s encase the cameras battery is dying then you can just change the battery and carry on filming as it will not effect your filming.  You will need a microphone to put onto the camera so that your factual can get good sound and when your interviewing you can hear the interviewee speaking into the camera. The paperwork that you will need for keeping track of all the materials you need is an equipment list so you can write down all the equipment you have taken out and tick off when you have handed the equipment back in. You will also need a signing out sheet if you are borrowing some equipment such as a camera this will be needed to keep track of all the equipment that’s gone out and what’s been signed back in.

Contributors

The people who will contribute to my Metrosexuality documentary are stylists so this could mean that they are specialists in fashion and all stylists will have different opinions on metrosexuality. The paper work that will be needed for the contributors are Actor release forms because hen you have a signature that shows that they will be in your factual and if you don’t do this then they could sue you if you fake there signature and this also illegal. The way you would find the contributors are if you know where the salon is then you can ether go in and speak to them about the possibility of using the salon for your film or you could phone up and if they say yes you can use the salon them you can then organise a date so you can then go in and film there.

Locations

I have identified the location for my metrosexulaity film, which is Jo ferns in Ashton, and they have said I am allowed to film there. I have chosen Jo Ferns as the place to make my documentary because there are a mixture of men and women stylists who works there and I will be interviewing 4 of the stylists 2 men and 2 women so I can get different opinions on metrosexuality from both men and women and I also get my hair cut in that salon. I can use different locations such as barbers or I could go to the Gay village and get some different point of views and I could get some cutaways from there. The paperwork that you need for location is a Call Sheet because this shows how you are getting to the location that you need to get to it also shows times you start and time you end filming and the Call Sheet also shows the location of where you are filming. You need to fill out a Risk Assessment to show if they’re any risks of the equipment getting damaged or the producer getting hurt and the only Risks at a Salon is that there is quite a few taps for water where the stylists wash your hair so keep the camera away from water or If it is raining don’t film in the rain.

Codes of practice and regulation

When making a TV factuals the professional practices that you go through are how to use the camera properly and how to attach the camera to the tri pod. You also get thought. You also get thought when you’re filming to keep quiet so your voice doesn’t go over the interviewee’s voice. We also get thought about how to get the right interview shot and not to have too much headroom when you are filming the interview. You are thought about the right questions and how to get good answers out of the interviewee and if they don’t answer the question or give you the answer you want then you ask the question again in a different context. A reporter is professional and they how this for example on the BBC News the reporter is always dressed smartly in a suit and tie his posture is straight and when he is delivering the news from the day he will deliver it in a very serious voice. The legal issues that can affect a factual TV producer is copyright you cant copy anything that is already been made and if it is done you can be sued this is the main legal issue you must overcome when making a factual. The legal paperwork that needs to be filled out is:

·      Call Sheets

·      Risk Assessment’s

·      Actor Release Forms

·      Recces

·      Copyright Forms