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