Filmmaking!

The idea!The idea is just the beginning. The idea can come from different resources for example Stephenie Mayor had a dream that she then turned into a sequence of famous books, the Twilight Saga which then turned into five award winning movies.

However, in order to produce a film, you need a producer. Not only do they fund the movie. They also make adaptations and make sure no one else can steal the idea. They handle the commercials and make sure the movie gets noticed. They estimate the air dates and organise actors, costumes and props.

Directors are also key in making a film. A director with a good reputation can boost the movie and get the best reviews. They know how to make scripts and turn the movie into a reality.

Produces need to find a good writer. A writer needs to create the scripts, take charge on screen writing and other tasks that enquire their skills. They also clarifies what changes that the produces/directors may want.

The writer is then told to write a Treatment which explains the story, the plot, the characters and anything else that needs to be included.

The final step of the idea is the pitch. It tells the producer everything they will need to produce the film. Including..

The Pitch.

• The description of the play. The story, the plot, the characters and their personalities and appearances, the relationships that might build and ect.

• The genre. For example if it’s a horror, comedy or an action movie or even a mix of all of them.

• Market. The audience, the age and what commercial products could they sell that the audience would buy. The rating of the movie and ect..

• The people involved. List everyone involved in the film and making sure they get the credit they deserve at the end of the movie.

• Budget. Roughly how much it will all cost. People’s salary, the costumes, the props, the setting, equpiment.

• A brief synopsis. A little bit of history and science. Explaining the cause and the detail of the pretential movie.

The Development finance.

Pitching the project is tough and is hard for the Producer. But with skills, the producer will have to go out and find founders who believe in the idea and want to fund it. In some cases, the producer may buy it themselves. This benefits them and the team a lot.

If the idea is good enough and the production companies think it will make profits. They will also fund in enough money to develop a script. However, they may want to be more involved and in return get some percentages of the profits the movie makes later on.

In order to make the movie it’s full potential. The producer will approach three companies, the sales, broadcast and the distribution. The sales company will give money to help the development of the film, in return able to sell the movie in shops. The more important company is the distribution company, this company will also give money but in return have the right to show it on their channel, eg Bbc or Skymovies. The most important company is the broadcast as they are the ones who will show your movie in a cinema, making the movie more known.

Almost like a loan, the producer may approach the uk film council and they may invest into the movie.

A privative investor is an individual that may be approached by the producer to fund the money. However convincing and persuading some to do this is difficult. Which is why having an good idea is vital.

The last thing of the development finance is tying down the writer. The writer will have an agent with them when discussing how to get the best deal for them and the their percentage of the cut. Agents are very important as they are qualified and skilled at getting the best deals.

Script development. The first step of developing a script is called a synopsis. It is important when making this that both producer and the writer are working together. To make sure they are making the same film. They need to keep in mind the audience’s age, the genre and the budget.

The next step is the called the step outline. Which is a bits of chunks of writing, detailing each scene that will make the film as detailed as possible. This is curial to the film as each scene will be important if it s builds the plot or introducing the characters.

The drafts and revisions are basically the script. But it is more than just what people say, the script has to tell the characters what actions to do, which expression to make, what they do whilst saying this and who they are talking too. This will be what people will see on the screen.

The finale Draft is produced when both the director and the producer approve the script. Once they have done this, the script is taken forward and for the writer, it is a finished product.

The sales treatment is where the producer will write a sales treatment on the final script. The sales treatment is like a advert for the movie. It will have emotive language to bring in potential financiers.

Packaging.Taking the script and the sales treatment, the producer will make up a rough budget of how much everything will cost them.

The cast! Hiring the bigger ranked stars is costly but could benefit the film and effect whether it is made or not. Producers usually contact actor’s by their agents, this way the producer can know how much the actor will cost. Some stars are called green light names people with not much clout in the film industry.

The hods short for the heads of the department is a group of managers, from the head of photography, head of the production design, the editor and other important people. They are all very important. With the photographer, they are the creative figure of the film, they give it the distinctive that will make it a success. The production designer is in charge of creating the props, the senses and making sure the film will look good. The editor is very important, he improves anything he feels needs it, getting a well known editor can help boast the film and even interest finances to invest. The producers assistant is in charge of taking all the notes.

Detailed budget and production schedule

In order to produce the film, the producer must have a accurate budget of how much it will cost. At this stage there is no limit to the detail, an important part is the issuance money which covers the loss of shooting days, public liability, ect. The production schedule is a chart of what will happen when, where people have to be and for how long. It is everything that can create a budget.

The finance plan and recoupment schedule.

The finance plan is a list of how and who will fund the movie. It is a sensitive plan as the producer doesn’t want people to feel they have only be chosen because others have declined.

The recoupment schedule is a sheet all of the income the production is expecting to receive. If its from sources like cinema, broadcast, DVD and merchandise.

The complete package.

Taking in all of the organising sheets, including, the finance planner, the recoupment schedule, the budget and production schedule, final draft of the script, a sales treatment, a list of attached stars and the HODS, (head of the departments) The producer must gathered all of this and present it in front of a number of potential funders. It is more than likely that the funders will want to do changes to the package and therefore will buy parts.

Financing.

The market. Like a producer war, the producer will now have to fight for her position and the movie. Other producers will have similar packages that they will present to variety of tax-breaks. Her powers of persuasion have to be at top mark. Also the director may come in handy if he well known and could help the producer. Together they will travel the world to gather the amount of money they need, the finance marketplace is international.

Investment.Private individuals, production companies, and public bodies will be approached by the producer to be asked to invest in the movie. Once agreed to the terms and conditions, they must sign a legal contract to seal the deal.

Pre-sales.

Selling the rights of the film before it is even made to the pre-sales is a big profit. Contracts are made again to insure what and how much people get. A producer will need a lot of legal advise to do this as precise as she can. However, in return for this, the distributor will ask for first refusal on the right to sell the movie to cinema’s, retailers, rental companies and broadcasters.

Bank and cap funding.

The producer will organise a meeting with a banker. A special banker that specialise in film financing. If the banker is willing to invest in the film, he will ask for a percentage of the money that will be made. Once again a contract will be signed. How will also offer loans and commercial projects.

Bonds.

Bonds are made to insurance that if anything goes wrong, the bond issuer (usually an insurance company) will cover the bill. For example if the movie runs out of money. This gives the movie a backup plan if something goes wrong.

The Green Light.

After lots of hard work, the movie finally gets the green light. The finance, package, insurance and funding is secure, the film is then given the green light, meaning they can make the film. However there is no set template for a film, some funders might want to make massive changes but the head of departments can reject the idea.

The kick-off meeting. The casting Director. Is in charge of creating a shortlist of all the actors for all the roles that need to be played. The editor. Needs to choose the people that the movie will need in the future. Head of sound. He will also need to be hired because of the problems that might accrue that other people might not have the skills to sort out. Director of photography. This person will need to work along side with the director and the production designer to make sure everyone understands the design of the film and what it should look like. He and the director will also decide which equipment they want to use, eg camera’s. The production desinger. Needs to hire a team to makesure everything is created, eg. Props, sets. They also work with the location department to make sure everything fits. The first ad. This person make sure the film runs on time and works with the line and production manager to organise the shoot.

The line producer. Is there to make sure everyone is happy and has no issues with the movie and the role they play. This person also works very closely with the production manager.

Casting.

The casting director, gathers a list of possible profiles of actors that could play the role of the characters. They can do this in many ways, some may gathered actors through past experiences or put out adverts in acting publications and viewing show-reels. They will audition for the part in front of, the casting director, the production manager and the director.

Story boarding.