I have been
asked by the college to prepare a blog post to explain to new students, who are
considering making their first film, how you plan your short film productions
and how you monitor each stage of the production process.
The way that a film can affect my planning compared to creating a
TV show is mostly the script and length of the story available, usually a film
on average clocks in at around 130 minutes, granted, some are longer, and some
are shorter but 130 minutes is the average. This means the script would have to
nicely fit into that 130 minute mark, anything longer than 230 minutes could be
deemed ‘too long’ and anything shorter than 115 minutes could be deemed ‘too
short’.
Time management
Time management is very important when creating a film if a film misses a deadline it can be catastrophic.time management is the difference between a good film and a great film; more time = more productivity.
A timetable is a great way to keep up on exactly what needs doing and when, in doing this will give you and your crew the ability to work together as a team or work force to get on with separate tasks to get the end result in time for production.
Resources
This is everything physical you will need to create a film; and because its a film we are creating, actors are an obvious must, so advertisements for an audition should be created to actually present actors are needed, however for main actors especially in a blockbuster professional film should be hand picked so long as they actually want to take part in the film, so an offer must be put in place to multiple actors and then you get a clear idea of who will play what in the film. (Below) this is a casting sheet template, this it the document used to hire the actors or cast in the production stage.
Props however can be bought or rented. Consumables such as food and drinks, prop drugs and alcohol can not be rented that's disgusting! no, they must be bought like you would normally for consumables as they cannot returned.
Cars, costumes/clothing, weapons, and other physical non consumable props can be either bought or rented so long the condition is the same as when you bought it, don't expect to be able to crash the car for a shot in the film and then be aloud to return it. To rent a prop will later help you in the finance area of the production as it will be much cheaper and cost effective for larger props such as cars, however it could be cheaper to buy prop weapons etc.
Camera Equipment for an indie film will usually be rented as they are very expensive however in a professional film most equipment is owned because for a 2 year production it would be cheaper to buy the main cameras as they will be excessively used however certain lighting equipment should be rented if there only to be used once or twice depending on the price to rent per day. this also goes hand in hand with the sound equipment as they are the same premise.
Locations are rented unless you or someone on the crew with your consent already owns that location, if that is not the case you have to fill out a location scouting sheet (below) this is a way to present exactly where you are filming. then you must rent the property for the price given.
Budget and Finance
Keep your mind on your money and your money on your mind. Wise words when it comes to you film, imagine getting to the end of a 2 year film and running out of funding of the last leg of filming, this is the factor you should count as the most important or you will suffer massively. Now i am going to assume this for a professional , funded production as indie films are a lot more 'guerilla'. if you have previously brought out a film then your in luck, ticket sales, DVD/Blu-ray purchases and streaming company's can help fund your next project, however i am going to presume this is not the case and you need other ways to fund this film of yours.
Equity
Hard cash investments made to your project by a single investor, a group
of investors, and personal investments from colleagues/family. Equity
investments require that the investor own a stake in the film, this is essentially a loan in a way as they MUST BE PAYED BACK.
Pre-sales
Pre-sales agreements are pre-arranged and executed contracts made with
distributors before the film is produced. These agreements are based on
the strength of the project's marketability and sales potential in each country/area. A distributor will create a value for your project given the script,
the talent (actors), and crew, as well as the marketing approach, and
then enable you to take out a bank loan. before you profit from your project you MUST pay back the loan, this cannot be stressed more!
Government grants
A number of governments run programs to support the cost of producing films. Governments are willing to provide these supports as they hope it will
attract creative producers and directors to their area and create
employment for that area in the film industry. Also, a film shot in a particular location can have the
benefit of advertising that location to a world audience like how lord of the rings is actually filmed in new Zealand, that country has seen a 50% increase of tourism since its release creating massive amounts of money for the government there. Because of this being a grant rather than a loan it is not expected to be payed back!
Private Investors
One of the hardest types of film financing pieces to obtain is private
investor funds. These are funds invested by an individual who is looking
to possibly add more risk to his investment portfolio, or a
high-net-worth individual with a keen interest in films.
Product placement
Remember Marty Mcflies self lacing Nike trainers and the cool futuristic Pepsi he buys in the future cafe in back to the future 2? or the mail service tom hanks works for in castaway? Well, that's product placement! Nike,Pepsi and Fed-Ex payed the directors of those films to insert there company/product somewhere in there films so they could get easy advertisements and more publicity but this will also help the directors fund there film.
Communication to the cast
This is how your going to get that great film idea out of that brain of yours and onto the screen because the crew cant read your mind so you have to visually show them exactly what you want and exactly what your image is in your head because everyone is totally different.
Story boards
a story board is a visual aid with short notes to show the cast and crew exactly where the camera should be positioned, where the actors should stand if they are in that scene, who is in what scene, how the scene should look, and the tone of the scene. (below) a story board template.
Legal
Finally, see if you have the right permissions to broadcast your films.
Copyright
Make sure that you have permission to use almost anything in your film, its a pain but it will save you a lot of backlash. The second someone can find a way to sue over copyright infringement, just like Mike Tyson, poor iron mike is now a walking copyright infringement as his notorious facial tattoo as his artist who created the tattoo sued the directors of the hangover films because of the tattoo being in the film even though the tattoo is permanently printed on Mikes face.
