Torian Cox: AA57724
AS Media Studies:
Film industry: Lesson 1 Homework.
Production: find out the stages involved in producing a film.
Producers would usually start with an idea for a film. This could be in the format of a book for example. They would then look at the financing; involves budget forecasting, finding investors etc. the screenplay could also be considered before pre-production.
Pre-production; for a small video company, pre-production may refer to everything that happens before shooting begins, for example, meeting with the client, research, storyboarding, location planning etc. for feature films , pre-production is more specific and only begins when other milestones have been met such as financing, screenplay, casting and major staffing. In this case pre-production includes: Location scouting, Prop and wardrobe identification and preparation, Special effects identification and preparation, Production schedule, Set construction, Script-locking (semi-finalisation of the script) and Script read-through with cast, director and other interested parties.
In film and video, production refers to the part of the process in which footage is recorded. This is what most people imagine when they think of a film being made — actors on sets, cameras rolling, etc. The production phase is also known as principal photography.
In large feature films the beginning of the production phase marks the "point of no return", i.e. the point at which it is no longer financially viable to cancel the project. At this point it is almost always cheaper to continue until the project is finished than to deal with the financial fall-out of cancelling. The goal of principal photography is obviously to record all required shots; however it is fairly common to shoot "pick-up" shots in post-production. Pick-up shots may be required when a mistake is noticed, a script change is made (this is unusual), or even if a performance is deemed to be unsatisfactory. In music, production usually refers to the creative direction of a project. Unlike a film producer who is more of a manager, a music producer has a very hands-on role in the creative development.
Post-production is the third and final major phase of the production process. It is often referred to simply as post, e.g. "We can sort that out in post”. There are many things which can happen in post-production. Common tasks include: Editing video footage editing the soundtrack, adding sound effects, music, etc. Adding titles and graphics colour and exposure correction, adding special effects, re-shooting certain scenes if required ("pick-up" shots). In some cases post-production is relatively straightforward, consisting of choosing and arranging footage in the correct sequence. In most cases however, post-production is a time-consuming job taking longer than the actual production phase.
Distribution: exactly how do films get from the edit houses to the audience?
The distributor will enter into an agreement with the cinema to screen the film on certain 'play-dates'. It is the responsibility of the distributor to arrange the transportation of the film to the cinema, as part of its wider coordination of print use across the UK. Logistics represents the phase of distribution at its most basic - supplying and circulating copies of the film to theatres, of tapes and DVDs to shops and video rental stores, and managing the effectiveness of the supply.
Marketing: get some examples of different types of marketing (publicity) as you can.
Films are marketed to the public via a number of different ways.
Trailers are a mainstay of film promotion, because they are delivered directly to movie-goers. They screen in theatres before movie showings. Generally they tell the story of the movie in a highly condensed fashion compressing maximum appeal into two and half minutes, Film posters, Slideshows - stills, trivia, and trivia games from the film, shown between movie show times, Standees (freestanding paperboard life-size images of figures from the film)
Television and radio, Internet, Promotional tour, print, in theatres.
Exhibition: how do audiences get to see films?
Well, personally as a viewer I mainly get to see films via the cinema because it is generally most popular, however, I do watch films on the internet on sites such as Netflix. I also watch films on DVD’s, a film festival and sometimes via projector.
