Film Production

The Idea

this is the first part of a film that comes together. ideas can be original or taken from something already made like a reboot, sequel, prequel, based on a book, etc. (well, technically nothing is original because everything comes from some sort of inspiration, but as long as it's inspiration and not out-right copying then it is considered to be an original idea). The idea initially comes from the writer, who puts their idea down in to word form to show to a producer. the producer then decides if they like the idea and if they do they agree to make the idea into a reality. the next recruitment is the director, who will visualise the idea in film form and direct everything in the practical sense of the film, this includes stage directions, CGI, camera angles and positions, etc. then a treatment is written by the writer. the treatment is a one page description/summary of the film and the characters.then the pitch is made, this is all the information that the producer uses to pitch the film to financiers to commission a script.

Some examples of original ideas are Donnie Darko, Pulp Fiction.

A reboot is a remake of a film which already exists e.g. The Amazing Spider-Man, Friday 13th.

An adaptation is a film which has it's ideas taken from another form of media like a book or a comic e.g. Harry Potter, The Avengers.




Development Finance

for a film to get money to be produced, a producer must approach production companies (i.e. Warner Bros) for money to produce it. The producer needs to pitch the film idea and persuade the company to fund production of the film. this can be hard for certain films, for example, the director and producer of The Human Centipede had to lie to the company for them to fund it because of how sick and twisted the plot was. the producer can also give rights of the film to the company for further funding to develop the script a little more. the producer can also apply for public funding from places such as the UK film council for a development grant. the producer can also pitch to private investors for support in the project.

A UK example is the Harry Potter series.



Script Development

first of all, the writer produces a synopsis of the film, which includes stuff like the key scenes and events in the film. the writer and the producer have to agree on the synopsis. most writers create a step outline which they use to plan the script. part of the writers pay is conditional to the quality and delivery of the first draft, this can be seen as the hardest part of screen writing. once both the writer and producer are happy with the first draft, they send the draft to financiers who will all have their own ideas. when everyone is happy with the finalised script, it becomes "locked off" and the writer gets paid. despite the lock off, there is one more stage in the process, which is the creation of a sales treatment (another synopsis created to sell the idea to potential financiers.



Packaging

the producer and the director now have to get the script into a full commercial package ready for financing. a common way of getting the package more commercial is to attach well known stars to it. respected and successful HODs (heads of department) can help considerably with the financing of the film. the producer also needs to know how much it will actually cost to make the film to make a proper business proposition. potential investors will want to know how the producer will raise the money to make the film, and how the producer will pay them back.



Financing

financiers can be all over the world, so the producer has to be prepared to travel to secure the investments. the producer will have a lawyer to draw up contracts to seal deals from the investors. the producer can also raise money for "pre-sales" which means selling rights of the film before it has even been made. departments of banks can specialise in funding films, so that can be another way of raising money for the film. most financiers insist that a completion bond is in place before the film gets made (a completion bond is when, if the films budget runs over and out of money, the insurer will pay the necessary funds to complete it. once all the financing is done, the film gets the "green light".



Pre-Production

 once all the HODs are hired, pre-production begins. the casting director, director and producer will begin a long process of casting the actors of the script. storyboards are created by hired story board artists, they work with the director and the director of photography to create the blueprints of the film in advance of shooting. the production designer plans and designs the aesthetic aspects of the film and how each scene will look and also hires people like costume designers and location managers to help with it all. effects shots revolve around the special effects of the film, these get planned in  much more detail than normal shots and can take months to fully develop. the 1st AD, Line Producer and Production Manager handle all the logistics as a 3, also known as the key logistic triangle.


The Shoot

this is the most key moment in the film. as the shooting begins the funding is released. this is where the real delivery of the film comes from. the camera department are responsible for getting all the footage that the director and editor need to tell the story and bring it all together. once the light and sound are set up and the make-up is finished then the shoot can begin. in all of this, it is the actors' jobs to create an emotional and believable performance to draw the audience in to enjoying the film. every special effect is carefully done and made to ensure minimal injury risk to cast and crew, sometimes stunt-men are used but not if the actor has signed responsibility of injury to themselves if they wish to do the stunts i.e. in Skyfall, Daniel Craig himself did the scene on top of the train in which he is shot off it on a real moving train. film sets are run with tight precision, if they fall behind schedule then the financiers and insurers may step in.



Post-Production

as the processed footage comes in, the editor will assemble it together into scenes and create a narrative sequence for the film. editors are extremely important to the making of the film, they essentially remake what has been shot in raw footage in to something of cinematic quality, there are a lot of important peoples approvals riding on what the editor does. once the picture is locked, the sound department go about working on the audio track laying, remaking, editing and creating every sound, from an orchestral suite for background music to making the sound of a horses hooves hitting ground. digital effects are added by specialist effects compositors. titles and credits are edited in a compositing suite. the final editing of the film is for the colourist to establish the final aesthetic of the film to make sure the films scenes look like they all belong in the same film. after picture lock, the rough sound mix goes off to a dubbing theatre where the sound mix gets the final levels. the film reaches "full lock" after the final cut. unfortunately in most cases, the director doesnt get much of a see in the final cut, which has been spoken out against as unfair by famous directors, like Milos Forman, because of the hard work and sweat a director puts into making the film. the investors and distributors see most of the final cut. they see this as a business necessity in case the movie becomes a financial flop.



Sales

the producer needs a sales agent to sell the film to distributors. to help selling the film further, a trailer is made to show to film buyers. making a successful trailer is an art in itself, as it's a small amount of time to fit a good plot outline, without giving too much away of course, and hook the audience seeing the trailer. the producer and the sales agent then collect everything together to sell the film to film buyers. the film market is full of films, so the producer and sales agent have to go to great lengths to get the film to be noticed. high-profile screenings can be essential to creating "heat" around a film. the stars of a film are very often used to sell the film too as big names create awareness in the public. once the producer has a hot product, good deals can be made with distributers all over the world.


Marketing

the distribution company will have a marketing team to identify the best way of marketing the film i.e. what will "hook" the audience. the marketing team also run test screenings to see how the trailer goes down with the general public, and if they have to make any changes/improvements. "above the line" marketing is stuff like bus advertisements, it's a way of really letting people know about the film. adverts like these will often include the names of the stars and  ratings from established critics, for example, 5 stars from The Guardian is sure to turn some heads. telivision and radio can also be used to get the film out to the public. the internet is also a brilliant and convenient way of advertisement and marketing films. the distributers also have to negotiate deals with cinemas and exhibitors to screen the films to the public.


Exhibition

high-profile premiers are used to launch the film which usually involves a flood of media attention. after the premier, the film is shown in normal cinemas. the UK has 3,500 of them. distributers supply the exhibitors with prints of the film, the more screens the film is shown on, the more prints are needed. the exhibitors then take their share of the box office receipts. after this, the distributers recouperate their marketing costs. once the distributers have been paid, the financiers get their money back according to the recoupment schedule.



Other Windows

hotel sales and in-flight movies can bring millions in extra revenue. more gets spent on DVDs than cinema tickets, so DVD sales can make up for any lost money in box office failures. TV is the final source of revenue. rights are sold separately to pay TV showings. extra revenue can even come from selling rights to create video games based on the film. once the film has made a profit, the creative people in the film making can get their share of the profits. there is no known final income from the film. for instance, there may be a re-release like Back To The Future had.