Pre-Production Paperwork
Finance
http://tomdw.weebly.com/pre-production.html
The funding of a project is one of the most vital aspects of pre-production. Without proper funding, the project itself can never get off the ground, funding pays for marketing, screenwriters, actors, editors, equipment and many other things- all of which are key to getting the project on its way.
Sources of Finance
There are various public funding resources available to independent filmmakers who are wanting to put together a project. Public funding is a way of using other's resources to put to a personal project, but there will only be a certain amount of funding available for those eligible, so there can be issues with public funding. Though it may be more personally secure for a person to acquire funding from somebody else, rather than one's own pocket. In order to be eligible for public funding, the scheme must look at the project plan and determine whether the project is worth investing in, as a result of the investors being interested in earning money back, it will be most likely that they will fund ideas which are tried and tested. So, those wishing to create more original or experimental movies, may find it harder to acquire funding, these projects would probably be left to independent funding as they may be deemed troublesome when it comes to earning money in the box office. The British Film Institute (BFI) has a number of schemes which can help fund independent producer's projects. They use the national lottery to put funding into helping various kinds of filmmakers, the BFI offers users to make use of the BFI network, this is a place where filmmakers can seek funding elsewhere and meet others who work in the industry who may be able to help with funding. The BFI isn't the only form of public funding available for independent film makers, the Northern Film offers a few different schemes for funding: Market Access Fund, North East Travel and Subsistence (NETS) fund and REACH. The REACH funding programme is for the higher quality of films, intended for progressing to more professional viewings, REACH offers a standard of £4000 and a slight increase, if the project itself is of high enough quality to be worth the extra funding. NETS can offer to cover the cost of travel for filmmakers with at least 2 years of production work and are situated within the North East. NETS is a welfare based funding scheme, so in order for an applicant to be eligible they must have a need which will alleviated when given payment by the scheme. Sourcing financing before filming is an important part of pre-production as it allows the entirety of the shoot to happen. Without financing, the crew cannot be brought on, equipment can't be hired and actors cannot be paid, and thus will not join the shoot. Funding not only allows for the shoot to be put into production in general, but it also enables the producers to work out the scale of the shoot, the more funding they have, the more ambitious a project it can be, so attaining funding prior to the beginning of production getting underway is key, as it allows the producers to work on the script if they have to dial it down or increase it's scale and to begin purchasing set dressing and working out what talent they can afford.
Requirements of Finance
The development financing will be the first stage of funding required for the production, this covers the cost of developing the screen play into a true script, checking over it and amount of money that a producer is willing to invest into the idea until it is suitable for viewing. Covering all future costs, this is intrinsic, without this the rest of the shoot would be unable to continue. A writer's agent will ensure that the writer is paid for their work throughout the script writing job, the writer will make sure that it is up to code with the producer's visions , again, this is vital as without the writer being paid to complete a good script, then the final resulting film would suffer as it may lack the polish if it were not done properly and given treatment by a professional writer. After this has been completed, the producer will then send the script off to directors, and those who are interested will then come and discuss the project, including their financial upkeep throughout the project's duration. After acquiring a director the film will then go on to take on cast and crew, the director will play into who is brought on to do what, as directors will have their own style which they will want to stick with, to have this they may want to hire certain cinematographers or staff. The cast and crew are what will allow the project to progress, but in order for them to be able to do their appointed tasks, pre-production paperwork must be filled out, such as risk assessments, pay slips, invoices and location recces.
Time
Time scheduling is a vital part of pre production. By arranging schedules, the cast and crew will know when they will need to be in on the sets and development stages. Without scheduling times, then the staff would be unable to show up time, which would have serious negative effects on the production. It also allows the booking of equipment, by having set times, productions can save money by not having to have the equipment booked for lengthy periods on the off chance they'll film.
Facilities
Facilities, such as editing rooms, studios, catering services, makeup rooms. All of these will need to be booked- time scheduling is key to this too, the owners of these facilities and the staff they employ will need to have specific times booked in- pinewood is a particularly famous recording studio, used for many major productions., Facilities are key to the production process as they allow producers to use equipment and areas they would otherwise not have access to. Back drops and props will be available if they book into prop design facilities and studios.
Location
Pre-planning locations is an important part of the pre-production process. In order for a location to be suitable for the film, it must pass the risk assessments and precautions must be taken to reduce the chance of injury- equipment hired if necessary- lest there be a chance of a lawsuit. Certain locations will require permission to use, so they will have to be booked, inquired about before hand. It would be poor practice to organise a shoot there, only to have the cast and crew turned away. This would not be cost effective.
Personnel
To make money back off a project, the producer should attempt to produce a polished, high quality product. However, a high quality product won't make money if nobody knows about it, so it is important to hire personnel to market the film. Crew members are also important, the producer will want trained cinematographers, prop designers, and sound technicians. If the personnel are not trained and good at their jobs, then it would reflect negatively on the final outcome. A poor quality at the end would be against interests and would be unlikely to earn money back.
Codes of Practice and Regulation
One of the primary reasons that production companies will go through with pre-production is to ensure their production is up to the codes and regulations of the industries, primarily in regards to health and safety. If the production was not up to the standard, people would refuse to come into work, people could get injured and the production company may be sued. Aside from the litigious concerns, the production company must also ensure that their ideas are copyright protected, if they do not have the appropriate copyrights and trademarking's in place. Without proper legal protection, then any and all ideas that the production company comes out with is liable for theft without a chance of legal recourse. A real world example of this is Harrison Ford's lawsuit against a production company on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, after two health and safety codes were breached, an accident occurred, which resulted in Ford being severely injured. Following this incident, Ford was able to file a lawsuit against the production company responsible for the breach of proper practice. Thus highlighting the need for these codes to be adhered, it is cost effective to adhere to these codes as a lapse in health and safety could prove to be far more expensive.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jul/26/star-wars-production-company-admits-health-and-safety-breaches-harrison-ford
Clearance and Copyright
Clearance and copyright regulations are used to ensure that all appropriate creators and owners of work are paid their appropriate royalties. When using an artist's music or creation in a production, unless the piece is royalty free, the production company will have to seek out the artist to come together with a deal, allowing the production to use the artist's creation, usually for a sum of money. Without this stage, if the company were to use an artist's work on their production then the company would be liable for legal action to be taken against them, as they are using another artist's work for monetary value without the proper clearance. There are laws to protect against this happening, which ensure that artists and creators alike are receiving the royalties they are due. Copyrighting work is essential to reducing the risk of theft and piracy, it allows producers to take legal action against those who attempt to steal their ideas and to enable them to be paid if somebody wishes to use their work.
Administration
Health and safety requirements for cast and crew will be kept to ensure that the set is as safe as possibly can be for personnel, records of spending, as to ensure that all of the studios funding goes to the correct places and can be used as business expenses. All of these will need to be kept as and be available to all those who require, any investors will wish to ensure that their money is being spent correctly, actors and crew will need to see that they are being paid the right amounts and if there is a health issue on set, the victim's health file should be given to those administering aid. Secret plot lines may be kept a secret throughout filming, this would either mean that certain actors get the real version whereas other actors get false lines, or the script could be given out for just each shoot session. By keeping these plot lines secretive, it prevents leaking of information. Call sheets, location information and casting are all open to the whole cast and crew. If these files were not openly available then it would lead to an issue in organisation. Without the location details being openly available, then the set designers would not know where to set up, what rigging they would need if it was a wide open space -which could lead to breaches in the health and safety act- if actors did not have the correct information then they could not arrive where they were required, this would cost the production a lot of money if they have brought the kit and all the other people over to do the work and are then unable to undergo any further production. So having both open and closed records is very important for security, health and safety and from a financial standpoint.
This process is usually carried out by an auditor or an accountant which the studio will hire. Their job is to make sure that payments made using studio money is spent correctly. This is done by acquiring the necessary documents across the whole production, these are things such as: receipts, invoices and contracts. This ensures that the film studio does not break the law or steal any investment money, the studio would be committing fraud. So auditing compliance is a vital part of the pre production process as it stops the whole studio being liable for a lawsuit, it makes sure that the funding is going to the correct places and can keep the production going without any legal troubles.
http://tomdw.weebly.com/pre-production.html
The funding of a project is one of the most vital aspects of pre-production. Without proper funding, the project itself can never get off the ground, funding pays for marketing, screenwriters, actors, editors, equipment and many other things- all of which are key to getting the project on its way.
Sources of Finance
There are various public funding resources available to independent filmmakers who are wanting to put together a project. Public funding is a way of using other's resources to put to a personal project, but there will only be a certain amount of funding available for those eligible, so there can be issues with public funding. Though it may be more personally secure for a person to acquire funding from somebody else, rather than one's own pocket. In order to be eligible for public funding, the scheme must look at the project plan and determine whether the project is worth investing in, as a result of the investors being interested in earning money back, it will be most likely that they will fund ideas which are tried and tested. So, those wishing to create more original or experimental movies, may find it harder to acquire funding, these projects would probably be left to independent funding as they may be deemed troublesome when it comes to earning money in the box office. The British Film Institute (BFI) has a number of schemes which can help fund independent producer's projects. They use the national lottery to put funding into helping various kinds of filmmakers, the BFI offers users to make use of the BFI network, this is a place where filmmakers can seek funding elsewhere and meet others who work in the industry who may be able to help with funding. The BFI isn't the only form of public funding available for independent film makers, the Northern Film offers a few different schemes for funding: Market Access Fund, North East Travel and Subsistence (NETS) fund and REACH. The REACH funding programme is for the higher quality of films, intended for progressing to more professional viewings, REACH offers a standard of £4000 and a slight increase, if the project itself is of high enough quality to be worth the extra funding. NETS can offer to cover the cost of travel for filmmakers with at least 2 years of production work and are situated within the North East. NETS is a welfare based funding scheme, so in order for an applicant to be eligible they must have a need which will alleviated when given payment by the scheme. Sourcing financing before filming is an important part of pre-production as it allows the entirety of the shoot to happen. Without financing, the crew cannot be brought on, equipment can't be hired and actors cannot be paid, and thus will not join the shoot. Funding not only allows for the shoot to be put into production in general, but it also enables the producers to work out the scale of the shoot, the more funding they have, the more ambitious a project it can be, so attaining funding prior to the beginning of production getting underway is key, as it allows the producers to work on the script if they have to dial it down or increase it's scale and to begin purchasing set dressing and working out what talent they can afford.
Requirements of Finance
The development financing will be the first stage of funding required for the production, this covers the cost of developing the screen play into a true script, checking over it and amount of money that a producer is willing to invest into the idea until it is suitable for viewing. Covering all future costs, this is intrinsic, without this the rest of the shoot would be unable to continue. A writer's agent will ensure that the writer is paid for their work throughout the script writing job, the writer will make sure that it is up to code with the producer's visions , again, this is vital as without the writer being paid to complete a good script, then the final resulting film would suffer as it may lack the polish if it were not done properly and given treatment by a professional writer. After this has been completed, the producer will then send the script off to directors, and those who are interested will then come and discuss the project, including their financial upkeep throughout the project's duration. After acquiring a director the film will then go on to take on cast and crew, the director will play into who is brought on to do what, as directors will have their own style which they will want to stick with, to have this they may want to hire certain cinematographers or staff. The cast and crew are what will allow the project to progress, but in order for them to be able to do their appointed tasks, pre-production paperwork must be filled out, such as risk assessments, pay slips, invoices and location recces.
Time
Time scheduling is a vital part of pre production. By arranging schedules, the cast and crew will know when they will need to be in on the sets and development stages. Without scheduling times, then the staff would be unable to show up time, which would have serious negative effects on the production. It also allows the booking of equipment, by having set times, productions can save money by not having to have the equipment booked for lengthy periods on the off chance they'll film.
Facilities
Facilities, such as editing rooms, studios, catering services, makeup rooms. All of these will need to be booked- time scheduling is key to this too, the owners of these facilities and the staff they employ will need to have specific times booked in- pinewood is a particularly famous recording studio, used for many major productions., Facilities are key to the production process as they allow producers to use equipment and areas they would otherwise not have access to. Back drops and props will be available if they book into prop design facilities and studios.
Location
Pre-planning locations is an important part of the pre-production process. In order for a location to be suitable for the film, it must pass the risk assessments and precautions must be taken to reduce the chance of injury- equipment hired if necessary- lest there be a chance of a lawsuit. Certain locations will require permission to use, so they will have to be booked, inquired about before hand. It would be poor practice to organise a shoot there, only to have the cast and crew turned away. This would not be cost effective.
Personnel
To make money back off a project, the producer should attempt to produce a polished, high quality product. However, a high quality product won't make money if nobody knows about it, so it is important to hire personnel to market the film. Crew members are also important, the producer will want trained cinematographers, prop designers, and sound technicians. If the personnel are not trained and good at their jobs, then it would reflect negatively on the final outcome. A poor quality at the end would be against interests and would be unlikely to earn money back.
Codes of Practice and Regulation
One of the primary reasons that production companies will go through with pre-production is to ensure their production is up to the codes and regulations of the industries, primarily in regards to health and safety. If the production was not up to the standard, people would refuse to come into work, people could get injured and the production company may be sued. Aside from the litigious concerns, the production company must also ensure that their ideas are copyright protected, if they do not have the appropriate copyrights and trademarking's in place. Without proper legal protection, then any and all ideas that the production company comes out with is liable for theft without a chance of legal recourse. A real world example of this is Harrison Ford's lawsuit against a production company on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, after two health and safety codes were breached, an accident occurred, which resulted in Ford being severely injured. Following this incident, Ford was able to file a lawsuit against the production company responsible for the breach of proper practice. Thus highlighting the need for these codes to be adhered, it is cost effective to adhere to these codes as a lapse in health and safety could prove to be far more expensive.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jul/26/star-wars-production-company-admits-health-and-safety-breaches-harrison-ford
Clearance and Copyright
Clearance and copyright regulations are used to ensure that all appropriate creators and owners of work are paid their appropriate royalties. When using an artist's music or creation in a production, unless the piece is royalty free, the production company will have to seek out the artist to come together with a deal, allowing the production to use the artist's creation, usually for a sum of money. Without this stage, if the company were to use an artist's work on their production then the company would be liable for legal action to be taken against them, as they are using another artist's work for monetary value without the proper clearance. There are laws to protect against this happening, which ensure that artists and creators alike are receiving the royalties they are due. Copyrighting work is essential to reducing the risk of theft and piracy, it allows producers to take legal action against those who attempt to steal their ideas and to enable them to be paid if somebody wishes to use their work.
Administration
Health and safety requirements for cast and crew will be kept to ensure that the set is as safe as possibly can be for personnel, records of spending, as to ensure that all of the studios funding goes to the correct places and can be used as business expenses. All of these will need to be kept as and be available to all those who require, any investors will wish to ensure that their money is being spent correctly, actors and crew will need to see that they are being paid the right amounts and if there is a health issue on set, the victim's health file should be given to those administering aid. Secret plot lines may be kept a secret throughout filming, this would either mean that certain actors get the real version whereas other actors get false lines, or the script could be given out for just each shoot session. By keeping these plot lines secretive, it prevents leaking of information. Call sheets, location information and casting are all open to the whole cast and crew. If these files were not openly available then it would lead to an issue in organisation. Without the location details being openly available, then the set designers would not know where to set up, what rigging they would need if it was a wide open space -which could lead to breaches in the health and safety act- if actors did not have the correct information then they could not arrive where they were required, this would cost the production a lot of money if they have brought the kit and all the other people over to do the work and are then unable to undergo any further production. So having both open and closed records is very important for security, health and safety and from a financial standpoint.
Legal
Health and safety planning is vital when it comes to working on a production as it reduces the possibility of legal action being taken against the production company. Health and safety at work acts ensure that employers treat their employees and facilities with due diligence. If the proper equipment is not hired and the necessary precautions taken to look after employees, then they would be legally allowed to get out of their contractual work as it would be against their well being, this would have a negative effect on the production as it would cost a lot of money to file court issues and to replace any lost employees.
Auditing ComplianceThis process is usually carried out by an auditor or an accountant which the studio will hire. Their job is to make sure that payments made using studio money is spent correctly. This is done by acquiring the necessary documents across the whole production, these are things such as: receipts, invoices and contracts. This ensures that the film studio does not break the law or steal any investment money, the studio would be committing fraud. So auditing compliance is a vital part of the pre production process as it stops the whole studio being liable for a lawsuit, it makes sure that the funding is going to the correct places and can keep the production going without any legal troubles.
Regulations
The British Board of Film Classification has specific regulations regarding to classification of a movie's appropriate age rating. This is an important thing to take into consideration during pre-production as certain age ratings cost more to produce, so they will be affected by the funding the film has received, which kinds of things the movie can show if it is going for a lower rating and whether the script will need changing to be able be eligible for a lower age rating.
Trade Unions and Professional Bodies
PACT is an organisation which works towards assisting it's members with business and legal support, they ensure that people are not being taken advantage of and are being paid the wage that they deserve. These guidelines that the unions set in place affect pre-production as they ensure everything is ran by the book. Everything has to be up to code to be eligible for people to come and work on it, lest the production people face legal action.
Storyboards
Storyboards are created to assist with the scrip writing process. The initial story will be laid out in storyboard format as it allows the producers and writers to visualise the world they are creating. Storyboards tend to have a standard layout to them, this allows crew members from a number of different studios who may be working on the film, to be able to look over the storyboards and understand what is desired of the final product. A standard look to the design of these story boards is easier to have a number of crew members come to work on the film, by straying from the standard layout of storyboards, crew members may not be able to understand what is wanted of the story and each shot, this is not cost effective as if they have been hired, it would be ideal if they were able to interpret what is wanted immediately, rather than having to have each storyboard explained to them. Having a standard layout is easier with hiring and saves time. By drawing it all out, with brief annotations, they can get a feel for how the world and the characters will work. By having the story in a visual format they will be able to see what will fit in and work and edit out the bits that don't. Without the story board process, the script may not have a continuous flow, and the world may feel jarring and nonsensical, if the script writer does not know what they are supposed to be writing and the logistics of the story then the final script will be lacking.
Scripts
Script templates are followed during the script writing process as an industry standard method of practice. This is because it avoids unnecessary confusion when it comes to handing the script out. Script templates clearly lay out sound design notes, actions and dialogue scenes. As scripts are handed out across all shoots under these same templates, if a script is completed without the use of such guidelines, then the recipients may find the script to be poorly laid out and perhaps even see it as unprofessional. Script templates will be used by the screenwriter, and they help the screenwriter to be able to send their script from actor to actor, director to director, etc. An industry standard script layout is far superior to any particular new formatting type a writer could come up with if they wish to have their idea made, as it easily allows them to send the script out to a number of studios and have it be understood.The script should include the necessary sound design, dialogue and action written into it, by doing this, it allows anyone who is reading it to have a better understanding of what the production will be like, and allows an initial layout of what equipment may be needed; I.E, if there is a scene where a car is supposed to be driving down a main road, a car should be booked to be used. By not following script templates, studios may not read the script as they see it as unprofessional, and if it is not followed correctly then there may be some integral parts of the movie being left out as they have not been included in the pre production side of the production. It is vital that all necessary parts of the film are accounted for right from the start, this way such components can be organised and set up, ready for the film. The script will undergo numerous changes, this is even possible once it has been completed, though this is not cost effective. An initial script will be made to outline the story and the general direction of the production, but parts may be changed to suit the actors the production manages to acquire in order to play to a certain actor's strengths, production budget to allow for alterations with which props and special effects can be used and which age rating the movie can afford to aim for. By altering the script, it will become better defined and of a higher quality, if this was not done then the final product will suffer. The script will have to be of a high quality, otherwise the film may struggle to make it's money back, without a well written script, people will dismiss the movie as poor.
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments are completed to assess which precautions will have to be taken after risks and hazards have been assessed. It could mean that some locations will be made unavailable to use as they may be deemed too unsafe for use. However, by planning this out before production has begun, it can save a lot of money, rather than going out to a location only to either leave as it is too dangerous or having an employee injure themselves and then face legal action. These are completed to save time and reduce the chance of injury.
Storyboards are created to assist with the scrip writing process. The initial story will be laid out in storyboard format as it allows the producers and writers to visualise the world they are creating. Storyboards tend to have a standard layout to them, this allows crew members from a number of different studios who may be working on the film, to be able to look over the storyboards and understand what is desired of the final product. A standard look to the design of these story boards is easier to have a number of crew members come to work on the film, by straying from the standard layout of storyboards, crew members may not be able to understand what is wanted of the story and each shot, this is not cost effective as if they have been hired, it would be ideal if they were able to interpret what is wanted immediately, rather than having to have each storyboard explained to them. Having a standard layout is easier with hiring and saves time. By drawing it all out, with brief annotations, they can get a feel for how the world and the characters will work. By having the story in a visual format they will be able to see what will fit in and work and edit out the bits that don't. Without the story board process, the script may not have a continuous flow, and the world may feel jarring and nonsensical, if the script writer does not know what they are supposed to be writing and the logistics of the story then the final script will be lacking.
Scripts
Script templates are followed during the script writing process as an industry standard method of practice. This is because it avoids unnecessary confusion when it comes to handing the script out. Script templates clearly lay out sound design notes, actions and dialogue scenes. As scripts are handed out across all shoots under these same templates, if a script is completed without the use of such guidelines, then the recipients may find the script to be poorly laid out and perhaps even see it as unprofessional. Script templates will be used by the screenwriter, and they help the screenwriter to be able to send their script from actor to actor, director to director, etc. An industry standard script layout is far superior to any particular new formatting type a writer could come up with if they wish to have their idea made, as it easily allows them to send the script out to a number of studios and have it be understood.The script should include the necessary sound design, dialogue and action written into it, by doing this, it allows anyone who is reading it to have a better understanding of what the production will be like, and allows an initial layout of what equipment may be needed; I.E, if there is a scene where a car is supposed to be driving down a main road, a car should be booked to be used. By not following script templates, studios may not read the script as they see it as unprofessional, and if it is not followed correctly then there may be some integral parts of the movie being left out as they have not been included in the pre production side of the production. It is vital that all necessary parts of the film are accounted for right from the start, this way such components can be organised and set up, ready for the film. The script will undergo numerous changes, this is even possible once it has been completed, though this is not cost effective. An initial script will be made to outline the story and the general direction of the production, but parts may be changed to suit the actors the production manages to acquire in order to play to a certain actor's strengths, production budget to allow for alterations with which props and special effects can be used and which age rating the movie can afford to aim for. By altering the script, it will become better defined and of a higher quality, if this was not done then the final product will suffer. The script will have to be of a high quality, otherwise the film may struggle to make it's money back, without a well written script, people will dismiss the movie as poor.
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments are completed to assess which precautions will have to be taken after risks and hazards have been assessed. It could mean that some locations will be made unavailable to use as they may be deemed too unsafe for use. However, by planning this out before production has begun, it can save a lot of money, rather than going out to a location only to either leave as it is too dangerous or having an employee injure themselves and then face legal action. These are completed to save time and reduce the chance of injury.
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