Understanding Filmmaking

Scene One- The Idea

Source one: Sources Of Inspiration

• Remakes:Charlie and the Chocolate factory was remade in 2005 from the original version produced in 1971 different characters and development in technology all contribute to the success of the new version.
• Real Life Events:Calender Girls was made from a real life story in 2003.
• Original Ideas:The film Ted was made in 2012 from an original idea, these are the most valuable commodity in the film industry.
• Adaptations: The Twilight Saga was adapted first from the author Stephenie Meyer's series of books. The first one being 'Twilight' these books inspired major success and can generate publicity.
• The Producer:Producers are akways looking for great ideas for new films and its them that decides to make this 'great idea' into a reality. E.g Wlt Disney
• The Director:A director can visualise a script and make it into a reality, they know how to take a story and put it onto the screen. E.g Steven Spielberg.
• The Writer:the writer defines and clarifies the whole idea, the plot and the main characters and turns it into something tangible. E.g J K Rowling
• Treatment:The writer will then write a treatment, a one page description of the plot and the main characters. E.g J K Rowling writes a treatment for The Philosophers Stone.
• Pitch:A pitch contains all the information the producer needs in order to sell the idea to financiers to commission a script.

Scene Two- Development Finance

Pitching the Project:

• The producer uses the treatment and pitch, plus their powers of persuasion, to get money to develop a script. 

Production Companies:

• The produces approaches the film production companies and persuades them that the film is going to make profits, they may offer development money, to develop a script

Sales, Distribution and Broadcast:

• The producer can offer the future sales and broadcast rights for the film in return for money to develop the script.

Public Investment:

• The producer can alse apply to a public funding body such as the UK film council for a development grant.

Private Finance:

• The producer can even pitch the film to private investors, in the hope they will support the project.

Tying down the Writer:

• The producer can now use the development money to tie the writer down to develop the project.

Scene Three- Script Development

• Synopsis- The producer and the writer agree/disagree on the key scenes/events in the film
• Step outline-The step outl;ine contains short written descriptions of all the scenes that will eventually make up the script (detailing action and scene breaks).
• Drafts- Film script drafts whether first or final drafts dont contain just diaglogue, but also the action and events on screen and even transitions between scenes.
• Revisions-Once the writer and producer are happy with the draft, it is sent to the financiers who will all have their own ideas
• Final draft-Once everyone is happy with the script (the director, producer and the writer), it is locked off and becomes a final draft. Now the writer gets paid
• Sales treatment- The finak stage is the creation of a sales treatment (a synopsis designed to sell the film to potential financiers, in other words an advert for the script).

Scene Four- Packaging

• What is packaging?- This is where the producer and director must now 'package' the script into a full commerical proposition, which is then ready for financing.
• The cast- Well known stars are commercial assets and are crucial in attracting funding to a film, some stars are known as Green Light Names (people which are well known in the industry or at the box office to secure financing for a film e.g Tom cruise)
• The heads of department- Commerciallu successful heads of department carry considerable power in the industry with knowledgeable financiers. These include: The production designer, the editor, the director of photography and 'the package' (the producer's assistant).
• Detailed budget and production schedule- To turn the film into a proper business propostion, the producer must know how much it will actually cost to make. The producer gets help from a line producer to supervise the budget, hire the crew, approve purchase orders and make sure all departments are doing their jobs properly and within the budget. E.g jane Frazer, Line Producer for Pride and Prejudice.
• Finance plan and recoupment schedule- Potential investors want to know how the producer plans to raise the money, and how she plans to pay them back. this includes The Recoupment Schedule & The Finance Plan.
• The 'complete' package- Now the producer has 'packaged' the film into a viable commercial proposition. Now the producer must present this package to a number of potential funders to get money to go on and make the film.

Scene Five- Financing

• The Market- The producer now has to complete the hardest part of filmmaking, attracting the investment to make the film. The director may also be able to help out at this stage, especially is he is well known in the industry
• Investment- The main potential sources of invesment are: Private Finance (private individuals willing to invest in film projects), Co-productions (production companies across the globe are reluctant to act as sole investors many are too small or dont want the risk. So they will enter into a partnership with the other production company sharing the costs, the risks and the profits).
• Pre-sales-The producer can also raise the money from 'Pre-sales' which is selling the rights to the film before it has even been made.
• Banks and Cap Funding- Some departments of banks specialise in film finance. They invest in commercial projects and also offer loans. E.g HSBC film services.
• Completion Bonds- Most financiers insist that a completion bond is in place before they agree to invest. This is insurance for the production.
• 'Green Light'- Once all the essential finding and insurance is secured, the film gets the 'Green Light' i.e. the go ahead.

Scene Six- Pre-production

• The kick-off meeting-  Once all the heads of department are hired (The casting director, the editor, the head of sound, the director of photography, the production designer, the 1st assisant director and the line producer). The shooting script can then be circulated and pre-production begins in earnest.
• Casting- The casting director, with the director and producer, begins the long process of identifying and casting the actors. An average film will have over 30 cast members.
• Storyboard- Storyboards are like blueprints for a film. where every shot is planned in advance by the director and the director of photography with the help of a storyboard artist.
• Production Design- The production designer plans every aspect of how the film will look, and hires people to design and build each part. this is done with the help of an art director, location manager, construction manager and costume designer. A set model is then made.
• Special effects planning- Effects shots are planned in much more detail than normal shots and can take months to design and build. The person responsible for all of this is the visual effects supervisor who uses computer technology (CGI) and special physical effects.
• The production Unit- The 1st assistant director, the line producer and the production manager make up the key logistic triangle  of the production, all having individuals roles to help make the production happen.

Scene Seven-The shoot

• First day of the principal photography: This is the key moment in the film production, shooting begins, and funding is released.
• Camera: The camera department is responsible for getting all the footage that the director and editor need in order to tell the story.
• Lighting and sound: Once the lighting and sound have set up and hair and makeup have been checked the shot can now begin.
• Acting: The actors as the only members of the film personnel that will be seen by the public, have a lot of responsibility, to make the film a huge success. Actors need to create a plausiable world and pretend that they are not surrounded by the crew of camera men and producers.
• Special physical effect: Every special effect is carefully constructed and must be filmed with a minimum risk of injury to cast and crew.
• Chain of command: Film productions are run with milatary precision.If they fall behind schedule, the financiers and insurers may step in.

Scene Eight-Post production

• Rough Cut: As the processed footage comes in, the editor assembles it into scenes and creates a narrative sequence for the film.
• Post production sound: Once the picture is locked, the sound department works on the audio track laying, creating and editing every sound.
• Digital effects and titles: Digital effects are added by specialist effects compositors and titles and credits are added in a compositing suite.  
• Grade and colour: The final stage of the picture edit is to adjust the colour and establish the fine aesthetic of the film.
• Final mix: After picture lock, the rough sound mix goes to a dubbing theatre where the sound mixer sets the final levels.
• Final cut: After the final cut the film reaches full lock, it is now finished and ready for duplication. 

Scene Nine- Sales

• Selling the product: To help sell the film to distributors the producer secures the services of a sales agent. A specialist in film sales. 
• The trailer: To help sell the film a trailer is made in order to show busy film buyers the most marketable aspects of the film.
• Sales Toolkit: The producer and the sales agent collect everything they will need to sell the film to distributors.
• Taking the film to the market: The market is saturated with films so the producer must go to great lengths to attract attention to the film.
• Screenings: A high profile screening at one of the top film festivals can be great for generating heat around a film. 
• Deals: The producer now has a hot product and can negotiate good deals with the distributors around the world. 

 Scene 10- Marketing

• The marketing team- To help sell the film to distibutors, the producer secures the services of a sales agent, a specialist in film sales. They then process through different marketing methods which is divided into two types ('above-the-line' and 'below-the-line'). 'Above-the-line' includes trailers, TV spots and poster campaigns and 'Below-the-line' marketing is more subtle, involving indirect forms of publicity such as press coverage, product tie-ins and merchandising.
• The audience- Knowing your audience is essential, and the marketing team runs test screenings to see how the film is recieved.
• Advertising- The potential audience for the film is targeted with posters, cinema trailers, TV spots and other marketing materials. E.g. The Batman Returns poster campaign on the side of a public bus.
• Press and media coverage- Television, radio, newspapers and magazines can all help create positive word-of-mouth about a film. Film journalists can help sell a film with good criticism and reviews.
• The intranet and new marketing models- The birth of digital media and the internet has flooded the world with information, but also made niche marketing possible by being able to aim their project at relevant audiences who are most likely to be interesting in what they are trying to sell rather than wasting money on nationwide advertising for people to just ignore it. E.g. Sci-fi fantasy films being advertised on gaming websites aimed at people who are interested in that genre.
• Selling the film to exhibitors-  In order to get the film to audiences, the distributors must negotiate a deal with the cinemas to screen it, a cinema programmer will watch all the films available and plan their exhibition schedule, they are the key decision makers in the exhibition world.

Scene 11- Marketing

• The premier- A high-profile, star-studded premiere is used to launch the film to the public with an explosion of media coverage. This is how fame really helps to sell films, stars have loyal fan bases following their careers already, this is why casting the right actors/actresses is so important. An example of a recent high-profile premiere is 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' starring Emma Watson.
• UK cinemas- The UK has over 3,500 cinema screens, although not all are British-owned, or show British films. Cinemas are the most important market for any film, as success at the box office can guarantee increased revenues in subsequent 'windows' (DVD sales and rentals, hospitality, broadcast, product licensing).
• Prints and logistics- Distributors supply the exhibitors with prints of the film, the more screens the film is shown on, the more prints are needed.
• Box office performance- Data about film attendance is collected continuously, and used by the cinemas to decide which films to cancel and which to prolong. if a film is underperformin, cinemas simply cannot afford to risk losing valuable income waiting for a film to become more popular.
• Revenues- The exhibitors take their share of the box office receipts, after which the distributors recoup their marketing costs. The box office gross is just the starting measure for what everyone involved will make from the film.
• Recoupment- Once the distributors have been paid, the financiers can recover their investments, as laid out in the recoupment schedule. Even if the film is a hit in the box office , the costs of marketing and exhibiting means that the producer is unlikely to see large profits once the exhibitor and distributor have been paid. So, the profits are most likely to come from DVD sales and broadcast.

Scene 12- Other windows

• Hospitality- Hospitality sales for hotel channels and in-flight entertainment can bring in millions in additional revenue.
• DVD and video- UK audiences spend more on DVDs than on cinema tickets, so success on DVD can compensate for box office failure.
• Broadcast- Television is the final source of revenue. Rights are sold separately for pay-tv showings and terrestrial broadcast.
• The game of the film- Rights for computer games and other product licenses can be extremely lucrative sources of additional revenue. The is a huge growing popularity in video games and is even seen as a threat to the future of film industry.
• Profit?- Once the film has made a profit, the producer and key creative people can reap their rewards. But sometimes even if the film has been a big hit, if the deals at the financing stage were not favourable they might not get much back at all.
• The end?- The final income from a film is never know, distribution continues for years and years and it may even be re-released in the future as an anniversary special  for example.