Learning Aim D: pre-production evaluation

Evie Ruczenczyn

Evaluation

Throughout the pre-production process I managed to accurately complete all pre-production tasks, which can split into three categories: financial (budget for example), logistics (character permission/cast release forms) and creative (script/storyboard). By completing all of the major pre-production elements effectively, it will allow my short film to be produced a lot smoother and be more organised when it comes to creating this film.

 

Finance

In order to create the short film, I needed funding and a budget, to explore this I researched different funding models and then I chose which one would be the most suitable option for me. I did this by making a document which outlined all of the ways I could’ve received funding and then writing the pros and cons of each. This was an informative way of setting out all of the possible solutions of funding, which I feel is clear and easy to understand. Because I am only producing a small-scale production I knew (after researching) that self-funding would be my best option as outsider source funding can be hard to find a provider for funding. If I had chosen another funding option, such as using online donation platforms (e.g.- Kickstarter) then I could be waiting a longer period to begin production than I am now by using self-funding. This would slow the production process down until I could’ve received enough donations.  By using the self-funding method, I can control how quickly I begin production, however there are disadvantages to using this method compared to the advantages of other models. Other models such as being funded by production companies means a much larger budget, this would help to improve set designs, costumes, make-up and would overall make my short film production look more professional.

Then, I created a budget, which included all the possible things I would need to use for filming. Looking at my production schedule, I have chosen to film over 9 days, including reshoots, which would add up to a large amount as I am paying for camera hire for 9 days. My actual budget for my short film is £0 because I am self-funding this and borrowing equipment from school therefore I needed to work out a way to not too much spend money during the filming process to keep my costs extremely low.

MY BUDGET PLAN EXAMPLE                                                                    

INDUSTRY EXAMPLE 

When creating my budget plan, I knew I needed to make it look professional and have a familiar, recognised format which is user friendly. I feel this makes it look professional and up to the industry standard. By creating a document that involved a table this allowed the layout to be very organised which will help me during production and postproduction stages. To create my table, I wrote down all different categories and things I would need to pay for including contingency money which would cover any extra or additional costs. If I didn’t create a budget within my pre-production planning I wouldn’t have a limit to stick to when spending money, this could ultimately lead me to spending additional money. Within my table, I chose to make the column headings in bold so they would stand out, this is similar to the industry example. Furthermore, I also chose to separate the costs within my budget plan to have above the line costs and below the line costs, whereas the industry example just had a highlighted break between, this gave my budget plan a logical divide to separate the two costs. I researched into typically how much camera hire would be for 9 days, this was going to be in the region of £65, but because I am hiring this camera from school, my actual cost is going to be £0. I also investigated below the line costs which are things such as hotels, travels, and food/drink, as I am filming locally there is no need for travel expenses as everywhere is walkable or a short drive away – this will be by cast/crew members that can drive. By including travel expenses in my budget, it is like the industry standard budget but realistically, this was unnecessary within my budget plan. By making my budget plan be thoroughly detailed and look professional, this will ultimately save me money throughout the production and post-production stages as I have thought about all necessary areas, I will spend the money rather than accidentally missing parts out of the budget plan. This would result in extra money being spent and therefore making the total cost of production larger.

For a short film project, crew, transport, and catering would have been too expensive and out of the budget, so I decided to involve my friends as volunteers so I can keep the budget low. I believe telling them to bring their own food/drinks is necessary as it is not possible to keep the budget low whilst trying to cater for a whole cast and crew team.

Creative

The creative element of my pre-production planning is essential as it ties up all my short film concepts and brings my ideas to life. This is in my opinion, the most important stage of pre-production as if this is not done correctly then crew may not know what to film and cast won’t know what to say or in what manner. Creative pre-production elements consist of mainly scripting and storyboards but also smaller details such as researching film conventions. Writing the script is a fundamental part of producing my short film as actors know what to say, when to say it and in what tone, it also pieces together the whole film for anyone involved who isn’t grasping the concept of my short film.

When planning for the creative element of my pre-production work, it was essential for me to brainstorm ideas first, this will positively impact my work as getting an idea early will allow me to expand and adapt parts of it to ensure I get the best outcome for my idea as possible. After I did this and narrowed my ideas down to the one, I thought had the most potential. I then researched into my chosen genre conventions and studied three successful films in order to gain inspiration from these. If I had not have done this as part of my pre-production planning, I wouldn’t have been able to plan to include certain genre convention in my short film, for example using certain camera positioning and angles to assert dominance over other characters and lighting set ups to create enough darkness for the image to become eerie.

MY SCRIPT EXTRACT 

INDUSTRY STANDARD EXAMPLE 

                  

My aim was to make my script look thorough, comprehensive, and organised by setting it out in the typical format this makes it look professional and exactly like the industry standard example. I also chose to use the same typography that is used in all industry scripts to make my work adhere to the mandatory layout. I believe this shows the reliableness and proven to be successful method of writing a script. I chose to further stick to these conventions by stating whether the scene filmed was going to be internal or external (marked by INT/EXT at the top of each scene), this ultimately helps me as the producer to know where each scene is going to be filmed, this will also stop miscellaneous tasks like going inside and outside every time. This will help to make the production days a lot smoother and time efficient. After analysing my script, my aims were partially met as it aesthetically matches up to the industry example, yet I could have included extra details that would help my cast by adding what tone of voice or any body language that was necessary in my short film. Regardless of this, I enjoyed creating my script as it mentally brought my production to life. Even though I am working at a small-scale level, a detailed script is important because it conveys the mood and tone of scenes to the cast and crew. By making it as detailed as I can, cast members have a clear guide of exactly how I want the result of each scene to be. Furthermore, by doing this, this will positively impact my production as a whole as it provides a predetermined view of what will happen in each scene, also this could increase the popularity of the final production as an interesting script will engage audiences due to the lack of predictability.

One part of the creative element of pre-production element I could’ve improved on was the storyboard, this is something I put off doing until one of the later stages of pre-production. This hindered the development of my idea as I hadn’t gone into detail about scenes before planning out the storyboard. I had initial ideas in my head of how I wanted the story to flow, I just didn’t have it on paper. What helped me complete the task of finishing the storyboard was that I was easily guided by the script as each scene had a short description which I could generate an image from. My storyboard doesn’t include much detail as an industry standard one as I unable to draw professionally. I also subverted using an industry standard layout using a plain sheet of paper separated into sections, instead I used post-it notes, this can be seen as an advantage because I was able to change the order of scenes once I had drawn them. However, I think that I should’ve drawn the whole storyboard in detail soon after doing my script in order to compliment each other, this could’ve also allowed me to have come up with other ideas for new scenes or lines. I could’ve also drafted more than one storyboard which would show the development of my ideas throughout the process. In my opinion, my storyboard isn’t up to industry standard, this could negatively impact the final result by making the narrative have interrupted flows and make my production and postproduction stages run less smoothly.

MY STORYBOARD EXTRACT 

INDUSTRY STANDARD EXAMPLE

Logistics

A film involves lots of pre-production planning, logistics is a major part of this as it is all of the documents surrounding safety and permission to film. This is an essential part of pre-production as this is all of the documents needed to create a short film. These are documents such as risk assessments, shot lists, contingency plans and production schedule.

One document I completed well was my risk assessment, this is because I thought of most risks that could occur to crew, any damage equipment/props, and locations when filming. After I came up with all the possible risks, I created a table and explained who was at risk, any property that was at risk of being damaged, things in place to prevent the risk and what is the potential level of the risk happening. I think that I went into detail of each risk by adding so much information about each one. However, I think that I could’ve added details surrounding contact information for cast and crew just in case the risks were to happen, but these details can be found on the cast and crew contact details document alongside the cast release forms. I set out the risk assessment by following an industry standard procedure which helped me to evaluate the risks, this further enables me to improve professional practise as I am responsible for making sure safety is managed appropriately and adheres to health and safety regulations. To improve mine even further I could’ve coloured coded the risks in red, amber, green to emphasise even more the severity of each risk to make cast/crew more aware. By having to prepare for the risks or reducing the probability of risks happening, this will lead to an increase in my budget/money spent as I will have to pay for extra things to maintain the safety of crew and reduce the risk of equipment/location damage. For example, I will have to buy strong tape to stick down wires to reduce the risk of crew tripping over and potentially hurting themselves but also potentially dropping/breaking equipment. This highly detailed risk assessment will positively impact my final outcome as I have thought about most/major risks that could likely happen during production stages. This will improve the production flow of my film as there is a lower chance of interruptions and delays when filing due to the highlighted risks being dealt with/minimised.  

MY RISK ASSESSMENT

 

INDUSTRY STANDARD EXAMPLE 

My example of a risk assessment is very similar to the industry standard example however mine doesn’t have a checklist like the other one. I think this is a very good idea as it will allow me to make sure I have thoroughly checked everything before I can sign it off as having some intervention to try and minimise the risk. 

Conclusion

In conclusion I believe that my pre-production planning documents has been managed effectively, has a clear layout and is precise. Although there are parts of my work that could have been improved upon like the storyboard, the rest of my work has been completed up to a very good standard. I have explained the flaws with my storyboard previously as well as analysing all the other elements of pre-production planning documents. Overall, I am satisfied with the quality and level of detail shown through my work. All of my work is laid out in a professional manner which adheres to industry standard methods that have proven to be successful. This has a positive effect over my pre-production planning as it is clear, easy to understand and user friendly. I believe that I was a very effective project manager as I am very happy with the standard all of the necessary parts of pre-production planning, because of this I am sure that producing this short film will run very smoothly and the final product will turn out the way I intended it to.  My efforts of pre-production planning have been clearly shown through the time management of the process, I have stuck to deadlines created by myself. When filming, this will be a strong advantage as I can get through all the designated tasks this will therefore make my short film look industry standard as it will have been completed in enough time and not appear to be rushed. In addition to this, I feel I stuck to the action plan and completed all of the pre-production planning documents in the correct order – with the exception of the storyboard. This again will act as an advantage when going through the production and post-production stages as I am able to stick to the scheduled order of tasks.