Requirements for Production

There are many types of media forms that exist in the creative industries, such as TV, film, internet, magazines, radio, phones, newspapers, iPad/tablets and computers. The type of production we produced was a 90 second film short. This was for a competition called DepicT! where the films are shown through the internet.

Quoted from their website; “DepicT challenges filmmakers on any budget from anywhere in the world to show their stuff in just a minute and a half”.

Sources of Finance 

There are many different sources of funding for filmmakers, such as sponsorship and advertising. Filmmakers can also get loans from banks, competitions and do self-financing. You can also generate income from having product placement in your film. 

Advertising other companies or products in your film is a way of gaining money as they will pay you for showing their advertisement, as this will help them sell the item more. 

This is similar to product placement, where companies can pay you to show their product in during/in a film. For an example, Apple Mac computers could be placed throughout a film, and this would be advertising the product and getting the company and the product itself a wider audience.  
Getting loans from banks is a popular choice for funding a film, however nowadays with the recession etc. this is harder to do.
Many people therefore may go with an alternative way of earning money, and enter competitions such as we did with DepicT!, who are giving away £1500 in prize money if you come first place. If you can win, this can give you finance to help begin making another film and also possibly getting your talent recognized, helping you start in the industry and get experience. There are many other film competitions that you can find easily just by searching the internet, such as Reed  and Virigin Media Shorts.
The BFI (British Film Insititute) use lottery funds to help support film productions, education, production and audience development. Since 1933, as quoted from their website, they have "celebrated the best of British and international filmmaking through festivals, film restoration, DVD releases and cinema programming".
Another source of finance is from a High Net Worth Individual, who is a person who can provide people with money, such as Megan Ellison. For an example, she provided finance for movies such as Main Street and True Grit, a Coen Brothers film. These high net worth individuals will usually write out checks of money nearing the budget of the film.
Apart from getting help from others, self-financing is another option. Where you earn money yourself to provide funding for your project. Also, saving up money (having personal savings) is another example of self-financing. This is most likely used with low budget films. However, a recent example of a filmmaker who self-financed a film is Spike Lee, who financed his recent film named Red Hook Summer (more information - http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-28/spike-lee-on-self-financing-red-hook-summer).
Funded by the college, the budget for our production was £5.  
A rates card is usually required, as this helps understand the cost of each facility and also keeps the production within the budget and organized. 
This is an example of a rates card: 

As you can see, as well as equipment, studios and locations have also been hired out, and the cost has been noted. For our production, we didn't need to create a rates card as we didn't have much technical equipment, such as lights, and we also didn't need to hire out any studios or places.

Requirements

Requirements for a production are what the money will be spent on. For any production, this can be on personnel, equipment, materials, facilities, clearances, locations and transport.
The personnel includes the talent (the actors and actresses), and it also includes the crew (the directors, camera operators, editors etc). Most films spend much money on getting the right personnel and crew with the right amount of experience. More famous talent and crew are more likely to get payed more, as for example, Johnny Depp is one of the most highest payed actors and it is noted that now he takes around $20 million per film. 

When he first started acting and didn't have much experience, he was payed considerably less, such as in the film Donnie Brasco where he was only payed $5 million.

This is because he was still becoming known and filmmakers didn't want to pay so much money on a less experienced actor at the time, as this would make them lose money. This is because they can't guarantee how experienced the actor will be and therefore if the film will be successful. 

The equipment includes any cameras, tripods, computers for editing and possible lighting and sound equipment. In our production, we used equipment such as a camera, a tripod and the Macs with the editing software. Usually in big Hollywood films lots of equipment is used to capture the film and make it look professional. This is especially in exciting action scenes with events such as explosions, where filmmakers can only afford to do the scene once. For an example, in epic war films such as Saving Private Ryan they would have used many cameras to film dramatic scenes. 

Lighting equipment, microphones, computers and editing software are also important to big films, as this also makes the end product look more professional. We personally didn't use any lighting equipment as our film was set outdoors, and we thought that ambient lighting was the best to use as this fitted our film. 

 

The materials include props, costumes and make-up which are a big part of producing film. This is a requirement as getting the characters to have the correct look for the genre is important, especially in films such as westerns (an example is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly).

This is because you have to make the film feel and look as if it was filmed from that period of time, and this is important as it helps the audience get into the film more and to make the film, again, look more professional. For our production, we also had to obtain props to use, such as the wallet and money, and we were able to get these through the members of our team. Also, we didn't spend much time on costumes, as we decided to use our everyday clothing. 
 

The requirements for a production also include copyright and legal issues, such as getting permission to use locations. For our production, we had to email the local police as we were filming in a public area; and this was mainly because of health and safety. If we do not ask for permission then this could be a danger to the public as they would not have been notified of the filming.

Also, when hiring talent, you have to make sure that they sign a talent release form especially if they’re under the age of 18. For our production, all of us were under 18 so we all signed the form.

 

Locations are also a requirement in films and this also means getting the right amount of transport for the crew and talent etc. A sum of the money for a film will be spent on this, as getting the correct locations (this includes sets, any studios for special effects, sound and film etc.) is important for the genre of the film. Getting the right size of vehicles to transport any personnel is also vital, as this will ensure that they will arrive at the location, and safely.
For our production, we had to make sure that we were able to transport each member of our team carefully (especially while crossing roads) as we walked to our locations, and we also didn't need to spend any money on transport.

Time

The time is a very important factor as this includes the time-frame and the deadlines for a production. 

When making a production, deadlines are important as if and when you do not meet a deadline, you could become over budget and lose money. An example of when this has happened in the professional industry is with the film Heaven’s Gate.
Going over time also can result in losing your reputation or even losing your job. 

For our own production for DepicT, we stayed within the filming and editing deadline (which was 6 lessons). The producer for Heaven’s Gate, Michael Cimino, caused his production to go overtime and this increased them to go over budget for the film, the overall budget being $44 million. Overall, the film grossed only around $3 million making it a financial disaster, and also making Michael Cimino ruin his reputation. Quoted from Wikipedia, “United Artists refused to release the film at that length and contemplated firing Cimino”. This was as the film was also too long, and this also shows the Cimino's ambitions were possibly too high but also that he didn't plan or organise the time or budget well, backed up from another quote from Wikipedia, "Cimino shot more than 1.3 million feet (nearly 220 hours) of footage, costing approximately $200,000 per day." 
It is also important to stay within deadlines, so that you can insure that your equipment doesn't need to be returned, and that your personnel aren't needed elsewhere. For our production, we hired out a standard HD camera and tripod from the college, and we made sure that we returned these after filming. We managed to stay and keep within the deadlines for our production, and we completed our filming and editing on time which overall resulted in us sucessfully completing our short film for DepicT.
This shows that time is a very important factor to remember during production.

Personnel

The personnel are the talent and crew that work in a media production. For our production, the size of the groups we worked in were groups of 3 people, having 1 actor, 1 actresses and a camera operator/director.
My role in this production was to act out the part of the 'lucky person', and even though I have previously done drama is middle/high school, I still think that I was new to this and this was therefore a great experience to improve my confidence in front of the camera. I felt that having only 3 people in the group was great, as we were able to discuss ideas for the film and also help each other out. During producing the film and after recording certain scenes we were able to come together as a group and watch the footage back, afterwards discussing any new ideas or how we could improve. For an example, during the scene where I grab the money from the floor, after shooting this from one particular angle we came together, watched the scene back and then decided to redo the scene from many different angles, including close-ups and over the shoulder shots. This overall was a good idea, as this made editing much easier. All of us in the group worked on editing, although it was mainly me and Zac. We also all worked on the storyboard together.
In bigger films there are usually hundreds and possibly thousands of people working on projects, ranging from the sound crew to the actors to the production managers. This compares to our production, as we had a really small group whereas normally in professional productions there can be thousands of people, and this made me think about how hard it must be to keep everything organized and professional. However, I think that keeping organized is important no matter how many people there are included in the production. 
Keeping organized in bigger productions is harder because there are many more people and personnel working on the film. The main personnel are the directors, producers, writers (for the story and also the screenplay) and editors. 
There are usually many producers for a film, there being executive producers, co-producers and associate producers also, such as in the film Skyfall from this year:

There are usually also assistant directors- usually one, two or three and possibly some additional directors too. 
The sound department is also important to films and there are also many people involved in this section, such as the sound editors and artists/designers, the sound mixer, the boom operator, sound effects editor and also assistants among some others. 
Visual effects can also be very important depending on the type of film/production. Just for an example, for the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, there were many people in the visual effects department:

The art department can also be very large (depending on the film) as the people range from the props person to the storyboard artists. Some others include concept artists, graphic designers, carpenters, location store-men, 3D set designers, set dressers, modellers, greensmen (who are responsible for anything "green", mainly the plants, trees and many things in the landscape), the stagehand, props buyers, painters and also assistants.
There are also many, many other departments including the stunts, camera and electrical equipment, casting, costume and wardrobe, editorial, special effects, music, transportation, possibly an animation department and also general other crew. 
Lastly, there will obviously be the cinematographer too, a production designer, the person who takes care of the casting and also a set decoration and costume designer.  

Some production companies however, are very small and work usually work on a low production budget, such as the film Clerks from 1994. The producers Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier also had the roles as the editors during the making of the film. Not just being producer and editor, Scott Mosier also worked in the sound department (being sound editor and mixer). 
In conclusion, small production companies may have employees who will multitask and work in different departments and have more than one role, whereas larger production companies for bigger films will generally have a person for specific roles.

Experience and skill of the personnel can affect the production, as it can make it look more professional. However, having more professional, experienced actors and crew can result in spending more money. The personnel can also affect the cost by how big the production is, as the more crew and personnel you need, the more money will need to be spent. 
To decide who to use in a production, you should see how much experience they have beforehand, which could be shown by a CV and how much previous work they have had in the past. For an example, you could also interview them or hold an audition.
Once the personnel have been chosen, you should ensure that they will be available for the production by making them sign a contract/talent release form. For our DepicT production, we had our actors/actresses sign a talent release form to make sure they would be available at all times. If an actress or an actor has other filming commitments, and the film overruns this can be a big problem financially as the actor would have to leave the filming of this film to commit to another film.

Many popular filmmakers like to keep the same personnel throughout their films, such as Tim Burton (seen by the table here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_frequent_Tim_Burton_collaborators). He therefore knows the experience of the actors and also knows that he can work well with them, so he can make his films look more professional.  

Facilities

Facilities include the equipment needed during the production such as the cameras, tripod and props. Also, equipment such as the editing software and computers are needed for post-production. 
We had to edit our production on the Apple Mac computers, on a piece of software called Adobe Premier Pro, which was provided by the college.
Bigger, professional film companies will prefer to spend a lot of money on the correct facilities, such as on many professional cameras and lighting and sound equipment. This also includes paying hiring out studios, such as Pinewood Studios, as this can be useful when filming and making the film look right for the director. 

The facilities also include studios and facility houses. Facility houses are specialist companies such as Industrial light and magic. This company is an Academy Award-winning motion picture visual effects company, who add visual effects to films such as Star Wars, Planet of the Apes and Harry Potter. They were founded in May 1975 by George Lucas.

Outsourcing is part of facilities also, as this is when a company gives tasks to an outside company, asking them for help. We personally did not need to do this, as we checked that we everything could be done and that all of our crew/talent were available.

We were able to hire out our equipment at college, but if we needed to hire out any facilities elsewhere, we would need to keep in mind the cost and how long it will be available for. 

Locations

The locations are where we shot our film and we had to make sure that we secured the locations legally. For our production, we produced a location recce, which is a document containing locations we’ve searched for and scouted. Before using a location, you should ensure that a location release is signed. A location release is a document giving legal permission from the land owner to film at a particular sight location. 
For our DepicT locations we completed a location recce, and we decided on our locations which were Rosyln Road and Middleton Gardens as these fitted the genre of our film, and had the correct lighting. It is important to make sure that the locations are appropriate and will not cause any damage, this is why it is best to produce a location recce, and this is why we also contacted the police about filming there. 
It is also good to look out and check for any plug sockets needed for any equipment, such as lights.
Before we began shooting, we also had to fill out the risk assessment so we knew about the potential hazards and risks we faced. We also sent an email to the police and notified them about the filming. This is so that the public can become aware and the risks are lowered. During the filming, we also wore t-shirts so that the public were immediately aware about the filming as well. It is important to make sure that any members of the public and any crew members/talent are aware of the risks so that they can be prevented. 
In our production there were some limitations because of health and safety, such as using a ladder (which was our original idea). This was a problem because there someone could have easily of been hurt, and a ladder is hard to transport. We also had limitations to certain locations we could film in, because we had to be aware of the public. We ended up picking Middleton Gardens as one of our locations, as this was away from the busy roads and there were no risks of getting hit by cars etc. 
We personally had no problems with locations, but there could have been the problem of having to ask permission to use a location, such as in shops. Some shops do not allow filming because the film could show a negative message to the audience about that particular shop, and if filming without permission, we could risk legal proceedings. 

Materials

There are many materials that are available to filmmakers, such as photographs, images, interviews, video and music, and there are many places where this material can be obtained.

These types of materials are useful for films, such as in the documentary genre. Many documentaries generally have existing footage in their films to back up what they’re saying/showing. Places where these materials can be gotten are from libraries (book and video libraries) and the internet (the largest place for materials).
You can search for music to use in sound libraries, or produce your own music, for example of software such as Garageband.

For our production, we used Garageband for our music.

When using any of these materials, you have to make sure that you have written permission (such as a clearance or contract) so that you can legally use it. There may also be a fee for using materials, such as you may have to pay bands for using their song in the movie.
For an example, the makers of the film Hall Pass were noted to of paid $200,000 to use the Law & Order sound effect in the film. This shows that many films will pay a lot of money just to get the rights to use a popular track.
Some films make an 'original score' which is much different to paying to use a pre-exisiting track. An original score is music that has been composed specifically for a movie, such as in Lord of the Rings. 

In many instances, film scores are performed by orchestras. However, films with smaller budgets often use technology to re-create the sound of the orchestra and this is generally much cheaper, but overall isn't as effective. 

Contributors

Contributors include various people that may contribute the media product. Contributors can include the extras, talent, specialists, members of the public and experts. Experts may include people such as doctors, and specialists may include companies that work especially on special effects or even stuntmen etc.

Before hiring contributors, it is useful to look at the contributor’s biography, and also their history and background can be important. Looking at their biography is useful as it shows information on the person, so that we can see about them and their previous experience in films etc.. History and background is important as we can find out, for an example, if they enjoyed drama previously in their life or if they possibly went to a club and generally enjoyed it as a hobby. Also, history and background is what you would take more notice of if the actor/actresses has never been in a film before, or has not got much experience. 
History and background of the person could also be relevant to their character, which could be useful if you want a more realistic character, as they can therefore relate his or her role to real life. 
We overall didn’t need many contributors for our production, but in bigger Hollywood films for example, contributors are very useful to help keep the product within a deadline etc.

Legal Issues

There are certain legal issues that can affect a media production.

We have to make sure that we have clearance, which is making sure that all the permissions have been granted. Music, talent, locations, images (logos, videos) are certain things that we have to get a clearance for. If we do not get clearance for all aspects, then we could be taken to court, or ask to pay for damages/compensation.

Copyright can effect a media production as you cannot use copyrighted material without permission. For an example, this effected our short production as we wanted to use the song, 'Superstition' by Stevie wonder, but as this song is copyrighted we could not use it without either getting permission and paying a fee to the owner.
You also have to be certain that you are not stealing any narrative ideas from other films. An example of this is the film The Island, where they were said to of stolen the ideas from a previous film (more information can be seen here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4139398.stm)
Also, if we do not get a clearance for locations, the public will not of been notified that filming is to happen in that area, therefore public liability may have to be paid as this is money to pay people if accidents happen. For an example, if during filming you were to damage someones car with equipment, you would have to pay them public liability.

The filmmakers should also have a contract of completion insurance/a completion guarantee, which is where the filmmaker is agreeing that the film will be finished on time and within budget.

Regulation

Regulatory bodies are agencies that have the authority to tell a business what it may or may not do. Overall, they aim to protect the public against any offensive or harmful material in films, magazines, radio and even video games. They are protecting the audience against elements such as violence or language in films etc. which could be inappropriate for young children or offend anyone. 

Ofcom stands for “Office of Communications”, and is a regulatory body that regulate TV, radio and advertisements in the UK. As said on their website, “their main legal duties are to ensure that people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material.”

The PCC is the Press Complains Commission. They are an independent self-regulatory body, which deals with complains about the content in magazines and newspapers. 

ASA is the Advertising Standards Authority deal with advertisements. As said on their website, “Their work includes acting on complaints and proactively checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements." 

PEGI, the ‘Pan European Game Information’, label the age ratings on films, videos, DVDs and computer games. The label them according to the content they contain.

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is an independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since 1912.There job is to rate films with certificates/age ratings, this is because their aim is to protect the public (mainly children) from inappropriate content, to make the public (mainly parents) make the right viewing choices and to help the audience with any complaints. If I was to rate our production, then I would most likely give it a 'U' or a 'PG' as there is no swearing, violence, scary scenes etc.

Trade unions and associations

Trade unions are members of a particular workface, and they join together to fight for your rights in your profession (such as an actor or even a teacher). They mainly protect people from being poorly treated. 
A trade association joins business groups and individual business together, working for common goals and mainly work on collaboration between companies. They are founded by business groups and operate in a specific industry, such as advertising, publishing etc.

PACT is the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television in the UK, and they represent and promote independent feature film, digital, children's, television and animation media companies. Quoted from their website, they "offer a comprehensive support service for our members in terms of legal and business affairs advice. This includes access to a library of contracts and advice documents which help you do business". Pact is also a not-for-profit organisation, operating under the Pact Council.
BECTU (the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union) is a similar company. They are an independent trade union helping those working in broadcasting, film, entertainment, interactive media, leisure, theatre and allied areas. They provide a range of services including personal advice and advice on health and safety, conditions and contract with employers and negotiating pay etc.
Trade associations are organizations founded and funded by businesses that operate in a certain industry.

BIMA is the British Interactive Media associate, who support organisations and individuals deliver high quality, creative media solutions. they have offices all over the UK, and promote and support the digital industry, sharing knowledge and encouraging the next generation.
ELSPA, a company now with the name UKIE (The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment), and they are the only trade body for the UK's wider interactive entertainment industry. They are responsible for video game ratings. ) 
TIGA is also associated with the video game industry. They are a non-profit trade association that represents the UK's game industry helping people "unlocking their career". Also quoted from their website their "mission is to fight for the interests of game developers".