Prepare and Apply Pre-production Planning
Scenario: You are the co-ordinator for pre-production on your project and you are going to generate appropriate planning and pre-production documentation an collate this in a digital portfolio.
Understanding the requirements of pre-production:
Types of Production:
Film:
Movies are regarded as one of the most expensive forms of media there are. There is so much planning that has to take place before production of the film even starts. The budget for films have to be big in order to get the correct shot for each scene, the most expensive film ever made so far was pirate of the Caribbean: on stranger tides which cost $378.5 million, it grossed a collective $1,045,713,802 over the course of it's release, showing that most films which have this expensive budget can earn far more than spent, depending on the day one statistics.
TV:
Television is one of the more recents forms of entertainment, it is widely used by people all over the globe, with different channels dedicated to different things. Some of the more well-known channels in England are the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). and ITV (Independent Television).
Most of the popularity regarding TV comes from a series, for example; Breaking Bad, having an average of 4.32 million viewers and getting mostly positive widespread reviews from critics
Games:
Video games are one of the most recent forms of media, really taking its stride around the 1980s with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), before this, there was a fear of a market crash in gaming, this was because of people developing too many poor quality games and prices for games shooting up as a result. One of the most expensive games to date is Modern Warfare 2, which had a budget of $200 Million, leaving behind Grand Theft Auto V which had a budget of $128 Million, though GTA V had a bigger gross profit in the long run, so it could be argued that GTA V was more successful
Radio:
Radio has been around for a long period of time posing as a informative and entertainment based non-visual media platform.
Many early stations were started by newspapers worried radio might replace their newspapers. 8XK became KDKA in 1920. KDKA received the first federal license and began broadcasting on November 2, 1920. And by 1922, 600 radio stations had sprung up around the United States.
They make a profit from the ads they sell, the special events they hold, the syndication of their most popular shows and in some cases the special services they can provide to other radio stations.
As an example BBC Radio 2 gets around 15.1m listeners every week on average & BBC Radio 4 gets around 11.2 million listeners every week on average.
Interactive Media:
Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user's actions by presenting content such as text, moving image, animation, video, audio, and video games.
Web:
Most recently the internet has become the most common outlet for a large amount of media to be heard and are available on a huge range of websites, most notably YouTube.
YouTube is the dominant provider of online video in the United States, with a market share of around 43% and more than 14 billion views of videos in May 2010.
In 2014 YouTube said that 300 hours of new videos were uploaded to the site every minute, three times more than one year earlier and that around three quarters of the material comes from outside the U.S. The site has 800 million unique users a month. It is estimated that in 2007 YouTube consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet in 2000. According to third-party web analytics providers, Alexa and SimilarWeb, YouTube is the second-most visited website in the world, as of December 2016; SimilarWeb also lists YouTube as the top TV and video website globally, attracting more than 15 billion visitors per month.
Print:The industry associated with the printing and distribution of news through newspapers and magazines. Print media advertising is a form of advertising that uses physically printed media, such as magazines and newspapers, to reach consumers, business customers and prospects.
However, with so many different forms of media distribution, traditional print media is struggling to maintain readership. Due to the fact that publications lose so many readers every year, advertisers are beginning to pull money from print mediums, such as newspapers and magazines. Instead, those funds are put into other mediums like television, radio, and other digital platforms. Journalists considering a career in this field should recognize that the Internet offers the same level of freedom of expression as print media
Summary:
Production roles in different forms of entertainment can stem across every form of media there is , going from the basic jobs entailed when working with a radio station, to the vital roles that entail when working on a movie. Every piece of media has its place here in the modern world. It's astonishing to think that forms of media have kept their place in our society, things like radio have been present for decades and continue to shape our world for better and for worse.
Finance:
Having a good financial plan when in pre-production is essential as it could be a deal breaker in the development of your project. Gaining the appropriate funds to ensure you project stays on track can be difficult.
In order to make this somewhat easier, you should plan out and consider what your funds will be needed to pay for. Notable things to consider can be; Materials, Software, Workspace and Salaries. All forms of costs need to be considered as it will help you gain a clear indication of the amount of money you will be making in the long run. It is important that you carry out market research for certain aspects of your financing such as software and workspace. The market is highly competitive so finding better deals that will reduce your outgoing payments will always be a benefit in the long run. Finances can come from various sources such as; Your own pocket, Sponsors, Fund raising, Bank loans as well as Donations.
Industries such as Radio and Television will gain money from sponsors or through Funds generated by their individuals higher up in industry.
Time:
Time in pre-production is very important and can include an array of things that will help in the development of your project. Time can include such things as; deadlines, scheduling and milestones. Deadlines provide a target for a team to achieve as well as move the development a long a good pace and are set by the lead developer of that particular area.Failing to meet deadlines can seriously hinder the development of any project as well as lose the company money and ultimately lose you your job.
Scheduling allows you to set out what parts of the project are to worked on and who is working on them, this eliminates any confusion and also shares workloads out evenly. These aspects can apply to all forms of creative media industry and applying them effectively can ensure that your project is completed on time and to a good standard.
Facilities:
When planning out what facilities you will need for the production of your project, you should take into the account the following; equipment, you must make sure you have all the correct equipment needed to create your project.
You will also have to look at the space needed to house all of your equipment and personnel. A space too small can create an undesirable working environment while a space too big will be a waste of money.
In other industries, facilities can vary. Radio stations will need things like recording studios and mixers while television studios will need cameras and lighting equipment. Will all this, you will have to take into account the cost of all the facilities you need and incorporate it into your financial plan.
Materials:
In regards to materials, a plan needs to be created that outlines what materials you need and how you are going to get them. This includes who you will use to supply items which is important as it can affect the overall cost, so carefully choosing who you are going to use as a supplier is essential as you may be able to find better deals at other companies.
The way in which you get the materials you need depends on other aspects including, time, finance and needs. It is also recommended that a priority list be created so that the harder to acquire materials be acquired before anything else. You will also have to take into account the type of project you are developing so that you are able to identify the specific materials needed for your production. Researching your materials is an effective way to find some good deals and places where you can save money. The best example of this would be Sound Libraries where you can source free music and sounds. This will save money and time as you wont have to spend money on Foley artists creating sound or have to wait for them to actually make the sound.
Contributors:
Contributors mainly include the personnel involved in the development of the project. This can include (but is not limited to);
- Bookings manager - A Booking manager is responsible for booking artists, bands, DJs, choirs, orchestras and other musical ensembles.
- Studio manager. In many cases this is the same as the bookings manager but in larger studios the studio manager runs the place.
- Studio technician. In some studios there is a technical crew with juniour tech's and more experienced tech's. Qualifications are generally a technical degree or similar.
- Runner. - Production Runners are used by the Producer and by other production staff. They help out wherever they are needed on productions. Their responsibilities vary depending on where Production Runners are assigned.
- Assistant engineer.
- Recording engineer. An recording engineer works with the technical aspects of sound during the processes of recording.
- Record producer. -
- Mastering engineer. The mastering engineer takes the final mixed production and either transfers it to CD or plastic. This can be a very skilled job and can pay well.
These certain departments make up the development team of the project. Each area contributes a certain amount of work in accordance to their own deadlines.
Locations:
Location is an important aspect, when deciding so you should consider;
Accessibility
Cost
Distance
Area
Accessibility is very important as it can affect the general work flow of the company. If your location isn’t as accessible for some members of staff to other, you will find that some people will not be able to work as much as others and this can disrupt any form of development.
You also have to take into account the cost of the location in which you would like the base your company as some areas will be cheaper than others. For example an office in the middle of Birmingham city center will cost more than an office that is based on the outskirts of Birmingham. An office based somewhere close to others who specialize in the same industry is also advised as it will allow you to create connections with other companies that may benefit the development of your project.
Another aspect that should be taken into account is the distance in which your employees have to travel in order to get to work, too far and it increases the chances they may be late for work or out of frustration, leave the job entirely. Another aspect you have you take into account is the cost. It should be a priority on your financial plan as it is one the most expensive aspects of starting up your own studio. There are ways to reduce how much you pay but that always comes with the area you choose to set up in and the state in which the building is in.
It is advisable that you find a location that is pretty much ready to go and not in need of restoration or fixing up. This is because it takes time and money and while it may be a little cheaper, the time invested will take away any time you spend on creating projects and making money.
Codes of Practice and Regulation:
If a musical work is in copyright (which it will be if any of the composers, editors or authors have not been dead for more than 70 years, or if the printed editon has been published in the last 25 years, whichever is the longer) then copying the work and/or arranging it are infringements of the copyright unless the person doing so has either gained permission from the copyright owner to do so, or if they fall under any of the exceptions to the rule listed in the code.
The Code of Fair Practice has been agreed between composers, publishers and users of Printed Music.
The codes of practice and regulations that would be needed are Mechanical Copyright Protection Society-Performing Rights Society Alliance (MCPS-PRS), location permissions, copyright, health and safety and insurance. You would need insurance because if someone on your set gets hurt then it our responsibility to get insurance on everyone working there. There would also need to have the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).
