The Production Process

1504ART Digital Video Foundations

• A typical Hollywood-style filmmaking Production
cycle comprises of five main stages:
• 1. Development
• 2. Preproduction
• 3. Production
• 4. Post-production
• 5. Distribution
• This production cycle typically takes three years. The
first year is taken up with development. The second
year comprises preproduction and production. The
third year, post-production and distibution.
 Development

• This is the stage where an idea is fleshed out into a

viable script.
• The producer of the movie will find a story, which
may be from books, other films, true stories, original
ideas, etc. Once the theme, or underlying message,
has been identified, a synopsis will be prepared.
• This is followed by a step outline, which breaks the
story down into one-paragraph scenes,
concentrating on the dramatic structure.
• Next, a treatment is prepared. This is a 25 to 30 page
description of the story, its mood and characters,
with little dialogue and stage direction, often
containing drawings to help visualise the key points.
• The screenplay is then written over a period of
perhaps six months, and will be rewritten several
times to improve the dramatisation, clarity,
structure, characters, dialogue and overall style.
• However, producers often skip the previous steps
and develop submitted screenplays which are
assessed through a process called script coverage.
• A film distributor should be contacted at an early
stage to assess the likely market and hence financial
success of the film.
• Hollywood distributors will adopt a hard-headed
business approach and consider factors such as: the
film genre, the target audience, the historical
success of similar films, the actors who might appear
in the film and the potential directors of the film.
• All these factors imply a certain attraction of the film
to a possible audience and hence the number of
"bums on seats" during the theatrical release.
• Films rarely make a profit from the theatrical release
alone, therefore DVD sales and worldwide
distribution rights need to be taken into account.
• The movie pitch is then prepared and presented to
potential film financiers.
• If the pitch is successful and the movie is given the
"green light" then financial backing is offered,
typically from a major film studio, film council or
independent investors. A deal is negotiated and
contracts are signed.
 Pre Production

• In preproduction, the movie is designed and

planned.
• The production company is created and a
production office established.
• The production is storyboarded and visualised with
the help of illustrators and concept artists. A
production budget will also be drawn up to cost the
film.
• The Producer will hire the following pre-production
roles:
• The director, who is primarily responsible for the
acting in the movie and managing the creative
elements.
• The assistant director manages the shooting
schedule and logistics of the production among
other tasks.
• The casting director finds actors for the parts in the
script. This normally requires an audition by the
actor. Lead actors are carefully chosen and are often
based on the actor's reputation or "star power."
• The location manager finds and manages the film
locations. Most pictures are shot in the predictable
environment of a studio sound stage but
occasionally outdoor sequences will call for filming
on location.
• The production manager manages the production
budget and production schedule. He or she also
reports on behalf of the production office to the
studio executives or financiers of the film.
• The director of photography (DOP) or
cinematographer creates the photography of the
film. He or she cooperates with the director, director
of audiography (DOA) and assistant director (AD).
• The art director manages the art department, which
makes production sets, costumes and provides
makeup & hair styling services.
• The production designer creates the look and feel of
the production sets, costumes, make up and
hairstyles, working with the art director to create
these elements.
• The storyboard artist creates visual images to help
the director and production designer communicate
their ideas to the production team.
• The director of audiography (DOA) or sound director
(SD) manages the audio experience of a film. He or
she cooperates with the director, DOP, and AD.
• The sound designer creates new sounds with the
help of foley artists.
• The composer creates new music.
• The choreographer creates and coordinates the
movement and dance - typically for musicals. Some
films also credit a fight choreographer.
 Production

• Here the movie is actually created and shot.

• More crew will be recruited at this stage such as the
property master, script supervisor, assistant
directors, production sound mixer, stills
photographer, picture editor, and sound editor.
• These are just the most common roles in filmmaking
and the production office will be free to create any
unique blend of roles to suit a particular film.
• A typical day's shooting begins with an assistant
director following the shooting schedule for the day.
• The film set is constructed and the props made
ready. The lighting is rigged, the camera and sound
recording equipment are set up.
• At the same time the actors are wardrobed in their
costumes and attend the hair and make-up
departments.
• The actors rehearse their script and blocking with
the director.
• The picture and sound crews then rehearse with the
actors. Finally, the action is shot with as many takes
as the director sees fit.
• Each take of a shot follows a slating procedure and is
marked on a clapperboard, which helps the editor
keep track of the takes in post-production.
• The clapperboard records the scene, take, director,
producer, date and name of the film written on the
front, displayed for the camera.
• The clapperboard also serves the necessary function
of providing a marker to sync up the film and the
sound take. Sound is recorded on a separate
apparatus from the film and they must be synched
up in post-production.
• The director will then check to see if the shot was
good or not.
• The script supervisor, sound and camera teams mark
every take as either good (G) or not good (NG) on
their respective report sheets.
• Every report sheet records special facts about each
take.
• When shooting is finished for the scene, the director
declares a "wrap."
• The crew will "strike," or dismantle, the set for that
scene. The director approves the next day's shooting
schedule and a daily progress report is sent to the
production office.
• This includes the report sheets from continuity,
sound and camera teams.
• Call sheets are distributed to the cast and crew to tell
them when and where to turn up the next shooting
day.
• For productions using traditional film, the day's
takes, known as rushes, (film negative) are sent to
the laboratory for processing overnight.
• Once processed, they return from the laboratory as
dailies (film positive) and are viewed in the evening
by the director, cast and crew. For productions using
digital technologies, shots are downloaded and
organised on a computer for display as dailies.
• When the entire film is in the can the Production
Office normally arranges a wrap party to thank all
the cast and crew for their efforts.
 Post Production

• Here the film is assembled by the Film Editor.

• The modern use of video in the filmmaking process
has resulted in two workflow variants: one using
entirely film, the other using a mixture of film and
video:
 Film Workflow

• The original camera film (negative) is developed and

copied to a one-light Workprint (positive) for editing
with a mechanical editing machine.
• An edge code is recorded onto film to locate the
position of picture frames.
 Video Workflow

• The original camera negative is developed and

telecined to video for editing with computer editing
software.
• A timecode is recorded onto video tape to locate the
position of picture frames.
• The first job of the film editor is to build a rough cut
taken from sequences (or scenes) based on
individual "takes" (shots). The purpose of the rough
cut is to select and order the best shots.
• The next step is to create a fine cut by getting all the
shots to flow smoothly in a seamless story. Finding
the perfect transition point between shots is called
"trimming".
• After the fine cut has been screened and approved
by the director and producer the picture is "locked",
meaning no further changes are made.
• Next, the editor creates a negative cut list (using
Edge Code) or an edit decision list (using Timecode)
either manually or automatically. These edit lists
identify the source and the picture frame of each
shot in the fine cut.
• Once the picture is locked, the film passes out of the
hands of the editor to the sound department to
build-up the sound track. The voice recordings are
synchronised and the final sound mix is created.
• The sound mix combines sound effects, background
sounds, foleys, ADR, dialogue and music.
• Finally the film is previewed, normally by the target
audience, and any feedback may result in further
shooting or edits to the film.
 Distribution

• This is the final stage, where the movie is released to

cinemas or, occasionally, to DVD or VHS. (VHSs are
less common now that more people own DVD
players.)
• The movie is duplicated as required for theatrical
distribution. Press kits, posters, and other
advertising materials are published and the movie is
advertised.
• The movie will usually be launched with a launch
party, press releases, interviews with the press,
showings of the film at a press preview, and film
festivals. It is also common to create a Web site to
accompany the movie.
• The movie will play at selected cinemas and the DVD
is typically released a few months later. The
distribution rights for the movie and DVD are also
usually sold for worldwide distribution. Any profits
are divided between the distributor and the
production company.