Sound Library Materials

Sound libraries are a collection of audio files that offer a range of digital sound effects and recordings that can be used by production companies to include in their films. However it is important to find a standard sound library as some of the audio files may not be of high quality, which is why production companies may have to research and compare different files before finally selecting one.

Photo Library Materials

There are libraries that allow the public to access photos which are used in production, however a considerate amount of research may be required as the photos may not be of a good quality. These photos can be of use also when advertising the film.

Types of Materials

"Materials" refer to the physical or digital objects that are used/included in a film production. These could be self generated materials or content that has been archived, this could be of either sound files or video footage. 

Types of Materials:

• Original Materials
• Archive and Library Materials
• Photo-Library Materials
• Sound Library Materials
• Internet
• Assets
• Audio
• Script
• Animatics
• Graphics
• Interviews
• Costumes
• Properties
• Recorded Music

Archive and Library Materials

Archive and Library Materials are content that has been created by and retrieved from a different source, such as the internet or an individual. 
Archives make the content available for anyone to use it, such as photographs, audio or music. Retrieving materials external sources may be less time consuming as the content does not have to be created, however research into its quality may require extra time.

Original Materials

Original Materials - Original materials refer to something that is created by yourself, whether it is a piece of music, a sound or something that is filmed which is not retrieved from someone else or any other online/internet sources. In production this can be referred to as in-house materials which can be created by teams within the production company. Having artefacts created within the production company can be more cost effective towards the budget.

This can include:

- Graphics
- Costumes
- Props
- Music

Contributor Biographies

Any contributor who participates in a role for a production will be represented by a contributor biography for the marketing of the film.

Producers, directors, screenwriters and actors will be given a professionally written biography in a press folder.  

Types of Contributors

Types of Contributors:

• Specialists
• Experts
• Talent
• Public

Specialists

Specialists are those who have a unique amount of skills and experience at a certain role. Specialists often work once hired occasionally, in this case in the film industry, that can manage any work that requires assistance from the specialist as they have the highest and valuable knowledge of that project and know what details and methods are best. 

Specialists are not always continuously hired, they are mainly hired whenever an organisation requires their assistance.

Specialists can also be recruited for training and development programs for new staff who require to learn a new range of skills which can help them succeed at the job role. 

Specialist roles can include:

• Technical Specialists - such as specialist pilots.
• Specialist Trainers - such as specialists who can train actors for a particular role. 
• Production Specialists - such as an outside specialist who is hired to handle production tasks which requires a specific skill.

Experts

An expert refers to someone who is highly skilled and have great knowledge in a particular subject. Experts can be of great assistance to the film industry as they can help enhance how realistic certain features are, such as acquiring a historian who can help describe features of a certain time period or someone who is required to give details of a particular series of events that occurred, in order to provide more accuracy. 

Talent

 

Talent can also be referred to as specialists who are hired, whether they are actors for the whole duration of the film, or stand in actors who are hired for a short period of time to perform certain activities that the original cast may be incapable of doing. This includes dancing, singing or even stunts in some cases. 

Public

Public refers to anybody outside of those who are involved with the production itself, which includes anybody included to make effects or background scenes. The public is not referred to as extras as they are not paid to do it, gaining permission from the public can make the scene more realistic than paying a large amount of money to rent out a location and then hire additional extras. This occurs only when a public place gives permission for filming to take place at that location, then the team can start looking for volunteers to participate in filming. 

Post Production Equipment

Post Production Equipment

"post-production" refers to the technical phases which occur after production, these phases put the film together in order for it to be completed for release.

These phases include:

• Picture edit
• Sound edit
• Visual effects
• Grading/colouring
• Titling

Picture Editing Package

• AVID Media Composer
• Apple Final Cut Pro
• Adobe Premier

Sound Editing Facilities

• Steinberg Nuendo
• AVID Pro Tools
• Audacity

Facilities Houses:

Facilities houses refer to companies that hire out a variety of equipment for film production. This is useful for equipment that is only required for a short amount of time, which therefore saves money. 

Production Equipment

All equipment that is used on a film set is noted down as 'production equipment'.
The equipment required for the film to be shot is included in this.

Types of lighting:

• Lights
• Light stands
• Generator
• Filters
• Gels
• Diffusion
• Grip Stands
• Reflectors
• Grip Accessories

Camera Package:

• Camera
• Lenses
• Filters
• Tripods
• Media to record on to

Camera Movement:

• Dolly
• Track
• Accessories: wedges etc.

Sound Equipment:

• Sound recording unit
• Headphones
• Microphones
• Mic holders
• Cables
• Boom
• Wind Shields

Sources of Finance

Analysing the financial situations in pre-production is vital. This includes assessing all possible sources of finance.

Expenditures refers to the amount of money being spent and what on.
Requirements refer to something that is compulsory in order to proceed on to the next step.

Funding

Funding refers to an amount of money that is given by an organisation for a project, in this case, short films.

Television channels including Channel 4, the BBC and ITV fund for short films. 

This includes providing commissions and grants.

Funding can also come in favours, therefore all assistance will not be primarily in money however can help you with your project. 

• Development (e.g Channel 4 executive improvement program).
• Screen Support (e.g ITV and Odeon ant-bulling shorts).
• Competitions (e.g BBC3 The Fear)

Government Funding

National - The British Film Institute does not directly fund short films, only feature length films. 

Regional: BFI Funding Partners: 

- Creative England

- Northern Ireland Screen

- Film London

- Creative Scotland

Local Government Funding

London Borough Film Funds, such as Croydon, Wandsworth and Camden.

Private Funding

Cinema Companies:

- Curzon

- Odeon

Media Companies:

- SONY

- Virgin Media

Other:

- BMW

Talent

Talent

In production, talent may refer to the actors and actresses that are recruited to perform for a film.

Here is the average talent rate:

• £603 = 6 working days (minimum fee). 
• Work days are overall 9 hours (1 hour break included).
• Two weeks represents 5 work days (9 hour days with 1 hour break).

Independent producers and low budget productions may have difficulties keeping up with daily rates similar to this, therefore an alternative fee is agreed.

Transport

Transport

Transport is required to move the crew and equipment around in one piece, rather than using public transport everyone and everything can be located in certain vehicles.

Crew

• Minibus
• Travel expenses

Talent

•      Taxi

Equipment

• Equipment van

Timescales for Clearances

You will need to obtain contracts, from authorities such as the police, council or the government, in place or waiver forms secured. These clearances must be received within a certain amount of time. Timescales refer to how long this process will take after production has finished. 

Availability of Equipment

Availability of Equipment –

I must consider what equipment is available to me at the moment, as having access to as much equipment as possible can benefit me as less time conducting research would be required.

The availability of equipment is important as if you do not have the appropriate/required equipment either on time, then my deadlines will become overdue.

Different equipment is required for different stages of production, such as production and post-production.

The equipment that is currently available to me are:

•        Canon camera
•        Sony cameras
•        Fluid head tripods
•        Boom pole
•        Avid (editing software)
•        iMovie
•        laptops
•        Lighting
•        Speakers/headphones

The equipment I would like access to:

• Gliders
• Cranes
• Digital Recorders
• Microphones

In order to use time effectively, I must find accurate prices for equipment I want to hire that remain within my budget. 

Availability of Personnel

Availability of Personnel

In production it is ideal to have extra assistance in case of any extra work that may need to be done. Extra crew can help enable you to meet your deadlines, so therefore it is important to have personnel around who know what they are doing. 

It is important to have a good schedule of:

- Dates (availability of staff)

- Length of time available (staff)

Roles of personnel can include:

- Cameraman
- Location Manager
- Hair/makeup Artists
- Costume Designer
- Editor
- Boom Operator

Deadlines

Deadlines – It is important to keep up to date with deadlines as it can majorly impact the performance of others or quality of a product. In production, others often rely on you to meet your deadlines so therefore all work must be completed before the given date. If work or content is overdue, then this can cost the industry/network more money.

     Shooting; On the 1^st day of filming of production, all pre-production work must be finalised before the specific date. You must also be certain of when the last day of filming is in order for all footage to be secured.

Picture Lock; Picture Lock is a period in editing a production where all cutting has been officially confirmed. This phase is prior to the stage where any online editing and audio mixing is applied.

Sound Lock; Sound Lock refers to the editing of the sound levels in a film production in order to include a more defined sound used by a programming software. After this phase, music is incorporated.

Music; Music is used to match and enhance certain moods and scenes of a film. In a production, music can be a tool used to:

-       Create an atmosphere

-       Convey emotions of characters

-       Refer to certain time periods/ages

-       Link scenes together

Visual Effects; Visual Effects are used to enhance ordinary visuals on a film that is difficult or impossible to film individually. In order to add in visual effects, such as for a crash scene, a specific yet costly system is required in order to make it look realistic and professional.

Sound Mixing; Sound Mixing, a phase in post-production, is the process of a range of sounds being collated into one or more channels.

Colour Correction; Colour Correction is the process of editing the colour on a film or video, which may have been shot at slightly different times of day or seasons, in order to it to be improved or matched to make the scenes look continuous.

Delivery.

Resourcing

Crew Role	Name	Justification
Director of Photography	Rhys Painter	Rhys has stated that he has had some experience as a runner, and is dedicated to work as many hours is required to in order to gain enough experience to become a successful runner. Rhys has had previous experience operating cameras in GCSE Media when creating short film clips. Through this he has gained different techniques required when operating camcorders. Looking at Rhys’ skills, I believe he could be director of photography as he is capable of working long hours, successful in teamwork and having time management skills.
Makeup/hair	Varshini Yogaeswaran	Varshini has clearly stated that despite her having the bare minimum experience as a runner, she still has determination of learning to experience a post-production runner and a general knowledge of media and prior experience operating equipment. Varshini is also dedicated to work the required hours she needs in order to gain as much as experience as she can. In addition, Varshini has had a range of publishing and presentation skills and experience such as the use of Prezi and Blogger. She has also stated that she has expanded knowledge of camera use including shot sizes, angles and composition. Varshini can also conduct independent research through a list of different sources including journals, books and the web as well as acquiring customer service experience through her previous job. This includes communication and interpersonal skills. Through these skills and abilities, Varshini would be a successful makeup artist as she has the appropriate amount of skills that could help her succeed in the role.
Gaffer/grip	Harry Bilk	Harry has stated that although he is an inexperienced runner, he has enough passion and drive to gain the experience he needs to become a skilled and knowledgeable production runner. He has worked on a number of student productions, including being a runner for ‘The Horror Inside’, a stage runner for ‘The Nutcracker’, and a floor runner for a ‘pompeii – cover’ music video trailer. I have decided to make Harry the gaffer as he has the dedication to get any amount of work done.
Runner	Josh Bateman	Josh is an experienced feature film runner who has worked on 8 productions and a number of student productions. He states that he has prior and similar experience to runner responsibilities in working under long hours, hard work and along client relations in his previous jobs. Through Josh’s prior experience, he would be a successful runner due to having a lot of experience in that area and having a large knowledge of the role and its expectations.
Sound Recordist	Ryan Smith	Through Ryan’s previous experience both academically and work related, he has acquired a range of communication and working skills that can be useful as a runner. Ryan has acquired basic editing skills with sound and video and web blogging experience as well as having experience in conducting independent research.  Ryan has also gained a range of communication skills as well as having time management skills, which is why I believe he could be a sound recordist due to his previous experience in editing sound.