Film Production

Title Flowchart

Inspirational Sources - these sources could be

anything from just a conversation with a friend or
another media source (newspapers, TV programs
etc.)

The producer is the centre of the film’s production

and is the person that decides if this film can be
turned into reality. Pitches and presentations are
made to present to the director.
Idea The director is the person who can visualises how the
producer’s idea will be shown to the audience on the
big screen and then the writer starts to break down
the idea into a treatment; which makes it something
malleable that the director can use.
The film This Is England was written and directed by
Shane Meadows, who used his own experiences in life
as a basis for this film.
Shaun of the Dead however was inspired by the
horror Dawn of the Dead and this spoof was directed
by Edgar Wright. Because this was a spoof, they have
taken the idea of Dawn of the Dead and made into
more of a comedy than a horror film.

The treatment is then created so that the main

overview of the story and main personas can be
described to the financers when doing the pitch to
gain the film’s funding.

The pitch is presented to the financers so that

funding can be secured. This funding will enable the
writer to then go on and start to break down a script.

The producer can then go to production companies

(e.g. Working Title) for funding for development.
However, they can sometimes have their own
projects to deal with.

Or, the producer can offer the future sales and rights
to the film. In return for the rights, the producer can
then gain funding for their production. (An example
of television pre-sales could be when FilmFour made
a deal with Warp Films).
Developing the Film’s
Financing The UK Film Council or a Government Grant can be
an option, but the producer needs to make sure that
they have a certainty on their audience that this film
will sell to.

Private Investors are hard to persuade to invest (just

like Dragon’s Den) because they will be wanting a lot
in return for their money.

The Writer’s Agent is the person that protects the

writer when he or she is trying to seal a deal with the
producer and director. There will be a number of
drafts before the script is just right.

A Synopsis is produced by the writer and the

producer together, noting the key scenes and events
that will take place in the film.

A Step Outline is created by the writer which

describes all of the scenes that will make up the
script; showing where the scene breaks will occur.
Script Development
The hardest part of Screenwriting can be producing
the first draft of the script, which is then sent to the
financers to check it and incorporate their own ideas.

Once the drafts have been completed and checked,

the Final Draft is produced and the writer is then
paid. The Sales Treatment is then created in order to
promote the Final Draft to the potential financers.

The Producer and Director then need to package the

script so that it is ready to finance; this package is the
script in a full commercial proposition.

Attaching well known stars to the script is a very good

way of making the script commercial. The HODS
(Heads of Departments) are the people that discuss
the package with the knowledgeable financers.
Packaging
The budget is now split into the vital Above the Line
and Below the Line costs in order to make sure that
the producer and director know how much
everything will cost.

The Finance Plan (how the producer will raise the

money) is shown to the potential investors as well as
the Recoupment Schedule (how the project will make
the money back). The Completed Package is shown
to potential funders (which contains all of the above).

The Producer must travel in order to secure financing;

as they can be anywhere in the world. The Producer’s
Lawyer draws up contracts in order to seal the deal
with financers; which could be private individuals,
production companies and public bodies.

Presales can be made in order to secure funding by

the producer selling the rights to the film.
If we looked at Warp Films for instance, we know that
Departments of Banks also can give loans to the
they get their funding from NESTA (National
Financing producer.
Endowment for Science Technologies and the Arts)
and also we know that Working Title gain their
Insurance for the Production is when most financers funding from Universal Studios because they are part
will insist that a completion bond is in place before of a conglomerate.
they put their money on the table.

Once the financing and insurance is secured, the

Producer will get the ‘Green Light’ for the film.

When the HODS are hired, the Pre-Production begins

when the Shooting Script is circulated. The Casting
process begins with the Director, Producer and the
Casting Director and who would fit into each
persona.

Storyboards are the Blueprints for the film and are

made by the Director and the DOP; these storyboards
The Storyboarding process was developed by Walt
Pre-Production are the plans for each shot. The Production Designer
Disney Studios during the early 1930s.
plans out how each part of the film will be visually
displayed to the audience.

Effects Shots are planned to a far greater level and

can take months to actually design and build. The Line
Producer and the Production Manager start to create
the production’s Key Logistic Triangle.

This is the key part of Film Production. The shoot now

begins and the funding is distributed between the
departments. The Camera Department are the
department who gain all of the footage that the
Director and Editor want to tell the story to the
audience.
The shooting can begin once the Lighting and Sound
have been set up and the Make-Up has been
checked. The Actors must then play the part and put
emotion and drama into the story to make it come to
The Shoot life.
Special Physical Effects are constructed and created
with the effort to make injury and risk as little as
possible.
A good example of showing that the shots that they
shoot are not necessarily in chronological order of the
narrative is Star Wars: The Clone Wars because one
of the main personas called Anakin has his hair at
different lengths during the film. This shows that the
shooting of the film was not done in the order of the
narrative and therefore his hair has grown
throughout the shooting process and was at different
lengths in the final cut.

Military Precision is made when the Film Production

process is taking place and financers and investors
may want to step in to help if the schedule is falling
behind.

The Editor starts to assemble the footage together

into scenes and into a Narrative Sequence for the
story. The Sound Department then takes the
sequence and starts to work on the Audio Track
Laying.

Specialist Effects Compositors add the Digital Effects

and the Titles and Credits are added in a Compositing
Suite.
Post Production
The Colour is Adjusted and the Fine Aesthetics of the
Film are established. The Rough Sound Mix goes to a
Dubbing Theatre after the Picture Lock and the
Sound Mixer sets the Final Levels.
Avatar used a lot of CGI (Computer Generated
Imagery) to create the world around the characters
and make the creatures seem real to the audience.
The music selected also related well to the narrative
because of the tribal singing.

The Final Cut is then produced and is made into the

Full Lock when is ready for Duplication.

A Sales Agent, who specialises in Film Sales, provides

his service to the producer and helps him to secure
sales. The Trailer is producer in order to attract the
Target Audience.

A Sales Toolkit is produced by the Producer and the

Sales Agent and lengths need to be taken in order to
attract attention to the film.
Sales
A High Profile Screening can be set up in order to
raise awareness to the audience and get the overall
‘Heat’ of the film intensified.

Distributors around the world will now make the deal

with the producer after the successful Film Festival.

The Marketing Team run Test Screenings in order to

see how the film is received by the audience. Posters,
Cinema Trailers, TV Spots and many more methods
are used in order to grab the audience’s attention
towards the film.
Word of Mouth is essential on getting the film’s
Marketing positive reviews out to others and can be in
Newspapers, Magazines, Radio and Television.
The Internet has enabled films to flood out towards
the audience and has also allowed Niche Marketing
possible. Cinemas also need to have deals made with
them in order to Screen the films.
A lot of films now are publicised the media greatly
and would not be there today without the
newspapers, radio and television. Also, the internet
has played a huge part in making success for films,
although all of the business with pirate and watching
films illegally online has been a downside to the
making money from films because people can
therefore just watch them online instead of buying
them legally.

A Premiere is constructed in order to launch out the

film to the audience and make them highly aware of
it because of the Media and Stars invited.

A great example of this is Warp Films’ deal with

Prints of the Film are Distributed by to the Exhibitors FilmFour because that include presales for the
and the more Screenings the film has, the more prints institute and also they know that it will be shown to
Exhibition that are needed. the audience on the FilmFour Channel and so know
that it can defiantly be shown after being exhibited at
the cinemas.
The Exhibitors take their share of the Box Office
Receipts. After this process, the Distributors recoup
the Marketing Costs and the Recoupment Schedule
can be used to recover back the money that the
financers put in.

Hospitality Sales from In-Flight Entertainment and

Hotel Channels can bring in millions to the Additional
Revenue and DVD sales play an import part in gaining
profits.
Other Windows
Television Broadcasting and Games Based on the
Film all will add to the Additional Revenue made and
the Profit can be then distributed out to the Key
Creative People and the Producer.

Page 1 Matthew Dalby

November 3, 2010