Production in the industry

Production
The producer is in the middle of everything. They get things together and move the project forwards. They protect the director. This includes the original idea, script and marketing development.  

The four blocks are:

-          Development

-          Raising money

-          Making it

-          Distribution

 

The Package and Script:

 The package is everything a film needs, a cast, production team, script and a budget. Actors and casting in a critical factor. Usually a script goes through 12 – 15 drafts. The developer and the screen writer work together to know what is important for the audience and try to relate it to them. A good script must care for the character and must be simple and consistent. The script is the foundation of a film.

Investment:

UK film producers go to television companies such as channel 4 or the BBC for funding, as well as asking the Regional film fund. It consists mainly of putting together a group of financers. For the typical film there would be 3 – 10 different companies involved in the same package. Co-production is when you get foreign companies to invest in your film. For UK films they usually investors are commonly from Germany. If you were to have just one investor this has a negative impact in which it means they have full control because they have invested all their money in you. For the best deal to work the companies who wish to invest must have the same vision otherwise you will have different ideas and the film production will just not work.  

Planning:

When shooting a film the producer and director will want to get the harder and trickier scenes out the way. They would have to plan schedules and a lot of prep will have to be done for it to run smoothly in shooting. The casting would be the next biggest step, because you need the right actors to do the right job and perform it well. The director’s right hand would be the semi-photographer, who is able to give their input to suggest improvements.

Budget: 

The budget is all based on investments. The budget is broken down into four sections; the cast, location, props and the extras. They count up what they are and analyse the information which would then come out to be there budget.

The above and below the line costs are very different. Above the costs is the creative talent package, script, producers, director, major actors and novel rights. Below the line is the pre-production shoot, the photography and designers.  

 Audience:

An executive producer always asks who will watch it and where it will be played to attract an audience. When a film it made a defined audience is put in mind. If it a $20million film then it must attract a $20million audience.

Marketing:

Marketing is considered a hidden cost because it isn’t thought about until after the film is made in the UK. The genre is important to the release date because it needs to fit in with the season. For example horror films would come out around Halloween time, festive films around Christmas and family films around the summer. To have a “Must See” film there has to be marketable stars. Big shot actors and directors are these types of marketable stars to pull in people. Hollywood is very different compared to the film industry. Before they can get a green light and commence filming they plan marketing from the start and have a release date ready.