World over, watching movies is the most preferred form of entertainment. When you go to a theater to watch a very awaited flick you have lot of hopes form the same. The films’ characters and story takes you to a whole new world where you live their emotions, excitement, trauma, drama and action.
There are four main categories in film making and they are:
- Development
- Preproduction
- Principal Photography (shooting)
- Post Production
DEVELOPMENT
Development is where the innovative outlook start flowing, the story will take form and starts to mold with each other. A Producer may use every useful resource they could get onto until they come across a story truly worth chasing. A lot of fantastic sources for optioning materials include local and national newspapers, blogs, books and plays. Obviously you can always option an original screenplay or implement a screen writer to generate a script from the book or print media you will have achieved the rights to. After the producer has a script, the next step is to get script coverage or notes.
Some scripts will require numerous coverages until the producers are pleased and willing to send Letters of Purpose to agencies and managers. Determining the best movie director for your project is crucial, and it might even be you. We suggest bringing in a line producer to breakdown your script and generate an estimated spending budget before speaking with investors.
PREPRODUCTION
In the course of Preproduction vital people are introduced onto your team=, most important is the Director (if you have not done so already), the Cinematographer, and the Line Producer.
The Director will definitely produce his/her own imaginative and prescient vision for the script and every sector brought on after this will center around the director’s ideas.
The line producer is mainly responsible for all the physical nuts and bolts of the filmmaking, working out deals for all crew and to be sure the film is not going to exceed the budget. Based on the size of your production a Unit Production Manager (UPM) might be introduced or the Line Producer might work as UPM throughout the shoot which is not unusual.
Next up is introducing on a Director of Photography (DP) which is going to work with your director and accomplish their vision for the film. The director may have a DP at heart that they wish to work with on the film. The DP will definitely stylize the film depending on the shot list and storyboard they have created with the director in the course of preproduction. For a movie director, it is of the greatest significance to create and master the shot list, so the filming procedure will be as smooth as possible.
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY (SHOOTING)
Once you have completed your script, fully casted your film, arranged all of your equipment, locked all your locations, employed the remaining crew, finished you story board and perfected your shot list, you should now be feeling very good because you are ready for Principle Photography.
During Preproduction you will also bring on your First Assistant Director or 1st AD, who will work with the Director and Line Producer and generate a shooting routine. Ensuring each department has sufficient prep time is the best approach to ensure that your set will run effortlessly and you won’t find yourself running around panicking.
The 2nd Assistant Director works directly with the 1st AD and is liable for preparing the daily call sheets and making sure the talent reports to set. What this means is making sure the talent has been through wardrobe and makeup and is camera ready.
The Script supervisor sits right in front of the monitor next to the director and is liable for tracking the films continuity. The scripty follows the script and keeps track of any changes that are made while filming. They also pay close attention to details and monitor the axis and eye lines for each take. Additionally, the Script Supervisor will interact with the Camera and sound department to make sure the slate is correct. At the end of each day production reports and notes for the editor are prepared.
The Gaffer, Grip & Electric, 1st assistant camera, 2nd assistant Camera, and Sound Mixer are all necessary members of the team.
POST PRODUCTION
After you have completed principal photography you are now in Post Production. Time to bring in your editor, composer, sound designer, music supervisor, VFX artist, and colorist.
Post production can be a long and tedious process.
The director will work closely with the editor to choose the takes they like best. A post supervisor may be hired to oversee the post process and make sure everything is happening on time.
The editor will use the notes from the script supervisor to help them navigate through the sea of footage. Hopefully you will not need to schedule re-shoots or replace dialogue. This could potentially become pricey.
After you put together a rough cut, added original score or have attained the rights to use your favorite music, it is time color correct the film. It’s a good idea to test out the film before the picture is locked.
After you (producer) and the director are satisfied, you can promote your movie like hell and submit it to festivals, or if you already have a distribution deal this puts you a step ahead to recouping your finances.
There are many different distribution methods for movies now. An important thing to remember about the production process is that the film is what you set out to make, but the movie is what you produced. Hopefully the project comes out the way you intended, but it most likely will be slightly different either for better or for worse.