Nowadays, making a film is easier. New technologies and the internet provide access to many information and facilitate communication.
In spite of everything, to make a film requires discipline, organization and investment.
In this series of articles, you’ll see how to make a movie and what are the stages of pre-production, production and post-production.
The pre-production
Pre-production is a very important step, often under-estimated by beginners. It is to do the work in advance of filming to ensure its smooth running.
Here are the different steps to carry out the pre-production phase :
The cutting technique
The cutting technique is the textual form of your scenario. It may also be accompanied by the story board. This task is performed by the director.
The counting
The counting is carried out by the assistant director. This task is to identify and sort sequence by sequence, all the props, sets, costumes and characters.
Location scouting, shooting permits
The phase tracking is to find the locations of each sequence of the scenario. It is necessary to take pictures of the place and inquire about his availability.
Permissions for filming, usually requested by the commissioner, allow it to rotate quietly. If you are many and have equipment on the shoot, I strongly encourage you to make the request. On the other hand, if your shoot is more intimate, you can optionally turn on the sly.
The list of technology
Once the chief operator, the sound engineer and the chief machino have read the script, the shooting script, and possibly have also visited the scene of shootings, they are to the production manager, a technical checklist of the materials they each need.
Of course, in the filming self-produced, the production manager and the producer are one.
The estimated budget
The estimated budget is normally established by the production manager. This document contains all the expenses of the film in the different positions. Quite complex to do for the feature films, it is easier to design for smaller projects.
In the movies, self-produced, the primary position is generally the regulated (food, travel, and equipment)
To note that the tech list and the count help to make the projected budget.
Research funding
To make a film, it takes money. This phase, which, on a feature-length film is headed by the executive producer and his team is to find private and public funds for the realisation of the film (I am also preparing a guide on grant applications).
The cast
The cast is the research phase of your actors.
In a feature-length film, this step is orchestrated by the casting director. There are two main steps. On one side, it is necessary to find your lead and supporting roles through the use of a casting. For this, I advise you to switch ads on the different sites of the cast (I’ll write soon an article about the casting). The second action is to find his small roles and extras. You auditionnez not usually but you will also be hard to find volunteers.
I advise you to ask your friends or close acquaintances. On professional projects, it is the casting director who handles this task.
The negotiation with the lessors
Now, it should be according to your budget, equip you to realize your film. The rental is usually optée by the production companies, but on the shorts, self-produced, it may be worth buying. Up to you to see what is the most profitable.
The work plan
To make a film demand of the organization and thus to have a work plan. This plan is the responsibility of the assistant director. Real jigsaw puzzle, the plan of work is to establish the planning ideal based on several criteria.
You have to juggle with the availability of your actors, technicians and locations of shoots, but also find a schedule little binding, that allows for time-saving, and very energy-efficient. In short, I repeat, a real puzzle which gives you the obligation to make sure sacrifices (I am preparing an article video on the work plan).
Here, we come to the end of this first part of ” how to make a movie “, which, I hope, has helped you to better understand the pre-production phase.
If you have any questions or if you want to have a supplement to this article, don’t hesitate to express yourself in the comments. It is always a pleasure for me to read to you.