Film Production

The Idea.

Remakes - The Italian Job is a very famous film that has been remade. It was first broadcast-ed in 1969 with famous actors such as Benny Hill, Noel Coward and Michael Caine, who is most famous for his quote 'You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!' In 2003 it was remade with a full new cast and in this they used the new mini's instead of the older versions.

Real Life Events - A film that was based on tragic real life events was 'Munich'. It was made in 2005 and was inspired by the terrible story of the 'Munich massacre' at the Olympic games in 1972. It was directed and produced by arguably one of the best film makers of all time Steven Spielberg.

Original Ideas - Harry Potter is a film that was put together from original ideas, J.K Rowling said in an interview once that she just had glimpses of imagination on a long train journey. A famous quote of hers is "I haven't got the faintest idea where my ideas come from, or how my imagination works. I'm just grateful that it does, because it gives me more entertainment than it gives anyone else."

Adaptions - The Taking Of Pelham 123 was surprisingly a book first and was then adapted into a film. It was written in 1973, with a first film published in 1974 and the better known remake of the film, the one with John Travolta and Denzel Washington being released in 2009. This shows that relatively unknown and unheard of books can create great films.

The Producer - Producers are the people given the job of making ideas into reality, a good example of a producer is Walt Disney.

The Director - Director are the people that consult with the producer on how to develop an idea into a film. It would be better to have a well known director, such as Steven Spielberg as it would help get a good writer for the film.

The Writer - The chemistry between the director, producer and writer is key, to make a top film. Normally the producer will approach the writer however in some rare instances, the writer may already have an idea for a film and a script, so approach the producer and director.

Treatment - The treatment is what the writer will write, preceding to the film being made. It is a one page description of the plot and the main characters. (For example, J.R.R Tolkien wrote a treatment for The Hobbit).

Pitch - A pitch is a document which contains all of the information the producer would need in order for them to sell the idea to financiers, leading to a commission for the script. It would have a brief synopsis of the film also containing a rough budget.

Development Finance

Pitching The Project - For the film to happen the producer will need to use their pitches skills and equipment for their skills to find an investor.

The Production Company -These are very important. If the producer is able to persuade the production company that the film is going to make a big sum of profit then they may offer development money to go towards the script.

Sales, Distribution & Broadcast - Sales companies are the people who would produce development money if they feel that the film will be marketable. 
Distribution companies are very important. They are the people who will make sure that the film will reach it's intended audience if not bigger than they set out for. They would ask for rights to distribute the film to exhibitors.
The broadcaster is the person/company which will ask for rights to show films on certain channels.

Public Investment - Here the producer would apply to a public funding body so they would receive a development grant.

Private Finance - These are the people with the financial resources who are needed to develop a script. Unfortunately for some producers good investors will come in towards to early stages of a film. If someone comes in early to invest it usually means they will demand a lot back, as the element of risk will be larger.

Tying Down The Writer - This is just the same as tying down a film star  The writer, if high profile enough, will have an agent acting as a sales agent on his behalf.

Script Development 

Synopsis - Very Important. When the director/producer sit down and agree or disagree on the key scenes/events. They also have to make sure everything stays in budget.

Step Outline - This is pretty self explanatory, where a step by step is created, outlining what will happen in the film and where.

Drafts - When the first draft is made. Drafts contain more than just dialogue, they also contain the actions on the screen so will take a lot of time to right.

Revisions - This is when after the first drat is created it is sent to the financiers. They make tweak it a little bit or add their own ideas in.

Final Draft - Once everyone is happy (The writer, producer, director and financiers) the script is taken to the next stage. This is normally the writes final contribution unless they are needed for re-writes later on in the production stages.

Sales Treatment - This is when the sales team is formed, they have to make trailers, posters and other stuff which will promote the film.

Packaging

What is packaging? - It is very simple, it is when the producer and director package the script. This means they make sure it is ready to finance.

The Cast - Well known stars are very good if they want to attract a wide range of viewers to the screen, it is only so often that a film will be a hit at the box office without any famous stars.

The Heads Of Department - The editor can transform a film, he is often picked up early as he is essential and cold maybe persuade investors that he has previously worked with. The production designer is needed as they are important for the visual parts of the film. The director of photography is there for the creative element of the film. The produces assistant is the person who brings them all together.

Detailed Budget and Finance Plan - The producer figures out how much it is going to cost and then works out how he is going to raise the money.

The Complete Package - Now the film is said to have been 'packaged'. Now the producer is at the stage where he is trying to raise funds.

Financing

There is a big market is the financial industry, this means that the producer must travel alot, sometimes even all around the world in order to find the best financier for their movie. The financiers will always want a share of the fortune created. The producers lawyer will draw up the contract to secure investment. Pre-sales are also a great opportunity to make money. In some banks there is a special section which will deal with film financing  therefore the producer could always take a loan out of there. After all of this is sorted out the so called 'green light' is given out and the pre-production can begin.

Pre-Production

First of all there is a meeting, with all of the new employed heads of department. The casting director and producer then decide on actors/actresses to fill the roles. After that story boards are created. This is one of the first steps as every shot can be planned in advance before it is done. The film is then designed by the new employees e.g. the costume designer. The special effects are then planned. This is really important for the majority of blockbusters as these could make or break to films.

The Shoot

The 1st day of principal photography is said to be the key moment in film production, as it is when shooting begins. The funding is also released. Once hair and make up is complete it is time for filming to begin. Once it starts the camera men have to make sure that every piece is shown to the producer director to make sure it is correct and the like it. It is essential that the production is run precisely or financiers may have to step in.

Post Production

As self explanatory as it sounds this is the stage straight after production. The editor, who has the most important job in this bit assembles the footage into scenes and creates a narrative sequence for the film. Also there is he composer who works with the director to write and make music for the film. Digital effects are added to the film as well  the majority of films nowadays contain some sort of digital effects. At the end of this stage the final mix of music is produced and the final cut of the film is finished.

Sales

There is now a product that can be sold and also advertised.  The producer will probably hire a sales agent for the film, who will obviously be in charge of the sales. A trailer is made and then a distribution company will move it on and show it to a wide audience in order to gain publicity. They normally would show screenings at top film festivals, this is good as if it is liked a quality deal can be struck with distributors. 

Marketing

This is similar to sales, it is when the sales agent will try to increase the hype of the film. One of the best ways to increase popularity of the film and the hype of it is to show trailers at big events such as the Super bowl. They could also make posters and stick them around places. In some cases such as World War Z a spin-off game was created and released before the release date of the film so that more people knew about it, a special website dedicated towards the film was also made. Finally, distributors will negotiate a deal with certain cinemas to screen it.

Exhibition

To launch the film a massive premier is normally held, notoriously it is held in either Hollywood for American releases and Leicester Square for UK releases. This is when some of the most important people in the whole process will recoup their money. Exhibitors will take their percentage of the box office receipts, distributors will regain their marketing costs, and also financiers will recover their investments, with interest.

Other Windows

The film can be sold to hotels and aeroplane companies which will show in-flights. This will gain millions of pounds as it will be internationally done. DVD's will also earn probably as much money as the average box-office sale and then after that the film is sold onto television channels such as Sky Movies.