Unit 1 - Pre Production Techniques

 Time

1.   What is a shooting schedule? A shooting schedule is a detailed plan that gives us all the information that someone would need whilst working on a film. The assistant director creates the schedule and then gives it to the production manager who then manages the schedule. The shooting schedule has details about locations, technicians, special effects, actors, vehicles, animals etc. anything that is related to the production of the film. It also contains a timeline which says which states, where and when the production resources are used. The schedule can have changes in the pre-production stage. But once established, everyone involved has to respect it. No change is effected in the production of a film without regard to shooting schedule. An established format of shooting schedule is followed and is given to the producers and everyone else involved in the film.
2.  Why important to have a shooting schedule? How long does it take to use music or clearances to get pro-mission to use it? When using music in a documentary you need two different licences, a publishing licence and a recording licence. A publishing licence, this is from the people who own the copyright to the piece of music for example the lyrics and composition. And a recording licence is from the artist who performed the version of music that you want to use. You also have to contact the owner of the copyright of that certain song and wait to receive a response within 10 days. Also it's important to have a shooting schedule because it keeps the cast and crew aware on what's going to happen daily whilst filming. 

Personnel 

1. Form a documentary/ies of your choice, look at the credits, research the crew members (cameras, sound, researchers etc.) what have they worked on before, what qualifications/experience do they have? The documentary of my choice was The Most Hated Family In America. 

The crew was members were... 

Produced by 

Stuart Cabb	...	series producer
Emma Cooper	...	assistant producer
Nick Mirsky	...	executive producer
Geoffrey O'Connor	...	producer
Louis Theroux	...	consulting producer

Cinematography by 

Geoffrey O'Connor

Film Editing by 

Rob Kuhns

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director 

Mike Godfrey

...

first assistant director

Sound Department 

James Baker	...	sound recordist
Bob Jackson	...	dubbing mixer

Camera and Electrical Department 

Geoffrey O'Connor

...

camera operator

Editorial Department 

Tom Caruso	...	assistant editor
Simon Graham	...	on-line editor

The producers have worked on other Louis Theroux documentaries before this one and Stuart Cabb is the owner of independent production company Plum Pictures. Geoffrey O'Connor who did the cinematography is an Academy Award Nominated writer and director as well as a cinematographer. Basically everyone who was apart of the crew for this documentary is well known and are extremely talented in what they do that's why they got to work for the BBC. It's important for the BBC to get the right crew because it's going to be seen by a lot of people and they want to keep up their professional image. 


To become a Film Producer you should have a degree in Business or Film Studies, they need to have a good understanding of how films work and how they make money. Producers have control for the whole films production, they also bring together the whole production team. Cinematographers usually need a Bachelor's degree in Film and Cinema and they might go back to university to receive a Master's Degree in Cinematography. To become a Film Editor you should have a degree in Media studies, TV Broadcast/Journalism or Communications in Mass Media and you have to be able to use multiple editing software systems. To become a Sound Mixer you must have a degree in Sound Technology, Audio Engineering, Acoustics and Music Recording and have knowledge about Media, you can get qualifications from doing short courses like National Film & Television School (NFTS), National Short Course Training Programme. And to become a camera operator there isn't any specific qualifications that are required to work in this role, although film schools and training courses offer a good basic grounding in the skills and knowledge required and lots of Camera Operators have studied for higher level qualifications. The most useful courses offer practical experience and may also include work experience placements. Relevant courses include City & Guilds courses, BTEC, Foundation degrees, first degrees and postgraduate qualifications in media, film and TV production or cinematography.

Louis Theroux wrote, starred and he helped produce this documentary. He is an award-winning, British-American TV journalist, renowned for his bizarre style of journalism, he has a degree in History.  He has multiple different successful documentaries, he had a TV show called Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends where he interviews people such as survivalists, black nationalists, white supremacists and porn stars and finds out about how they live their daily life and why they do the things that they choose to do. Also he had a TV Show called When Louis Met...this is about him documenting British celebrities and seeing their day-to-day business, interviewing them about their lives and experiences. He also has a wide number of documentary films he has made here is a list...

Louis and the Brothel

Louis, Martin & Michael

Louis and the Nazis

Gambling in Las Vegas

The Most Hated Family in America

Under the Knife

Behind Bars

African Hunting Holiday

Law and Disorder in Philadelphia

Law and Disorder in Johannesburg

A Place for Paedophiles

The City Addicted to Crystal Meth

America's Medicated Kids

Law and Disorder in Lagos

Ultra Zionists

America's Most Hated Family in Crisis

Miami Mega Jail

America's Most Dangerous Pets

Extreme Love: Autism

Extreme Love: Dementia

Twilight of the Porn Stars 

Finance

1. Where do you get money from to make a documentary? If your an independent film/documentary maker there are a few different ways to get money to make your production. For example getting donations is a way to get money to go towards your documentary, you could do this by a fund raising event etc. Although the donation might not necessary be money, it could just be people/volunteers willing to help out as much as they can. You can find crew and people donating equipment that an independent film maker might not be able to afford. You can also use government money because film grants exist but you have to pitch your idea to be able to gain this money and it doesn't come easily. You can also get money from investors, raising money can be hard but it can be done. You need to have a realistic and have a budget, and do research on other documentaries and see how much they cost to produce and market. The information you find will help to develop a clear business plan for your project. Investors will want to see a business plan, an approximate timeline for recouping their money and a synopsis of the documentary and actors/participants attached to the documentary and the cost per point of the documentary they will be investing in.
   

The BFI funds films and they support film makers in the UK, they fund script development, film production,short films, film export and distribution, cinemas, film education, culture and archives, festivals and audience support schemes. 

1. How did the documentary you have watched get funded? The documentary I watched was The Most Hated Family in America, it was funded by the BBC because it's a BBC documentary film, written and presented by Louis Theroux who works for the BBC. My chosen documentary was easily funded by a huge broadcasting corporation unlike independent documentaries. 
2. How much is it to clear music or clips from other TV/film companies. There isn't a clear answer for this because it depends on what your making and which company you work for. You can have to pay up to $4000 a 1 minute to use other clips in your TV/show and it can take up to 10 days to get a response, so don't contact the owner of the copyrights unless you get a response. 

Locations

1. Where was the documentary you have chosen filmed? The documentary I choose was filmed in Topeka, Kansas the film studio was 

   Regal Hollywood Stadium 14,

    

   6200 SW 6th Ave Topeka. And most of the documentary was based around the Westboro Baptist Church. To film in Topeka they would have to get permission or notify the appropriate authority. They would also need Public Liability Issuance and they would have informed the local Topeka police department and got the legal requirement to film in an religious building. 

You can just contact the police on their website and ask them for permission to film a documentary in this area, informing them that they were going to be filming the families whilst they stand outside dead soldiers funerals etc. To film in the church they would have to go to the address 3701 SW 12th St, Topeka, KS 66604, United States or ring the phone number +1 785-273-0325 and ask for permission to film in this religious building.

2. What did they have to do to get permission to film there? They asked the the Phelps family, if they were happy with the BBC filming them and ask if the State's government if they were allowed to film on their streets for a documentary. And when they are filming in a certain place like Westboro Baptist Church ask the owner of that building for permission to film there. 

3. Make sure you have commented about why you get permission. You must get permission to film because they are owned by people and they have to decide if they want their property being filmed. 

Facilities 

From the same documentary, find out what equipment they might have used, any specialist kit that they needed.    

• Cameras

• Tripod/Dolly's/Cranes

• Lights/Back lights, key lights and fill lights

• Sound

• Microphone

• Mixers and DAT records

• Transport

Because this documentary was funded by the BBC and the crew were all highly qualified and professional in their jobs they would be supplied with the best equipment for the bullet points I have mentioned. 

1. What camera, sound, editing equipment will you need to make your documentary, what are the technical specs of these? For making my own independent documentary I will need to use a hand held camera like a SONY GV-HD700 which is £38 to hire a day. 
   
    And I would also need to edit the footage on a Macbook on Final Cut Pro. 
   
   This would cost be 13.40 per week. I would be able to hire this when i've got all my finished footage and edit it for a week. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Depending on which lights I would want to use for my filming, the price range could go from £35 to £50. 
   
   
   
   The price range for microphones go from £6.00 up to £64.00 for microphones, I would do research on which microphones are better for my documentary and hire the ones relevant. 
   
   
   
   
   
   The price range for a Tripods/Dolly's/Cranes goes from £5 - £18 a day
   
   
   
   

2. What are the costs of hiring? Camera £38 + MacBook + £13.30 + Lights £50 + Microphone £64 + Tripod £16 a day = £181.30
3. Why is having the right kit important? It is important to have the right kit because you want your production to be at it's best quality and you don't want to waste your money and time and you need to be serious and passionate about what your researching and find out what's the best equipment to use for a documentary. 

Materials 

1. From a documentary you have seen what archive or materials from the other films/programmes have they used? who would they need to get the clearance from to use this footage? To be able to use other peoples footage from films they would have to pay to use the clips and would have to talk to the copyright holders and get a license. The documentary I have chosen doesn't show any other materials from other films and programmes because it is based around a family and why they do such hateful things. Although another documentary that I've watched that uses music and clips from other people, is Super Size Me in this documentary they have used popular music such as Queen's song Fat Bottomed Girls and other relevant songs regarding weight and fast food. The song's tie in with the documentary and also they use artwork of McDonalds clowns and children that are rather disturbing and put you off eating at the fast food restaurant because they make it seem evil. Also the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated they have used clips from films and comparing them to other films with similar content that have been given a higher rating. They also interviewed the producers, actors and directors of these films, which they gave the permission to use their film clips in this documentary, they would have contacted the copyright owners for every film used and get clearance for those clips. In both documentaries they interviewed the correct people they needed to interview, in the Super Size Me documentary there was interviews with doctors explaining what this kind of diet and food does to your health, also interviews with companies that work for fast food chains that are promoting the business, but the facts from the doctors tell us that McDonalds seriously damages your health. And the interviews with This Film Is Not Yet Rated are against the MPAA which is what the documentary is trying to make the audience grasp and understand how hard it is for film makers, and with those interviews you can realise how hard it is to get your film out there.

Clearance for films...

"PRS for Music is a UK copyright collection society and performance rights organisation undertaking collective rights management" This organisation represents the rights of over 100,000 members in the UK.They license organisations to play, perform or make available copyright music on behalf of their members and those of overseas societies, distributing the royalties to them fairly and efficiently. They promote and protect the value of copyright. And royalty free means that you try to use copyrighted material without having to pay royalty fees. You should try to find things that are royalty free so that you do not have to pay out an extra amount of money to be able to use specific music or clips.

1. Have they used popular music, who would they have to get the clearance from? If you want to use popular music in your film you would have to contact the copyright holders and get their approval If there's a certain piece of music you want to use you need to contact the publisher to investigate who owns the rights to the music. And it's very important to note that film makers spend a lot of their budget on buying rights, so it's better for your pocket if your making an independent film to use your own music or free music.
2. What is a clearance/copyright, and who do you pay to get one? Once you transfer your idea from your mind to some form of media (written, video, audio, etc.) it is copyrighted. But, if you want to prosecute someone for copyright violation, you need to register it. There is no charge to sign up to Copyright Licensing service. 

Contributors

1. From a documentary of your choice, find out who the contributors were, who have they interviewed? 

The people getting interviewed were the family who picket the funerals of soldiers in protest against an America that tolerates homosexuality. And their names are Steve Drain, Fred Phelps, Jael Phelps, Megan Phelps-Roper, Rebekah Phelps-Roper and Shirley Phelps-Roper and pastor Gramps.