Production Documentary

We watched a video on the importance of Production teams as a class, we were asked to make notes on each subheading.


Role
The role of the producer is to come up with the original idea, write the main storyline and organise/hire all the other workers such as, editor, director etc. The producer is the centre of everything about the film, they have the job of looking at the bigger picture of everything, they have to be able to let the director visualise the final ideas. Their role is also to protect the director, allow their ideas to be adapted if the director visualises it differently. The order or producing is, developing the film > raising money to cover costings > making the film > marketing the film. The producer must inspire the director with their ideas and script, this is so that the director simply puts the ideas into a practical performance including a beginning, middle and end.


Package
The package consists of 'who' 'how' and 'what'. 'Who' is the cast, who will play each role, casting is extremely important as the actor must fit the specification of the character and the dialogue that the character says. 'How' is how will the film be made, where will it be filmed and how will each scene be linked or staged. 'What' refers to the production team, which areas of production will be covered by which employee etc. 


Invest
The production team have to look into costings and what's affordable, such as locations. The UK is cheapest for UK film production teams, but different countries have different rules. There are usually 3 - 10 financiers interested in each film, this means there is more than just one person to pitch your idea to. Having just one funder is easier at the start of production, as you can decide on most things, however once the film is marketed they control what happens from then on.


Plan
The film is broken down scene-by-scene, the crew always film the most difficult scenes first to get them out of the way, they could be difficult because of location, actors or particular props. When casting they have to find actors who understand the idea of the film and match the script and storyline to ensure correct casting. The cinematographer is very important as they are the right hand man within production, they have to film your ideas perfectly as they have the hard job of taking the producer and directors ideas and making them visually connect and link together on camera.


Budget
This means investment, as the film is given a budget by the financiers/investors and the producer has to manage the costs evenly considering location, cast and director and editors wages etc. There are above the line costs, and below the line.
Above the line - The more expensive costs e.g. script writing, cast, screenplay, director, producer, cinematographer
Below the line - The extra small costs e.g. sales people, extras, shooting workers, set-up, set designing, costume, photos


Audience
The production team have to think about:
Which cinemas will the film be showing at? Main cities in England? Smaller cinemas? Global cinemas?
Who is the target audience? Does the genre fit the audience?
These two questions are important to think about whilst marketing the final product of the film. The audience also has to bring in at least the same amount of money as it costed to make the film, this way the investor and all workers gain from being involved in the film. 


Marketing 
There are additional costs of marketing, such as:
Global marketplace
Cinemas
DVD
TV
Soundtrack
The most important part of marketing, is trying to advertise the film as a 'need-to-see' so that people who watch advertisements on television, or see posters will immediately want to see the film. The difference between the British Film industry and Hollywood produced films is that British production teams start filming as soon as possible, and use instinct ideas, whereas Hollywood production teams plan really far ahead in terms of release dates and where the film will be shown around the world.