Middle School Media
The best thing @ St Andrews
Pre-Production
The pre-production stage is all about the writing and planning. Although all
production stages are equally important, the pre-production stage is vital to
ensure that your production gets off to a good start. Let’s have a look at the
responsibilities within this stage.
Scriptwriter
It is quite obvious that the scriptwriter’s
job is to complete the script of the
production; however, what is less
obvious is how they must communicate
information. The main rule of
scriptwriting is not to say something
that can be communicated with an
image. Having the main character say
‘I’m tired’ is unnecessary, particularly
as you can have them yawn and
stretch to communicate the same
information. Similarly, if you want to
show that a character is generous, rather
than having them say ‘I am going to be
generous’, you can have them donate to
charity or help someone.
Storyboard artist
It is the storyboard artist’s job to draw the storyboard for the production.
There are a couple of important factors for the storyboard artist to remember.
First, be creative! Your production can be much more than a collection of
medium shots. Second, your storyboards don’t have to be masterpieces;
some of the greatest directors have shocking drawing skills. Third, have fun!
The diagram on the following page is an example of how you might set up
your storyboard. You will need to draw one of these cells for each shot
you plan.
Storyboard Tips
-
Draw your storyboards in pencil
-
Select one colour to show actor movement and one colour to show camera movement
-
Don't use stick figures
-
Don't use speech bubbles -its not a comic
Location scout
The location scout’s role, as the
name suggests, is to find the
locations for the film. While
this seems simple, it actually
requires a lot more creativity
than you might think.
Not only does the
location scout have to find
the locations, but they
also need to determine the
suitability of each location for
filming. Does it suit the desired
setting? Will the producer be able to get permission to film? Is there enough light? Are there noise issues? Will people be using it at a particular time? All of these questions are essential to ask – and
if there is an issue, the location scout will need to figure out if it can be resolved; otherwise another location should be found.
Unless you are going to have all of your productions set in a school, you will need to find locations around the school that you can use to simulate different environments. You will also need to consider the restrictions that might be placed upon the use of school locations.
The production plan
-
Intention (What are you doing? Why are you making it?)
-
Audience (Who are you targeting? Be specific. What effect will it have on them?)
-
Genre (What style of film are you making? How will this effect your decisions?)
-
Outline of film/characters/actors (Why is each actor suited for the role?)
-
Lighting (What are you using? Why are you using it? What effect will it have?)
-
Locations (Where? Why? Effect?)
-
Soundtrack (Where? Why? Effect?)
-
Sound effects (Where? Why? Effect?)
-
Costumes (Where? Why? Effect?)
-
Script (Create a complete, properly formatted script)
-
Storyboards (Are they complete for the entire film?)
-
Promotions proposal (Decide on the style and content of promotional poster and DVD)
