Pre-Production Theory
When completing pre-production several documents are produced to assist the production process. These documents include: A film script, storyboards, a script breakdown, a budget, clearances and a risk assessment. Each document has its own significance during the filmmaking process and makes it easier in the production stage.
Film Scripts
After you have created your idea in development you must create the story in a logical way that makes it easy for the producers, actors and other crew members to understand. The script provides the gateway to begin telling your story and creates a guideline to follow.
Without a script , there is no development of your idea. This would be reflected in your final film as the plot would be incohesive and wouldn't be a masterpiece. If you take the time to write the script based around your idea, then there is already some sort of structure set up. The script can then be turned into to storyboards and other documents to fully develop your idea.
Many features within the script provide information to help further develop the film content and visual aspects. Using this professional script from the film ,"American Hustle" written by Eric Warren Singer and David O.Russell, I will pull apart the key features of the script and how its used to make the film.
Without a script , there is no development of your idea. This would be reflected in your final film as the plot would be incohesive and wouldn't be a masterpiece. If you take the time to write the script based around your idea, then there is already some sort of structure set up. The script can then be turned into to storyboards and other documents to fully develop your idea.
Many features within the script provide information to help further develop the film content and visual aspects. Using this professional script from the film ,"American Hustle" written by Eric Warren Singer and David O.Russell, I will pull apart the key features of the script and how its used to make the film.
From the 4th line we see "Int.PLAZA HOTEL WINDOW NYC - Day". From this the director can get an idea of what locations he will need to shoot the film. Int. , short for interior reveals that it will be shot inside and not exterior/outside (Ext.) The use of Title Card: allows the film makers to tell the audience where the film is set without having to show shots of the location. The first time a character is introduced their name appears in capitals, to make it clear to the director that another actor is needed. For example "IRVING ROSENFIELD". After the character name is a small description so the director can get an image of what they look like and how they interact. This comes in useful when hiring actors as it narrows down to possibilities of who should play the role. Descriptions often include what the character is wearing so the wardrobe department can prepare costumes and clothing. In this script Carmine Polito is described as "swath of salt and pepper hair, cream suit, pinky ring". Anything that is not bold or under bold text is known as Action. This section of the script provides details of what the characters physical actions when not speaking. From the script we see that " Irving is now dressed, ready, and walks down the hall to another room". This acts as a set of clear instructions the director will follow and gives a brief outline of what will happen in the shots. Little details such as CAMERA PANS give hints to the camera operators of what they should focus on how they should film and what is in the shot. Last of all, the names in bold indicated that the character is going to speak.
As we can see after the bold name, is some normal text. This is the dialogue of the film and is what you will hear the actors say on screen. The language within suggests the tone of voice and how the actor should be saying it. These features combine together to create a film script. The writer would use all of these in his work to make it clear to the directors, cast, crew during production , which will then make sense to the audience when they view it.
This is how a professional script is formatted. Using all of the above, every script should follow the layout. This can be done in any software from Microsoft Word - High costing software. However, it is very hard to format in word and takes up a lot of time. To save time and keep it in a professional format I use Adobe Story which is a free online programme. It formats the document for you so you do not need to waste time. Every time you switch location a new section on the side is created. Which makes navigating the script a lot easier. The software is even capable of remembering the location names, so you don't need to keep fully typing them out. Here is an example of my own script:
(Image from: https://www.finaldraft.com/assets/images/home/final_draft_desktop.jpg)
(Image from: http://www.videomaker.com/article/17031-a-plea-for-pre-production)
Using this quote from Robert Altman (Famous for the film MASH ) " I don't think screenplay writing is the same as writing - I mean, I think it's blueprinting" Which reveals that the script isn't the full story but a way to making a piece of art in the filming process. With the details in the script being the plan but the full film being a building/ full product.
In another quote ,"With a good script a good director can produce a masterpiece; with the same script a mediocre director can make a passable film.But with a bad script even a good director can't possibly make a good film " by Akira Kurosawa (Famous Japanese filmmaker), it highlights the importance of a script and that no matter if its formatted professional, if the content is lacking a poor film will be made as a result.
To sum up, a script tells you your dialogue, your action and what is looks like which helps to make a visual story on screen. Although, the content needs to be quality to make an outstanding film.
In another quote ,"With a good script a good director can produce a masterpiece; with the same script a mediocre director can make a passable film.But with a bad script even a good director can't possibly make a good film " by Akira Kurosawa (Famous Japanese filmmaker), it highlights the importance of a script and that no matter if its formatted professional, if the content is lacking a poor film will be made as a result.
(Image from: http://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/pictures/800/26000/Akira-Kurosawa.jpg)
(Image from: http://screenplayscripts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Hitchcockimg2-300x241.jpg)
Yet again another quote highlighting the importance of the script. This time by the famous film director, Alfred Hitchcock. Which uses repetition to illuminate that good films, come from good scripts.
Storyboards
Storyboards is the next process after the script. Storyboard artists use the literal words to create a visual image, which in turn creates a story. They help to blueprint/ map out the visual action and help to plan out shot width when filming. For example if a character is feeling a certain emotion the artist may draw a close up of the character and show the feeling through facial features/body language. Which might not be clear in the script, although in your drawings it is clearly expressed. Although story boarding can be seen as tedious it helps you share your vision of the story you want to tell. Instead of talking to a person for hours on end. about what it will look like, you can use a storyboard to physically show them your ideas.
In basic terms the storyboard is a graphical breakdown of the film, shot by shot. To go with the storyboard is normally a description of the action, dialogue and sound effects occurring in the film.
good comparison is too think of the style comic books follow.
Storyboards can also be used as an early plan for the edit. As the storyboard artist determines what comes after each other and what the shot will look like which gives the editor a rough guide to go off. Which can save time and money, as the editor doesn't need to keep changing the product to match the directors vision.
Professional Storyboarding
When an artist is done drawing the images for a whole script (over four thousand are drawn for Pixar animations) he will pin them up on a board in a map like structure to form something similar to a timeline of the production. Creating a literal, storyboard.This will then be pitched to the producer and employees as the film idea. During the storyboard process you can re-drawn scenes you are not happy with and add/remove elements in the scene.
From the storyboards of Toy Story, you can see all the detail the artist has put in. Such as the types of shot, as in the first board we see a close up of Woody's Face and a full version of the toy soldier. From the angle the solider is at you can see that he is in a panic and is shouting. With all of this done without words.You can also see how the story progresses in a short number of images, as it goes from all the toys in a bucket to them climbing down the banister into the lower grounds of the house. It is evident that the artist has took his time in thinking of the perspectives as out of the 12 storyboards the following shoots are included: Close up, wide shot,mid shot and low angle shot.
Using this video, you can see the close resemblance to the storyboard and the film. Which for me hints that a good storyboard means that production will be a lot easier as you already know the scenes and shots you need to film.
At this stage in my studies I find story boarding to be the worst part of pre production and find it difficult to draw . However, I understand that a good storyboard saves lots of money in feature films as you waste less time shooting/re-shooting.
" In animation, it is so expensive to produce the footage, that unlike live action we cannot have coverage. We can’t do multiple takes of a scene. We don’t have extra handles, we don’t have B-roll, we don’t have any of that stuff. We have one chance to every scene. So how can you possibly know you’re choosing the right thing?
What we do is we edit the movie before we start production. And we use storyboard drawings to do that. We quickly get away from the written page and the script, and we really develop the movie in storyboards." John Lasseter Chief Creative Officer at Pixar
Lasseter's quote perfectly sums up the purpose of storyboards and gives a strong example of why we should bother spending the time in creating them. If we didn't have storyboards budgets would be a lot higher as we would spend more time in getting the footage that making the film within a tight schedule. The quote further reveals that the scripts are no longer that significant and that the real key to the film is the storyboard itself.
My Own Storyboards
Now that I have seen how the professionals complete the storyboard side of pre production, I had ago my self at creating a series of images for my own short film:
Storyboards is the next process after the script. Storyboard artists use the literal words to create a visual image, which in turn creates a story. They help to blueprint/ map out the visual action and help to plan out shot width when filming. For example if a character is feeling a certain emotion the artist may draw a close up of the character and show the feeling through facial features/body language. Which might not be clear in the script, although in your drawings it is clearly expressed. Although story boarding can be seen as tedious it helps you share your vision of the story you want to tell. Instead of talking to a person for hours on end. about what it will look like, you can use a storyboard to physically show them your ideas.
In basic terms the storyboard is a graphical breakdown of the film, shot by shot. To go with the storyboard is normally a description of the action, dialogue and sound effects occurring in the film.
good comparison is too think of the style comic books follow.
(Image from: http://gawpstorage.s3.amazonaws.com/video-maker-tips/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/storyboard-2.jpg)
Storyboards can also be used as an early plan for the edit. As the storyboard artist determines what comes after each other and what the shot will look like which gives the editor a rough guide to go off. Which can save time and money, as the editor doesn't need to keep changing the product to match the directors vision.
Professional Storyboarding
When an artist is done drawing the images for a whole script (over four thousand are drawn for Pixar animations) he will pin them up on a board in a map like structure to form something similar to a timeline of the production. Creating a literal, storyboard.This will then be pitched to the producer and employees as the film idea. During the storyboard process you can re-drawn scenes you are not happy with and add/remove elements in the scene.
(Image from: http://pixar-animation.weebly.com/storyboard.html)
From the storyboards of Toy Story, you can see all the detail the artist has put in. Such as the types of shot, as in the first board we see a close up of Woody's Face and a full version of the toy soldier. From the angle the solider is at you can see that he is in a panic and is shouting. With all of this done without words.You can also see how the story progresses in a short number of images, as it goes from all the toys in a bucket to them climbing down the banister into the lower grounds of the house. It is evident that the artist has took his time in thinking of the perspectives as out of the 12 storyboards the following shoots are included: Close up, wide shot,mid shot and low angle shot.
Using this video, you can see the close resemblance to the storyboard and the film. Which for me hints that a good storyboard means that production will be a lot easier as you already know the scenes and shots you need to film.
At this stage in my studies I find story boarding to be the worst part of pre production and find it difficult to draw . However, I understand that a good storyboard saves lots of money in feature films as you waste less time shooting/re-shooting.
" In animation, it is so expensive to produce the footage, that unlike live action we cannot have coverage. We can’t do multiple takes of a scene. We don’t have extra handles, we don’t have B-roll, we don’t have any of that stuff. We have one chance to every scene. So how can you possibly know you’re choosing the right thing?
What we do is we edit the movie before we start production. And we use storyboard drawings to do that. We quickly get away from the written page and the script, and we really develop the movie in storyboards." John Lasseter Chief Creative Officer at Pixar
Lasseter's quote perfectly sums up the purpose of storyboards and gives a strong example of why we should bother spending the time in creating them. If we didn't have storyboards budgets would be a lot higher as we would spend more time in getting the footage that making the film within a tight schedule. The quote further reveals that the scripts are no longer that significant and that the real key to the film is the storyboard itself.
My Own Storyboards
Now that I have seen how the professionals complete the storyboard side of pre production, I had ago my self at creating a series of images for my own short film:
(I have created 15 image for my film and included them for different angles to show an understanding)
Although I haven't created 4000 storyboards. I have created 15 for my one minute film, with each storyboard for a key action scene. In the second image I thought about the framing of a ninja face so I could create a good close up shot. The third image is only one of series that go together to make an action sequence, with it being a wide shot. After this image I created a close up of the ninja in the tunnel but changing the perspective, as if you were in the tunnel with him. My first image acts as the introduction to the film and acts as part of the establishing shot. Compared to the professional storyboards I think I am starting to grasp the concept. When I create more in the future I need to work on getting all the action on a full piece of A4 so it matches the rest. What I've started to do in my work is remove any unwanted background/detail by drawing a box around the area I want in shot. If I were to repeat this I would making the square the same size as the whole A4. Another area I need to develop to be like the professionals is the drawing of humans and getting them to look anatomically correct.
I could also place my images in the order I want my placing them on my own board. However, I currently do not possess one, so I could place my storyboards into a template which normal uses 6 squares on an A4 piece of paper. This is too small however, so what I do is scan the storyboards in and place them in a word document with the titles: "Action", "Name of Scene" and "Image".
The set number of 15 based on my script, if my script contained more action then I would increase the number of storyboards. If my shot lengths were looking to me longer, then the storyboard number would decrease. So the number of storyboards depends on a variety of factors.
Overall, storyboards are used to tell the story visually; helping you share your vision rather than having pages and pages of scripts.
Script Breakdown
A script breakdown is an analysis of the screenplay, which reduces all the content down into a list. This helps start to gather elements needed to create the scene and to help budget the production. The first stage of doing a script breakdown is to highlight all the different elements with a different color.
(Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_down_the_script)
Using this key as an example (Your key can be whatever you like, however this is the film industry standard). Per page someone will go through and make sure all of these elements are drawn out from within the script. NOTE: This is the furthest I could get with finding a professional highlighted script breakdown, but I did find an example online.
From this example we see that it hasn't stuck to the colour key, but instead has created its own key. The purple highlighted areas is any cast featured in the scene, blue is any props that will be used and yellow is the location. Any note have been wrote at the side of the script, on the right hand side it goes through the sub location of the shoot. I will now attempt to do the same thing in my own breakdown.
The purpose of the breakdown is create a way to communication between the production team and various departments that must work together efficiently on the day of shooting. Since everything is filmed on location the different departments must make sure everything is at hand. If a prop, light,animal or costume isn't on location on time, then you cant shoot the shot you want.
Using a script breakdown example from my own short film:
You can see how the key applies to the actual page. This then makes reading the script for detail a lot easier as everything you need stands out in a variety of c colours For instance I know straight away that the location I need for this part of the film is Preston Park. In my own breakdown I added something that wasn't in the key "Park Features" which narrows the area of the location I need for those shots. I find this document easy to complete, although it is very time consuming. Especially if it was a script for a feature length film which could have around 120 pages . I also learnt from doing this process is to double check your work, as you might miss some features out the first time round. If it was vital to the scene, I.E forgetting to highlight the prop of Thors hammer in a scene that requires it; then it could slow down production.
Once you have highlighted all the pages of a script using the key you are ready to move onto the next part of the breakdown. Which is transferring all the highlighted areas of the script into a document that lists all elements required.
A script breakdown is an analysis of the screenplay, which reduces all the content down into a list. This helps start to gather elements needed to create the scene and to help budget the production. The first stage of doing a script breakdown is to highlight all the different elements with a different color.
Using this key as an example (Your key can be whatever you like, however this is the film industry standard). Per page someone will go through and make sure all of these elements are drawn out from within the script. NOTE: This is the furthest I could get with finding a professional highlighted script breakdown, but I did find an example online.
(Image from: http://s2.hubimg.com/u/4181733_f520.jpg)
From this example we see that it hasn't stuck to the colour key, but instead has created its own key. The purple highlighted areas is any cast featured in the scene, blue is any props that will be used and yellow is the location. Any note have been wrote at the side of the script, on the right hand side it goes through the sub location of the shoot. I will now attempt to do the same thing in my own breakdown.
The purpose of the breakdown is create a way to communication between the production team and various departments that must work together efficiently on the day of shooting. Since everything is filmed on location the different departments must make sure everything is at hand. If a prop, light,animal or costume isn't on location on time, then you cant shoot the shot you want.
Using a script breakdown example from my own short film:
You can see how the key applies to the actual page. This then makes reading the script for detail a lot easier as everything you need stands out in a variety of c colours For instance I know straight away that the location I need for this part of the film is Preston Park. In my own breakdown I added something that wasn't in the key "Park Features" which narrows the area of the location I need for those shots. I find this document easy to complete, although it is very time consuming. Especially if it was a script for a feature length film which could have around 120 pages . I also learnt from doing this process is to double check your work, as you might miss some features out the first time round. If it was vital to the scene, I.E forgetting to highlight the prop of Thors hammer in a scene that requires it; then it could slow down production.
Once you have highlighted all the pages of a script using the key you are ready to move onto the next part of the breakdown. Which is transferring all the highlighted areas of the script into a document that lists all elements required.
(Image from: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m07p7aKe311r08vas.png)
This is the professional document used in the industry. This helps plan out a production schedule and helps to organise all the equipment and crew needed for each scene. For example the Int/Ext section (interior/exterior) tells you whether you are inside or outside. Although it is simple, it is a vital part of the breakdown as you will need different equipment if you're an inside and not outside. This document covers all the areas of the first step and presents them in a neat and organised way.
As you can see, when I created my breakdown for my film I used industry standards and transferred all the data across from the first part of the breakdown. When I go to create the budget for my film I know exactly: the size of cast, size of crew, location, equipment and what props I will need.This will then give me a figure for how much is needed to make the film possible. Data can also be transferred to documents such as the call sheet. Which details who needs to be where and when and who is responsible for the kit.
(Image from: http://image.slidesharecdn.com/tiedscriptbreakdownsheet-110315160216-phpapp01/95/tied-script-breakdown-sheet-1-728.jpg?cb=1300222969)
I then found an example of someone else completing a script breakdown. Theirs is very similar to mine and follows the same format. Although they have stated names for cameras and lighting instead of equipment. As it is the breakdown and not a crew sheet I didn't include this on mine. This also made me realize I had forgotten information from my breakdown so I went and amended this. They also haven't stated whether it is day or night so timing the shoot for their project is unknown. This makes me feel more confident about filling out this part of the process; as I know I am on the right tracks and am following the professional format.
Budget
The budget is a document that outlines all the required expenditure needed to produce the film. The producer will then check it fits the given budget and may make amendments if it goes too far over budget. The main purpose of the the budget is to make sure cost's are within the given funds so the overall film can make profit and not lose money in production. Some films have went over budget so the producer takes less of the share. The following people can be responsible for producing a film budget: line producer, unit production manager or the filmmaker. The items on the budget consist of: cast, crew, equipment, vehicle hire, weapon hire, catering, etc... The budget covers all areas from pre-production to post production. They also normally include a 10 percent contingency fee to save money for unseen emergencies. This is important because it ensures you have enough money to finish the final film.
(Image from: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/750x970/documents/2woods.gif)
Here is a budget from the 2004 film, "The Village", which explores a village whose inhabitants live in fear of the creatures in the woods. From this budget it outlines the cost of the producers and assistants, it also goes through any additional crew such as drivers and vehicle hire. This will be just one page of the budget as some of the things missing from this is crew, cast and prop costs. This is because it is only page 2 of the budget and will be covered else where.
(Image from: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/750x970/documents/36woods.gif)
After doing some more research I found page 36 of "The Village's" budget which outlines all the prop rentals and any buildings they need to rent out. Now that we have had a look at the description of the film, lets look at the amount table. The amount goes over the total needed, for example only 1 Animal Trainer is needed, but 20 prop master boxes are needed. From this budget I can infer Unit means for how long its needed for, some cases it is weeks. Allow means there will be a set cost for the items and won't be charged per day/week. The is the rate is cost per amount. The subtotal is the amount X the rate; for example for the shoot in Philadelphia , has the amount 10 and the rate of 3.022.8 so overall is a subtotal of 30.228. The numbers of each section are then added up to create a total per section. Which will then be added up with the other totals to get an overall cost.
Here is a budget for my short film. My budget is a lot shorter due to it only being a 1 minute production; it will also have a lower budget and cheaper to produce. I have laid out all the costs I need to produce my film in a similar layout to the professional one. Instead of unit, I've called it days.Instead of rate, I've called it cost per day and amount has been labelled as number of units. This makes no difference to the budget as it can still be understood. The subtotal then creates every individual cost by doing the rate X amount. The subtotal is then added up at the bottom of the page to create an overall total.
I created my budget in Microsoft Excel as each of the cells are easy to format, so if the number of units needed to go up I can easily change this by changing the number in the cell. The formula put in place will then change the overall subtotal as its programmed to do so. Other software could be used such as word, but you would have to set up all the tables and manually change every number if something goes wrong, you would also have to do you own maths which you would have to be extremely careful about. Some other software is a online software called "Personal Budget Software" which gets a company to do a budget for you. The most known software for films is Movie Magic Budgeting. Personally I prefer to use Microsoft Excel as its easy to use and doesn't take that much time to set up. I also have never heard of Movie Magic Budgeting so would have no idea how to start using the software.
(Image from: http://icons.iconarchive.com/icons/hopstarter/office-2010/512/Microsoft-Office-Excel-icon.png)
There are several categories of film budgets within the film industry. There are: no budget, low budget, medium budget and high budget. A no budget is a film produced with little or no money; Satyajit Ray's debut film , Panther Panchali was made on a no budget of $2.400. A low budget then steps up into the tens of thousand dollars, a well known low budget film was the "Blair Witch Project" which had a budget of $25,000. "The Blair Witch Project" then went on to gross $67 million dollars worldwide. Medium then goes into the hundreds of thousand dollars (I.e $100,000). Last of all, the high budget films goes into the millions of dollars. According to totalfilm the most expensive film budget belonged to "John Carter" a disney film that cost $300 million to make but only made $133 worldwide which is far, far away from making any profit. These numbers are not set and are changing all the time. For example most modern days films range from $50 -$170 million and can even exceed this range.
(Image from: http://www.totalfilm.com/features/50-most-expensive-movies-ever-made/john-carter-2012)
(Image from: http://www.filmmakerinterviews.com/images/kanda-quote6.gif)
In this quote by producer Bharathan Kandaswamy (who has worked on 40 films in total). This quote reveals that if the director knows what he's doing he can make a believable story out of the money available. It also hints that with a directors experience they can cut costs in certain areas and still produce a quality film at the end of the day. With comes together implying that a budget could limit the story of the film.Although, if a director can use it effectively then the given budget can produce a quality film.
Another interesting quote is by actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger: " My friend James Cameron and I made three films together - True Lies, The Terminator and Terminator 2. Of course, that was during his early, low-budget, art-house period." This reveals it doesn't really matter about the budget of a film in terms of making money, as the "Terminator" has been a hit franchise and make lots of money worldwide. In fact, the budget for the "Terminator" was 6.4 million dollars which then went to bring a box office return of $78.4 million. Which is a huge difference from Cameron's latest works such as "Avatar" which cost 237 million dollars to produce. (NOTE: this is low budget for a James Cameron Film)
(Image from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/70/Terminator1984movieposter.jpg)
Risk Assessment
A risk assessment is document that highlights the risks, dangers and precautions before filming commences. Each risk is given a severity rating which ranges from Negligible- Very Severe, a likelihood rating ranging from very unlikely- very likely. These factors then combine to create a risk factor up to 5. A rating 5 means that immediate action is needed. This process makes production safer as it sets up the plans to remove risks that could be potentially dangerous.It is often a requirement in order to receive insurance and can prevent companies from various law suits if an accident occurs on set. These risks are then further assessed on the day of filming and is kept in mind during shooting.
According to the HSE website, The producer/production company must " produce a written health and safety policy statement, including an arrangements section, including the procedures for risk assessment and monitoring of performance" they must also " ensure that any concerns with the health and safety performance of employees, freelance staff and are addressed and communicated as appropriate" The main way the companies deal with this is by producing the risk assessment. Which underlines all the possible risks at the location and how they are dealt with, which reassures any questions the staff have. It also contributes to the written health and safety policy, so in terms the risk assessment is a legal document and the company could be at fault if they do not have one.
Professional Risk Assessment
I found a risk assessment template that is used by the BBC for their productions.
This is very similar to how I described a risk assessment in my first 2 paragraphs. Part A of the document lists all those who are responsible with all their details. The features consist of location, who gets a copy of the assessment, crew and the person who assessed the risks. Part B then goes on to describe whats the activity entitles and what the hazard could do. There is then a prevention action to state what you will do to make the risk less likely. There is then a severity rating going from high - low. The form covers all the areas mentioned before and also states who is responsible you then get to comment on the risk and where it has been prevented.
My own Risk Assessment
Personally, I think the risk assessment is easy enough to fill in and most risks are easy to remove from an area. Which in turn makes the production quicker and safer as the risks have already been removed/identified. When filling out my own risk assessment I looked at all the main risks first such as confided spaces and height. Then I looked at the basic risks that could cause a lot of damage, such as tripping or falling whilst filming; as the camera man can only see what is in front of him. Compared to the BBC's form, I think this risk assessments gets to the necessary details quicker than the other form which has two parts. Although, my risk assessment doesn't detail who is responsible and who gets a copy of the assessment.
"We take safety very, very seriously on every film I make, and that's why I've never had a serious accident or anybody killed when I make a picture" Michael Mann, a famous director with works such as "the Heat" and "Public Enemies". What Mann says is vitally important as loads of crew and stunt men have died over the years due to lack of safety precautions. Through Michael Mann we see it is possible to be safe on set and that he has thoroughly thought through how to control risk on set.
A risk assessment is document that highlights the risks, dangers and precautions before filming commences. Each risk is given a severity rating which ranges from Negligible- Very Severe, a likelihood rating ranging from very unlikely- very likely. These factors then combine to create a risk factor up to 5. A rating 5 means that immediate action is needed. This process makes production safer as it sets up the plans to remove risks that could be potentially dangerous.It is often a requirement in order to receive insurance and can prevent companies from various law suits if an accident occurs on set. These risks are then further assessed on the day of filming and is kept in mind during shooting.
According to the HSE website, The producer/production company must " produce a written health and safety policy statement, including an arrangements section, including the procedures for risk assessment and monitoring of performance" they must also " ensure that any concerns with the health and safety performance of employees, freelance staff and are addressed and communicated as appropriate" The main way the companies deal with this is by producing the risk assessment. Which underlines all the possible risks at the location and how they are dealt with, which reassures any questions the staff have. It also contributes to the written health and safety policy, so in terms the risk assessment is a legal document and the company could be at fault if they do not have one.
(Image From: http://keesafety.co.uk/images/uploads/uk/regional/HSE_Initiative_2014.jpg)
Professional Risk Assessment
I found a risk assessment template that is used by the BBC for their productions.
This is very similar to how I described a risk assessment in my first 2 paragraphs. Part A of the document lists all those who are responsible with all their details. The features consist of location, who gets a copy of the assessment, crew and the person who assessed the risks. Part B then goes on to describe whats the activity entitles and what the hazard could do. There is then a prevention action to state what you will do to make the risk less likely. There is then a severity rating going from high - low. The form covers all the areas mentioned before and also states who is responsible you then get to comment on the risk and where it has been prevented. My own Risk Assessment
"We take safety very, very seriously on every film I make, and that's why I've never had a serious accident or anybody killed when I make a picture" Michael Mann, a famous director with works such as "the Heat" and "Public Enemies". What Mann says is vitally important as loads of crew and stunt men have died over the years due to lack of safety precautions. Through Michael Mann we see it is possible to be safe on set and that he has thoroughly thought through how to control risk on set.
(Image From: http://michael-mann.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/best-michael-mann-movies.jpg)
A prime of example of where the safety precautions weren't though through were on the film "The Conqueror" . When filming on location in near Utah , 91 out of the 220 cast and crew managed to contract cancer. Including the main lead, John Wayne. There wasn't a full explanation but nearby there had been US atom bomb tests in Nevada and could of been the source of radiation. If the location had been checked properly the 46 that had died, could of lived.
(Image from: http://www.oddee.com/item_96604.aspx)
Another incident relating to poor risk assessing, occurred during the filming of "The Dark Knight". Special effects technician, Conway Wickliffe died after sitting in the back of a Nissan when the car crashed into a tree at 20mph. At the time he was operating a camera out of the window, filming a stunt car which was opposite the Nissan. The collision with the tree was due to the fact the driver had missed the turn at the end. "Instead of turning on to the service road it carried on and I saw it impact the tree. It appeared to be a glancing blow." - Ian Mitchell , colleague of Conway.
If the driver had followed the risk assessment and knew what he was doing by practicing the shoot, then a live could of been saved. A vital live lesson is to actual use the risk assessment during production and not just completing the document for the sake of doing one
(Image from: http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/0/4115/885630-1new_joker_poster_for_the_dark_knight.jpg)
Clearances
Almost every location require releases/clearances and permits to allow you to shoot on their premise. Some owners have the legal right to take your filming equipment away from you until a hearing date in court if you shoot without a permit. If you have all the permits in place then it can save you and your production a lot of time. It is also important to have releases for your actors, which can stop any legal and distribution problems occurring.
Almost every location require releases/clearances and permits to allow you to shoot on their premise. Some owners have the legal right to take your filming equipment away from you until a hearing date in court if you shoot without a permit. If you have all the permits in place then it can save you and your production a lot of time. It is also important to have releases for your actors, which can stop any legal and distribution problems occurring.
(Image from: http://image.slidesharecdn.com/ar-m620u201303051411282-130319071741-phpapp02/95/location-release-1-638.jpg?cb=1363695658)
Although this isn't from a professional film, this example of a location form goes through all the vital areas. The first part of the form goes through the permissions of who wants to film on the location. It then goes through the purpose's of the film makers and what the production title is. The time period for shooting is then state and on what date the shoot will occur. The film makers then state their responsibilities whilst on location and agree to leave the location in the condition they found it, they also also state that any damage cast will become the responsibility of the cast and crew. The film maker then signs the bottom half to agree to the terms and conditions to shoot on location. This is then agreed by the property owner and is signed off; granting the film maker permission to use the location on the time and date stated.
This is the form I will be using for my short film. It is not yet filled out as I am currently planning on going down to Preston Park to get it signed by the owner. This does not fully cover the same liability as the example but it still makes the owner agree to allowing you on location to shoot. I will provide the details to the owner if they request so.
(Image from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqA4i6hmhFSyPJp2fhziGLNXWZzRMWgcaEXSEFgGYwTTfxakV0Ob4vDZk_AvmtinKjaxZkVOBtYTmsnEhquWReXr9P9qICPUS161JefiFH0InEysbG8-KuzPDB1FUCJRX_MmhyphenhyphenrSXLL-4/s1600/Actors_contracts_with_logo.jpg)
This example from the company, Time Film lays out a professional contract. The form gets the actor to print his name at the start at the form and will agree to all the conditions and regulations stated by the company. This covers all the legal constraints the film company could face, regarding matters such as health and safety and the contribution of the actor in the film. The actor then agrees to the regulations and signs in favour. This is then agreed by someone from the company and the actor is then signed up for the film. This process then removes responsibilities from the company and places the actor at fault if he hurts himself on set.
This is the actors contract that I am using for my minute film. It follows the same principles as the example contract. I added in some regulations in my film due to heights and confined spaces being involved. This was to make sure that the actor agreed with this situations before I could find out other wise on the day of shooting.
Although this is unlikely to happen in my films, bigger companies often struggle with actor contracts as A-List celebrities can demand a large amount of money to sign the contract. A well known example is the disputes of Robert Downey JR playing Iron Man in the Marvel movies. It was estimated that he made $50 million from "Avengers", which was dozens more than the rest of the cast received. Situations like this can cause disputes within the industry and cause delays in production. Another fine example of this was the delay of "The Big Bang Theory" as starts where still negotiating contracts when the show was meant to air . In a statement, WBTV said: "Due to ongoing contract negotiations, production on The Big Bang Theory - which was originally scheduled to begin today - has been postponed." It is estimated that the 3 main stars:
Parsons, Galecki and Cucco want $1 million per episode. Which personally I think is a bit greedy as surely they make enough as it is?
(Image from: http://screenrant.com/robert-downey-jr-avengers-2-3-contract/)
In a quote by Jeff Bridges (famous america actor, who recently starred in R.I.P.D) he states "Nowadays, in the contract that actors have to sign, you have to agree to do a certain amount of publicity- the hard part they don't pay you for" Not only does this further hint towards disputes, but it also point out that there are lots of regulations of signing a contract. You would you think your just agreeing to play the part, however your signing up to a whole lot more, such as publicizing the film for free. It also seems to be that there can be disputes both ways; I.E wanting more money or wanting the actors to do things for free outside of what they are payed to do.
(Image from: http://www.hellomagazine.com/imagenes/profiles/jeff-bridges/5406-jeff-bridges-profile.jpg)
Overall, I think that these forms are a vital process as create a series of rules that the company and actor will follow. This prevents any misunderstanding and removes the chances of a law suit occurring during production. It also makes me understand that with a clearances which doesn't take long to complete can save a lot of hassle and prevent yourself or others being hurt/damaged in the film making process. Although bigger companies often struggle with this due to A-list actor demands.
Legal Considerations
Legal considerations must also be thought out to avoid any problems when producing a film. You must consider copyright, creative commons, public domain and insurance.
Copyright
Is a legal document/right that protects the creators work from being plagiarised by others. Copyright allows the creators to do what they like with their work and receive money for their content. This means only the creator can use the work, so if anything was copyright such as music or video footage I could not use it in my work. For example for a short film I wanted to use some music from youtube, I would not be legally allowed to as the work is not created by myself. Anything that is protected under copyright displays the following symbol:
(Image from: http://www.copyrightauthority.com/copyright-symbol/Copyright-Symbol-images/Copyright_symbol_9.gif)
(Image from: http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ScrippsLocal.jpg)
If you break copyright it can lead to a shut down on your uploaded video or is removed completely from services. If its broken in hollywood films or hit music the artist/film makers can be sued which can lead to a lose in financial gain. Copyright for films lasts for 70 years after the death (although extensions if the film was digitized) may be in place of the last person to survive the director, writers and composers. Products may be placed in feature films without copyright problems as they are their for product placement. The film may also use third party rights for music or recorded clips which are then listed in the end credits. Copyright can also be broken by pirating cheap DVDs or torrenting online, this is known as "Copyright infringement".
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a license that allows creator to give certain users the rights to use their work in their projects. With the work normally being protected by copyright. This gives the creator flexibility, for instance they might allow non commercial companies to use their content so no profit is made by external companies. Licenses come from the Creative Commons organisation that is also non profitable with the aim to increase creativity within people. In order to get a license you visit https://creativecommons.org/choose/ where a variety of options are available.
(Image from: https://creativecommons.org/choose/)
An example of a content creator who allows others to use his work is the music creator Kevin Mcleod. In order for you to use his work in projects they must attribute correctly if you use a CC licence or pay a no-attribution license. Users must then credit him with a link to his website. All he asks for you to donate if you would like to.Which I think personally is a great way to gain attention to your work. As its getting spread around a wide community of viewers, you will then be credited so audiences will then check out more of your work.
(Image from: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/faq.html)
Public Domain
Public domain is where the content is free , no restrictions or fee's needed, to use by anyone; 70- 75 years after the death of the creator. Examples of famous works that fall into public domain are the plays of Shakespeare and music by the composer Beethoven. One of the most recent works that became public domain was the rights to use the character Sherlock Holmes. After 75 years of Arthur Conan Doyle's death in (1930), A film based on Sherlock Holmes was released starring Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock) and Jude Law (Watson) in 2009 and gained a sequel in 2011. The first film received good reviews, and was given a rating of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Also released was a TV show (In 2010) by the BBC using the same characters under the title "Sherlock". This TV show received lots of praise and has high ratings up to 9.3/10.There are also lots of other adaptations that are out their and caused a debate to whether it should remain in the public domain. After a court case it was decided that it will remain in the public domain.
There are also several case's when items fall into the public domain:
Insurance
Every film should have insurance for public liability. Which means that if any damage occurs to someone or something the insurance will cover it. A well known example of a film falling apart due to insurance failures was the film " The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" by Terry Gillian. The film had one of the biggest budgets in Europe with £32.1 million pounds. Filming started in September 2000 and shot in a barren area north of Madrid in Spain. Although it all went wrong on the second day of shooting after a flash flood had washed away rented equipment that was under a tarpaulin in a dried up river bed. It had then turned out that the insurance he thought would cover the costs was the wrong insurance. This along with other factors with ill cast members shut down the production, making it a financial flop. So when creating films in the future I will take into account the different types of insurances, so that the sequences I am filming will be covered.
In an article from the Guardian, Gillian states: 'Nothing matched. We were trying to fake shots, anything to keep going.'
Even though he was on his last legs he showed true commitment. however after he tried to keep the film in production he had failed and nothing could stop it from doing so. 14 years later and there are still talks of re booting the film with John Hurt starring in the film.
Copyright
Is a legal document/right that protects the creators work from being plagiarised by others. Copyright allows the creators to do what they like with their work and receive money for their content. This means only the creator can use the work, so if anything was copyright such as music or video footage I could not use it in my work. For example for a short film I wanted to use some music from youtube, I would not be legally allowed to as the work is not created by myself. Anything that is protected under copyright displays the following symbol:
(Image from: http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ScrippsLocal.jpg)
If you break copyright it can lead to a shut down on your uploaded video or is removed completely from services. If its broken in hollywood films or hit music the artist/film makers can be sued which can lead to a lose in financial gain. Copyright for films lasts for 70 years after the death (although extensions if the film was digitized) may be in place of the last person to survive the director, writers and composers. Products may be placed in feature films without copyright problems as they are their for product placement. The film may also use third party rights for music or recorded clips which are then listed in the end credits. Copyright can also be broken by pirating cheap DVDs or torrenting online, this is known as "Copyright infringement".
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a license that allows creator to give certain users the rights to use their work in their projects. With the work normally being protected by copyright. This gives the creator flexibility, for instance they might allow non commercial companies to use their content so no profit is made by external companies. Licenses come from the Creative Commons organisation that is also non profitable with the aim to increase creativity within people. In order to get a license you visit https://creativecommons.org/choose/ where a variety of options are available.
An example of a content creator who allows others to use his work is the music creator Kevin Mcleod. In order for you to use his work in projects they must attribute correctly if you use a CC licence or pay a no-attribution license. Users must then credit him with a link to his website. All he asks for you to donate if you would like to.Which I think personally is a great way to gain attention to your work. As its getting spread around a wide community of viewers, you will then be credited so audiences will then check out more of your work.
(Image from: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/faq.html)
Public Domain
Public domain is where the content is free , no restrictions or fee's needed, to use by anyone; 70- 75 years after the death of the creator. Examples of famous works that fall into public domain are the plays of Shakespeare and music by the composer Beethoven. One of the most recent works that became public domain was the rights to use the character Sherlock Holmes. After 75 years of Arthur Conan Doyle's death in (1930), A film based on Sherlock Holmes was released starring Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock) and Jude Law (Watson) in 2009 and gained a sequel in 2011. The first film received good reviews, and was given a rating of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes.
(Image from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e0/Sherlock_holmes_ver5.jpg)
Also released was a TV show (In 2010) by the BBC using the same characters under the title "Sherlock". This TV show received lots of praise and has high ratings up to 9.3/10.There are also lots of other adaptations that are out their and caused a debate to whether it should remain in the public domain. After a court case it was decided that it will remain in the public domain.
There are also several case's when items fall into the public domain:
- All works published in the USA before the year 1923
- All copyrighted works (with notice) from 1923- 1963
- Anything without a copyright notice 1923-1977
(Image from: http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/sherlock-holmes-case-decision-public-domain-1201346225/)
Insurance
All films in the UK, MUST be insured. There are various different types of insurance such as employer's/public liability, Negative Insurance (to do with loss of stock), errors and omissions (covers any legal trouble), Props and sets + equipment insurance.
Every film should have insurance for public liability. Which means that if any damage occurs to someone or something the insurance will cover it. A well known example of a film falling apart due to insurance failures was the film " The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" by Terry Gillian. The film had one of the biggest budgets in Europe with £32.1 million pounds. Filming started in September 2000 and shot in a barren area north of Madrid in Spain. Although it all went wrong on the second day of shooting after a flash flood had washed away rented equipment that was under a tarpaulin in a dried up river bed. It had then turned out that the insurance he thought would cover the costs was the wrong insurance. This along with other factors with ill cast members shut down the production, making it a financial flop. So when creating films in the future I will take into account the different types of insurances, so that the sequences I am filming will be covered.
(Image from:http://thefilmstage.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DonQuixote.jpg)
In an article from the Guardian, Gillian states: 'Nothing matched. We were trying to fake shots, anything to keep going.'
Even though he was on his last legs he showed true commitment. however after he tried to keep the film in production he had failed and nothing could stop it from doing so. 14 years later and there are still talks of re booting the film with John Hurt starring in the film.
(Image from: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2012/8/16/1345109824663/Zeroing-in---Terry-Gillia-008.jpg)
There can also be the problem of locations not allowing you to film without production insurance. Which protects you from lawsuits that can arise from accidents on set. The most basic types of insurance must cover: accidents, illnesses, death, physical loss, damage to kit, employers and public liability. Failure to provide evidence of insurance if any of this occurs, then you will be more than likely be prosecuted as a result.
End
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