Production of a Motion Picture

Production of a Motion Picture (page 1)

To "make" a motion picture, you generally have to go through three stages named pre-production, production (the shooting) and post-production.

PRE PRODUCTION

You obviously don't start shooting without proper preparation. That preparation is called pre-production.

The director usually modifies the script to suit his style with the screenwriter.

The producer and the director put together the different production departments : Picture / Sound / Set design / Costumes / Special Effects / etc...

In the meanwhile, the casting (looking for actors and extras ) is done.

During pre-production meetings, each head of department finds out what is expected of him during the shooting or post-production.

The director develops the script in a detailed form, shot by shot. For complex scenes, he will make a story board.

A scouting of locations and/or the building of artificial sets in a studio, takes place.

A work schedule (planification of the shooting, day after day, down to the hour, and sometimes even more precise) is established by the assistant director, being the only person aware of all the little reasons why a scene can't be shot at a particular moment, later on, when filming has started. Each head of department gets a copy. The assistant director (AD) will then take care, during the shooting, of the modifications to the schedule (a list of things that change in the schedule, posted each morning where everyone is sure to see it).

What are the head of departments responsible for :

Director of Photography	responsible of "how we see" : involves lighting and managing the camera(s)
Production Designer	responsible of "what we see" besides the actors
Sound Supervisor *	responsible of "what we hear"
Costume Designer	responsible for what the actors wear
Special Effects Supervisor	responsible of the effects that the camera "can see" : bullet impacts, explosions, fires, hydraulic systems capable of sinking a ship, etc...
Visual Effects Supervisor	responsible of the effects the camera "cannot see" : dinosaur running after a car, laser gun rays, gigantic underwater cathedral, etc...

* Necessary on very big produtions (2 or 3 each year, tops) to cope with the diminishing importance of live sound. In every other case, the soundtrack is managed by three different persons, working rather independently : the Production Recordist, then the Sound Editor, then the Sound Mixer... The Sound Editor playing, by far, the most important role in the final soundtrack.

	The director usually modifies the script to suit his style with the screenwriter.
	The producer and the director put together the different production departments : Picture / Sound / Set design / Costumes / Special Effects / etc...
	In the meanwhile, the casting (looking for actors and extras ) is done.
	During pre-production meetings, each head of department finds out what is expected of him during the shooting or post-production.
	The director develops the script in a detailed form, shot by shot. For complex scenes, he will make a story board.
	A scouting of locations and/or the building of artificial sets in a studio, takes place.
	A work schedule (planification of the shooting, day after day, down to the hour, and sometimes even more precise) is established by the assistant director, being the only person aware of all the little reasons why a scene can't be shot at a particular moment, later on, when filming has started. Each head of department gets a copy. The assistant director (AD) will then take care, during the shooting, of the modifications to the schedule (a list of things that change in the schedule, posted each morning where everyone is sure to see it).