Production paperwork

For this Unit I was working fully on my own creating the film. I feel that one of my strongest skills of film making, is the planning and organisation involved and that goes with it. I enjoy being organised and being prepared and completing the paperwork for production is one of my favourite parts of the process, as planning is essential (Brown, 2016:304). The first thing that I did at the very start of the unit was creating a folder on Google Drive which is where I could keep all necessary documents and paper work that I would need for production. This was a great success as it allowed me to quickly find specific information that I may need, and in future I will use Google Drive and folders again to keep everything organised in one space. 

Fig. 1 Google Drive Folder

Once I had created the Google Drive folder the next task that I carried out was to create a schedule. I used the online software 'Asana' to create the schedule and it was extremely useful as I could visually see when tasks need to be completed by using a Gantt Chart. During the Television news Production unit I used a Gantt chart and it was so helpful to see tasks visually rather than in a list format, therefore I did the same thing with this unit and will do the same again in future. Another great help was using colour coding to prioritise my tasks. If a task was highlighted red, it meant that it needed to completed first as it was the most important for that specific date. Orange meant that it was the second highest priority and yellow meant that it was the least, although it still needs to be completed. I used blue to represent shoot dates and grey to represent deadlines. Using colours was really helpful and allowed me to save time by quickly looking at the schedule and seeing which tasks I need to complete first. 

Fig. 2 Schedule

After creating a basic story idea in the idea development stage the next step that I carried out was to create a proposal document. This was very helpful as it was a space in which my idea was condensed for the first time and when creating a rough story outline after this, it was useful for me to refer back to. 

Fig. 3 Pitch document

I struggled more than I thought I would with coming up with a name; I really wanted it to reflect the tone of my film and to have multiple meanings, therefore I created this document for name ideas, and every single time I thought of a name that would work I listed it onto this document and it was a good way to then have them all together. 

Fig. 4 Name Idea 

Once I had created a pitch document I could create a rough story outline. It was a very basic outline and was used to help me structure the first draft of the script, but creating it was useful as I had my idea in a basic order structure which I could then adapt into a script. 

Fig. 5 Rough Story Outline

After I had written out the rough outline I decided to type it out onto a document, this was so that I could change the order of things if I needed to. A benefit of this was also that I could colour code the outline when making the script; if the bullet point was green it meant that I had already placed it into my script, if it was yellow it meant that I was unsure of whether it would be relevant to include in the script, and if it was red it meant that I had decided not to include it. Using this system was helpful to me as it allowed me to make sure that I had included all information that I wanted to when writing the script.

Fig. 6 Rough Story Outline 2

Then I went on to create the first draft of the script. This is a process that I found quite difficult as I do not feel that I am the best writer, however I put my doubt aside and used Quentin Tarrintino's technique of "getting to the middle" (Tarrintino, 2019) this helped me to structure the spine of the script and then work from there. 

Fig. 7 Draft Script 1

Fig. 8 Draft Script 2

After creating the first draft of my script I created a document in which I listed all of the changes I thought I should make. I would do this again in future as it a form of self- assessment that helps me to reflect critically on my work. 

Fig. 9 Feedback

After writing the rough draft of the script I could develop it into a physical script that I could use for filming. This was a challenge to me as I do struggle with script writing, despite this being prepared and having lots of research and documents already in place with information on helped me a lot with creating a script that I felt very pleased with. 

Fig. 10 Script

After I had completed the script I could complete the Recce's, but as I had quite a few to do as I had one for each room I decided to create a Recce Checklist so that I could keep track of them all. I also colour coded it so that I could visually see what Recce's I had left to complete. This was a huge help with keeping me on track and organised with Recce's and is something that I will do again in future. 

Fig. 11 Recce Checklist 

Fig. 12 Recce's

Once I had finished the Recce's I created a 'Coronavirus Safety' document. This was a document where all information about how I am keeping my shoot risk free was kept. I attached this to every risk assessment that I completed and it was very important to have as my priority was making sure that my shoot was as safe as possible during the pandemic. 

Fig. 13 Covid Safety documents 

I then completed  Risk Assessment Checklist so that I could keep track of them. I  colour coded it so that I could visually see what Risk Assessment's I had left to complete. This was a huge help with keeping me on track and organised with Risk Assessment's and is something that I will do again in future every time that I have Risk Assessment's to complete. 

Fig. 14 Risk Assessment Checklist

I had a few Risk Assessments to complete for this film. I do enjoy filling in risk assessments as my favourite part of production is planning and having everything in place therefore I feel that I am quite good and completing them and I got them done early which was a big success as it gave me extra time during the pre production process. I did have to consider Covid-19 restrictions, and being the Covid supervisor in the previous unit taught me a lot about how to keep a shoot safe as well as the Screenskills test, so I felt confident when completing the risk assessments and knowing how to keep my shoot safe. 

Fig. 15 Risk Assessments 

Next I created all of my planning documents. This consisted of: Shot list, props list, lighting plans, costume list, and schedules. As I was creating this film on my own I knew that I had to be even more organised that usual and my plans had to be very clear. To help me with this, I tried something that I have never done before. I created a colour system for my whole production which meant that every planning and design document linked together, which therefore created the most useful production documents that I have ever had. I used the same colour system for every document and did this by first creating the shot list, as this typically "has the most function in the shoot" (Brown, 2016:289) This statement is very true as the shot list was very helpful to me on the shoot as it gave me very specific and well planned details on all coverage that I needed to get. Once I had all shots written down, I colour grouped all shots that are filmed with the same set up. This was then helpful with time management as it meant that I could effectively create schedules based on set-ups. In future I will always be using this system again as it was so beneficial to me. I also used a traffic light colour coding for what shots had/ had not been filmed. 

Fig. 16 Shot list 

I was able to create a costume list using the same colour coding system as all planning documents. I was able to allocate each filming day so that again all production documents slotted together and this was very efficient when shooting. As you can see I grouped together scenes so that I knew which scenes I needed to wear the same costume for. 

Fig. 17 Costume list 

I followed a similar structure for my props list as I did for the costume list. Again by using the same colour coding system I could create an efficient structure to my shoots and it meant that it was as simple as possible for me on the shoot which was good as I was already filming, acting and directing. 

Fig. 18 Props list 

Before creating my shoot schedules I made a shoot list, which is where I could use the same colour coding to group set-ups together, along with stating how long each shots would take me to film and a description of what I needed to set up the shots. I then decided on what order I would film the shots to help me be extra prepared for the shoot. This meant that on the shoot days everything ran smoothly with timings as I had factored everything in. 

 

Fig. 19 Shoot Schedule 

Fig. 20 Shoot Schedule 's

Before creating lighting plans I wanted to create a rough one to help me, therefore I sketched the layout of each room and then noted down the the number of each set up; which correlates to my production paperwork, where I would be placed in the frame when filming. I was then able to highlight all free areas in which kit could be placed as I was limited with space. I am very glad that I did this as when it came to the actual lighting plans it meant that I had a good idea of where all kit could be positioned. 

Fig. 21 Basic Lighting set plans

After completing the set plans I was able to make my official lighting plans online. I used 'X' shapes to symbolise where lights would be placed, and yellow lines to represent natural light locations. I also colour coordinated the background of each plan with its set up colour to again help me be as efficient as possible which is important when working on my own. 

Fig. 22 Lighting set plans

As I am using a projector for this film, I wanted to make a table to help me with the location and attributions for all stock footage used. This was a simple piece of production paperwork, and an adjustment that I would make in future is including a small thumbnail of each piece of footage as it was a bit confusing and time consuming having to click on the link to see what each one was every time I used them. 

Fig. 23 Projector List 

I then did the same thing but with the audio effects that I used. This screenshot was taken from the beginning of the production process however by the end I had over thirty pieces of royalty free audio so it was good that I had this table to keep track of it all. 

Fig. 24 Attribution List 

Bibliography: 

Quentin Tarantino Explains his Lighting process (2019) [online video]  At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MGGMmXeS6I T 2019 (Accessed on 10.1.2021)

Brown, B (2016) Cinematography: theory and practice: imagemaking for cinematographers and directors. [online] At: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/reader.action?docID=720723 (Accessed on 24/12/2021)

Brown, B (2016) Cinematography: theory and practice: imagemaking for cinematographers and directors. [online] At: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/reader.action?docID=720723 (Accessed on 24/12/2020)