Stages of Film Production
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Stages of Film Production
Stages of Film Production
In total, we have five stages in movie making and production. These stages include development, pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution and exhibition. It should also be noted that only three of these stages are known to be the major ones. These are: production, distribution and exhibition. Film production is a process in which films are made from an original initial story or idea and then transformed through scriptwriting, shooting of the scene, editing, directing, and an eventual distribution to the audience. Typically, film-making will involve many people and will take from about two months to a number of years depending on the nature and intentions of the film (Steiff 24). Film production is something that takes place in all parts of the world within huge economic ranges, social, and even comprising of political contexts. The production will therefore involve the use and application of varied techniques and technological advancements.
Production
As already stated, this stage can be broken into three: pre-production, production and post-production. During the pre-production stage, the film will be planned and made ready for designing. The producing company is sought, and then the establishment of the office for production is done (Millerson 18). The production will then be visualized and story-lined by use of aids like illustrators and conceptual art impressions. Then the budget is drawn to help in the management of the production resources. The producer is then deemed to hire the relevant crew. Things, which are tackled at this stage, include the mode of production, the nature, the size of budget, and the type and size of the crew.
During production, a film will be shot and created (Zettl 43). The main crew to feature in the film is recruited during this stage. These people may include the property controller, script manger, the assistant directors, the costume designer, the photographer, picture editor, and so on. This stage is seen to have the biggest role in film production. The office dealing with the production has the mandate of creating any blend in the roles to be featured in order to suit the requirements of that particular film. During the last stage here, the film will be assembled by the editorial. During the workflow, what happens is that original film will be developed and then copied to a positive and then made available for editing; an editing machine does this. During the workflow for the video, the original negative taken by camera will then be developed and converted to video by use of computer softwares. During this transcription, a time code will be recorded onto the video tape in such a way that it is in line with the motion pictures. This is done until the entire film is produced (David 35).
Distribution
In many markets, distribution and exhibition tend to be done together. Generally, distribution is the process through which the already produced film is made available to the widest variety of people in order to reach a wider global society (David 40). Here, the producing company seeks a number of distributors so that they can bring the film closer to the people. Once distribution has been done, the role of exhibition comes into play in ensuring that the already informed societies may start looking for the film from the distributors. As technology continues to advance, there has also been the use of the internet whereby any interested individual can purchase the film online. During exhibition, both the distributor and the producing company will share the profits derived.
Exhibition
This marks the final stage of production. This occurs when a film has been released to the cinema, and may also be released in form of VCDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, or even Blu-Ray, or even be downloaded from a given internet site (Steiff 24). During exhibition, the film will have to be duplicated as much as it is required and be distributed to the cinemas. In order to achieve better exhibition, what happens here is that press kits, banners and posters, among other materials for advertising have to be published in order to have maximum advertisement of the film. Film companies tend to release a given film by holding a launching party, a number of press releases, carrying out public interviews, holding preview press screenings, and sometimes holding screenings for the film (Steiff 25). Nowadays, most films have been given a website for easy access and advertisement. In addition, the rights of distribution for the DVD or film will be sold in order to have a worldwide market access.
Works Cited
David, K. Producing and Directing Short Film and Video. London: Focal Press, 2006.
Millerson, G. Video Production Handbook. London: Focal Press, 2008.
Steiff, J. Complete Idiot Guide to Independent Film-making. New York: Alpha Books, 2005.
Zettl, G. Video Basics. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning, 2009.