Pre-production techniques for a specific media production essay

Type of production – for television factual you would need a completely different set up than if a radio show was being produced. For a radio production you wouldn’t need all the lighting and camera equipment that is required for a TV show, because the appearance of the presenters isn’t really as important as it is for people on tv, as makeup artists and hairstylists need to be employed.

Finance – TV factuals would either be funded from the television network, like the BBC which is funded by TV licensing, or by ITV which cumulates money from their adverts. Also out of the money that is funded for the TV show, the equipment that is needed will need to be hired or purchased out of the money, such as cameras, tripods, lighting, mixing decks and microphones.

For our documentary we didn’t need to be funded from other people. We used our own money that was need for the ingredients. Being funded themselves would also apply to small independent companies who then look to sell their work on to larger companies such as the BBC or ITV.

The paperwork would consist of an equipment list, like how much it has cost to hire/buy. And also any contract that has been made from people that might be sponsoring the project.

Time – when making a TV factual the best way to stick to deadlines is to fill out, call sheets and shooting schedules, these are to make sure that the whole process will hopefully stick to these times and you will finish in time for a deadline before it needs to be edited. Also deadlines are important if any equipment has been hired, as you would have hired it for a set amount of time at the beginning of filming. It is also important that everyone taking part in the filming process knows of the times that filming is going to be taking place at so everyone is on set when needed.

When we filmed our factual, we already owned two cameras ourselves, so we didn’t have to borrow any cameras, the only thing that we borrowed from college was a tripod, and it was returned at the end of filming. When filming our factual

The paperwork that was needed for when we were filming was a shooting schedule which included the start time and the finish time for our filming.

Personnel – the producer selects people with a set of specific skills usually through and agency, depending on what sort of production is being made. If it was just camera work that needed to be done then that would appeal to a range of people that are working within the media sector.  If it was another skill like editing for instance then people that are more experienced in that area would then be employed, and they would usually have a few years experience behind them, but the cost of hiring an experienced editor would all come within the budget of filming.

When it came to the filming of our factual there was three of us to complete the camera work as it would be impossible to film with just one person. When it comes to the editing of my factual it will be edited by me and this will not cost anything as I will not be employing anyone.

Facilities – some of the facilities that would be needed for a TV factual would be an editing suite, sets and maybe stages – with green screen if anything needs to be edited in afterwards. Recces would need to be filled out so everyone knows on set where the cameras, lighting, microphones and power outlets are located.

An editing suite would also be required to edit the footage together after filming, usually on an Apple Mac with Final Cut. This is what I will use when editing my factual and I will be editing it at college, and this will be cost free. I will also fill in an edit log and also a shot list, which is how I will keep track of all the shots in my factual. When productions are creating a factual and they do not have access themselves to edit their programme, they will look for a company that has a editing suite within the are that they are filming. If editing in Manchester there is a company that asks for £60 for a full day or £420 for a full week, and this is located in Deansgate, Manchester.

Materials – in some factual’s archive footage is commonly used. It is usually used when looking back at certain events from the past such as the War or the 9/11 attacks. By using this footage it generates the sense of realism for the audience. But when I am creating my documentary I will only be using original footage as it does not call for archive footage to be used. Also I shall be using photographs that I will be putting text over to create a montage instead of using footage all the way through. For the products I will be making I will have found the recipes from a secondary source which is a recipe book. I will be needing a call sheet so I know what equipment I will be needing. And I will only be needing cameras, tripods and also the ingredients.

Contributors – contributors are a big involvement when making a factual, as they can have specific talents or skills or are just being witnesses on the making of the show. For my factual, I am the presenter so I am the main contributor as I am the main focus and I’m the one who will be driving the show. The paperwork that would be needed for this would be actor release forms, and this includes such things as: if the person consents to being filmed, the address of where it is being filmed, the name of the contributor, a signature and a witness contributor. These forms are put in place to show that people in the documentary consent to having their faces shown on film.

Locations – the location that I am using is my house on Lyne Edge Road, before I filmed at this location I completed a recce sheet, to know where all the cameras, power outlets, and lighting were going to be placed and what was in the kitchen. I also filled out a risk assessment sheet, to identify any risks that could arise while filming, and what I action I could take to prevent this. Before choosing a location to film in such things as the weather need to be taken into consideration, but as I was filming inside the weather did not affect my filming.

Codes of practice and regulation – when creating a factual for TV, you need to make sure that the things that are going to be included in it are facts and 100% accurate, and if they are not it can cause confusion and miscommunication with the audience who could respond negatively to it.

When creating a factual for TV it needs to be subjective as to show both sides of the topic and not be biased towards one side. Also racism, sexism and ageism are things to also take into account when making a TV factual, as you do not want the audience to be offended by things that are discussed. There is a wide range of legal issues affecting the producer of the show, for example copyright, if filming is being held in a location with a famous company in the filming, they would need to get in touch with that company to see if it will be okay to have their logo featured on the film. If the company did not agree to having their logo on the film then it would need to be obscured. If music is being featured in a factual then the company that is producing the show would need to get in touch the artist of the song to get their consent for their music to be featured in the film.

As this does not apply to be as I am filming indoors and no company’s logos are in my film, I will not need to get in touch with anyone.