It has often been said that if you do not have a plan for success, then you have a plan for failure and this is very relevant to the procedure of filmmaking too. Think about it; a producer gets a script that he or she likes, then what? Top actors may be booked up for years as may all the top directors and technical staff.
So, while you are attempting to find financiers for the film, you have to start co-ordinating all your principal personnel. Let's say that you want a particular director, a couple of of the foremost technicians and you have five main character roles, for which you have preferences. First, you might have to wait for your favourite casting director to have time to help.
You get in touch with the director and he cannot start until the end of January. However, your first preferences for the leading five actors may not all be free for long enough to shoot the film until June,
However, some of them could spare a couple of days here and there before that. Now the leading man and the leading lady want to appoint executive directors to look after their interests.
The script writer and a couple of the top investors also demand to appoint executive directors in order to look after their interests as well. Now you have what amounts to a board of directors with a chairman, every one with slightly different focuses, but all wanting the film to be a success.
Naturally, the financiers would like to know exactly how much the film will be and the actors will need to know when their agents may book their next film role.
This means that time and money has to get allocated to every scene. So someone has to price up every scene and make allowances for weather, illness, breakdowns and delays.
If the producer wants to begin before everyone can be on the set, he can arrange to shoot scenes as and when actors get a spare day or two and this means a lot of co-ordination by the continuity staff.
It may also mean hardship with visas if shooting abroad, where authorization to film will also have to be acquired. This may mean a license or corruption.
If the film is an epic, they may require thousands of extras and maybe none of them will be able to speak English, so you will require interpreters and the script might need to be translated in part. And that translation has to be proven to be accurate
Customs and local habits have to be followed, so first you have to know what they are and you need to be sure the actors and technicians understand them. If you are shooting some scenes on location and others at home, you need to take the local seasons into account.
Some countries only have a few hours daylight at some times of the year, whilst other regions vary from 15 hours to five hours. What if you need a monsoon, you have taken your cast to Thailand and hired 600 extras and the monsoon comes six weeks late? Your insurance will have to be very detailed and precise to cover every eventuality.
Making a film is a huge task and frighteningly expensive, so if you do not plan, you will fail and the more detailed the plan you have, the more control you have and the more likelihood of success.
So, while you are attempting to find financiers for the film, you have to start co-ordinating all your principal personnel. Let's say that you want a particular director, a couple of of the foremost technicians and you have five main character roles, for which you have preferences. First, you might have to wait for your favourite casting director to have time to help.
You get in touch with the director and he cannot start until the end of January. However, your first preferences for the leading five actors may not all be free for long enough to shoot the film until June,
However, some of them could spare a couple of days here and there before that. Now the leading man and the leading lady want to appoint executive directors to look after their interests.
The script writer and a couple of the top investors also demand to appoint executive directors in order to look after their interests as well. Now you have what amounts to a board of directors with a chairman, every one with slightly different focuses, but all wanting the film to be a success.
Naturally, the financiers would like to know exactly how much the film will be and the actors will need to know when their agents may book their next film role.
This means that time and money has to get allocated to every scene. So someone has to price up every scene and make allowances for weather, illness, breakdowns and delays.
If the producer wants to begin before everyone can be on the set, he can arrange to shoot scenes as and when actors get a spare day or two and this means a lot of co-ordination by the continuity staff.
It may also mean hardship with visas if shooting abroad, where authorization to film will also have to be acquired. This may mean a license or corruption.
If the film is an epic, they may require thousands of extras and maybe none of them will be able to speak English, so you will require interpreters and the script might need to be translated in part. And that translation has to be proven to be accurate
Customs and local habits have to be followed, so first you have to know what they are and you need to be sure the actors and technicians understand them. If you are shooting some scenes on location and others at home, you need to take the local seasons into account.
Some countries only have a few hours daylight at some times of the year, whilst other regions vary from 15 hours to five hours. What if you need a monsoon, you have taken your cast to Thailand and hired 600 extras and the monsoon comes six weeks late? Your insurance will have to be very detailed and precise to cover every eventuality.
Making a film is a huge task and frighteningly expensive, so if you do not plan, you will fail and the more detailed the plan you have, the more control you have and the more likelihood of success.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on lots of topics, but is at present concerned with professional studio photographers. If you have an interest in photography, please go over to our website now at Photography Studio Cameras