Well, water always seems to work nicely (Pre-Production Essay)

I'm going to skip the Badger Blogging intro and just get on with it today.

 

What is Pre-Production?

Pre-production is the planning and designing stage, mainly for media products (film, websites, music, photography, computer games, etc.) This particular stage when creating a media product is usually very time consuming. The reason for this is because most media products tend to start with an idea or an interest and then evolve them into something that could be created. Some ideas that are based on a certain media (such as digital video) can be obtained by conducting research on other existing products and making key points about them, key points such as themes, what was good, what could be improved or made better, etc.

 
Sometimes, a pre-production may be a response to brief given to by a client.  

Before any ideas start to grow and develop in the planning and designing stage, it is ideal that these ideas reflect on a target audience. This is important, especially if a production relies on teamwork. No matter what equipment is being used, the choice of methods and the time spent on the production, it is essential that they all need to be clearly planned out and have a thoroughly planned structure when it comes down to creating a successful production. Because most productions tend to be very ambitious, they could take up a lot of time and effort to complete, so it's ideal to start early. 

In some stages of pre-production there is always the obstacle of using different elements. Elements in the pre-production are to some degree the requirements of how the production is going to be created. Here are some of the elements which are often used in pre-production:

Research

Before the development of a production can begin, it is essential to conduct research on other already existing products. This is ideal, especially if an idea (or two) is going to be used in the production, to get other ideas or inspiration from others or if the production is competing against others. Research is comprised of searching for other products and making a record of what they are about, what people like about them and what could be improved or made better.

Budget

Budget is not always a big issue but it is necessary when comes to making very ambitious project. Sometimes a production will include a sum total budget of how much a production is going to cost making it and how much producer or production manager aims to pay at maximum. Once the production has successfully been completed, the producer or production manager will charge their client (if there is one) a total amount, including working times and materials used. There may be additional costs after the production is launched.

Timeline 

The timeline is always useful when a production depends on group work, as there are different people working on different tasks. Solo projects will have an opposite effect because there is only one person working on one task at a time. With group work, time consumption is hardly a big worry as making a production would take less time because of the many tasks being covered.

Concept Designs

It is always a good idea to create concept designs before moving on to the real thing. Concept designs are very useful for creating something because they can generate ideas and allows the designer to further evolve their ideas into a final outcome. Most concept ideas are usually held onto and are stored within a pre-production.

Storyboards

Storyboards are used to create a series of draft ideas in the concept of a short storyline. Storyboards are similar to the concept designs except that they are story orientated. It is ideal for the use of storyboards as they can help generate and add more ideas as the storyline develops.

Mock ups

Mock ups are very similar to concept designs. Although the difference between the two is that mock ups don't tend to generate ideas but they can be used to predict what the final production outcome will look like once it is completed. A mock up can be a variety of sketches to a series 3d models.

Scope of Work 

A Scope of work is a document containing a variety of information that has been created by a producer or production manager. The contents of the information on the scope varies from set targets or standards that are to be met by a deadline, a project overview of what the product needs in response to a brief sent by a client, to contract agreements, which is to be signed by both the client and the producer.

Rehearsals

Rehearsals are an ideal way of preparing for films or TV programmes. A rehearsal is a particular stage in film-making where the actors and producers come a meeting and read out their lines from a script. This gives a chance for the actors to practice playing their roles to get a feel of what they need to say and how they are going to say it on set and when recording begins.

Equipment

The equipment being used to create a media product will vary depending what type of media product is being made (e.g. video cameras, boom microphone and other equipment used for filming.) No matter what equipment you use, there will be an expected fee rental or purchase but this would come under Budgeting. There is also the case of health and safety when using equipment as some equipment can injure people when not looked after properly.

Locations

If you are recording for a video of some sorts, then there will be the case of where to film. Recording outdoors can promote natural scenery whereas filming indoors can be idea for recording on an artificial set. If you are recording outdoors, you will need a filming permit. Some filming permits may cost a fee (Budgeting.)

Testing

Testing is another essential part in pre-production. All media products need to be tested to see if everything within the product is working properly. This should be a part of the task in creating the production. Once the production is finished, it is always a good idea to test it in case of bugs and/or faults. Some media products may use beta testing, which allows customers to test out a production before its release and in return, will feedback on what they think. Some feedback may say to make some adjustments or fine tuning so it suits the customers.  

With all of these elements put in place within pre-production, there is a less likely chance of messing up during the production. It is essential that some, if not, all of these elements should be taken into absolute consideration to achieve a successful production, especially to those that are in response to a brief for a client.