Unit 1 Task 1a

What is Pre-Production?
Pre-production is a term that refers to the tasks undertaken before production
begins. Exactly what is included in this stage depends on the situation. For a
small video company, pre-production may refer to everything that happens
before shooting begins, for example, meeting with the client, research,
storyboarding, location planning, etc. For feature films, pre-production is more
specific and only begins when other milestones have been met such as financing,
screenplay, casting and major staffing.

Different Procedures
In most cases pre-production includes:

Type of Production e.g. Film, television, video, radio, audio, computer

game etc.
Finance: sources of finance e.g. equipment, transport, talent, crew etc.
Time e.g. deadlines, availability
Personnel: size of team e.g. roles, skills and experience etc.
Facilities e.g. Equipment, facility houses, outsourcing
Materials e.g. original materials, archive, sound library, graphics,
costumes, properties etc.
Contributors e.g. specialist, talent, experts, public etc.
Locations: identification e.g. limitations and risks, distance, cost, weather

Production Types
The production type is a general title to explain what genre of video being
created. The video could have an objective, that being instructional,
informational, story-based, entertainment etc. Deciding on the objective the
production team would decide the type of production; live action (includes video
podcasts), animation, website, audio podcast etc. And after
Live action (video podcasts) are full motion productions such as dramas,
comedies, documentaries, commercials, news shows, talk shows, interviews etc.
These production mostly will have on-screen talent in form of actors, instructors,
host and/or narrators. An animation includes drawn images, clay models and/or
real-life models that are animated to create the illusion of movement.

Finance
An important part of the pre-production process is to calculate the financial
capability of the planned production. In most scenarios there are two parts to
this: first, the source of finance. This can come from advertisement, sponsorship,
sales etc. and second, the expenditure, such as: equipment, materials, transport,
crew etc. It is likely that my college will fund the productions I will be
undertaking. However with each production I will need to investigate the
potential funding and costs for my project.
Time
The time-scale is an important factor for any media production, sometime
working to very strict deadlines. A good example of a tight deadline is when a
journalist has a breaking story for a newspaper and needs to research and write
a story for the next printing. The time-scale and deadlines for my assignments
are likely to be less pressurised, but will need to think about the availability of
my group and equipment.
Personnel
Choosing the right personal for a media production is another significant part of
the pre-production development. Each project needs to ensure that its
production team is the right size for the job, has the correct set of skills,
knowledge and experience to undertake each particular role that is needed. A
good way of starting is to assess the initial skill level that each member of the
team has. The production team can then manage what skills need development
in each individual, and which would be most useful for the project. This process
can help identify any skill gaps I may have and the areas in which I might require
extra help and support from other people.
Facilities
Any media production will use production equipment and facilities to capture,
record and edit the material used into finishing any product. Most of my projects
will be moving image assignments and I will need equipment and perhaps
studios to record and capture the sounds and images that I require. Computer
software has become an integral part of production process used to create
almost all digital media projects. Professional production companies will either
use their own equipment and facilities or hire what they need for a specific
production. Some businesses may even outsource some of their work, as they
may not have the required equipment or facilities they need for their production.

Materials
All media products require raw material for the actual content and its possible
to gather and generate this raw material in various ways. Some will be original
material that I am planning to produce myself. Undertaking a series of test
shoots or recordings can help further improve ideas during the pre-production
stage. It can help decide what original material can be integrated in the final
product.
It is possible to use some existing archive material, such as photographs or film
footage, material from a sound or photographic library or sourced from the
Internet, or some existing music or graphics. In all of these cases its need that I
am aware of copyright laws. Copyright owners can choose to grant permission or
license others to use their work, usually for a fee, while retaining ownership over
the rights themselves. Like other forms of intellectual property, copyright can be
bought and sold.
Contributors
Contributors are other people who may be needed, other than the production
team, to contribute to the project. It might be possible for myself to acquire the
services of presenters or voice-over artists to make my product look and sound
more professional. People who are featured in productions will need to sign a
release and consent agreement form so that its possible to have documentary
evidence of their permission to be featured.
Locations
It is important to inspect appropriate locations during the pre-production phase.
Having crew, talent and equipment can be very expensive for production
companies, so they need to maximise the amount of material that they can
produce in the shortest time possible. For myself, its more about time than
money. Making sure that I have enough time to record everything I need, whilst
also leaving enough time to edit my final product.

Case Study
South Park
South Park is an American adult animated sitcom. The pilot episode was created
using cut-out animation and after the success of the pilot the following episodes
used software that emulates the cut-out technique. Each episode is typically
written and produced preceding the week before its broadcast. Using computers
as an animation method, the shows production staff were able to generate an
episode in about three weeks during the first seasons. Now, with a staff of about

70 people, episodes are typically completed in one week, with some in as little as
three to four days.
Scripts are not written before a season begins. Production of an episode
begins on a Thursday, with the shows writing consultants brainstorming with
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the original creators of the program. After
exchanging ideas, Parker will write a script, and from there the entire team of
animators, editors, technicians, and sound engineers will each typically work
100120 hours in the ensuing week. On Wednesday, a completed episode is sent
to Comedy Central's headquarters via satellite uplink, sometimes in just a few
hours before its air time. Parker and Stone state that subjecting themselves to a
one-week deadline creates more spontaneity amongst themselves in the creative
process which they feel results in a funnier show.
The schedule also allows South Park to both stay more topical and
respond more quickly to specific current events than other satiric animated
shows. One of the earliest examples of this was in the season four episode
"Quintuplets 2000", which references the United States Border Patrol's raid of a
house during the Elian Gonzalez affair, an event which occurred only four days
before the episode originally aired.
Nearly the entire production of an episode is accomplished within one set
of offices, which and are now South Park Studios in Culver City, California.
Parker and Stone voice most of the male South Park characters and with
April Stewart and Mona Marshall to voice most of the female characters. Other
voice actors and members of South Park's production staff have voiced minor
characters for various episodes, while a few staff members voice recurring
characters. Throughout the shows run, the voices for toddler and kindergarten
characters have been provided by various small children of the shows
production staff. When voicing child characters, the voice actors speak within
their normal vocal range while adding a childlike inflection. The recorded audio
is then edited with Pro Tools, and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound
more like that of a fourth grader. Isaac Hayes voiced the character of Chef.
Celebrities who are depicted on the show are usually impersonated, though a
very small selection of celebrities do their own voices for the show. Celebrities
who have voiced themselves include Michael Buffer, Brent Musburger, Jay Leno,
Robert Smith, and the bands Radiohead and Korn.