The Commissioning

Process

What Is It?
To commission: to put in or make ready for
service or use

Ideas are chosen for production

The Job Roles

Commissioning Bodies
Corporations
i.e. BBC

Independent Production Companies

i.e. Bedlam Productions Ltd

Independent Directors and Producers

i.e. J Blakeson

Organisations
i.e. Independent Cinema Office

Competitions
i.e. The Sunday Times: First Light

The Role Of A Writer

Pre-production planning
What needs to be accomplished throughout production, before it
has started
Script editing
In order to fit the target audience etc.
Director/producer involvement
Advice and opinions
Shooting script
Camera movements, angles etc.
Production
Page lock-down
The final plan what will and what will not be produced
Adjustment during shooting stage
How can what has already been produced be made better?

Becoming A Writer
Agent representation
For press conferences etc.

Royalty payments
Paid to the larger companies so that their
work can be produced

Professional presentation
Time management
Deadlines, meetings etc.

Legal And Ethical

Considerations

Copyright
Law suits/legal action can take place if material breaches copyright
terms and conditions
Bias
Particularly in factual pieces, views/opinions need to be balanced. It is
unethical and prejudiced to present one point of view and not the other.
Censorship
Content is removed so that it can be made suitable for younger
audiences i.e. sex/violence etc.
Watersheds
After this time, content containing sex/violence etc. can be shown
Libel
If a programme mocks/openly insults another party, that party may
take legal action if they deem the content offensive
Plagiarism
Presenting anothers work/ideas as your own. Again, legal action can
take place

Your Task
Explain The Commissioning Process For Writing For Television
And Video. What Is The Role Of The Writer In This Process?
What is the commissioning process?
What are the job roles within it and what do they involve?
What is a commissioning body? Give real examples.
What is the role of the writer throughout the production?
To become a writer, what needs to be considered?
What are the legal and ethical considerations?

Deadline: End of the day!

Good Starting Points For

Research
www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning
www.theproductionguide.co.uk
www.channel4.com/info/commissioning
www.skillset.org/film

Learning Objectives
1. Everyone will know about the

commissioning process
2. Everyone will have completed Task One:

The Commissioning Process

3. Most of you will have started to generate

ideas for your short film

Doodlebug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhKt_CkXD0

John Wayne, Jetaime

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3b0MYsQjU

Useful Site
http://shortsbay.com/

Homework
Generate Ideas!
1. Loglines (the plot in one sentence)
2. Characters
3. Locations
4. How might the above become a new idea?

Generate story ideas

5. What research will you need? (i.e. if one of your

characters has a medical condition, research it!)