The Three Stages of Making Movies

Have you ever sat through the entire credits at the end of the film? A lot of names, isn't it? Today we are going to be thinking about what some of those people do.

One of the many exciting things we get to do in Media Studies is make our own movies. Sadly however, it is never as simple as grabbing a camera and seeing what happens... Storytelling through film is a delicate process. Luckily however, it can all be broken down quite simply:

The process of making movies falls into 3 important stages...

1. Pre-Production
2. Production
3. Post Production

'Production', in film-terms, basically means everything that happens 'on-set'... filming, recording live dialogue, making sure the lighting is OK, getting the director a coffee... that sort of thing.

'Pre-Production' describes everything that has to happen before people start filming.

'Post-Production' describes everything that has to happen after the actual filming has finished before the film can be released.

Activity

In your books or in a Word document, put the three titles (leaving lots of space between each one) 'Pre-Production', 'Production' and 'Post-Production'.

You are going to put each of the following film-making jobs under one of the three headings. Next to each job I want you to describe why it is important to the making of a film -

eg.

Post-Production

Deciding which take (version) of a scene to use - This is important because it makes sure the best performances by the actors are used in the final version of the film.

Here are your list of jobs... put them under the right heading and describe why they are important:

Writing the script

Choosing which take of each scene to use

Finding the right actors for each role

Designing the costumes for the characters

Writing a musical score to go along with the action on-screen

Directing the actors when they are performing each scene

Raising money to fund the film

Deciding what transitions to use between each scene

Writing a musical score for the film

Acting

The Foley Artist

Paying different companies to advertise the film

Have a good idea for a film

Show your script to several people and ask for their opinion on it

Invite lots of film critics to the premiere of your film



Extension Task

Write out a definition of both diegetic and non-diegetic sound in your own words.

Give examples of three bits of sound you might hear in a film that would be described as 'diegetic', and three bits which would be described as 'non-dietgetic'.