unit 1 assignment 1

Time

1)What is a shooting schedule?

-A shooting schedule is a plan of each days shooting for a film (or in this case documentary) production. Usually it is designed and managed by the assistant director, and then discusses it with the production manager who is in charge of the production schedule. Each schedule is used as a guideline to when and where any production takes place. Changes can be made to the schedule during pre-production, but after that it should be followed and respected. You cannot make a change before referring and negotiating the schedule. It is given to every production, cast and crew member involved in the film.

2)Why is it important to have a shooting schedule?

-it's important to have a shooting schedule because it keeps production running smoothly, without one there would be no order, and you won't get anything done well or on time.

3)How long does it take to get clearance for music/clips?

-We'll first of all, to get clearance we need to get in contact with the people of ownership of the music/clips, the producers. The time it takes to get any clearance all depends on a few things:

-how complex your request is, it might take a lot of negotiating depending on the size of your request

-getting hold of the owners can either be simple(ish) or very difficult depending on what they're like. If they're in another country and feel like they're better than everyone, it will most likely take longer to get an answer from them. Clearance companies are obliged to help clients contact the rights owners, and grant them a clearance 'request'. They will negotiate, explain the request, etc... but the final decision is down to the rights owners, who aren't obliged to anyone.

Personel
Super Size Me-Morgan Spurlock
Morgan Spurlock has been involved in lots of different documentaries/films in his career. Some of these include:

• Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?
• The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
• Mansome
• Super Size Me

Super Size Me was released on May 7th 2004. He came up with the idea when he was watching TV and he saw a news report of two girls who sued McDonalds because they blamed the food chain for their obesity. He decided to go on a 30 day journey of eating from the Mac Shack for every meal of the day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. According to Spurlock, over this 30 day period he would be intaking twice as many calories recommended by the USDA. He graduated from New York University's Tisch school of the Arts with a BFA in film in 1993.

Editor
Editors aren't actually required to have a specific qualification to become an editor, although it would help. What they do need is a lot of experience on the post production process, and since editing is now done using computers, they should be able to use a wide variety of computer editing software. However, a good starting point to get you more experienced and give you a better chance at succeeding would be to something like taking part in short courses specialising in editing. The key skills required for this job role are:

• ability to be creative under pressure;
• imagination and an understanding of narrative;
• excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
• developed sense of rhythm and timing in story telling;
• highly developed aesthetic visual awareness;
• ability to lead a team;
• patience, attention to detail and good organisational skills;
• knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures.

Production Manager

The production manager needs to have good communication and leadership skills so that they can work well and smoothly with their team. They should have a strong knowledge on the technical aspects of production I.e. Camera, sound, editing etc. They also need to make sure they have all their licenses and clearances for where they're shooting, what they're shooting, and how they're shooting it. This is a very important requirement when making any sort of production because if you don't secure these requirements, you could end up in serious trouble with things like copyright or even with the law (if you don't get permission to film at certain places).

Key skills that are required for this job role are:

• initiative and problem solving skills;
• diplomacy and sensitivity;
• resourcefulness and the ability to troubleshoot;
• advanced analytical skills;
• budgeting and financial skills;
• excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• precise attention to detail and methodical approach to work;
• excellent organisational abilities;
• ability to conceptualise ideas;
• IT skills, and knowledge of the relevant computer packages;
• current knowledge of the relevant legislation, regulations, and associated procedures, including Copyright, Data Protection, Public Liability, etc. and how to comply with regulatory requirements;
• knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures.

Although it is not required, having a background in a media based course would be beneficial to your success as a production manager as it would provide you with extra knowledge and understanding of the job and what it entails.

Finance

Funding-Most documentary makers get their money from large funding organisations. They have to apply for the money they want by doing things like presenting the organisations with previous work; showing clips, teasers, pictures of what yo wish to produce(this isn't a requirement although it is highly recommended);they must show at least 20-75 minutes of edited footage to convey the narrative and aesthetics for the final production;they should also undergo audience engagement campaigns to gain pre-production funding. To get funding for your film you need to pitch your ideas around and persuade these organisations that your film would be worth the time and effort. I have found a website called indiegogo which gives you information and tips on how to get yourself funded. My favourite of their techniques is raising the money yourself. You would have to first create a campaign to promote yourself and your plans. To get people on board with this you would have to tell people what you're doing, how they will be helping, and tell them of the perks that they'll get as contributors. This I feel is a great way of obtaining funding for your film although it may be time consuming, you will end up with a better outcome than if you just borrowed the money.  

Clearance-The cost of the clearance all depends on the person you're asking and the scale of your request. If you are asking for a larger scale clearance, and the person in ownership has quite a high status, the price of the clearance is going to be larger.

Locations
In Super Size Me, they filmed in a lot of different places i.e. the streets of New York, Doctors practices, McDonalds. Usually, when filming on the streets you don't really need permission, but this depends on what you have in your shot. Every large city will have a film commission, and most of them wont mind you filming as long as you have a small crew, don't create any disturbances, and you're in and out quickly. However, some of them will require you to have a permit where ever you are. To get permission to film in public, you have to get in touch with the local authority or council. This is because they hold responsibility for public land, buildings etc. The UK Screen Agencies will help you to get in contact with the right authorities.

Facilities
As long as you have clear, understandable audio, you can film something with any camera available (within reason). Documentary makers will use mostly hand held cameras because they're always moving to new places and following people around. If the documentary is trying to find information that isn't publicly available, they will use hidden cameras i.e. on private investigators. The main camera equipment that you will need when making a documentary are:
-High quality cameras(JVC, HDSLR)-£20-£50 per day to hire
-Boom pole/shotgun mic(with all the shotgun mic accessories)-£5 per day to hire
-Clip mics(attatched to the presenter, interviewees etc)-£10 per day or £40 per week to hire
-Tripods-£10-£20 per day
-Field recorders-£10-£15 per day
-Three point lighting equipment(for interviews etc)-£20-£25 per day
-Head phones-About £5 per day

The best editing software to use for your documentary would be Final Cut Pro. This is down to the fact that it's the safe software that professionals use and it's easy to navigate and edit your work.

Materials/Copyright

A good example of visual materials used in a documentary would be from the Imposter. In this documentary they use a lot of the video footage from the families cameras of the young boy. This is a good way to keep audiences interested as they get to see the actual subject that the documentary is about. To get the clearance to use this footage they would've just had to simply ask for the families permission, any footage they had from Law enforcements would've had to be cleared by paying to use it, and it would've had to be thoroughly checked through to make sure it's suitable and legal for the public to see. The PRS are a society formed in order to pay royalties back to its members when their music is exploited within the media i.e. shared online, broadcast to the public, or performed/played in public. You should try and find things that are 'royalty free' because it means that you dont have to pay royalties for any copyrighted material you are using. Copyright is used to enable someone exclusive rights and distribution of a certain product, brand, media that they have created. It grants them right of ownership towards their product and it makes it illegal for someone else to use it without the permission of the creator.

Contributors
It is important to find the right contributor so that your product can be the best quality it possibly can. It also that it will be distributed to its fullest in order to make it popular, successful and profitable.