AS Media studies Homework

PRODUCTION

The main stages involved in producing a film are:

Development Stage:

Development stage is where a story outline is developed into a feasible script. A detailed screenplay will then be written with minute details of the characters, situations and overall style. Process involved in developing the screenplay is called as script coverage. With the detailed screenplay a potential financier will be approached. When the financier is impressed with the screenplay they agree to give the financial backing for the production of the movie.

Pre-production Stage:

In the pre-production stage, the movie is crafted in detail and a production budget is drawn. It is in this stage the producer hire the crew whose team size depends on the budget of the movie. Big budget movies will have a crew of nearly hundred members where as low budget movie will engage a ten or even less number of crews. The director, assistant director, art director, choreographer, cinematographer, music composer and music director are the main members of the crew.

Production Stage:

Next is the production stage where the film is created and then shot. In this stage the production office recruits more crew members like the property masters, script supervisors, still photographers, sound editors and so on. During this stage the whole unit will be busy, as the crew will be preparing their equipment, actors will be rehearsing the script and discussing with the director, etc. It is a custom widely followed to have a wrap party at the end of the project to thank one and all of the crew teams.

Post-Production Stage:

In the Post-Production stage it is mainly the editor who plays a key role. It is the film editor who assembles the film. The film editor first builds a rough sketch from different scenes or sequences based on individual shots. In the next step, the process of trimming a few minutes or seconds is done to create a professional cut of all shots to make it flow smoothly. After this the producer and director approval will be sought. The locked picture is passed on to develop the sound track to the sound track department. Voice recordings and the ultimate sound mix are created.

Distribution Stage:

Distribution is the final stage, when the movies are released for the public. Copies of the movie are taken for distribution to theatre’s. The movie is publicized with wall posters, TV commercials, press kits etc. Usually the movie will be released with a press releases, launch party, and preview for the press. Rights for distribution of the movie worldwide and in DVD will be sold to a single person/company or different persons/companies.

EXHIBITION

Today there are many ways for us to engage in films for we can: go to the local cinema and watch a film, purchase a dvd copy of a film that has already been released in cinema, watch film on TV channels such as sky movies or film 4 or regular channels like channel 1 etc., also we can download film onto our laptops consoles or smart phones (illegally) before they are even released in the cinema.

DISTRIBUTION

One way that a film gets from the edit house to is a straight to video release. A straight to video release occurs when a movie is released on home video formats without being released in theatre’s first, thereby not taking into consideration the "theatrical window"  another way in which films are distributed is standard release which is when a film is released in the cinema or theatre then approximately 17 weeks is released on DVD and after an additional amount of months is released on pay TV such as sky movies on demand finally two years after the film’s release date it is made available for free on TV