In this blog I will be speaking about each of my pre-production plans and how planning in advanced is so effective, as well as this how it will benefit us when we are actually making our advert.
First of we had to make a proposal sheet, this is where you plan out your advert before you go ahead and make your advert. This sheet will consist of shot types such as long shot or a close up shot, what scene you are going to use these for, which actors and actresses will be involved and what costumes will need to be worn when filming. This advert plays an important part because it is the base of our advert and how we will start off. When it came to recording our advert we were able to take this sheet with us rather than our storyboard, but we chose not to. this is because we did not want to take the risk of loosing the paper so instead we took an electronic copy to use from our phones.
We then had to create a storyboard, a storyboard is where you should draw out each scene in the boxes provided and how you would like to see them when you are recording your final advert. The reason why we had to do this is so that we could follow a strict schedule on what to record in order to make sure that we get the recording done correctly, then if we have to re record scenes to make them look better. With a storyboard many people can use it in the group, but when it came to recording we noticed that only two people used it and this was the actors and the director. The reason for this is because we only had a small production team compared to a big advert company. In order to make sure that things go better for next time, I would prefer to have a story board that is well laid out so that it is easier for everyone to understand rather than certain people.
Once we planned out the story board, we then had to think about what we are going to wear when we are recording. For our scenes we decided to wear running gear which consists of running shoes, shorts or jogging tights, a t-shirt and your phone to track the fitness from the phone. When we done this we made sure we we wrote down what we had to wear on the pre-production plans so that we could take the sheets of paper with us in order to see what we had to do. When it came to costumes we did not really need to look at the pre-productions plans seeing as it was the easiest to remember, this means that this part was not as useful as it should have been to others. With this part of the pre-production plans I would like to improve by making them more useful in case we needed a new actor or actress.
As a group we had to come to a conclusion on our budget, we managed to find out our budget £3,500 which will cover everything from crew to equipment. This type of document was kept on a piece of paper which we were able to take with us when we are recording which made in handy. Overall I think that this pre production sheet was useful, the reason being for this is because sometimes you may forget what our budget is so it was good to look at the pre production list and keep reminding ourselves on what we cannot go over. If I were to improve this part of the pre production list, I would like to emphasise our budget so that we know that the whole crew knows the budget and do not go over the limit.
After this we then had to figure out our shooting schedule, this is where we have wrote down what scenes we need to record at what times so that we can stay on track and get finished by our set deadline. When it came to recording our advert we referred to the sheet to look at what we have got to record and how long we have to record this, if we had any extra time we would have looked at the clips and re recorded any scenes that needed to be re done if necessary. When it came to using this document I thought they were very useful because it gave us a very strict schedule in order to follow so that we do not go over the time. If I was to improve this part of the document I would have liked to make it more structured because it doesn't look as clear as it should do.
We then came together as a group and noted down on the shot list what types of shots we had to shoot, this document allows the crew to see what types of shots we need to record for our advert for each scene. This document played an important part throughout and was one of the most useful documents, the reason for this is because it was constantly being used in order to know what we are going to record next. The main people who would use this document would be the camera people because they are in charge of the camera and what scenes they have to record. Seeing as this document is good how it is, I would not change it because it has all of the information on it that is needed.
Once everything has fallen in to place we then had to decide where to record our advert, in which we chosen the actors house and the local park. This is known as the location sheet. When it came to using this, we did not really use them because the actor knew his way round seeing as we were recording from his house. This then leads on to how useful the document was, overall it wasn't really used which means that it was not useful at all. But if we did not know where we was then this would have played an important part within the team. If I were to improve this document I would have added a map picture from point A to point B
One of the important pre production plans is the risk assessment, this is where you write down the possible risks that could occur when you are doing something and how you could deal with the incident if it was to occur. This is one of the most useful documents because we had to keep on looking at it continuously in case a risk was to occur. With this document I would not change it in anyway seeing as it has all of the information needed for the whole crew.
In order to make sure everyone is where they are meant to be, communication plays an important part. So this is why we needed to get all of the contact details from the team. This is a basic document to understand and it played an important part throughout the entire recording. The reason for this is because we may have had a camera man who is ill so we may have needed our second camera man. This document had all of the contact numbers on there so we could call at anytime. If I wanted to improve this document I would have liked to add a section of 'Other Contact Information' incase we cannot contact them through the number they gave us.
