TV Un-Scripted Production Management / Part 2 Flashcards
What is a production plan?
- A Production Plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the entire process of creating a documentary.
- It serves as a roadmap, detailing the steps from pre-production to post-production.
- it is developed by the producer to have a general schedule of all its phases.
- its main purpose is to dictate the timing of all phases of the work.
What does the production plan include?
The production plan includes schedule and duration of the main parts of a production:
Pre-production Shooting time Post-production Finishing Delivery
What is included in a concise version of the production plan?
total duration, workweeks, and delivery
What happens after the budget has been locked?
PREPARATION
It involves a careful orchestration of creative and logistical elements, ensuring that the production
team is well-equipped and organized to translate the vision into a compelling visual narrative.
One key aspect of the preparation phase is the careful selection and engagement of key personnel, including the director, producers, and crew members.
Preparation: Editorial Work
Interviewee researcher:
in-depth research to identify and understand potential interviewees, considering their relevance to the project.
First contact:
initiating communication with potential interviewees, explaining the project, and gauging their interest and availability.
Creating a data form:
developing a structured form to collect necessary information from interviewees, ensuring a systematic approach.
Appointment books for interviews:
scheduling and organizing interview sessions, considering time constraints and logistical considerations.
Collecting personal materials:
gathering personal materials, such as photos or videos, belonging to the intervieew, that enhance the storytelling aspect and provide a more comprehensive view.
PREPARATION: Production Work
Technical crew’s recruiting:
identifying and hiring the necessary technical crew, such as camera operators, lighting expert, sound technicians. Care for the sound! It is one of the most important things to have. Good sound quality brings us closer to your protagonists.
Scouting and Recce:
surveying and evaluating, along with Director and DoP, potential filming locations through scouting and recces, to ensure they align with the project’s requirements. Aim for locations with minimal traffic near by, in order to avoid sounds problems during the interview shooting.
Selection of technical equipment:
After the location scouting is completed and the locations are defined (both for interviews and B-roll, as well as any re-enactment), the director needs to decide which cameras to work with, and the DoP must provide the technical list related to the lights needed. Once these details are available, the production team must find a supplier that provides good quality at the best economic agreement.
Location permits:
Once you’ve defined the locations, you must consider that technical trucks need a parking spot nearby to optimize time for unloading and setting up, and not burden the crew with additional effort.
In the case of public land, to obtain these parking spots, you have to request streets permission from the municipality of jurisdiction. Normally, it takes 2 to 3 working weeks in a big city like Rome, so you have to take time into consideration
Releases:
Drafting legal releases that grant permission for the use of images of interviewees and their materials, ensuring compliance with legal requirements. Participants are filmed only after obtaining informed consent. Informed consent is obtained using the Media Release form with participants who are over the age of 18, or with the parents or legal guardians for minors, and is presented in the participant’s native language.
SHOOTING: Call Sheet
- A call-sheet is a detailed document distributed to the cast and crew, providing essential information for each day of shooting.
- This document acts as a blueprint, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and facilitating a smooth workflow.
Who creates the call sheet?
It’s typically prepared by the unit or production manager along with the assistant director.
What are the unit or production manager along with the assistant director responsible for?
They are responsible for organizing and coordinating the logistics of the shoot, including details such as the shooting schedule, location information, contact details for the crew, and other relevant details.
What are the main elements on a call sheet?
*Call times for each member of the crew and cast. *Departments time schedule
*Location details.
*Technical set up times
*Shooting times.
*Special requirements or considerations for the day.
*Emergency contact information.
SHOOTING: Set Up / What does it involve?
In documentaries, location are not specifically created (unless re-enactment are being done).
Therefore, once the location for an interview is chosen, the focus is mainly on two aspects: scenography and lighting.
The art director and props man collaborate directly with the Director and the DoP to arrange the location to suit the framing. They may intervene by rearranging existing furniture or adding props related to the theme of the series or the interviewee, without altering the original too much.
The DoP “creates” the light based on the framing chosen by the Director.
The setup requires time that varies depending on some variables, including:
- Number of cameras
- Quantity of lights
- Personnel involved in the setup
SHOOTING: Wrap
Wrap is the final step in the process of concluding the day’s shoot.
Tasks:
*Collecting and securing props.
*Dismantling and checking equipment, loading it onto the truck and returning it to storage. *Completing any necessary paperwork, such as logging footage, backing it up, deliver it to the laboratory.
Once the shooting phase is done, what is the next step?
Post Production:
The post-production phase in a documentary is the stage where all the recorded footage and materials are transformed into the final product.
New “actors” join the crew:
Assistant Editor
Editor
Graphic designer
Colorist
Sound designer
Finalizer
What happens after locked cut?
- color correction and sound design
Once the work on the audio and video tracks is completed, the episode is ready to be assembled into its master version, which involves:
- post-produced sound
- color correction
- graphics
- potential blurs
- potential subtitles
At this point, it is ready to be mastered and sent to the client according to the technical specifications required by the contract.
What is the job of editor’s assistants?
During the shooting period, the editor assistant(s) organizes the raw footage, backed up and ingested, almost day by day, by the laboratory. They categorize it to allow editor(s) to navigate easily through the entire footage, for example:
- by day
- by topic
- by theme
- by type (Interview, B-roll, drone, etc.)
