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Pre-Production, The Producer's RoleTelevision, Film & Video Careers
There are three rules to any production: plan, plan and plan. It begins with an idea, then a script, money to get it made, a screenplay, hiring a director, a crew, an editor, and having a marketing plan. Before you even roll the camera there is so much to do in the pre-production stage that it actually takes longer than shooting the scenes.
All of this is the responsibility of the Producer. Do you need a degree to be a producer? Maybe a degree in business, marketing or something similar might be helpful, but the answer is no. To be a producer, all you need is a lot of money, or an ability to talk people into spending theirs, and probably both.
Oh yeah, and you'd better be good at managing money, budgets, deadlines, marketing and administrative duties too. If you want to be a successful producer, that is. These articles will give you an example of what an industrial-market-level producer does. Believe it or not, the same skills apply to film production. They are very similar in nature to things a producer is responsible for on a movie.
What is the role of a Producer? This article is part one of what a producer is generally responsible for, using an industrial video production as an example. What happens before the camera rolls.
Pre Production pt 1
Part two of producing a video project. It's time to record, but after you're done, there is a whole lot more a producer must do in post, distribution and marketing. And you thought this would be easy.
Pre Production pt 2
This will walk you through a simple industrial video project from a producer's perspective. Emphasis and suggestions on the script development phase.
Producing a Video Project and Script Development
Now a reality check for the aspiring writer with their great movie or TV idea. Then an introduction to what is known as an Audio Visual script, and how to write one.
Scriptwriting & A/V Scripts for Short Subject
click images to enlarge, click again to reduce
Script AbbreviationsMost of these abbreviations are used for both film and television.
Note the difference between a Luminance Key and a Chroma Key. Any Key can be described as 'one video source superimposed over another video source'. A source being a video, image, cg, etc.
Audio Visual (A/V)
Scripts / 'Split' or
'T' ScriptsEXAMPLE #1
An example of a T-script.
Note how the keyed CG titles are written: stating what it does, where it is placed, and what is shown. Also note that any Cuts or Dissolves are separate from the scenes and camera shots.
EXAMPLE #2The same T-script, only with shading to highlight how it is structured.
Note that the music is brought 'up & under'at the same time as 'Up from Black', and fades out at the same time of the Dissolve. This is to indicate that music begins and ends with the visual transitions, a normal occurence. Sometimes music starts during a scene, similar to how the SND EFX does in the lower scenes.
EXAMPLE #3Another example showing some dialogue.
Note how each visual direction and audio piece relate with each other to indicate timing of the scene.
EXAMPLE #4The same example with shading to emphasize the structure.
Note the green arrows that indicate which camera shot begins and how audio follows suit. The shading also shows the timing of the scene more clearly.
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