The Film sector is one of the most complex and yet exciting industries to be working in. The film making process is incredibly diverse and pulls together people with a wide range of skills and training so it is often hard to know which bit is of most interest or how to get started.

The key people on any film and the ones we often here about when films are promoted in the are the Executive Producer, Producer, Director and often the Writer, but below this 3 or 4 key people there are many people and departments involved in the production of a film especially a Hollywood Block Buster. We can roughly divide the industry into departments /areas and look at the kinds of responsibilities, roles and skills that sit within each:

Production Departments:

In this area we see the financial, management, organizational and administrative roles, such as the Line Producer, the Production Manager, the Production Accountant, The location manager, 1st Assistant AD. Basically, this teams job is to find ways to realize the creative

vision and to look after the money, the planning and the logistics of the whole project and shoot from beginning to end.

Script Department:

A Producer and Director may have a vision or indeed be brought a project that a writer has already created, either way the creation of a good script is essential if you want to make a good film and essential when the producer is trying to raise money to fund the project. Some writers will work in teams others alone, but once up and running a team will work with a writer, producer and director to finesse the script to make it better and achievable within the parameters set by the budget, team or financiers. A Script supervisor will also help work out which bits of the script to shoot when and work closely with the production departments.

Art Department:

Individuals in this area will work closely with the director to deliver the creative look of the project, a Production Designer will head the team and work with an Art Director who will have a team to create/build/find the sets as well as the wardrobe and make-up team. This department might also work closely with a VFX team if there is a lot of green screen or CGI in the project and they need to consider how these elements come together.

Technical Departments:

Technical departments are mainly involved when a project is in production and include, camera, sounds, grip and electrical roles, depending on the project they may also work closely with special effects teams in studios or locations. The Director of Photography is the most senior role after the Director and is responsible for realizing the vision that director has and if possible making it even better! In Action films this area will also include stunt supervisor and a whole range of specialties like pyrotechnics etc.

Where to start...By Lucas Warren

Post Production Departments:

The key role here is the Film Editor oversees of directly assembles the rushes and cuts together all the material into the final film. They would also work with a sound editor and sound designer, who job will be to plan and design elements of the sound but also create the final audio – bringing in music (potentially with a Music Supervisor) and sounds effects as required.

If the film has some VFX then a Visual Effects Supervisor may also come on board at the end or throughout if complex.

Overall film production can be split into 3/4 phases;

Development/financing

This is the early script or treatment phase and also when the Producer will be seeking funding to make the film

Pre-production

The project goes into pre-production when the money is there, a director and head of departments will come on board and the team will start to budget the project – from casting, locations, art direction etc.

Production/Shoot

This refers to the period in which the film is actually being shot/or created digitally. It’s when everyone comes on board.

Post Production

This refers to the last phase when all the material has been shot or created and rushes are edited together, VFX are added, sound designed and a final version is created ready for release.

What Do People Really Do!? We can look at a few key roles to understand what people really do within the broad departments Film project:

Producer:

The producer roles is both managerial and creative, they coordinates, supervises and controls matters such as raising funding, hiring key personnel, contacting and arranging for distributors. The producer is involved throughout all phases of the process from development to completion of a project.

Director:

A director has a key creative role and is the person who directs the making of the film, controlling all the artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualizes the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision

The job of director is mainly a creative and managerial role as they are in charge of the look of the film as well as making sure people do their jobs and do them properly/ efficiently.

Directors have the responsibility to make sure everything goes as planned and make sure their vision of the story of realised when filmed.

Production accountant:

Production managers are responsible for maintaining records during film production and managing finances. Production managers have to work alongside the producer and the production office to keep track of the day-to-day accounting office functions, and report on the financial progress against the budgets (cost reporting)

Location Scout:

Responsible for the initial scouting of locations for the production, taking

into account production logistics, e.g. location fees and budgetary restrictions, local permitting costs and regulations camera and lighting requirements, convenience to other locations, productions services, crew and unit

Art Director:

Various artists may create or develop specific parts of an art piece or scene; but it is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vision.

The job of the art director is mainly a creative role as they are in charge of the style and look of the film. Art directors have the responsibility of the overall visual appearance and how it communicates visually, stimulates moods, contrasts features, and psychologically appeals to a target audience.

The art director makes decisions about visual elements used, what artistic style to use, and when to use motion.

The art director often works alongside the director and the crew to make sure the director agrees with his/her decisions of how the film will look.

Camera operator:

A camera operator or cameraman/camerawoman is a professional operator of a film or video camera. In filmmaking, the leading camera operator is usually called a cinematographer. A camera mans duties involve setting up and preparing the camera, making sure it captures the right compositing and camera angles the director desires, plus shooting on it and capturing all of footage needed.

This area of expertise is more a technical job as it involves being able to use and operate technical equipment like cameras and mics for example.

Camera operators tend to work alongside grips, focus pullers, light dep, and especially the director, as he decides what the composition of the shot will be at the end of the day.

Editor:

Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. The film editor works with the raw footage, selecting shots and combining them into sequences to create a finished motion picture.

This is a creative role as the editor decides how the film will be shown and in what way, giving different effects to the audience.

Directors have the responsibility to make sure everything goes as planned and make sure their vision of the story of realised when filmed.

The editor often works alongside the director, because the director often has last say on what makes it into the film and what doesn’t

Matthew Libatique:Cinematographer/cameramanLibatique began his career working on music videos and teamed with friend Darren Aronofsky to make his first short film Protozoa. Libatique

came to prominence alongside Aronfsky with their breakthrough film Pi; the film had a distinctive, high-contrast black and white look that served both the low budget and the film’s nightmarish paranoia.

Quote: We didn’t have any money so out of necessity we went for black & white, because we couldn’t afford gel. We couldn’t balance daylight and tungsten because I couldn’t afford HMI. It was simple things like that where we had to say “Ok, we’re gonna shoot B&W.” And then we watched Let’s Get Lost, smoking out in his apartment, and I’d say “I think they shot reversal.” And then we knew somebody who knew Bruce Weber and they said “Yeah they shot reversal! So we’re gonna shoot reversal!” And then we found the lab that Bruce Weber processed Let’s Get Lost, it was Bono in Virginia, and we’d say “We’re gonna use that lab!” These ideas are just enthusiasm but also necessity. To this day Darren has a little bit of that kind of youthful exuberance.”But he’s equally adept at big blockbusters (like the first two Iron Man films) and seems towork well with just about all of his directors — aside from Aronfsky, he’s done three or more films with Spike Lee, Joel Schumacher, and Jon Favreau.

Katherine Butler:Film4’s Deputy Head of Film

Executive producer credits include Paddy Considine’s Tyrannosaur, Ben Wheatley’s Kill

List and Sightseers and Clio Bernard’s The Selfish Giant.Tessa Ross, Controller of Film and Drama at Channel 4, said: “Katherine has been an exceptional colleague - she has made a fantastic contribution to our work at Film4. With her passion for film and for talented people, she has developed and commissioned wonderful work. Katherine has helped to define Film4 for this decade.”

.

Lucy Paul: Producer and Managing Director Itch Films

Lucy and her husband Charlie Paul started a small commercials production company over 10 years

ago.

Following a passion for the work of illustrator Ralph Steadman Lucy and Charlie embarked on a 10 year project which resulted in the production of a film called ‘For No Good Reason’, a documentary about the life of Ralph Steadman and his satirical artwork.

Film production can be long and hard process, raising funds can be

very difficult if the subject is not mainstream but a passion for the subject and commitment to a project can result in amazing results. Lucy taught herself much of what was needed to be a managing director of a small company and producer of a feature film on the job, asking friends and colleagues for advice and researching methods and options as they went.

From this example it is clear that feature film producers come through many different routes and there is not one fixed avenue rather a need to be determined and committed!