The Production Process

The production process refers to the stages (phases) required to complete a media product, from the idea to the final master copy. The process can apply to any type of media production including film, video, television and audio recording. The stages in each medium vary; for example, there is obviously no storyboard in an audio recording. However the same general concepts work for any medium.

Pre-production: Planning, scripting & storyboarding, etc.
Production: The actual shooting/recording.
Post-production: Everything between production and creating the final master copy.
Other stages include:

Financing: This happens before pre-production, and involves budget forecasting, finding investors, etc.
Screenplay: This can be considered a separate stage before pre-production.
Distribution: After post-production, delivering the content to the audience (e.g. film prints, CD/DVD, etc).

Introduction to the course

Outline

Video
Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.
Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.
All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks may be done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group.