Media students/11/c 3/2/06 8:35 am Page 358 1 11 ProductionProduction 2 3 4 organisationorganisation 5 6 7 • The production process in outline • Production 8 9 • Setting out • Post-production 10 • Negotiating a brief • References and further reading 11 • Pre-production 12 13 14 15 In this chapter we deal with the organisation and management of media 16 production tasks. Along with Chapter 12, the information and advice here 17 will enable you to understand the production process and to approach your 18 own productions with confidence. 19 20 21 The production process in outline 22 If you discuss the concept of the production process with professionals 23 who work in different media (e.g. magazine publishing, television, etc.), 24 they will probably stress the differences – the specificities – of their own 25 particular work practices. In Chapter 7 we outline a six-stage production 26 process which, while primarily concerned with film, will serve equally 27 well for other types of media production, even if the professionals 28 concerned would not necessarily recognise the terms used: 29 ‘Development’ is the term used • development or negotiating a brief 30 in the film industry. A ‘brief’ is a • pre-production 31 design industry term, also used production 32 in video production. In many • industries a freelance producer, • post-production 33 writer or director hopes to be • distribution 34 ‘commissioned’ by a ‘publisher’ • exhibition. 35 of some kind. These stages represent the production process for a single, coherent 36 product. An established, daily, media product like a newspaper won’t need 37 to involve endless negotiation and pre-production (although the inclusion 38 of some material will still need to be negotiated), but when the product 39 was first devised the production team will have gone through these stages. 40 A television or radio series is commissioned as a block – a set number of 41 episodes – and each commission can be treated as a single production. 42 358 Media students/11/c 3/2/06 8:35 am Page 359 11: PRODUCTION ORGANISATION Setting out 1 Setting out 2 Whatever the production task, there are several important questions 3 which need to be asked at the outset. 4 5 6 Purpose 7 Why are you producing a media text? Most likely it will be to ‘educate, 8 inform or entertain’. If it isn’t one of these, then it is probably intended to A criticism of some recent British 9 persuade. All production must be entertaining to a certain extent or else films is that they were made just 10 readers won’t persevere with the text. Your production will be assessed because the resources existed 11 to make them – not because the according to the extent to which it ‘fits its purpose’, and you should bear producers had something they 12 this in mind throughout each stage of the process. wanted to say or because they 13 wanted a big hit. Media products 14 need a clear purpose and a 15 Target audience recognised audience. 16 The meaning produced by a text depends to a large extent on the intended 17 reader, and it’s futile to try to construct a text if you don’t know who that 18 reader is. The audience profile will include the standard age, gender and 19 class information as well as more culturally based distinctions which 20 might include religion, sexual orientation, marital or family status, etc., 21 and environmental factors such as geographical location (see Chapter 8 for 22 further discussion of the descriptions used by media industries). 23 24 25 26 ACTIVITY 11.1 27 28 Thinking about audiences 29 If you are given a relatively ‘open brief’ on your course, it’s tempting to choose 30 something with a target audience made up of your own peers. It seems easier 31 because you understand the audience. But that can mean that you don’t really do 32 the work of thinking about the audience. It can be more useful to try to think about 33 a very different target audience. Imagine you are asked to produce a television 34 magazine format show (twenty minutes of different studio items and filmed 35 inserts). Brainstorm some ideas for a show to appeal to: 36 • a ‘daytime’ audience of parents with young children 37 • a Sunday morning audience of men aged 55+ 38 (Check the BBC website at www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/marketresearch for 39 ideas about television audiences.) 40 41 42 359 Media students/11/c 3/2/06 8:35 am Page 360 Setting out THE MEDIA STUDENT’S BOOK Budget and funding 1 Media production requires money – large amounts in many cases. Where 2 does it come from? 3 4 5 Direct sales 6 This is a typical ‘cash flow’ Not many producers can be self-funding – generating enough income 7 problem. The business may be from sales to fund the next production. In most cases, the preparation 8 financially viable, but the money costs and the delay in receiving income mean that the outlay is too big 9 coming in isn’t always at the right 10 time to cover the necessary for a small company to cover. expenditure. Smaller companies There are then a limited number of options available. Borrowing the 11 are often forced to pay bills on money from a bank will mean high interest payments, putting more 12 time, whereas larger companies pressure on the ‘need to succeed’. Selling an interest in your production to 13 can make their smaller suppliers 14 wait. a backer is perhaps a less risky venture, but of course it means that, if you do well, a share of the profits goes to your backers. 15 16 17 Pre-sales 18 Continuing production can be guaranteed if you can ‘pre-sell’ your 19 products at a fixed price. This way you may cover the whole of your 20 budget with a guaranteed sale. The disadvantage is that if your product is 21 very successful and could command a higher price, you will have forgone 22 potential profits. 23 24 25 Selling rights to a distributor 26 This saves you the trouble and the risk of selling your product in 27 territories (or to other media) which you don’t know much about. 28 A distributor pays you a fixed sum. Once again, you lose profits if the 29 product is successful. 30 31 32 Selling ideas 33 If you can sell your production idea, you can save yourself the bother of 34 producing at all. You can also negotiate to make your product as a 35 commission for a major producer, leaving someone else to worry about 36 budgets while you just take a fee. 37 38 39 Sponsorship or advertising 40 You may get someone else to pay for the production (or part of it) as part 41 of a sponsorship deal. Companies may be interested in being associated 42 360 Media students/11/c 3/2/06 8:35 am Page 361 11: PRODUCTION ORGANISATION Setting out 1 with a ‘quality’ product, especially if it addresses a specific target audience 2 that they want to reach. A specialised form of sponsorship involves 3 product placement. Print products and possibly radio broadcasts may be Product placementThis refers 4 funded by the direct sale of advertising space. The danger of sponsorship to the prominent position of 5 is that the sponsors’ views on the production may compromise your consumer items in the decor of films and television programmes 6 own aims. and crucially the use of such 7 products by stars. Coca-Cola and 8 Pepsi are reputed to have spent Grant-aid millions on getting their products 9 used by stars in Hollywood 10 If you have no money and little experience, you may actually be better features (see Chapter 9 and its 11 placed to get started on a project than if you have a track record. Many arts case study). 12 agencies offer grants to new producers. These may be quite small – a few Grant aid has enabled many 13 hundred pounds up to a few thousand – but enough to get started. Look currently successful film-makers 14 in the reference section below for details of the UK Film Council, Arts to make a start. Lottery funding is 15 Council, etc. Be warned: grant applications have strict schedules tied to an important source of support, 16 annual budgets and quite detailed application forms. Make sure you have mainly for organisations but also for smaller ventures. Check with 17 enough time to get advice and fill in the forms properly. You will also your local arts board or screen 18 need to evaluate your work – you will probably find that your media agency. 19 studies work is useful in explaining what you want to do. Many grants are 20 aimed at giving help to particular groups of new producers or new forms 21 of production. 22 For many producers, ‘independence’ from control or ‘interference’ by 23 funders is a big issue. On the other hand, some funders can be helpful 24 in budgeting for you (and also giving you ‘backing’ which will allow you 25 entry into other negotiations with potential buyers etc.). 26 27 Style 28 29 What style or genre will you use? No matter how ‘original’ you attempt to 30 be, you will be making references to media conventions. If you don’t make 31 these references your readers may have difficulty following the text. You 32 will perhaps be warned not to imitate professional work slavishly, but, at 33 least when you first start out, it is difficult not to draw on work you enjoy 34 or admire.