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This first phase, production development, is typically managed primarily by the producer and the screenwriter. In this phase, the producer’s main jobs include things like finding or creating ideas for movies, getting other people to work on the film’s development, and ensuring funding for the following stages of production.
The screenwriter is the person who leads the work of actually writing a screenplay, which eventually will become the script, for the actors, director, and others to work with in order to create the movie.
A screenplay will often change a lot throughout the course of film production. Changes may need to be made to account for budgeting constraints or to better align with the vision of the producer or director. Other changes, such as those to the dialogue between characters, may happen organically during the shooting of scenes.
If you have a great idea for a movie but lack the funds for production: Reach out to us anyhow! We are in contact with wealthy people, organisations and institutions that are maybe interested in cooperating with you. Also. LANA AP.MA Entertainment LLC has substantial funds to support people with a vision that want to get into the movie industry.
During the pre-production phase, the producer and a director will begin preparing for the actual filming (shooting) process by scouting out locations, constructing sets or making props, hiring crew members and actors, and creating schedules for the production phase. These schedules may begin very broadly, with specific details being decided as the shooting of the film approaches.
One of the most well-known elements of pre-production is storyboarding, where a production designer, sometimes with the help of other artists, creates a series of images that present some of the main shots for each scene, similar to a comic strip.
This helps those coordinating the set (or stage), props, costumes, and other visual details know what they’re aiming for. It also supplies guidance for the camera crews so they know what equipment they will need to shoot different scenes, and for the editors in post-production to understand the stylistic goals of the producer and director.
In general, pre-production refers to all the preparation necessary before filming begins. In other words, it’s everything that happens between financing being secured and production.
Before we dive into the individual stages of the film production, let’s get some definitions straight and address the different categorizations that people use when they say “stages.”
First, when we refer to “film production”, we are referring to the entire process of a film’s inception, creation, and release. Production is sometimes also used to refer to one of three steps in the filmmaking process, where the cameras are actually rolling.
Second, let’s outline a few different ways people divide up the filmmaking process into stages. The most widely agreed-upon, and the method we’ll be going by, contains five distinct stages:
This is where it all begins. A producer or a screenwriter has an idea, and they begin to make that idea into a movie. Development is usually overseen by a producer, as they are the person who is responsible for getting the initial pieces together – the creatives, the financing, the general schedule, and so on.
A film concept is the very basic thought of what it can be. It’s the spark of a story or situation and the central characters you will follow. This first, often vague, notion provides a creative jump-off for generating more ideas. Suggested questions a film concept might answer:
In movie-making, the high concept idea is preferable. If the film can be described simply and quickly then it’s easier to get people interested. With ideas ready, it’s time to write them down. Every film works from a “screenplay” or script, detailing each scene and person interaction.
Scriptwriting is mostly about dialog and how the various characters speak. Descriptions of place or situation set the scenes but primarily you want a script that tells the story through their words.
That is how we write film scripts:
Good Format is important for easy readability and sharing – we focus on this, too.
This is where it all begins. A producer or a screenwriter has an idea, and they begin to make that idea into a movie. Development is usually overseen by a producer, as they are the person who is responsible for getting the initial pieces together – the creatives, the financing, the general schedule, and so on.
A film concept is the very basic thought of what it can be. It’s the spark of a story or situation and the central characters you will follow. This first, often vague, notion provides a creative jump-off for generating more ideas. Suggested questions a film concept might answer:
In movie-making, the high concept idea is preferable. If the film can be described simply and quickly then it’s easier to get people interested. With ideas ready, it’s time to write them down. Every film works from a “screenplay” or script, detailing each scene and person interaction.
Scriptwriting is mostly about dialog and how the various characters speak. Descriptions of place or situation set the scenes but primarily you want a script that tells the story through their words.
That is how we write film scripts:
Good Format is important for easy readability and sharing – we focus on this, too.
All films begin with some kind of idea. In some cases, a writer completes a screenplay and partners with a producer, often with the help of an agent. Other times, producers are cultivating ideas, purchasing the rights to books or real-life stories that is likely to make a sellable project. The next step I to hire writers to bring it to the screen.
A big part of a producer’s job during development is putting together a package. This is a collection of the creative elements that form a project. This may include a screenplay, a piece of intellectual property and a director/some actors.
The screenplay is always the starting point on top of which everything else is built. A script with proper screenplay formatting will inform everything from the dialogue and costumes to the budget and schedule.
A package is all about sell-ability. A good package is one which a financier can look at and immediately see why it’s a worthwhile investment.
To make a movie, you must spend money. This means that you must get money first, and that’s the job of the producer. How a film is financed can take many forms, and the routes for studio financing are very different from those for independent films.
Studios can get money from pre-sales, which refers to selling a film before it’s made to local distributors. They can also rely on slate financing, which is getting money from investors for an entire roster of films. Of course, loans through things like negative pickups, gap financing, and bridge financing are possible.
For indies, things get a bit scrappier. Financing can come from networking at festivals, crowdfunding, grants, tax incentives, private equity investments, or even the filmmaker’s own pocket. Once financing is secured, you’re ready to move to the next stage.
Pre-production is where the rubber hits the road. A producer has put blood, sweat, and tears into getting their project picked up, and finally their wishes have been granted.
Once the writer finishes a script, the producers work with a line producer to determine the project’s budget. This is done by breaking down the script, a process that involves analysing the required:
After a budget is set, the producers set out to obtain the funds to make it happen. A person (or company) who is able to provide or secure funding for a project is an executive producer using the following sources of funding:
During this stage, producers are also packaging the project, which means attaching top-level directors and actors who make it more likely for financiers to be in.
Because the project is not yet greenlit and any success is hypothetical, development is a critical and complex stage that can last for years. To spend money on a film carefully, you make a budget. LANA AP.MA Entertainment has to find a realistic limit on what we are willing to afford early enough and track spending throughout the film production process. We have to think about the resources required and where costs are necessary.
Simple budgeting formula for financing a small film:
For a more detailed film cost breakdown, we have to consider using a template to record spending. When starting out, LANA may be able to do a full shoot very cheaply or even for nothing. You could accept free help where you can, LANA does not let budgeting put you off your creative ideas.
Typically, a producer has outlined the general costs of a film during the development phase, but in pre-production they get into the nitty-gritty.
With the aid of a line producer (who goes through a budget “line by line”), the producer will look at where money will go during and after the shoot. This means creating a detailed shooting schedule which will foresee location, cast, film crew, and equipment costs and so on. There are tons of logistics that need to be addressed during budgeting. Rentals, props, costumes, set decorations…
We all need help occasionally, so LANA adds personnel to the production if help is needed. Lower budget “indie” films use volunteers to reduce labor costs. Friends, family, and local film students often become actors, set dressers, or even camera operators We at LANA AP.MA Entertainment LLC do not favour this scenario. We are professionals, and we want to work with professionals, solely, to achieve the best results.
Of course, we want to find the best people for each role that the budget affords:
Finding suitable locations for the film shoot is known as scouting. Scouts search for interior and outdoor places that best fit those described in the script. We never change the script in order to fit the locations. We find the locations that perfectly fit to the script.
LANA shoots in one place or uses green screening for virtual backdrops. Production design includes location scouting, but also the building of any sets or lighting rigs. LANA thinks of it as any preparation a location needs to allow filming to start.
A location scout will typically be accompanied by a tech scout, which refers to all the logistical considerations that go into choosing a location. How will location be transported to the space? Are there power sources? Sound issues? Where does the sun rise and set?
Once the planning is complete (or, rather, as comprehensive as it can be), it’s time to film.
Storyboards are like a script for the camera to follow. Instead of words, they describe key scene shots and camera angles with illustrations.
A bit like a comic book they break scene action into a sequence of panels numbered for production reference. Typically hand-drawn in a rough sketchy way, you needn’t be an artist to get the point across. Software like Plot can be helpful in this part of the film production process.
Shot lists go alongside to describe the contents of every shot or scene, what will happen and what’s needed.
A movie isn’t made by one person. Typically, in fact, it’s made by hundreds of people. In pre-production, a producer hires these people.
For the crew, a producer, usually with input from the director, will hire heads of departments — professionals like the cinematographer, production designer, costume designer, etc. These heads will then help fill out their respective departments with people they trust and feel they will need.
A few of the lead actors may already be attached to the project in the development stage, but now the rest of the cast has to be filled out. This is where a casting director comes into play.
The casting director will read the script, consult with the director, and put together auditions for all the parts that need to be filled. They’ll send their top picks to the director.
Wherever you are in the creative process, LANA/we’ve got you: Have an idea but don’t know how to bring it to life? We’ll meet you where you are, whether you need video concepts, scripting, storyboarding, or just a shoot.
So, who shows up when? And where? All these answers and more can be found in the call sheet, a document sent out by an assistant director each day before a shoot. It tells each member of each department what their call time is and what they should be planning to do for the day.
Typically, the general order of things is crew first, cast second. This gives the crew time to set up, which brings us to our next point: The Set Up.
A lot of work happens on set before the camera starts filming. The grip and electric departments work to set up the lighting for the shot, which can take up to a few hours. Often once one set up is done, they’ll get started on the next one while the rest of the crew films.
As the lighting gets prepared, the camera department will set up the camera and any rigging involved for movement. Meanwhile, the makeup and costumes department will get an actor into the right look for the given scene.
A production schedule helps with keeping the film production process organized. It typically takes the form of a day-by-day calendar, spreadsheet, or chart that timetables the filming.
We divide script pages into days, allowing extra time for complex scenes. Also, LANA makes breakdown sheets and production strips for scene elements. We schedule in practical filming order rather than in script order. Call sheets can then be created to instruct the crew on what needs to be done, by who, where, and when.
Finally, it’s the moment everyone’s been waiting for. Development, pre-production, prep work on the day: it’s all led up to this. Here’s a quick run through of the steps typically required when filming:
The Assistant Director announces “Picture is up” and calls for quiet, then says “roll sound,” prompting the sound mixer press record. Once recording, the mixer will respond, “Sound speeds.” He further says “roll camera,” and the camera operator will start rolling. They’ll then say, “Speed.” The clapper loader (2nd assistant camera) slates, reading the scene information off the clapperboard and marking. The director says action. When the scene is over, the director says cut.
Sound mixing ensures every audio element within a film’s soundtrack is correctly balanced.
The primary goal is to set the volume levels to achieve clarity. Audio processing techniques like equalization (EQ), panning, and compression are then used to achieve a crystal clear ‘mix’. Sound mixing artists might also use effects like reverb or delay to help define the environment and make everything sound as though it was recorded together in one space.
Depending on the amount of recorded sound, this part of the film production process can be lengthy. A short film of 30-40 minutes long could require as much as 150-300 hours of sound mixing work.
You should also be aware of gain staging throughout the sound production process. This will make sure you’re achieving the best possible audio, and avoiding any unwanted distortion, or loud background hiss or noise.
What happens after production? Post-production. This stage refers to all the work that is done after footage is captured to finish the film. And that’s a lot of work. Here’s a breakdown of the post process.
Most people associate post-production with film editing, and while that is a crucial part of the process, there are many other elements at play in the stage.
Picture editing refers to cutting together the footage to create a coherent film. The editor is typically working with sound, but it’s not their duty to get a fine cut of audio.
Working together with the director, the video editor assembles the best takes of each scene into a rough cut. Editing a film together requires skills beyond just putting one clip after the other; it involves using different transitions to fit the tone and pace, inserting B-roll, and occasionally crafting a performance from several different takes.
The film’s colorist enhances the director and DP’s vision, first by fixing cosmetic issues in the color correction process and then by enhancing the color in the color grading process. Once the edit, sound and color are locked, the idea born in development is now a completed movie that is ready for.
Color grading is often linked to color correction, but they are different. Color grading is more artistic and is used to style a film’s picture color in less natural and more intentional ways.
Every frame can be re-tinted digitally using certain palettes or filters. This can suggest mood, atmosphere, and often a sense of time.
The sound editor is responsible for layering in the required audio—including dialogue, sound effects, and ambient noise—over the footage. While much of the dialogue is captured on set, occasionally a flubbed line or distracting background noise requires ADR. Once all of the sound is in the right place, it gets turned over to the re-recording mixer, who balances all of the different parts into a coherent sound design.
The sound editor is responsible for layering in the required audio—including dialogue, sound effects, and ambient noise—over the footage. While much of the dialogue is captured on set, occasionally a flubbed line or distracting background noise requires ADR. Once all of the sound is in the right place, it gets turned over to the re-recording mixer, who balances all of the different parts into a coherent sound design.
What good is all of the labor we’ve outlined so far if no one sees the movie? This is where distribution comes in. Many beginning filmmakers tend to be caught off-guard by this process, which is under-discussed and can be costly and time-consuming.
Securing distribution is a bit like the Development process part 2 — it’s about who you know and being able to sell your vision. The major studios usually have an in-house distribution company, while indie studios will typically shop their project around to multiple firms. If all else fails, there’s always the internet.
Once your film is out in the world, congratulations — you’ve completed the five-stage process that is truly a gauntlet. Nobody said making a movie’s easy, but it’s far from impossible.
Finished films are marketed and shown by a film distributor. Separate from the film’s main production team, the distributor releases the film to the public.
Disney, Warner Bros, Sony and Universal are four of the top film distributors in the trade. By working with theatres or even airlines, they set the release dates and run the advertising.
Global film releases may also need extra work. Foreign language subtitles and regional age certification are often handled by the distributor too.
Film distribution is changing, however. The rise of streaming TV platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ offer new ways to premiere movies.
Tip: Consider using online services and platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo to distribute your film.
Not to be confused with color grading (which is more creative and we’ll cover later on), color correction is the process of adjusting the colors in your footage to make it look more ‘true-to-life’.
When color correcting footage, we just want to make sure that everything is exposed correctly, there are no weird color casts, and that skin tones and other colors in the scene look accurate.
One of the most important (and most challenging) parts of color correction is getting realistic skin tones.
Another important thing about color grading is that you color match all of your shots – especially if they were shot in the same location – because color inconsistency can shatter the immersiveness of your film.
Color correction is carried out before visual effects but after editing in the film production process. This is because the VFX artist can create more realistic visuals when they have an authentic starting point, and a colorist only wants to have to spend time correcting the footage that will actually get used.
Color grading is often linked to color correction, but they are different. Color grading is more artistic and is used to style a film’s picture color in less natural and more intentional ways.
Every frame can be re-tinted digitally using certain palettes or filters. This can suggest mood, atmosphere, and often a sense of time.
HitFilm helps here with 32-bit color grading features at any resolution.
Pick from a library of color grading presets.
Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns.
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