Chapter 2 (2.1 and 2.2)

  • Producing means seeing that a worthwhile idea gets to be a worthwhile television presentation

  • responsible for all preproduction activities and for completing various tasks on time/in budget


PREPRODUCTION PLANNING: FROM IDEA TO SCRIPT

  • Generating program ideas

    • engage with several people to brainstorm

    • when brainstorming, don’t pass judgment on any comments

    • you could also try clustering, which is more organized but more restrictives

      • usually done by individuals, but can be done in groups

  • Evaluating ideas

    • “is the idea worth doing”

      • it should have a positive influence on someone’s life

    • “is the idea doable”

      • do you have the necessary budget, time and facilities available

  • Devising a program proposal

    • A written document saying what you intend to do

    • theres no standard format but it should include

      • program/series title

        • keep it short

      • program objective (defined process message)

        • “to warn teenage drivers not to run stop signs”

      • target audience

        • demographics and psychographics (consumer buying habits, values and lifestyles)

      • show format (single tv show/series/digital move)

      • show treatment

        • a brief narrative description of the program

        • should say what the show is about but also the angle and how it reflects that in the writing

        • more elaborate ones have storyboard-like illustrations

        • don’t include production specifics like types of lighting or camera angles

        • keep it brief and concise

      • production method

        • studio production or location shoot? multi-cam or single cam?

      • tentative budget

      • a sample script if you’re proposing a series

  • Preparing a budget

    • costs for script, talent, crew, studio/equipment rental, and editing but also recording media (like memory cards), props, food, lodging, entertainment, transportation, parking, insurance, and clearance and use fees

    • usual way to present it is preproduction, production, and postproduction sections

  • Writing the script

    • not intended as literature

    • make sure the writer understands the program objective/defined process message


PREPRODUCTION PLANNING: COORDINATION

  • people and communication

    • who to involve in the post-script planning stages depends on your objective and whether you’re an independent producer who has to hire addition personnel or whether you’re working for a station or production company that has most essential creative and crew people already on its payroll and available at all times.

    • establish a database of all essential information (names, positions, emails, addresses, phone numbers)

    • let people know where they can contact you

  • Facilities request

    • lists all pieces of production equipment/properties/costumes needed for production

    • has info like date and time of rehearsal/recording sessions/ on-the air transmission, title of production, names of producer/director/talent, all technical elements (cameras/sets/graphics/makeup/etc), and mode of transportation if going offsite

    • try to get by with as little equipment as possible, yhe more you use, the more people you need to operate it and the more that can go wrong.

  • Production schedule

    • tells everyone who is doing what, when, and where over the course of three production phases