Commission: Secretary; Organising and planning

In my commission unit I will need to plan so I can follow and maintain an organised workflow. I will also be able to brainstorm shoot video assets, and sources. The purpose of this unit is to give me real industry experience by working with real clients.  I have already made some preparations its soon as I was given my commission piece. Now it’s mainly about putting my ideas and planning into practice to eventually create an ambitions but exciting promotional video.

Being my own secretary was in many ways something I was previously use to. For previous projects it was up to me to organise casing and crew, like with my 'Directions Unit' where I directed Alexandre Macendrik's 'The LadyKillers' were I needed a cast of5 males and one elderly female, all over the age of 40. For a student project this was a great challenge, not only to get hold of these actors but to also keep them on board. After casting, I needed to ensure the cast were all up to date wth everything and what they were doing. I did phone some individuals to clarify what was happening. I also felt speaking to them on the phone allows one on one communication so we get to know each other and they are therefore hopefully less likely to back out at the last minute if there is verbal communication.

This skill is something I brought with me in organising my own project; it seemed to really work in my 'Directions Unit' and

Plan

Schedule

A schedule is a plan in order of what I need to do when making/preparing my video. This will involve giving lists of intended events and times for carrying out any of the processes or procedures. This will help me due to a number of important reasons. Firstly, a schedule helps keep costs down and will allow me to operate according to a budget. For instance, taking the time to create a plan for the edit; this will take a certain amount of time especially with animations so it would be a good idea to have scheduled creating these early on in the production process so I can simply import them into the edit. Having a plan and schedule for my promotional video will make my goals seem more realistic and achievable. Without a schedule, it would be difficult for me to reach my deadline because the planning process for my film trailer would be chaos due to its time consuming nature. "Scheduling is the process of arranging, controlling and optimising work and workloads in a production process or manufacturing process."(Wikipedia). 

It is particularly important when capturing digital video because I will need to plan for the timings. If I require a morning shot and leave it until the end of the day it will look ineffective, whereas if I was to plan a schedule I would be able get that particular part filmed in the morning. It is also important to schedule for digital video if I require to film inside a specific location, I may need to book a place if the proprietor(s) have a booking schedule themselves. This is a key part of the planning process, and therefore requires careful and realistic considerations. 

When scheduling I may need to plan extra time in the event that something goes wrong. If I am unable to film in a specific location due to land owning laws, or health and safety reasons etc. I will need a backup plan to film somewhere else. I have been told that the studio is on 'lockdown' and will therefore be difficult to film in there which could be a huge problem and something I will need to plan around very carefully as it is fundamental that quality isn't lost. 

I will try and avoid this issue by speaking to the studios well in advance and putting my filming dates in both mine and their calendars.

Considerations

Locations

When scheduling for my filming I will need to consider a number of things. Firstly I will need to think about my location and those around me and how they may be affected by my recording. This mainly applies to the public and people working in the studios who may be uncomfortable with me filming around them. The best way to resolve this issue is to ask for permission to film. Once approved I can begin filming in that location. However, although this may be approved it’s still important to be aware of the people around me, as I would be with any filming. 

Cost

I will also need to consider the cost and finance for producing my promotional video, and given that I have little to no budget, this is especially important. I will need to consider the cost of potential locations, equipment, and personnel. These are all quite costly resources, so in order to keep costs down I will need to consider hiring such facilities, rather than purchasing out right. Thankfully my university provides high quality equipment, so its important I book it out well in advance with a completed risk assessment to prevent any problems. I wouldn't be so lucky in the real world and would need to own or hire out my own equipment which would have a huge impact on my budget.  It’s important not to go over budget, not just in the film industry, but with anything. If I do, it will cause debt, which I would definitely like to avoid.

Time

I will need to manage my time effectively when producing my film. This is applicable to pre-production, the actual filming and post production. These stages will be split up so I need to organise a dedicated amount of time for each. Ideally I would like  to dedicate a couple of weeks for filming, but I know that it won't work out like this as it will be a case of filming when I am allowed access which will vary. 

Season

Due to the time of year (winter), it's gets dark a lot earlier (around 4:30-5:00), which can create problems when filming. I do not require any dark, night time footage, so this could affect me because I may need to stop filming earlier. Its always good to plan this detail as it can affect the day of the shoot. "Weather is another important factor"( Kathy Chater) and so I will therefore need to dress appropriately. Filming inside the studios can also be really cold, especially in the winter, so planning for this could prevent illness; time is precious and I can't afford to get ill mid-production.

Time Management

Deadlines

I have a deadline for my university unit which is the 14th December; I will therefore  need to have collated all of my raw material by at least the 8th December. This does not include the editing, it’s literally the raw uncut footage. Deadlines are important to consider when filming because there are targets to meet, and the more time spent, the higher the cost. This is is fundamental for not just freelancing but also high end production companies, who are given a budget and a deadline in pre-production. This gives a structure and target to work towards. The release dates are released to the public, and a vague date is released before the filming even begins in the case of popular ‘hyped’ films. It is not just the media industry where deadline are important, it applies in most industries. I will need to set myself deadlines, as well as the overall assignment and Unit deadlines. This will allow me to complete stages bit by bit, in a more organised fashion. "Deadlines directly impact your time (and everyone else’s). Therefore, they force you to organize your tasks in order of priority, so that you're only working on objectives that move you closer to your most meaningful goals." (https://www.thebalance.com/reasons-why-entrepreneurs-need-deadlines-4118723)

Schedule

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Week 1	Editing animations With Joe		Animate earth Zoom with Fergus Maloney	Editing		Editing	Filming establishing shots of the studios on the drone which can be edited in in montage
Week 2	Editing animations With Joe	Editing animations With Joe			Filming at the studios	Filming at the studios
Week 3		Editing	Editing	Editing	Editing	Touching up the  animations With Joe

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheduling_(production_processes)

Research for Media Production

By Kathy Chater

http://tubularinsights.com/copyrighted-music-in-video/