Article by Lorabella
Most people have a somewhat rough idea of what filmmaking is all about. In this article we will try to go view the art and craft of filmmaking in an organized manner so that you can get a better idea of what it involves. First and foremost, what comes to your mind when someone utters the word filmmaking? Most people relate it to the movies and rightfully so because movies are the most popular expressions of filmmaking. However in reality there is more to filmmaking than creating movies. Broadly speaking there are two types of filmmaking, fiction and non-fiction. While fiction filmmaking is all about telling stories in the form of movies, short-films and television series, non-fiction filmmaking is about depicting aspects of real life through film, take documentaries for example.
Filmmaking is a very elaborate and challenging process as well as very expensive. When lay people watch a movie/serial/documentary unfold before their eyes in a theatre or a television set, they usually do not have even the faintest idea of how much money, hard work and time has been invested in the process even in the case of bad movies. However a thoughtful viewer might take a hint from the beginning and end credits of a typical Hollywood blockbuster to form an idea of the huge number of people that work in the movie. So what does filmmaking involve?
Typically the commercial filmmaking process can be broken down into five stages. They are –
1. Development2. Pre-production3. Production4. Post-production and5. Sales and Distribution
The process of making a film begins with development. This stage generally involves the writing of the film script. This process begins with the concept on which the proposed film would be based. This concept is expanded into a synopsis which is further elaborated into a treatment that describes the events which takes place in the film. This treatment is turned into a screenplay with dialogues and direction. A considerable amount of rewriting takes place in this process. The development stage can at times stretch into many years.
Once a screenplay has been approved the process moves into its next stage which is pre-production. This stage involves preparation for shooting the film. This is the stage in which the crew and cast of the film are hired. In commercial filmmaking typically a director, producer and the lead actors are involved from the development stage itself. However the bulk of hiring including cast auditions takes place in pre-production. Furthermore, pre-production involves selection of the locations in which the film will be shot, planning out the shooting schedule and building of required sets.
The production involves the shooting of the film with the crew and the actors. It can stretch from several days to months and even years, depending upon the complexity and requirements of the subject and the availability of actors. The shooting of the film is generally faithful to the screenplay but there are times when the director/screenwriter/producer might deviate from the script due to a variety of reasons.
After the film has been shot it is put together into the final product in the post-production stage. This stage involves editing the film so that the story appears cohesive and provides maximum impact. Following this sound in the form of dialogue, background, score and music is added for the best effect. Even the required special effects are introduced in this stage. This stage completes the process of filmmaking. But since a film is a commercial product and a very expensive one at that, it needs to be sold for viewing by the target audience so that the makers can make a profit. This process is called Sales and Distribution, here the film is screened for various prospective distributors who will buy the film and put them on the screens across the city/state/country/world.
Read more about filmstudier at Noroff.no
A detailed explanation of how make a short film in a short amount of time.
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Question by : Where does ADR come into the filmmaking process?
I’m curious, where does ADR come in the process of filmmaking. does this mean the film is almost complete?
Best answer:
Answer by Tony
during post-production
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
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See Ken Burns’ full interview at emmytvlegends.org