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RTV 322 CrewI. Above the line positions

II. Below the line positions

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5 stages of moviemaking

Filmmaking vs. moviemaking Development Pre-production Production Post-Production Distribution and exhibition

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Development

Who can pitch, to whom do you pitch, optioning a script / step deal

The script is written and drafted into a workable blueprint for a film

Decisions made about stars (‘packaging’) and initial casting, location, budgets

Who is calling the shots?

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Pre-production

The production company is created and a production office established.

The production is storyboarded and visualized with the help of illustrators and concept artists.

A production budget is drawn up to plan expenditures for the film.

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Production

Actual shooting of the raw elements

Crew members sharing the ‘Director’s Vision’

Call sheets etc. made from the breakdown meeting

Studio stages, Locations, department heads, principle photgraphy, 2nd units

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Post-Production Transfer to digital, then editing Dialogue editing / including ADR Music tracks (and songs) composed,

performed, recorded Scenes are scored Sound effects are designed and

recorded Computer-graphic 'visual' effects are

digitally added, All sound elements are mixed into

"stems," then the stems are mixed, then married to picture

The film is fully completed ("locked")

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Once Locked...

The film is passed into the hands of the postproduction supervising sound editor to layer the sound track.

Voice recordings are synchronized The final sound mix is created by the re-

recording mixer. The sound mix combines dialogue,

sound effects, ADR, walla, Foleys and music.

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Sales and distribution

The film is screened for potential buyers (distributors)

It is picked up by a distributor and reaches its cinema and/or home media audience.

Promotion and marketing -- advertising, actor appearances, etc. $$$

‘Straight to DVD’ ?

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Major Positions

Above the line -- $$ Residuals / owners Producer, Director, Writer, Actors Producer

Hires a crew The nature of the film and the budget,

determine the size and type of crew used during filmmaking

Many Hollywood blockbusters employ a cast and crew of hundreds

A low-budget, independent film may be made by a skeleton crew of eight or nine (or fewer).

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Director Primarily responsible for the

storytelling, creative decisions and acting of the film.

Established versus emerging directors

Film school graduates Tomaric DP note

‘Author’ of a movie, while the Producer is ‘author’ of a TV show

‘Director’s cuts’ of movies

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Other major roles Line Producer: On the set

making sure everything stays on budget

Script superviser: watches for continuity issues—’are we following the script?’

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Famous TV Producers / Movie Directors Dick Clark, Gene Roddenberry,

Norman Lear, Aaron Spelling, Jerry Bruckheimer, Chuck Lorre, Dick Wolf, Marta Kauffman...

Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, James Cameron, George Lucas, Ron Howard, Tim Burton, JJ Abrams...

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Other major roles Director of Photography (DP) The cinematographer who supervises

the photography of the entire film A chief over the camera and lighting

crews working on a film Responsible for achieving artistic and

technical decisions related to the image Some professionals insist that the term

cinematographer only applies when the director of photography and camera operator are the same person

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Unit Production Manager (UPM)

Responsible for watching all the costs--to deliver the project on budget at the end of principal photography.

Lead dept. managers, script breakdown. Producers responsible for cost-related

decisions on above-the-line (primarily, casting) issues; UPM responsible for below-the-line (primarily, production period) costs.

The film’s director has the final say on the cinematographer, costume designer, production designer, and film editor; UPM makes the deals and hires the remaining crew.

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Production Coordinator May be Line Producer. Serves under the UPM to

coordinate the various groups and personnel that come together to make a movie or TV show.

Requires organizational skills and the ability to handle a multitude of tasks simultaneously under often high-pressure situations.

Duties are often undefined and extremely varied ranging from office manager, to human resources, to controller, to accountant.

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Other major positions

Casting Director Location Manager Production Designer Sound Designer Art Director Editor

See textbook for others

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Getting started

Internships Part time jobs Texas Film Commission Texas Association of Broadcasters Mandy.com JournalismJobs.com

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Other production jobs

PA / runner / gopher Editor / assistant editor

No ‘fake it until you make it’

Master control operator Freeland videographer Independent filmmaker

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Other production jobs

Wedding videographerDustin Stelly

Video depositions, others on course outline…