Introduction
In the following I will explore the importance of pre production and how its vital in the process of making films , television and documentaries. We studied multiple films that can be used to give examples on independent films mainstream films and TV dramas. Many of the films that we have studied are displays of pre production highlighting why its extremely important as well as how it can have an effect on the outcome of the film. Pre production has many vital aspects to ensure that the film is produced effectively , these can include deadlines and other logistical barriers , finance , resources and regulatory requirements and the requirements needed to have a desirable final product that meets all intended criteria.

The pre-production requirements:
There are many aspects of pre production that are all vital to film making and production.These include finance this ensures that the film is possible to make on the budget available this could influence many parts of pre production there are many forms of financing such as crowdfunding evidence of this could include Veronica Mars , institutes such as the british film institute use lottery funds to help fund new and original UK film makers an example of this could be London to Brighton , filmmakers can also be financially aided by large film companies to help produce their films an example of this is Pulp Fiction, however big studios don't always have to rely on others for funding s they have profit made from previous films however these companies can often be picky on the stars and themes they use. Advertisements are also a way to gather funds to produce pictures.As is netflix and sky these are known as subscriptions and encourage producers to continue to make quality products to ensure people pay their subscriptions.Another aspect could be cost and logistics this is vital to ensure that films are budgeted appropriately and that all are paid.To do this properly you must consider all costs thoughroughly.To ensure that you are lawful and won't be fined heavy costs later on in production you must ensure that you are conforming to all laws,regulations and codes of practice provided.This can include ensuring that you conform to copyright laws , writing appropriate scripts and ensure all documentation and paperwork is completed.

Documentation is similarly key to ensuring that a production is successful as it makes certain that everyone involved is clear on what their role is in the process of production. An example of this is when large film companies such as warner bros require scripts in classic typewriter font we learnt about this method from the team at the warner bros studio.Another example would be that if documentation for a production it is simple to tell because a page equates to roughly a minute this helps companies clearly see the duration for the desired product. Both these examples of documentation in pre production clearly show that to have a successful film you should document it in a way that is generally seen such as font and duration to prevent any possible complications.

Finance - Finance is vital as regardless of your product you must ensure that you've appropriately budgeted your production . However to comfortably budget for your product you must have a keen foresight to roughly estimate all costs that will arise throughout the post and pre production but most importantly you must have money to produce the film and pay the crew.Films can often vary on budget depending on the genre , production companies and estimated attention from the audience , these can all positively or negatively affect the budget of a film.
A way for independent , new and original filmmakers in the UK to obtain funding could possibly be from the british film institute (BFI) who use national lottery funds to help fuel and finance new and original films being made in the UK.They have aided many original and new films in the UK and are the sole reason for many of those products being completed and presented to the public and eager audiences.The British film institute or BFI aids in the microwave scheme aimed to help assist new film makers in the UK , an example of an independent film being funded and a success as a result of the british film industry or the BFI through the microwave scheme would be Shifty a crime , thriller and british realist film produced in 2008 by Rory Atken and Ben Pugh . Both Rory and Ben have been considered part of the brit 50 an elite group of british film makers this success could be attributed to the success that they celebrated from Shifty that was funded via the microwave scheme.The production company responsible for Shifty was Between the Eyes and they went on to produce many other successful productions such as power of three , Welcome to the Punch and Monster : Dark continent. This shows that the success they had on Shifty and the potential that the microwave scheme inspires through funding is vital.The microwave scheme funds films with £100,000 pounds and that was the budget for shifty this money and funding is required for these independent films as they often aren't wealthy enough to fund themselves and subsequently organizations such as the british film institute are vital to maintain and increase the amount of original and independent productions produced in the UK.
An alternate method is to crowdfund to accumulate the budget required to produce an independent film or television programme.The most popular means of crowdfunding is kickstarter a website designed for the public to help donate to creative innovators from all platforms such as films, television and books.An example of a kickstarter funded film would be Veronica Mars a film inspired by a successful television programme . However when audiences petitioned for the popular television programme to be reimagined as a film many large film companies refused to help. But because of the high demand fans used kickstarter to help fund the film themselves. The original budget was meant to be 2 million dollars however due to fans enthusiasm it raised over 6 million US dollars , three times the asking price . This money could have been used to increase the film quality and spending or to be kept in reserve as profit.
Both of the previously mentioned methods of funding are extremely effective for independent and original films. However larger companies can invest to help these independent films come to fruition an example of this is when TriStar pictures granted Quentin Tarantino nine-hundred thousand dollars to assist in the production of pulp fiction which became the first independent film to make over two-hundred million dollars this clearly shows how entertaining and successful independent films can be when funded well.
This showed the profound influence larger and wealthy companies have on the outcome, quality and reception of the film.However large studios only wish to make blockbuster films this limits their creative options as their main goals are to make money and blockbuster pictures.This desire to achieve global appeal is shared by television programmes or other platforms that rely on subscriptions to finance their productions examples of these could be the BBC and their appeal to all audiences  or Netflix and their reliance on a large audiences for monthly subscriptions.
Despite the various ways of obtaining money to finance your productions the  most essential aspect of finance is to appropriately budget so that you don't run out of money.

Codes of practice - These codes are vital to follow as they might inconvenience and cost filmmakers a small sum of money they could result in large sums of money to be paid if they are not accurately followed.Producers must ensure that all practices are legal and endorsed this can include adhering to copyright laws and compensating music artists when this is not done legally if at all companies can be taken to court and forced to pay substantial sums of money.Another case of adherence to strict legality would be to carry out health and safety assessments however this could result in the need for specialised equipment but if not done this could result in injury for those in the surroundings if injuries occur then this could cost filmmakers a substantial lot more than ‘specialised equipment’.Producers must also legally insure that they are paying their actors enough producers however can also legally protect themselves using PACT which provides aid with legal and business affairs rates of pay are also protected for various crew members using BECTU.

Formats of pre production documents - Documentation must be formatted in particular fashions otherwise large and wealthy companies won't consider looking at it.There are multiple variations to the documentation required to produce a film examples of these are spec scripts designed to assist in selling your production and shooting scripts which are far more intricate containing all the information required for productions to begin shooting . These various scripts have clearly different purposes for an example spec scripts lack information to be viable on a film set and a shooting script is far too intricate and confusing for it to be used to help promote and sell the production to potential investors.This highlights the importance of documents being presented in specific formats to specific people .
Other documents like legal documents can be altered in wording and such however you must have them assets by legal experts to ensure that they are still viable for their intended purpose as well as to ensure that there are no legal loopholes . similarly with risk assessment documents they can be worded in a variety of manners but must still be viable to help improve working conditions and prevent accedents.It is vital that all documents convey meaning and thorough detail about the process about be undertook if this documentation is done thoroughly then all processes involved in the planning should be executed with efficiency and ease.

Why these processes (of pre-production) are necessary - To begin with when starting your pre production you must consider all contributing factors in the outcome of your film , these factors could include your budget or potential budget , time scaling  . once you've carefully deliberated about the outcome of the project and weather its viable to have a successful outcome , you must ensure that you've got sufficient funding and resources to complete the production by its deadline.If however the film appears unlikely to be made due to lacking in any recourse you must decide whether to abandon the project , make the project less grand or to attempt to gather more funds .  For example you may consider to advertise your production on a grand scale and platform however resources may dictate that you can only promote a small sample on a website.
I have previously spoken about the various factors that must be considered in depth before you begin.once you've considered these factors you must pool creative ideas in a team and decide which idea or ideas to follow that will result in the best production.The idea with pooling ideas can result in great ideas emerging and teams ensuring that they are solid with little to no faults.Research into the topics are useful as well as polling your ideas to potential audiences to receive feedback on how good your ideas are and whether they need improvements.
Once you've carefully deliberated on your idea and found a plan it is imperative that you can present it coherently and convincingly .This could assist in pitching ideas to potential investors to gain funding so you can begin production in this situation a spec script would now be necessary to further help persuade investors of your productions potential.On top of this a storyboard could assist in further helping persuade investors using the visual aids it provides to help clearly convey your pitch to both investors and potential crew members such as camera operators.story boards also help to further picture and improve everyone's understanding of what is intended for many meticulously detailed shots .

Reasons for keeping documentation - Throughout this document I have talked at length about the importance for documentation throughout the process of pre production and hows its vital for processes such as risk assessment , copyright and various lawful documents .This is because the documents and paperwork will always be useful for example you may need to prove that all proper safety precautions were taken or to prove that all budget was spent appropriately and finally it could be used to prove that you need more time or funding to get the production done to your best standards.

In conclusion pre production has various intricate stages all as important as each other .You must be mindful of all factors to plan pre production thoroughly .When planned thoroughly it will help the picture be produced with great ease and perfect transparency on the producers desire for the outcome.However it could be argued that finance and the financial aspects of pre production are the most vital because they ensure that your film can be made and has sufficient funds it also shows that if you dont you must make changes such as actors , duration , editing such as special effects  and equipment used.If finance is not done properly then it almost certainly means that the film will have insufficient funds and will be unable to be completed or that they have under budgeted and could have made a better film with a higher budget.