Do you always use the same methods in producing them, or do different projects require different approaches?
Each film is different. More to the point each director is different – some are very hands off in pre-production, leaving much more to me, some prefer to work more independently. The different funding bodies also all require different levels of input, so you do find yourself having to satisfy lots of diverse requirements. However, the goals I have for each film are the same: to make sure that the script is right, that we shoot on the right format in the best possible locations, that the director is supported so that they make the film they want to make, and that the production values are as high as possible given the limits of the budget.
How has your experience of working in the film industry influenced your approach to producing short films?
Before I worked in shorts I was a script editor but also worked in sales and distribution. I therefore had a good working knowledge of the legal side of filmmaking (especially rights issues), which has been invaluable. I also spent years watching short films and going to festivals to see what the competition was like, what makes a good short film and how audiences respond to them.
Do you think that the more experience you have, the better you get at producing?
Definitely. Although I’m sure that if I knew then what I know now, I might not have started with Rare Books, which has been my biggest and most complicated production to date! Rare Books was effectively film school for me, though I’m constantly learning new things with every film I make.
What kind of skills do you need to be a good producer?
You need endless patience. Your job is very difficult, both practically and politically – you have to keep your director happy, allow him or her the space and resources to do their job, while at the same time you’ve got to stay on budget, within the law, find and look after the cast and crew, deal with any outside funding bodies, deliver on schedule, get the film out to festivals and all the while make it appear to the outside world that you’re not stressed and always have time to answer questions or deal with the director’s late night panics.
You might also find yourself guiding a new director through the entire process, it being film school for them too, which can be frustrating.
Then, you must also understand from the start that no matter how far you are instrumental in getting a film off the ground, the director will always get all the credit. This can take some getting used to, especially when festival guides often only quote the director’s name next to the film title. Good directors do recognise their producer’s input, but a producer must be aware that while one good short can start a director’s career, a producer must have a slate of good films behind them.
What inspired you to write a screen adaptation of Rare Books and Manuscripts?
I knew from the moment I read the short story that it was perfect material for a short film. It had a clearly defined beginning, middle, twist and resolution, all within a short space of time. I also knew that it could be adapted to be almost silent (great for international festivals), and that the feel-good tone would go down very well with audiences. As far as actually writing the script was concerned, I just knew that I wanted to do it and that I’d at least have a go first – though I was prepared to admit defeat if necessary and find another writer. Luckily I didn’t need to (and on the strength of this script I now have a writing agent and I’m now writing feature-length projects).
Did you have to get official rights to do an adaptation of Toby Litt’s story, or did you just ask for permission?
Yes. I approached Toby’s agent and purchased a short option on the story, just as you would when optioning a feature film. I then sent them both the script when it was done, and luckily they loved it and loved the film. Toby introduced it at the Port Eliot Literary Festival this year, and we hope to do more work together in the future.
Was it a long process, writing and developing the script?
It took about three months.
Did you work closely with Bruce Webb on the pre-production, on decisions such as choosing Mel Byers as DP etc, or were they mainly your decisions?
Bruce had worked with Mel before and brought her in as DP. She did a fantastic job, and I have been lucky enough to work with her again since.
Whose decision was it to shoot on 35mm? did you look at other formats?
We originally planned to shoot on HD, but our investor allowed us to re-budget for 35mm.
How did you find Neve Mcintosh? What was it that made you know she was right for the part?
Finding Neve was very serendipitous. Bruce, Elisabeth and I were all looking for actresses, and we all came up with Neve independently of each other! We did screen test her, but it was obvious as soon as we met her that she was perfect for the part. She is wonderful to work with and we all hope to work with her again. Casting Ian Mosby was great fun – Elisabeth and I went to Storm Models and asked to see a group of gorgeous blond men. That was a tough morning…!
Roughly how long did the pre-production take?
Three months.
Was it difficult finding and obtaining permission to use such good locations?
It wasn’t too hard as we were filming in a university during the holidays. We are, however, hugely grateful to the UCL who, crucially, gave us a fantastic deal, without which we couldn’t have shot there. Their staff were also really good to us, very flexible and understanding.
Where did you source your crew for the shoot?
We used a mixture of people we’d worked with before, recommendations from friends and also Shooting People. We were incredibly lucky with our crew; they were all superb and worked together fantastically well. I’m incredibly grateful to them for their hard work and professionalism. I have kept in contact with most of the crew and have used many of them on other shoots and will continue to do so.
How long did the shoot take? Did you encounter any major problems?
It was a four-day shoot. The camera broke down on day one, which was extremely stressful, and we had problems with the fire alarm, which went off four times! Apart from that we had no real problems (though it was a bit crowded when we were all squeezed into the flat for interior shots).
What kind of post-production workflow did you follow for the film, how far in advance had it been planned?
We arranged our post-production HODs before the shoot, but we didn’t have a tight deadline so we took things as they came. We applied for and were awarded the UKFC Completion Funding for the film, which slowed us down a bit but gave us a sensible post-production budget, as well as a premiere in Edinburgh.
Roughly how long did post-production take?
It took approximately nine months, but this was largely because of stopping and waiting between November and March for the Film Council funding.
As the screenwriter did you find you were more involved creatively than you have been on other projects you have produced?
I was very involved, but this was largely in terms of casting, music etc rather than on the script. Bruce didn’t change the script much, but when he did I knew that, with my producer’s hat on, I had to accept this and not be too precious. It’s a difficult balance, being writer/producer – I probably won’t do it again on future projects, because you are so close to the material.
Did you find that the finished film was close to how you had imagined it when you were writing the script?
Very, very close. Better in some ways than I could have imagined, and different in others; but that’s the nature of filmmaking. You never know what other people will bring to the project. I could never have imagined, for example, how wonderful Richard Lannoy’s score would be. I’m very proud of the film.
What did you do with the film once it was completed? did you have a distribution plan in mind beforehand?
The film premiered in Edinburgh, and has been going round the world since in festivals. It’s been sold to TV in the UK and abroad. We signed the film to sales agency
Dazzle before it was completed, which is unusual. The film’s a year old now but we’re still doing festivals and making sales.
What did you learn from making Rare Books and Manuscripts? In retrospect are there any things that you might have done differently?
I learnt everything from Rare Books – it was film school for me. There are things I would do differently now, but at the time it was just one great big learning curve.
What have you done since making Rare Books and Manuscripts?
Since making Rare Books I’ve made five other short films and a music video. I’ve also written a feature film, and I have a feature in development as producer.
What are your plans for the future?
I would like to continue writing and producing, and move on from shorts to features.
What advice would you give to people considering producing a short film?
Mainly to be realistic about the amount of time involved and also to be very clear about what you want to get out of it. To watch as many short films as you can to start with and, no matter what, to make sure that your script is the best it can possibly be before your shoot. As a final note too, not to be afraid of asking for the best stock, the best crew and the best cast you can get. There’s no point in not aiming high just because it’s ‘only a short’.
What do you enjoy most about producing short films?
I enjoy the teamwork. But most of all I enjoy seeing the films on the big screen, remembering the journey and thinking, ‘we did that’.
Figure 12. Still from Rare Books and Manuscripts. Produced by Wendy Bevan-Mogg.
6. PRE-PRODUCTION
Once you have completed a rough draft of a script, treatment or storyboard you are ready to begin pre-production. Pre-production is a process of preparation through which you calculate what you need to shoot your film and begin to organise and schedule for the shoot. Pre-production is also a period in which you hone your ideas and script.
Even though some short film ideas can be comparatively quick and easy to execute, breaking down and scheduling your idea will provide you with the most efficient way to get it made as well as provide you with experience for more complex future projects.
The essence of pre-production is organisation and planning. To many it’s the least interesting phase of making a film, but the more time you spend on it – the more thorough you are – the better your shoot is going to go.
BREAKDOWNS
Once a rough copy of the script and/or storyboard has been completed, the director and producer can begin to break it down. The reason you break a script down is to produce a schedule that accounts for every detail of the script or storyboard, and therefore everything you need to make your film. Breakdowns and schedules allow you to find the most logical and practical way to shoot your film.
Breaking down a script entails combing through the script/storyboard and noting the technical and logistical requirements of each shot and each scene. Every element that will be required to create a scene needs to be noted down and should include all categories that appear on the breakdown sheet (see Figure 13).
Figure 13. Breakdown sheet (downloadable from our website http://www.kamerabooks.co.uk/downloads/).
Once all these requirements have been ascertained, it’s then possible to evaluate them against the two key factors.
Time
Budget
This must be done scene by scene (rather than for the overall film) so that each can be evaluated for time and budget. Different types of scenes will have different values when it comes to the length of shooting time and the cost. This information and the importance of an individual scene can then be weighed up within the context of the whole film.
This process allows you to deal with the practicalities of the script. For example, a scene that takes place in a park at night might require a great deal of lighting and power. Securing access to the park location may also be complicated. Such factors may indicate that this scene is simply not practical within the time and budget limitations of the production. This scene must then be evaluated for its importance: is the dramatic information in that scene vital to the rest of the film? If not, perhaps it should simply be scratched. But if the scene is key to the rest of the film, then it needs to be reworked. Setting the action in the daytime could work, or changing the location to one that would be well-lit at night. If neither is an option, then you have to find another way to portray the dramatic information of that scene.
Breakdown sheets
The easiest way to collate all this information is to create breakdown sheets or use the ones provided with this book. Breakdown sheets should be duplicated and marked for each individual scene. Each one lists all the potential requirements a scene might necessitate, as well as the context, such as day or night time, interior or exterior. It is also important to note the scene number and page numbers, as well as give a very brief description of the key event in that scene.
Lining the script or storyboard
Lining the script should be done as you go through it to create the breakdown sheets. Using coloured markers that correlate with the colours on the breakdown sheets, you underline any occurrences in the script of cast, props etc that you need to mark on the breakdown sheets.
Production strips
Once you have completed the process of lining and breaking down the script or storyboard, you can compile much of the information into production strips.
Production strips are literally strips of card that you place on a strip board. They should be about 1cm wide and about 35cm long so that you can fit about ten to fifteen on the strip board. Conventionally, strip boards should allow you to slot the strips in and out so that they can be moved around easily but won’t be easily displaced. If you are going to make your own, then you can use double-sided tape.
Each strip represents a scene or sequence within your script and should contain the information from the breakdown sheets; especially important is the scene number, page number and scene description.
You will now also need to give each of the characters in your script a number that will be used on the board to refer to that character.
This information is compiled on the strip in the order that it lines up with the header on the strip board. You should start with the header information first and then work down through the categories.
You can also use colour-coded strips to present information. For instance, you could select colours for interior and exterior scenes, for day and night, or for individual locations. The colours you choose are entirely up to you; this is done purely to help you and others see the information more easily.
This may seem like a long-winded process, but what you have done is broken down your entire film and its needs into units, which can simply and quickly be configured into combinations that will allow you to create the most practical schedule for your film as well as provide budget breakdowns.
Figure 14. Example of a software strip board.
SOFTWARE SCHEDULING
If you don’t fancy getting out your crayons, scissors and ruler, then the alternative option is to use scheduling software. Software programmes work on exactly the same principle but allow you to fill in and shift around information on screen. Breakdown sheets, strip boards, shot lists, schedules and budgets can all be collated in one programme that allows you to print off the definitive versions. There are many downloadable programmes online that all essentially perform the same task and range in price from £20 to £350, the cheapest being filmmakers software. TM/http://www.filmmakersoftware.com
SCHEDULING
Once you have created your production strips you will instantly be able to see the major common factors between them, such as the location or actors required in each scene. Based on this, you can begin to place your strips into an order, so strips with the most important common factors can go next to each other, all the shots at one location next, or all the exterior night time shots. You will quickly realise that this is creating a very diffe
rent running order to that of your script, but a much more practical one in which to shoot.
The two main factors that should govern your arrangement of the strips are the actors and the locations. You want to use your cast as efficiently as possible, so you want to avoid having an actor turn up every day for a week to deliver one line of dialogue even if that is how it might appear in the script. Ideally you want to shoot all their action on one day. You need to work with the same efficiency when it comes to locations, especially if you are hiring them.
You will also need to work out how much you can shoot in a day. Unfortunately there is no such thing as a ratio of how long a page of script takes to film. This will depend on the nature of the production, the cast, the crew and the complexity of the scene, as well as an infinite amount of unquantifiable factors.
When trying to estimate how much to shoot in a day, the best policy is to imagine how much time you think it will take, and then double it. There is no point trying to pack as much as is humanly possible into the time; if you then don’t achieve this for any reason, the rest of your schedule will be useless. If you have never made a film before, then be especially careful to over estimate how much time you need.
Short Films Page 4
