The art of filmmaking has been around for less than a century now, but its rise has been dramatic. From Soundless black and white films, to films that boast realistic images of things that don’t even exist. Whatever the case may be, there is a distinctly identifiable process to filmmaking which will be listed below in its five stages.
Development
First things first, a producer has to have a story he wants to produce, whether it already exists as a book or novel or as a screenplay written by an individual writer etc. We can say that this is the first resource for the shooting of a film. The original material is analyzed and beaten into a shape that the movie will finally take. Once this is done, the film receives a ‘Green light’ which means that someone has chosen to financially back it. The film now has a definite marketing strategy as well as a target audience.
Pre-Production
In this stage of filmmaking, the planning for the actual shooting of the film takes place. The producer selects a story boarder who creates a graphic draft of the movie before selecting a crew that will fit the specific nuances of the film. The first step would be to hire a director and discuss ideas relating to casting and shooting that will make the best possible combination. The crew consists of actors, musicians, photographers, filmographers, digital artists and a host of other professionals whose number can be in the hundreds for a big budget movie.
Production
This is the actual meat and potatoes of the entire process, where the work put in by the producer and the other crew members starts to pay off or blow up. The director takes over the shoot assisted by the producer and his support staff and he directs his actors and other players to do what is required for the film. A single shot that lasts no more than a minute may take hours to complete and it requires a lot of patience and hard work to bring out a perfect shot. The phrase ‘lights camera action’ and the iconic clapper ring out hundreds of times in a typical day of shooting. The work involves spending upto 18 hours on set in remote locations. Even if you have only an hours work, it is important for everyone to be on set at all times because delays in production are very costly.
Post-Production
Depending on what kind of movie it is, post-production can take months or just weeks to finish. This involves editing, making the final selection of scenes and shots that will end up on the big screen. The director sits down with a collection of all the film that has been shot and he proceeds to create the final rendering of the movie, known also as the ‘final cut’ which is the film as seen by the audience.
Distribution
This is the phase of production where we see posters, banners and advertisements everywhere. The film has to be talked about and eagerly awaited by audiences. Teaser-trailers are released much like the aroma of food from the kitchen that gets a person hungrier by the second. A release date is set and then the games begin, building up the anticipation for the much awaited release of the film.
