Film Project Development Stages

Project Planning Documents

• A proposal is a formal written plan produced to assess a project's validity, used to secure support or financial backing.
• A pitch is a planned presentation of a project to secure support or financial backing.
• A project outline is an initial document providing information on narrative, resources, budget, and timeline to the production team, used as a starting point for more detailed pre-production documents.

Pre-Production Documents

• A treatment document is a concise and compelling overview of a proposed film project, serving as a prelude to the screenplay, providing a snapshot of the story, characters, themes, and overall vision.
• A storyboard is a visual representation of the script or screenplay, organized into a sequence of illustrated panels, used to plan and communicate the visual aspects of a film.

Production Documents

• A production schedule is a detailed plan outlining tasks, timelines, and resource allocation to optimize efficiency and meet production goals.
• A call sheet is a document providing information to cast and crew members regarding the details of a specific day's shoot, including schedule, location, and other important details.

Risk Management and Assessment

• A SWOT analysis is an assessment tool evaluating a project's internal Strengths and Weaknesses, along with external Opportunities and Threats.
• A risk assessment for media production involves identifying and evaluating potential risks associated with the creation of audiovisual content.
• An asset log is a list of all the resources used during production, used to check legal issues such as copyright.

Location and Script Planning

• A location recce is a pre-production process to assess the suitability of a location for specific scenes in a project.
• A script, also known as a screenplay, is a written document serving as the foundation for the production of a film, providing a detailed and sequential narrative of the story, dialogue, and visual elements.

Script Refinement and Visualization

• A shooting script is a refined and finalised version of a film script, tailored for the production phase, used to guide the director, cinematographer, and other crew members.
• Concept art is visual pre-production material created to communicate the artistic vision of films and games, including character, set, and prop design.
• Visualization diagrams are used by graphic designers to communicate visual concepts and ideas.

Test your understanding of the different stages involved in developing a film project, from proposal to treatment document. Learn about the importance of each stage and how they contribute to the overall success of the project.