- Producing a movie requires extensive planning to ensure smooth execution.
- The steps to produce a movie includes pre-production, production, and post-production steps.
- Boiling Point Media has the expertise to help with all of your film production needs.
Producing a movie is a complex multi-step process that is very hard to do on your own. From concept, to audience viewing, there are many things to consider and factor into the production. Modern technology has made film making more accessible to many, but the process takes a lot of organized planning to execute. Understanding each step necessary ensures a smooth and successful film project. Below we will go over the main steps in detail.
How to Produce A Movie
There needs to be oversight in each step of the process in film production. Planning, filming, editing, and distribution all require the proper steps and etiquette to make sure the film runs smoothly and successfully. These steps all need a team of people managing them to keep them on track with the timelines and budgets agreed on in the planning phase. The last and arguably the most important part of producing a movie is the collaboration between technicians and creatives.
Pre-Production
The first step in producing a movie is the pre-production stage. This step includes the ideas and storyboard, script breakdown, budget, casting, and location scouting. First, is to develop the main idea of the film and make it into a storyboard that includes the scene, characters, script, and location. From this, you will breakdown the script to see what is needed to start production like the props and the cast. This is also where you set the budget, schedule, and auditions for casting. These first steps ensure that the problems encountered will be limited and/or avoided.
Idea/Storyboard
The ideas for how to produce a movie must be visualized and written out completely from the camera angles to the main focus of that particular scene. This step also ensures that the creative directors and crew understand the vision for the film early on to avoid confusion. Lastly, the story board encourages the writers to think about the shots and transitions between scenes.
Script Breakdown
Breaking down the script is what will come next in the pre-production phase. This step entails analyzing the script to see which elements are necessary. The breakdown of how to produce a movie may include finding actors, props, costumes, and locations. This is another way to make sure you have an accurate budget and schedule when taking into account all of the things needed..
Budget
Another important part of the pre-production process in how to produce a movie is the budget. When thinking about the budget it is important to estimate all costs for things like equipment, crew, locations, post-production, and marketing. The budget should include contingencies for unexpected expenses that may pop up in the film production process. Things like casting, location, and post-production will influence the budget depending on what is wanted and needed for production.
Casting
Casting is the next step in the pre-production phase. When it comes to finding the right actors for your movie, you must take into account many things. To start, there are a couple ways to find actors. You can either hold auditions or recruit actors to your project. The casting process impacts the tone, audience appeal, and performance quality of your film. The earlier the casting is, the more time the actors get for rehearsals and scheduling before filming begins.
Location Scouting
One of the last steps in the pre-production phase of how to produce a movie is location scouting. According to your storyboard, you will know what types of places you are looking for. It is important to match the stories needed to the location used while filming. When searching for places to film, you need to consider areas that may need permits to film. Along with that, considering logistics, lighting, and cost all play a part in where exactly filming will take place. Authentic locations may help enhance the film’s visual storytelling as well. Something else to take into consideration is to skip location scouting in person and choose an LED volume wall which can provide any location, real or fake!
Production
Production is the main part of how to produce a movie. Principal photography is where footage is captured on set or at the location. This step requires managing camera angles, movement, lighting, sound, and what the actors will be doing and saying during each scene. Like all parts of how to produce a movie, filming can produce some issues or delays in scheduling depending on the timing, continuity, and daily scheduling.
Filming
Filming is the main thing that comes with movie production. This means shooting all scenes in the planned storyboard and script. There needs to be plenty of collaboration between the director, actors, cinematographer, and production crew during this part of the movie making process. Filming can be one of the more challenging steps in the production process because of all the different things that go into making a film. There needs to be a standard for maintaining technical quality, while also keeping in mind the creative vision.
Post-Production
After production, the next step is post-production. This means editing the raw footage captured while filming and fitting it into the final story structure planned in pre-production. The many things post production includes is the sound design, color grading, visual effects, and final mixing and editing. The post-production process shapes the film’s mood and pacing which will be seen in the final product. This process should also be factored into the budget mentioned earlier to cover all of the people and time this process takes.
Film Coloring
One of the first steps in post-production is film coloring. This corrects colors and balances exposure to remain consistent throughout the movie. The stylized choices of color can enhance the tone, mood, and emotional impact based on the color grading. Colorists use special software to shape the visual feel of the film. One of the most notable examples of movie coloring is in the Twilight movies. Most people have noticed the blue hue to every scene in the movie which impacts the feel and tone of the film.
Sound Design
The next step in post-production is sound design. Sound design includes editing and mixing dialog, sound effects, and music tracks to fit the film perfectly. The atmosphere created in a film by the sound crew enhances the storytelling through audio cues, and sound effects. The emotional impact is one of the biggest parts of sound design. In most films it is easy to pick out the music that plays when a character is happy or sad. In horror movies, right before a jump scare, the sound crew purposefully uses sound techniques to draw the audience in to enhance the scare.
Visual Effects
In films the visual effects are extremely important. Things like CGI (Computer-generated imagery) and other visual effects unable to be captured by filming are added. These visual effects can enhance realism or fantasy elements that may be needed in the film. This step requires collaboration between VFX artists and editors to make it flow smoothly. An example of great visual effects and CGI would be in the Jurassic Park movies.
Distribution
After post-production, next comes the distribution of your film. Distribution is the process of making your film available to audiences through various channels. It may include licensing deals, marketing campaigns, and delivery logistics. The distribution can be on streaming services, VOD (Video on demand), and physical media services. This step is crucial to getting your film out there and viewed by a large audience.
License
As mentioned above, licensing can determine rights, revenue splits, and the duration the film has with distributors. The licensing models can include a fixed fee, profit sharing, and a hybrid between the two models. This step in how to produce a movie is critical to ensure fair compensation and rights management for your film. Licensing deals can include creating merch or brand deals to help promote your film. An example of this could be the Barbie movie. There were many companies like OPI, Crocs, and Lush who all had some sort of partnership to create items specifically to help market the movie.
Marketing
Marketing is another key step to push your film out. Marketing promotes your movie to target audiences by things like trailers, posters, and press releases. The scale of marketing for your film depends on your previously agreed upon budget from pre-production. Marketing is important to build awareness for your film and will improve viewership from audiences. This can also be achieved with the licensing partnerships mentioned.
Delivery
The delivery of your film includes distributing the film digitally via DCP’s (Digital Cinema Package) to theaters or to streaming platforms. The delivery may include physical formats like DVDs and Blu-ray. If these don’t really fit your goal for distribution, there are also self-distribution options. Self distribution of films has become popular with independent filmmakers because of platforms like Vimeo On Demand or direct-to-consumer sales through personal websites. The delivery process also includes ensuring technical specifications meet platform requirements such as video format, subtitles, and close captioning.
Is A Movie Production Company Worth It?
Movie production companies, specifically Boiling Point Media, provides expertise, resources and industry connections to help you with your film producing process. On your own, these things will be unavailable to you or very hard to come by. Boiling Point Media provides infrastructure to help budgeting, legal, and marketing support. It is important for film makers to weigh the benefits of scale versus creative independence. Overall a movie production company such as Boiling Point Media is a great option for help in how to produce a movie. As well as opportunities for growth, and audience reach for your film.
Produce A Movie At Boiling Point
Navigating the film industry requires expertise, creativity, and the ability to adapt to emerging trends. At Boiling Point Media, we combine industry-leading technology with innovative storytelling to produce high-quality films, commercials, and digital content that engage audiences and drive results. Whether you’re looking to get started in the film industry or you have experiences with producing films, our team has the equipment to bring your vision to life.
The friendly and experienced team at Boiling Point Media has the expertise needed to create successful outcomes for any film project. We are passionate about all things filmmaking. That’s why we are proud to offer film coloring, LED Volume Wall rentals, and more.
Contact Boiling Point Media
Contact Boiling Point Media today to learn more about how we can create tailored content with the latest movie production technology.
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info@boilingpointmedia.com
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