The mind-map was a great way to get all my initial ideas down and to see how well they all work together. Seeing all my ideas in front of me helped me narrow down which ideas are best to stick with (and which are terrible!).

In my mind map, I talk about:

RESOURCES - The resources I wish to use to create my production. Some example resources are: camera, SD card, microphone. 

CAMERA ANGLES - The different camera angles in which I want to use to create my production.

THEMES - The different themes in which I wish to cover within my production. 

MODELS - The different people I wish to use within my video.

LOCATIONS - The locations in which I wish to film my production at.

Why are mind-maps so important?

A mind-map helps you get all your initial ideas down onto paper. It's the first rough outline of your video and helps to sculpt the rest of the pre-production process.

A production proposal presents the project you are creating in detail and dissects what makes the project so important. Some of the themes that a production proposal will cover are:

INTRODUCTION - This section will cover the basics of the production for example: the length of the production, what it is about and what kind of production it is. This is important as it is important to establish what type of production it is (still image / moving image) and what it is about.

STORYLINE - This section will cover the basic details of the storyline. Although only the basics are required, it is important to be descriptive in order to best showcase the production's storyline. This section will also talk about the characters, what kind of storyline it is (linear or not) and the genre (drama / documentary) of the product.

THEMES - This section will cover any themes that are covered within the project. Common examples of themes used within media are: love, money, death. It is important to cover what themes are present within the product as it tells the audience what to expect and it is easier to judge whether or not a person achieved their goals of including the themes they wish to use. 

AUDIENCE - This section will cover who the production is made for. Examples of target audiences are: students, adults, younger children, elderly, etc. It is important to outline this to see whether or not the product is suitable for the targeted audience.

APPEALING CONTENT - This section will outline any appealing content that the production uses to appeal to their target audience. This is important information to outline as it shows the thought process behind trying to make the production appropriate for the target audience. 

LEGAL, ETHICAL & MORAL ISSUES - This section will cover any legal, ethical or moral issues that may come up within the production. Legal issues refers to any copyright issues that the product may be subjected to - an example of this would be illegally using somebody else's music within your product. Ethical and moral issues refers to anything that could be seen as morally wrong or controversial within your product. It is important to talk about and think of these issues as it forces you to consider whether you have the rights to all the content you wish to use.

TALENT/CONTRIBUTORS - This section will cover who a person plans on using to help / star within the production. The talent part of the title refers to anyone who may star within the production - it is also important to ensure you have their permission to use them whether it's filming them or recording their voice. The contributor part of the title refers to anyone assisting behind the camera. It is important to list who is being used to create the production so people have an idea of who did what and credit can be given. 

LOCATIONS - This section will cover any locations used within the product. This is important as it forces the person to consider where they wish to film and whether they have the rights/permission to film there.

BUDGET - This section will cover the budget of the production. Budget in this case does not solely refer to money but also to any resources needed or wanted to create the production. Examples of resources would be: camera, sound recorder, microphone, etc. It is important to outline the budget/resources as it showcases how much money went into the product and what equipment was used.

PRODUCTION ROLES - This section will cover who is responsible for what within the production. This is important as it shows who is responsible for the overall product. 

Why is a production proposal so important?

The importance of a production proposal is that it outlines what your project is and some of the specifics about it, it also forces the person to consider specific details about their production that they may not have realised they need to consider - this was the case for me.

Production Schedule

A production schedule lays out where and when you are filming specific scenes / shots for your project. It discusses:

DATE - The date in which you wish to record a particular scene/action. It is important to decide a date for specific filming to keep track of progress and to ensure you have everything done in time. 

LOCATION - The location in which you wish to film your particular scene/action at. 

ACTION - The action/scene in which you wish to film on the particular day. It is important to decide on what to film when so you can prepare specific equipment and props that you may need. 

SIGNED OFF - Whether or not the filming was completed on that specific day. This is important as it acts like a filming checklist and ensures you get specific filming done in time. 

Why is a production schedule so important?

Without a production schedule, you can only estimate times of completion and things can quickly become very unorganised. With a production schedule, filming days are already pre-planned and so you know everyone will be available for those specific days. 

Storyboarding

The storyboard was a good way for me to plan the video out shot by shot. It helped me see the video come together as both little parts and as a whole as I start to see how it flows. 

Why is storyboarding so important?

A storyboard is important as you can see visually who and what will be showing in each shot. Similar to a script guiding you through what to say within a project, a storyboard guides you through what to shoot. 

A shot list is simply a list of the different types of shots and used when filming a project including other information about the shots. A shot list depicts:

SHOT NUMBER - The number of the shot. It is important to number the shots and in order to know the order in which your production will follow. 

SHOT TYPE - The camera angle used for the shot. This is important to list as it allows you to visualise your video better.

ACTION - The action happening within the shot. It is important to talk about what is happening in the shot so you know which shot is which and you can better visualise your production.

LOCATION - The location in which you wish to shoot the shot at. 

Why is a shot list so important?

A shot list is important as it helps you visualise specific details about each shot which helps to best organise things. This means when you get round to filming, you know exactly where, what and at what angle to film at. 

Number of shots for each angle:

Script

A script is a document that lays out what people will say in a project and who says it. It sometimes also contains stage directions.

Why is a script so important?

Scripting is a very important part of any production because it helps to outline the dialogue of the video. The dialogue of a video can always be improved, but having a script and knowing what to say keeps the video more organised and professional.

Location Recce

A brief assessment of a location / locations before shooting. A location recce covers a range of topics like:

SCOUTING OUT - In this section you talk about your initial thoughts of the location/locations. It is important to establish your initial thoughts as it helps you to assess the location/locations in further depth.

DIMENSIONS - In this section you talk about the dimensions of your location. This is important as it forces you to assess whether the location's dimensions are suitable and fitting for your production.

LIGHTING - In this section you talk about the lighting of the location. This is important as it makes you consider whether you need artificial lighting or whether the natural lighting is suitable for your production.

SAFETY - In this section you talk about how safe the location is. Although later you do an official risk assessment, it is important to consider safety beforehand because a location may not be safe enough to film your production at/in.

What is a risk assessment? - Definition

"A document which examines a specific process in which you, the assessor, is identifying particular hazards that has the potential to cause someone the possibility of unwelcoming loss or ill health in an uncertain event which could happen (that's the risk!)" - Sam Instone, Activate Learning

What is a risk assessment? - To Me

To me, the risk assessment means assessing not only the risks of filming your production at a particular location but also assessing how to avoid/limit the risks.

Risk Assessment Matrix

The risk assessment matrix refers to the level of risk scaling from Low to Extreme with Low being unlikely and Extreme being inevitable. 

Difference between Risk and Hazard:

RISK - "A situation that involves exposure to imminent danger" - Sam Instone, Activate Learning. 

HAZARD - "A source of potential damage to someone or something" - Sam Instone, Activate Learning.

For me, the main notable difference between risk and hazard is that a risk is the situation, and a hazard is the actual event/source.

With pre-production, there are a lot of stages of planning to complete. The first piece of planning which I finished was the mind map. The mind map was helpful to be able to see my initial ideas written down in front of me which was great for the future of my planning. The final piece of planning which I completed was the script. The reason the script was the last thing I finished was because I felt it was easier to plan the rest of the video before figuring out what I would say for my voiceover.

Initially, when looking at the amount of planning I had to complete, I felt overwhelmed. There was so much to complete, and I felt pressed for time. After realising how simple the planning was, I found myself quite happy with my tasks and I noticed that it was in my best interest to complete them all to the best of my ability to achieve good within my work.

The piece of planning that I think I did best at was the mind map. I believe this because I found it the best way to get my ideas down and found it the most helpful piece of planning. The mind map's layout was clear and easy to follow which definitely helped me when trying to follow my ideas.

The piece of planning I think requires the most improvement is the production schedule. I think this because it was quite sloppy, and I didn't like the fact that I had to have everything planned out doesn't work well for me as I act more on my mood then a plan.

 I think that I managed myself well with covering all the different parts of pre-production - completing all the different parts is going to work in my benefit in the future. I could have conducted myself a little more seriously at the beginning, but I managed to turn it around for myself.

If I'm honest, at first, I didn't see the importance of all the pre-production - it was as I was completing it that I saw the importance in executing all of these steps. Each step of pre-production has its purpose, and each is just as important as the last. I believe that conducting all of this pre-production has helped to prep me for future projects and has contributed to improving my preparation skills.

Originally, I didn't believe pre-production to be very important so I believe that impacted my work a little to begin with - this is clearly something I would rectify. The main thing, if I had to choose one specific improvement to make, I would change is either the layout of some of my pre-production resources or the storyboard. What I would change about the source layout is that a lot of the files loom quite unprofessional once you open them - this is something I would change to showcase my professionalism. What I would change about my storyboard is that I would tailor it to my production as opposed to just demonstrating which camera angles I wished to use.