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Independent Filmmaking

Filmmaking

Filmmaking is the act of making a movie using a film recording medium. The nature of the film determines the size and type of crew required during filmmaking. Many Hollywood adventure films need computer generated imagery (CGI), created by dozens of 3D modellers, animators, rotoscopers and compositors. However, a low-budget, independent film may be made with a skeleton crew, often paid very little. Filmmaking takes place all over the world using different technologies, styles of acting and genre, and is produced in a variety of economic contexts that range from state-sponsored documentary in China to profit-oriented movie making within the American studio system.

Stages of filmmaking

The filmmaking production cycle comprises five main stages: # Development # Preproduction # Production # Post-production # Distribution An entire Hollywood-style production cycle typically takes three years. The first year is taken up with ''development''. The second year comprises ''preproduction'' and ''production''. The third year, ''post-production'' and ''distribution''.

Development

This is the stage where an idea is fleshed out into a viable script. The producer of the movie will find a story, which may be from books, other films, true stories, original ideas, etc. Once the theme, or underlying message, has been identified, a synopsis will be prepared. This is followed by a ''step outline'', which breaks the story down into one-paragraph scenes, concentrating on the dramatic structure. A ''treatment'' is produced, a 25- to 30-page description of the story, its mood, and characters, with little dialog and stage direction, often containing drawings to help visualize the key points. A distributor will be contacted to assess the likely market for the particular genre of the movie. The screenplay is then written over a period of perhaps six months, and may be rewritten several times to improve the dramatization, clarity, structure, characters, dialog,

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Filmmaking

I believe that "Production Cycle" should not be capitalised. Anyone agree/disagree? Amelia Hunt 00:28, Dec 20, 2004 (UTC) : You're probably right - I just cleaned up the text that was there before in the form of a long and messy list and tried to turn it into something readable. I still think that work needs doing on the text itself (more wiki links for example). By the way...I dont know the first thing about film making so i didnt try and change the meaning of the text! Go ahead and make some bold changes ChrisUK 00:44, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC) ::Hi, cheers. I agree that there is much to be done in terms of style and content. I too know nothing! - just surfed here, but will make a mental "to do" note. Amelia Hunt 01:48, Dec 20, 2004 (UTC) : I agree. Also, other things, like "report sheet," probably shouldn't be capitalized. Is the list of things said by the production crew really necessary? I think that, at a minimum, the "1AD" acronyms there should be expanded, as I found myself constantly referring back to the list. Also, in the "Postproduction" part, the things done to create the final sound mix, like "walla," "SFX," and others, aren't defined in the text, and I think it would improve clarity if they were. Anyone agree or disagree? Alex Cohn 00:33, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC) :: A lot of the content can be boiled down like the list of things said. If you look back at the history to the one before I first did an edit you will see that the page was a right mess - it looked like a list brain dumped from a film students revision notes. All I did was to try and structure the page to allow some sensible editing to take place. I also think it needs to contain some more wiki links, even if they reference pages that don't exist yet. Go ahead and make bold edits! ChrisUK 11:30, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC) ::I did a light edit for style and a spellcheck, converting the haphazard US/US spellings to US, given the dominance of the US in the field. I rewrote the independent film section a bit,

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Pittsburgh Filmmakers

Pittsburgh Filmmakers is one of the oldest and largest media arts centers in the United States. This non-profit institution began as a filmmaking-equipment access cooperative in 1971. That co-op is still a pillar of the organization, which now also includes an accredited school, three theaters and the Three Rivers Film festival

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Independent Filmmaking