BBC Fresh Guide: Managing your production

Freelance television production manager Jude Winstanley gives her guide to managing your time and resources when filmmaking. This list is in no way exhaustive but it contains some pertinent tips to help you get the best results for your production. You can print this guide from a PDF by clicking the link at the bottom of the page.

Jude is a freelance television production manager. She also sits on the advisory committees of BAFTA Career Pathways Working Groups, RTS Futures and The Indie Training Fund and is often invited as a guest lecturer to UK universities. Read Jude's full profile here.

Schedule

Your budget and schedule are very important and linked together all the way through the project.

• Work backwards to draw up your schedule.
• When do you need to deliver the project?
• How much time do you need for post-production?
• What do you need to shoot and how long will you need?
• Now juggle the shoot and post period so that you have enough time to do all your upfront research and planning.

Budget

Think about how much everything will cost. Yes, it's boring but it’s more boring to be bankrupt.

• Include costs for people's time, equipment, catering, travel, facilities, locations, props, costumes.
• Keep a dynamic document to record everything you pay out for and as the project progresses, update what you expect to spend. This will help you not to overspend your funds.
• If you spend more money in one area, you can choose to spend less in another, to balance the spend.
• Food helps keep a team motivated out on a shoot. Allow some money in your budget.
• Consider Public Liability Insurance (industry union BECTU, has access to good rates for members).

Communication

Documentary subjects can take time to get going as need to gain trust of contributors.

• Try to have relaxed meetings before shooting or just hanging out with your contributors, if your budget and schedule can support that.
• Consider this particularly if it's a sensitive topic – a camera in the face can be very offensive in sensitive situations.

Insurance

Consider acquiring cover for at least public liability. Should an accident occur on your shoot, you would be liable for the damages.

• If an accident occurs, get a statement immediately as to what happened.
• If sickness prevents the completion or incurs a delay in the delivery of the project and you need to reshoot/recast, you will need doctors note to pursue a claim.
• Inform insurance company of everything that could be a problem eg anything under your instruction, or unusual. Animals, hostile environments, boats, chartered vehicles, extreme weather conditions.
• Locations may not let you in without public liability cover. Kit hire companies won’t loan to you without specific cover for kit.

Elves & safe tea (aka health & safety)

• Essentially not to stop you doing stuff but to make sure you have thought it through properly.
• Consider cables, weather, unpredictable elements like kids, machinery, animals, special equipment or locations etc…
• What might go wrong or disrupt the shoot – how can you plan to avoid that?

Permissions

As a general rule you need permission to use everything you haven't made yourself, if you including it in a programme for any broadcast, this includes web only.

The broadcaster/client will expect you to have arranged permission for everything in the programme, so the transmission can go ahead without problems. Anyone who doesn’t give permission can make things difficult for you to proceed or even take you to court. THIS INCLUDES RIPPING IMAGES FROM GOOGLE AND VIDEO FROM YOUTUBE.

• Locations will want to know you have adequate insurance, may ask for your public liability documents or specify your limit of cover is more than you currently have. May need to see your risk assessment too.
• For 3rd party material/archive (paintings, photographs, book covers, written text etc…) you need permission from whomever owns the idea of the work. Often the owner will just give permission and sign a release form, others will require fees to be paid. This all needs to be recorded and submitted to the broadcaster.
• For people included in the filming as contributors (not actors who require contracts) you need Release Form which is a simple agreement that says you can do what you like with the footage of that person where it relates to the project. Experts will expect a fee – you are asking their professional opinion.
• For public spaces you need a filming notice in prominent areas. Here’s a simple one, or tailor one to your needs. Get video/still of the filming notices in prominent places, in case you need to settle a dispute about visibility in the future.

Kit

Think carefully about what you want to achieve, what equipment you might need and how you can be creative with what you already have. It’s not necessary to shoot on RED or an F900 when you have a tiny budget.

• Check the technical specification issued by your broadcaster/client – what kit can you use? Do you already own it?
• Use your kit budget creatively. Research low tech cheats online for achieving the effects/moves you want.
• Can your budget support the kit and amount of rental days you need? Can you afford everything else you want to do?
• If you hire in special expensive kit, plan all your actions on the same day.
• Have you got an out-of-hours number for the hire company if something fails?.
• Do you know what time you need to return the kit by so as not to incur extra charges? Can you drop it back very late or very early? Some busy companies will have staff open up at 6am or as late as midnight if lots of kit in and out. Always check.
• Are you clear how much it has cost?
• If you don’t have specialist equipment insurance, the rental cost will be higher.

Transport

Everyone needs to know how to get to the location. They aren't mind readers.

• Don't assume everyone has a working GPS or will be in range. Include a map in the document using a screen print from an online map service.
• Is parking available at location? Can you book in advance?
• Consider how long it takes to get there or if you have lots of kit to take. Is it more effective and cheaper to take a train?
• If a big team, do you take a few cars packed with equipment and the rest go on the train or drive themselves? Is it better to fly there?

Accommodation

• Do you need to overnight due to early start or late finish or long travel?
• ALWAYS get rooms for crew on ground floor or very near lift – they will need to bring kit in to their room from the vehicle, don’t make them drag it 17 floors up.
• If busy - use a hotel booking service. Tell them your budget, location etc and they fix it. They take commission from hotel.
• Is there parking at hotel or deal in nearby car park? Costs?
• Ensure you confirm it's B&B only and not to accept other charges on the room without your permission. Make sure all team know this too – no one wants to see a bill for ‘movies’ of any kind on the bill.
• Does it have wifi? Any charges?
• Do they have a kitchen that will do early breakfast or cold take away breakfast? What about late meals or room service?
• Bringing lots of business for a studio show or massive group booking? Call them and negotiate directly for better deal.

On location

Check out your shoot location. Don’t forget that sound is of the utmost importance. Pictures can be got around but dodgy audio will spoil your entire project and make you appear unskilled.

Stand in your location and shut your eyes. What can you hear? Fridges, traffic, neighbours, aeroplanes, pedestrian crossings can all effect your audio. Concentrate! Be prepared to change your location.

• Be prepared - practice your shooting and basic lighting setups. Be confident recording sound.
• Can you hard wire your mic and record to camera? Are radio mics a better option if further away? Spare batteries?
• Removed jangly jewelry or fabrics that may interfere with audio.
• Is your location ok for sound? Is it near a pedestrian crossing? Are you in a flight path? Old country houses are often directly in a flight path.
• Is your access confirmed? Do you have contact details of who will meet you?
• Have you recced your location? Can you park? Where to eat? How far from hotel/station?
• Have you done a Risk Assessment?
• Have you checked your contributors will be joining you? Have you briefed them in advance?
• Check your kit, is it all there? Have you charged batteries?
• What's the agreed traffic procedure? Have you agreed on a backup procedure?
• Have you all the Release forms you need? Who is collecting them in?
• Know your file naming convention
• Have you set up a ‘tape log’?
• Shoot for the edit. Podcast here
• Get close ups and cut-aways to cover the cuts. It’s a bit rubbish to only see everything in a midshot.
• Look for GVs, have them in the back of your mind. Waiting for contributor? Knock off some GVs. Capture, buildings, flowers, traffic, etc…
• Need to show the passing of time? Sunrise/sunset, lights coming on or going off…
• Get establishing shots. Where are we? Where are we travelling to? Get the arrival and leaving.
• Make notes for timeline of story & do a rough family tree to get clear who relates to whom and how
• Big interviews? Get them transcribed. Do it yourself if you have time.
• Try to get some space in your schedule to log your shots and make a ‘paper edit’ before your cut your offline. It will save time and money to be prepared.

Post production

What are you doing after you have finished filming?

• Are you clear on your post production workflow? What do you need to do and who will manage it.
• Have you backed up your data at least twice?
• Keep your second backup offsite for safety.
• Keep a list of your most favourite people to work with and their contact details.
• Keep a track of where all your media physically is.
• Log all of your rushes – you won't know what media you actually have without it
• Always check the required technical specification for the product, from the client before you start editing.
• Check how your audio tracks are required to be split. Usually mixed audio tracks 1 and 2 and music and effects on 3 and 4.

Music

You can't use music on your production created by other people without permission or a licence. For commercial or library music this can be costly. It's often more flexible to commission a composer to make your music for you.

• Here are some things to think about regarding music.
• Music can alter the feelings in the viewer.
• Music company can sue broadcaster if hear they learn of music in a broadcast that they have not agreed a licence for. As the supplier, you would in turn then be liable for the charges. It could be ££££ - it's not worth the risk! Here is more about music copyright.

Tips

1. Shoot as much as you can in single, multi-use, locations.
2. Keep costs down by utilizing resources you can access for free.
3. You don’t need permits to shoot in public spaces, only private ones, as long as you aren't obstructing traffic. Here’s a guide to filming in Westminster.
4. Never promise ‘exposure’ in exchange for unpaid work – it's very insulting and illegal to offer as an employer.
5. If you are not very experienced – ask for help. Can you reach a mentor?
6. Keep a daily log reminding you of what happened that day, will help you to find sequences and assist with planning your edit.