Planning: Production Roles (Miss. B)

Production Roles

There are different role within a production which describes a member's job and importance within the production. Each role needs to be carried out by at least one person who is suited for the tasks ahead. For example, the director will need to be loud, confident and skilled in improvisation to make quick changes. In my group's opening we have distributed out nine roles between the four of us - and tried to assign them fairly. Giving one person two hard roles such as Sound and Editor may jeopardize their chances of doing well, in comparison to someone with easy roles such as Hair/Makeup and Lighting.  Each person has both levels of difficulty to consider. Most importantly we have made sure that everyone is comfortable with their positions.

• Camera Operator - This person is responsible for controlling camera shots, angles and movement. The purpose of this role is to film all of the shots so there is content for the other members - such as the Editor - to carry out their job successfully. Also to simply transform the storyboard into a visual motion picture. This requires taking into consideration risks such as breaking the 180 degree rule or breaking cameras.

Our Camera Operator is Fatma because she is confident in taking up this role and has previously done a GCSE on Media Studies.

• Producer - This person is responsible for assisting the Director in procedures such as the actors/actresses actions, regarding the storyboard. The Producer also checks that every member of the team is working to a high standard and creating the correct content. This requires maintaining and communicating respect within the group, making everybody feel comfortable to that their job is of a better quality, despite the differences on task difficulty.

Our Producer is me (Lara) because, having also done a GCSE on Media Studies, I know what I'm doing. Additionally I am a good leader so will work well with the Director.

• Director - This person is responsible for being in charge of the organisation of the production. The Director is very important as they make many choices that effect the whole outcome of the film. They work alongside the Producer. An example of their purpose is the directing of actors/actresses - where to go, how to go there, and what to do once they are there. They can also yell 'cut' to stop a scene if they wish to make changes. This requires communication between the Director and every member of the team, so they are in a comfortable position to take advice and guidance.

Our Director is Fatma because we believe her to be organized and outspoken. She is also fair despite striving for a powerful role, during group work she always ensures everyone is on an agreement before proceeding to make a final decision.

• Lighting Operator - This person is responsible for deciding which kind of lighting will suit each frame in every shot, determined by every factor such as location, time, and themes (e.g. romance). This role is important because the lighting needs to suit the scene, and if a happy scene is accompanied by a dark, dreary lighting, it won't make sense to the audience and stir up false grudges of something about to happen when it really won't. This requires careful consideration particularly when filming inside and at evening/night-time.

Our Lighting Operator is Suweda because she's quiet and calm and we thought those traits suited somebody who deals with the lighting as it's an easy, flexible task to do.

• Location Manager - This person is responsible for choosing the suitable location for a shot to be scene. The purpose of this role is, like a Lighting Operator, to match the setting to the scene. For instance, it makes sense to have school children shown inside of a classroom. The setting is also open doors to specific props, like in the classroom could be stationary used as weapons when in a thriller. This requires a logical mind and agreement between the members, particularly the actors as they are the ones being filmed in that location. If the area is owned, permission needs to be earned by the Location Manager from the person of interest.

Our location manager is Mohidin because our group noticed in his sketches the settings were drawn out very well so we think he could apply that appropriately to the real life situation.

• Costume, Hair & Make-up - This person is responsible for the appearance of all actors and actresses. This includes designing their costume, the style of their hair and how their make-up is set. It's important because the appearance helps the actor or actress to get into character and perform better. Required attributes include creativity and a steady hand for make-up/hair.

Our Costume, Hair & Make-up person is Suweda because she has a steady hand and an open mind on style.

• Story boarder - This person is responsible for the team's general idea of a plot, by creating detailed descriptions of every frame with a sketch of what it will look like. This role is really important because the storyboard is where all the ideas tie into such as a camera shots and the duration. It saves time, conflict, and in a real production a lot of money, to create a storyboard and follow the basis rather than making up decisions on set. This requires an agreement on details and the protection of the storyboard so it doesn't get lost. Somebody creative should take up the job as you have to imagine the scene you're writing/drawing about as if it's already been shot and edited.

Our Story Boarder is Mohidin because when creating his frames on paper, they were very detailed and the drawings were clear and labelled.

• Editor - This person is responsible for making the scene look professional by putting frames together and applying changes to the footage. This includes things like Fade To Black or dissolve. These are both types of transitions between one shot to another. Editing programmes are an advantage because if something during filming is wrong, you can cut it out through the process of editing. This requires creativity and IT skills as it's done on the computer.

Our editor is me (Lara) because I edited my own production for GCSE. I enjoyed it as well as excelled in it. I'm also very creative which is why I chose Media Studies initially so I think I could do this well, despite it being a hard role to take on.

• Sound Technician - This person is responsible for making the sounds to be edited into the content. This is important because we are not making a silent movie and there are aspects of the plot which 100% require sound. But also, sound combined with visual is very engaging for the audience; it creates effect. Like editing, this requires creativity and IT skills.

Our Sound Technician is Fatma because she wants to pursue a career in Media so I think giving her a wide range of tasks to fulfil would be beneficial to our group, as well as her having the ability to maintain it because of that passion for Media.

This planning has been - and will continue to be - beneficial to our group as we are now certain that each role will be fulfilled. They're all important, so somebody needs to take on at least one. Why are they important, though? Because it's exactly what a production is all about - a production is not just footage made fancy. It's all the people running around ensuring everything is perfect so that it is ABLE to be made fancy. Roles are also a sense of personal confidence as we have assigned them according to traits we believe each member of the group should be proud of.