Pre-production techniques for the creative industries

BETEC
Unit 1: Pre-Production Techniques for the Creative Media Industries.
Jamie Parker

In pre-production you have to make sure you have procedures and documentations so you know everything about your project before you actually make it.

Procedure will include:

• Identify finance available: If you are going to be making a game then you will need money for the marketing and for the advertisement of your product so finance is definitely needed and recommended. You have to look at what finances are available too you so you can figure out what you can buy and hire for your product so it can sky rocket and you get good income. If the finance you have available is not to your liking then you can always look at money raising websites such as kick-starter.
• Identify personnel needed and whether they are available: The amount of personnel you have on your team is important because if you need a concept artist and you don't have one then you will need to hire one for you to continue your product. However if you do not already have one then you will need to spend some money trying to find one.
• Identify resources available and book where necessary: You will need resources for your product such as money, personnel, coaches etc. If you need a coach or an aero plane for your research then the chances are you will need to hire them and that comes with a price. You will have to see if they are available for booking and if you can afford the price of the hiring fee.
• Prepare budget: The budget is the main source of your product because without a budget then you will start with no support and no money so make sure you examine your budget so you can get the most out of it without over budgeting. Otherwise you will have to pay for how much you went over with your budget.
• Contact personnel: If any of your personnel suddenly get ill and can not come in to continue with your project then you will need some personnel that you can contact so they can then come in and help you out with your project so it gets finished in time for the deadline. However make sure that your contact personnel are the right kind of personnel. For example if a project manager gets ill then you will need to contact another project manager and if you don't have a project manager then you will end up wasting time trying to find a contact for one.
• Prepare schedule: Every project has a schedule for when its done/released and it is important that you prepare the schedule so you know that everything is done and ready. To prepare a schedule you first need to look at how good your project is looking with time e.g. how much is it finished since the start of the production. So then you can estimate when it will finished and then you can prepare for when the schedule is due.
• Identify any health and safety concerns: The safety of you and your employers must come first/before everything else because if the health and safety of your employers is at risk then your entire project will be shut down or delayed so make sure that there is no risk to any ones health or any ones safety.
• Identify legal aspects: The project you are making must be legal so that you do not get in any trouble when the authority find out that you have an illegal business. You must also identify all legal aspects so you and your employers know what is legal and so you know what you can and can't do when you are doing your project.
• Identify any other risks to your project: Your project must be risk free so that your employers feel at their absolute safest when in their work environment. The risks that you and your employers need to look out for are the wires, no food or drinks near a computer, not looking directly into a bright screen for long hours, not to mess about with plugs when the electricity is on etc.

My procedure: For my procedure I will at preparing the schedule for my maze game so I will be able to certain parts of work every day to make sure it is done in time for the schedule  
 and that it can be released and played on the closing date for the schedule. I will need to use this for my procedure because I will then know when the project I am doing (maze game) has to be done for. I will also try to identify the resources available to me but I won't book anything. I will need to look at what resources I have to see what I can make with what I have available to me. I will not book anything for my project because I will simply not need to do it because my maze game will not require me to do so. Next I will identify the personnel needed for my maze game and see if they are available or not. The only personnel I will use will be my friends in class and I will only use their opinions or ask them to help me out with certain techniques that I am not used too.  I will need to identify the health and safety concerns so I know what the risks are and I know how to avoid them to ensure that my health is kept the same and that my safety is secure. I will also need to identify any legal aspects so I know that my project is legal and is okay to proceed. After everything else I will  check to see if they there are any other risks to my project such as copyrights or any technical risks that may effect my project and its process. I will not need to identify if any finance is available because I will not need any money for my project (maze game) because the software and hardware I am using is free to use so I will not need to spend any money but I fi do it will not be enough to get financial help. I will also not need to prepare a budget because the game I am making will be free so I will not need to prepare a budget but I might end up spending some money on books that contain techniques. I will also not include contacts for my personnel because I won't use any personnel for my game due to it mainly being a one man made game.

Documentation will include:

• Production-script, story board, mood board, production schedule: Having a script, story board, mood board or a production schedule is a necessity if you want a stable idea of what you want to do. Having a script for a game is what makes it exist and comes alive and with the script you can make a mood board or even a story board which will then help you get a clear view of what you want to do. Also a production schedule will help you know what steps to do during the production stage of your game.
• Budget: The budget allows you to spend a certain amount of money which actually doesn't take any of your actual money unless you go over the budget. Every project has a budget so the producer and his team can get the project started and so they can see what they can spend it on to get the most out if it without overspending.
• Clearances: Do you have a the right to go to a certain area or do you have someone's agreement that you can copyright a piece of their work and use it in yours. If you do not have clearances to go to an area or to copy someone's work then it is classed as being illegal. 
• Plans: Every project has a plan whether it is for finance, designs, pre-production etc. Having as plan is what makes you understand what your game is going to be about without forgetting and you can make certain designs step by step.
• H&S assessment/ Risk assessment: Your employers must attend a risk assessment so they know what the risks are and how to avoid them, also so they know what to do if they have had an accident or the escapes such as fire exits if there is a fire. The health and safety assessment will include hazards such as excess wiring on the floor which may cause people to trip. No drinks or food when on a computer, do not stare at a bright monitor for excess hours.
• Contingency plan: Back up plans are like a plan B so if anything goes wrong or not according to plan then you have something (an idea/plan) to go with such as if another personnel is needed or if you need money all of sudden. Having a contingency plan is a necessity otherwise if your project plan does not go according to plan then your entire project might suffer and not be touched until many years later.

My Documentation: For Wayne's maze game I will need to do some documentations so I know what items I have for my game. First of all I will need to document a script so I have a story/plot for my game. I will write a script/plot for my game in a word document, then spell-check to make sure it makes sense to read and then I will save it in my 'Wayne's maze game' document. I won't make a story board however because I will use a mood board instead because they are easy and more simple to do but still have the same effect as a story board. I will definitely have a production schedule so I know when to finish and start certain parts

Health and safety assessment: The health and safety assessment is a simple exam/check list that you are aware of everything that is dangerous to you and your work mates. It is also so that you know what to do in dangerous situations such as if you spill your water on a computer and it sparks and sets on fire then you must know to tell everyone immediately so they can get out of harms reach and then you can find someone who can help put out the fire and makes sure that the room is safe to work in again.

Checklist: These are what you must look out for during your work time in a room full of computers:
Wires: you could trip over the wires that come from computers and this could cause you serious damage especially if you hit your head on something on the way down. The solution tot his is to either look out for the wires or to put the wires through and under the floor so then no body can trip over them.
Food and drinks near computers: Having food and water near computers is a not a good idea because you could easily knock over your drink or sauce from your sandwich could leak out and fall on your computer and this will most likely cause your computer to crash and to not work which could lead to you loosing your work. The solution to this is to either eat and drink before you enter your workplace or you could leave the room you are working in and eat and drink outside.
Too much time looking at a bright screen: If you have been staring at a monitor that is bright for a few hours then take a break and give your eyes a rest. This will help your eyes repair otherwise you will get very sore eyes which is not very comfortable.
Make sure you are comfortable: If you are going to be working in an area/job that requires you to be sitting down for the whole day then you must make sure you are in a comfortable position. This will enable you to release pressure and tension from your back.
Stay active/ do some form of activity once a day: Doing this will make sure that you stay healthy and it will also ensure that you do not get ill such as blood clogs which many people have gotten due to them sitting down and being inactive for a whole day.

What I would use for my game: For my game that I am making for Wayne I will defiantly make sure I will not eat or drink near the computers because I do not want to loose all of my work and I wouldn’t want to damage good computers. To make sure of this I will keep my drink and food inside of my lunch box so they are secure and so they cannot be spilt. I will not need to look out for wires because in the rooms/classes I work in there are no wires on the floor that I could trip on so I will not need to look out for them. However if I do encounter wires on the floor then I shall avoid them/step over them and I will also keep an eye out for them so I do not forget and end up tripping on them. I will also take in to account that looking at bright screens for too long is not healthy for you, all though I do take occasional breaks from the screen and help my friends if they need to advice on extra detail. In the classes I a comfortable on the chairs because the chairs are comfortable to sit on and they are not hard to sit on but are soft to sit on. However I will take this into account if I feel uncomfortable I will try to move into a more comfortable position or I will change chair so that I can work comfortably. When I am not in college I am very active and I am also active inside college when it is break or lunch so I do get a good amount of exercise. I will also look out for any other hazards when making the game as well as trying to avoid them.