Task 1 - Understand requirements for specific media production
Types of production -
There are many types of media production these can
range from Films, Computer games and television. Each one is produced
differently from one another. In computer/video games, the production can
vary depending on how big the game is, for an AAA game like GTA V the
development took from around 2009 till its initial release in 2013 for
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Over the course of these four years, it took a team
of over 1000 people which spanned over the core Rockstar North team as well as
a variety of other Rockstar teams. At the time of production, the development
and marketing cost was estimated to of reached around £170 million, this was a
record at the time of production. For close to every single video game being
published recently has to use some sort of 3D models there for Software systems
will be used to create characters, environments as well as everything else
incorporated into the game. In some games, you may need actors and actress' to
create the movements for the characters which is known as motion capture.In
film production, however, the production only usually takes 45-60 for the
production to take places, this is the actual filming, this can vary however
depending on how big the film is and the length. Furthermore, you may need a
massive makeup team or prosthetic's for your film and this may take a lot of
time in itself. Once production is done you then need to go through post
production which is said to take between 6 months and a year, this is where the
film will all come together through the editing as well as other things like
sound and visual effects etc.Then there's television production which is
similar to films but they create each episode one at a time. They have the main
production which may take a day or two and then there's the post production
which may take 4-5 days depending on what type of show it is whether it's a
cartoon, soap, reality as well as others. In 3D production, there
are many reasons to use it. The most popular choice would probably be creating
games but films and TV shows are using 3D more frequently as things get more
complicated and impossible to make. An example of a 3D production is VFX
which stands for Virtual Effects which is creating imagery for a film outside
of a live action shot. VFX are used for when the shot they are going for is
impossible like in the Harry Potter series, they haven't got anything in real
life that replicates magic so they use VFX to create the sparks and stuff. VFX
is also for when a shot is impractical or too dangerous like for some crashes
or explosions which can also be very expensive.
Finance -
The finance side of media production can go very
wrong at times, there are all sorts of costs that affect the budget of the
production. One of the main ways that finance can become an issue is when
people are sued. In the case of Martin O'Donnell who was a composer for Bungie
who created the Halo's original soundtrack and essentially all the sound that
was produced on the companies behalf. After being fired in April 2014
"without cause" he filed two lawsuits, one against CEO Harold Ryan
because of 'unpaid benefits' which earned O'Donnell just over $95,000 and
another lawsuit against Bungie claiming a breach of his contract. He received
192,187.5 shares of vested Bungie common stock, as well as payments, from the
profit share plan, this amounted to over $140,000. When it comes to
earning money to create a game, there are a few ways that a company can go
about getting the funds. Many companies that don't have the funds to start
creating their own game use crowdfunding to get money, websites like
Kickstarter are big that the companies earn their money. An example of a game
that was funded by Kickstarter is 'Wasteland 2' by inXile entertainment which
had an initial campaign target of $900,000 but ended up earning $2,933,252 by
April 17, 2012. This shows that many people are willing to put their money into
a game without any guarantee of the game is good. Another example of a company
putting their trust into fans on Kickstarter is Compulsion Games' newest
project 'We Happy Few' who put up an initially wanted $250,000 but ended up
earning $334,754 by July 4, 2015, the trailer for the game has been released at
E3 and the early access version of the game was released 26th July 2016.
Time issues –
If a company's development team is behind schedule,
they primarily use crunch time to get the games progress back on track. There
are two main reasons that a company will have to use crunch time, the first is
if the game is scheduled without enough flexibility then all it takes is
one screw up to welcome an avalanche of mess with it brings
10-12 hour days. The other is deadlines, mainly for big companies if they
set a deadline for a game, it is then set it stone. If there are then multiple
mess-ups during the development of the game it can set it back which costs
money, therefore, crunch time fixes that and allows the game to be put out on
time. The only good thing that comes from crunch time is that the game is
released on time whereas it causes stress to the employees who might not get
home while 10 or 11 o'clock at night after starting 9 or 10 in the morning
meaning they will be much more tired and will prevent them from having much of
a social life with friends or family. It can also lead to mental health issues
because of how much stress is being thrown upon you. Crunch time, I hope will
subside over the course of the next 10 years or less but for the time being, I
believe that crunch time will stay and there will be a lot of late nights for
employees working in the game industry in the future.
Personnel -
When it comes to personnel in the production of a
game you can either have a large group of people which is usually in the
hundreds like for a massive game like Red Dead Redemption which took a team of
over 800 people, this included Rockstar San Diego's core team as well as
employees from the parent company Rockstar Games. Game companies that have a
lot of employees, as well as a huge budget, are considered triple A games. In
production this can be effective as it allows the game to be created faster
because of a number of people that are working on it, however, with so many
people working on one project, there could be a clash of styles where someone
wants one feature whereas another might not like the idea. Then there are
games that don't have as many people that are working on it or do not have a
big budget to work from are called indie games. Companies like Psyonix who
produced the massively big 'Rocket League' in 2015 and they only have around
30+ members. In a smaller group of people, it is easier to fix that group onto
one vision for the final product as opposed to a large group of people however
they might not have the funds and so aren't guaranteed a good payout.
Furthermore, with a small collective the game may take a lot longer to create
and so are spending a lot of time and money for a game they aren't promised
money back on.Also if a game has the budget they can bring in celebrities to
add appeal for the game. For example, in the game 'Call of Duty: Infinite
Warfare' they asked Conor Mcgregor to play a part in the story. Another huge
example of this would be Mark Hamill who voiced the Joker in the award-winning
Batman: Arkham City. Mark Hamill who is most famous for his role in the Star
Wars series began voice acting the joker in the 1992 Batman series and because
of the praise he got from this he decided to voice over the joker in the game
as well. If a production team has a celebrity to play a role or voice over a
character then there is a likelihood that the game will be a lot more
popular than if it was just another unknown voice actor working on it however,
celebrities can cost a considerable amount of money so not only do they have to
consider if they're available but whether they have the funds to have
them in the game.
Facilities -
Facilities can mean a lot when it comes to the
production of a game. Having the facilities is whether or not you have the
resources needed to create the game or film. An example of needed facilities
would be production equipment. Your production equipment can vary on what you
are trying to create. If you are creating a game then you will need 3D
modelling software which has a monthly cost. Also, you will need employees to
actually create the game so artists, programmers etc. will have to be hired for
the development of the game, you may even need some actors or actress' to play
the part of characters in the game. Factors like computers and office spaces
have big roles in how the production of the game finish as they all have their
own costs and the more they are the slower the process of creating the game
could be. Similarly, a film has its own facilities that are needed during the
production. The main of these being the actors and actress' that are involved
would be needed and then the sets for the filming. As important as these would
be the cameras and the equipment that goes with that when filming the film or
TV show. If they aren't able to get what's needed for the filming then the
production will be severely halted. If it is a film or TV show that is
being recorded then availability is vital. First of would be if they are
looking to film on a particular street or set of streets then you will need
permission for whomever to have these areas for a particular amount of time and
if you only have a certain amount of time to get the right scene(s), if you
aren't able to get the right thing you wanted then you have to go through the
whole process of booking the area again which will cost time and money for the
production team.
Materials -
When creating a game, film or tv programme you are
always going to need materials to get the right look for what you are trying to
create. An example of materials would be costumes. This is primarily for the
filming of TV shows and films but if they are going for a different themed film
then they are going to need authentic looking costumes to make it look better.
In the case of the tv show 'Game of Thrones', they will need costumes for
everyone otherwise it would not work. Costumes have a massive role in films as
well, for example, the film King Arthur is based on the late 5th early
6th-century mark, therefore, a lot of costumes which cost a considerable amount
each is needed. Music rights are also needed in the production of games,
tv shows and films. In nearly every film there will be a song that the
production team will have to get the rights to use for example in the film Suicide
Squad there are 23 songs that were used throughout the film, some of which were
created for the purpose of the film but some others like 'Seven Nation Army'
and 'Bohemian Rhapsody' wouldn't have been allowed in the film without the
rights to the song. This isn't as big an issue in TV shows unless they want to
use and already existing song as their intro song. An example of this is the
opening theme song for the tv series 'Misfits' was 'Echoes' by The Rapture. In
films, the cost for using pre-existing songs can range from $18,000 to $55,000,
the price of the song usually depends on one of a few things: if the song is
vital to the plot if it's being used in the opening or closing credits of the
film, the particular scene or if the song is a hit.. Despite this, the price is
always negotiable and these factors may not be a factor when deciding on the
cost. Games can also go through the trouble of getting songs into their games,
for example, FIFA always has a different playlist of songs in each of their
games. Again this takes time for negotiation and sometimes a lot of money for
acquiring the song.
Contributors -
Contributors are people and companies that will
come in to help a company get to where it wants to be whether that's by adding
funds to the development of the project or by publishing the finished product
to a wider selection of people by advertising it.
Companies like Sony sponsored Hello Games' 'No Man
Sky' by offering them funds for the development but after they declined they
assisted in the promotion and publication of the game. They did this by
presenting the game at their media event, up until this point no other indie
game had been broadcasted during the centre stage events. Because of the help
and push from Sony, No Mans Sky became the biggest non-sequel ever on the PS4
and topped the UK all-formats chart, towering over Grand Theft Auto V and
Overwatch. This gives games that aren't looking like they have enough money or
budget boost to develop and publish a better game than was expected.
Locations -
When finding new locations to work from there are
many factors that could go into deciding whether or not the location they plan
on using/ filming on is right for them or safe enough to use. The main priority
of these would be what it costs to hire/ use the location. If it costs too much
to use a certain place then this could halt the speed of production because
they then have to go out in search for another and cheaper location that could
be used. If they find a location that is affordable and accessible they
then have to take in the distance it takes to get there the cost to get all of
the production equipment to the location, if it is only one scene then they may
have to consider whether the cost is worth it.
If they find a location that works and ticks all
the boxes then they will have to create a recce report to prevent any
accidents. A recce report is a type of risk assessment when filming is taking
place. The document is there to try and prevent dangers and accidents during
the recording. They look for features like Health and safety matters like
electrical equipment being used, the amount of space where the filming is
taking place and if there are any concerns with where they are filming like if
they are filming on a cliff side, is there a chance of slipping on the
edge.
All film companies take these precautions before
filming has started taking place as it ensures that nothing can go wrong. If
there are measurements taken to prevent things going wrong then the likelihood
of them happening are significantly lower. A recce report will also tell you if
the cons outweigh the pros when choosing a location, for example, if the area
you are filming in is dangerous and the conditions aren't great then it may be
best to choose another location. Recce reports like this are likely to be used
in the future if something goes wrong during the production of filming, if you
are the person in charge of a production and a very expensive piece of
equipment is damaged and/or broken and the people you are employing haven't
completed a recce report then that could be the reason to it being broken. If
something like the main camera was to break this could set back the production
time a considerable amount of time which is bad for the team, it could also
affect the final product.
Codes of practice and regulation -
In games and films, there will always be censorship
for younger viewers when it comes to the context of the game/film. In games
specifically, there are precise restrictions on games so that they are aimed at
and closed off to certain ages. In Europe, PEGI is responsible for rating each
game based on what it contains such as violence, gambling, discrimination etc.
The Pan-European Game Information has been the legally enforceable system
in the United Kingdom since 2012. Since this law was passed, it has been
illegal to sell a person under the age of the game rating the said game. When
it comes to producing a game you can see this to decide where your game will be
rated and what it should include, you may want to keep the game at the lowest
rating of 3 so that it can be purchased by a wider audience than if it is
a very drug-fuelled discriminatory game. Games like GTA V have an 18 age rating
because they have drugs, violence, bad language and scenes of a sexual nature
within them. The films industry in the UK has their own rating system. The
BBFC ( British Board of Film Classification) are in charge of setting the
rating system for each film that is shown or sold in the UK. Their rating
starts at a 'U' which symbolises that the film is suitable for all ages. Films
like 'Shrek' have been given as a U as it entails no violence, swearing or
sexual scenes, therefore suitable for anybody. On the other hand, a film such
as 'fight club' has been certified as an 18 rated film or an adult only film.
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