Development of a Film Happens in Stages

The Idea–Brainstorm your filmmaking idea and how you will tell your story. Your idea should be simple. Simplify it and write it down in 50 words or one tweet.

Script Development-Write a script and make storyboards or shot lists. Once you’ve got your idea, you can think about how to turn it into a film. There are lots of different ways of doing this. A mind-map, where you write down all the ideas that might help, can be a good place to start. There are free downloadable mind-map planning templates page.  https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/examples/mind-map

Packaging- Find a location and visit it before the shoot. Check that you can get permission to film there. Confirm that there won’t be any interruptions or distracting sounds. Take inventory of the space to get all the camera positions you need. Make sure you gather legal agreements for everyone to sign.

Financing-

• Hard cash are investments made to your project by investors.
• Pre-sales agreements are prepared and arrangements are made with distributors prior to the film’s production. These agreements are based on the strength of the project’s marketability and sales potential. 
• Tax incentives require a producer to hire a certain number of local crew employees, rent from vendors, and issue payroll through local services.

Pre-Production-The script is broken down into individual scenes where storyboards identify the locations, cast members, costumes, special effects and props.

The Shoot- The film is created and shot.

Post Production-The film is assembled by the film editor and the film material is edited. 

Sales-Box office tracking refers to theatrical box office earnings. Some revenue are not included such as , television rights, product placement fees and home entertainment sales and rentals. Theaters refers to the number of locations where a movie is playing, but it does not reflect the number of screens. 

Marketing– There are options to release a film with a launch party, press releases, interviews, a red-carpet premiere, press preview screenings, and film festival screenings. Many films are promoted with their own unique website separate from those of the production company.  Promotional tours are subject to premieres and festivals.

Expedition-Export a copy of the film at the highest quality. Finally, the film is released to cinemas, media such as (VHS, VCD, DVD, Blu-ray) or directly downloaded from a digital media provider.