My Recce Checklist

Recce Checklist

Name of location: South Essex College

Things to take:	Complete	Notes
Camera	Yes	Camera Phone
Mobile phone	Yes
Notebook, pen, PDA	Yes
Programme risk assessment form
Maps/directions
Student ID card	Yes
Brief
Checklist	Yes
Talking to people:	Complete	Notes
Confirm ownership
Exchange details
Explain intentions
Discuss fees/contract
Editorial policy
Are passes required?	Yes      No
Availability and timings
Local events
Dress code	Yes     No
Copyright issues	Yes     No
Children’s details	Yes     No
Transport/access:	Complete	Notes
Landmarks for directions	Yes
Neighbour disturbance	Yes     No
Risk of trespass	Yes     No
Internal access
Vehicle access	Yes
Toilets	Yes
Traffic control needed?	Yes     No
Shelter	Yes
Safety for hazardous environments	Yes
Tidal waters	Yes     No
Boats/safety	Yes     No
Camera/lighting:	Complete	Notes
Position of the sun
Window direction
Power supply
Size of location
Strobing	Yes     No
TV/computer screens	Yes     No
Is floor level?	Yes     No
Secure place for kit	Yes    No
Cables
Smoke alarms/sprinklers	Yes     No
Sound:	Complete	Notes
Listen
Traffic/roadworks	Yes    No
Aircraft	Yes     No
Electrical hazards	Yes     No
Schools	Yes     No
Weather	Yes      No
Background music/PA system	Yes     No
Air conditional/fridges	Yes     No
Wooden floors	Yes     No
Things for director:	Complete	Notes
Take photos	Yes
GVs/top shots
Cutaways
Backgrounds	Yes
Events	No
Additional contributors	Yes      No
Food/accommodation:	Complete	Notes
Eating	Yes
Hotels	Yes

Check to make sure you've covered all you need and write more notes if necessary

Risk Assessment Explained

Risk Assessment

What is a Risk Assessment?:
When you are filming you have to make sure that you don't have any danger's during the filming and even when you  backstage getting ready and the way to stop that from happening is to get a risk assessment, what that does is stop any sort or danger by listing anything that could happen during the time you are filming or backstage and seeing how you can stop that from actually happening.

Why it is important:
A risk assessment is important because, for example, if your actor or crew member (most likely a cameraman) trips over a wire that is connected to a boom mic and hurts themselves then that person will not being able to carry on which means you wont have that actor or that crew member for the day or even the entire filming stage.

How to tell if its risking:
When You find a risk and write it down firstly, you put if Negligible (probably Acceptable), Low Risk (Action May Be required), Moderate (Programme for action), Severe (High Priority), Very Severe (Take immediate action). After that you then put how likely it is by either putting Very Unlikely, Unlikely, Possible, Likely, Very Likely. Lastly you then check the Risk Factor Grid to check what priority number it is (1 to 5).

What is the Risk Factor Grid:
This is an Example of what the grid looks like:

	Very Unlikely	Unlikely	Possible	Likely	Very Likely
Very severe	3	4	4	5	5
Severe	2	3	3	3	5
Moderate	2	2	3	3	3
Low Risk	1	2	2	3	3
Negligible	1	1	2	2	3

The Risk Factor Grid is a grid that calculates how risky something is when filming, this will then determine if it is something you have to look out for or something that will not be that much of a bother.

If the number of the risk 1 to 2 then you don't really have to worry that, if it is 3 to 5 then you have to take priority that it doesn't happen.

3 Act Structure

What is the 3 Act Structure:
The 3 Act Structure is where you take a film/Tv and you tell the story in 3 stages, it is often known as a the setup, the confrontation and the resolution.

Act 1 - This is on the first part of the film and is where you establish the characters personality, background and what type of conflict the characters/character may have during the film and it shows what the rest of the film will be about.

Act 2 - This stage is about where the characters meet there mentors or Love interest, the character/characters will encounter obstacles in form of people, object or settings. This is the longest stage out of the 3.

Act 3 - This is the part where the story then wraps up, where anytime of battle is then either settled badly or good and then will either end bad or good (depending on the films concept).

Why would you use the 3 act structure:
You would use the 3 act structure so that you can get a clear understanding of what's going to happen in the story and how the film is going to be settled. A good example would be if you was doing a fight film, you would make sure that the bad and the good guy would be introduced separately or in a previous battle. Then they would meet during the 2nd stage and then keep trying to kill each  other. Finally, in stage 3 they would have the fight they have been wanting and then one of them wins. So using that i have now create a story within a little paragraph and I would now understand how this film is going to start, enter and finish.

Actor Contract

ACTORS CONTRACT

Name of actor Name of production company

C/o Agent (if there is one) Company address

Actor or Agent’s Address

Date 10/10/13

Dear The Actor

This letter confirms agreement that you will take the part of   The Man in the film THE EX ( the “Film”) This is the working title and the final name of the film may change. As you know, this is a low budget production and we are keen to ensure that everyone understands the basis upon which the Film is being made. If there is anything about this letter that you do not understand or you wish us to clarify, please do not hesitate to contact us.

1)You agree to be available to work during the filming period (“the Shoot”)

from 13/11/13 to  16/11/13    (or you can name the exact dates).   

2) You agree that the filming will take place in the following locations

South church road, Southend on Sea, Essex.

3) You agree to give over any rights you may have in the finished film to LGProductions.  This will allow us to distribute the film in any and every way we can.

4)  We will pay a fee of £0 a day for your performance in this Film.  The fee is payable within 28 days after the performance was given.

5) We will aim to ensure that working days are not longer than 10 hours.

6) We will do our best to ensure your health, safety and welfare during the Shoot.

7) We will have public liability insurance to cover you during the Shoot.

8) We will provide you with food and refreshments throughout the Shoot.  We will liase with you over your travel arrangements to and from the Shoot and either provide transport or pay travel expenses which we need to agree in advance.

9) We will be provide you with a VHS of the finished Film within 3 months of the completion of all post production.

signed by the actor signed on behalf of the company

date date

Shooting People Good Enough Contracts

These contracts are designed to be  ‘good enough’ for low budget filmmaking.  If you have a commission from a TV station or are making a fully funded feature film, you should seek to use the PACT contracts (Producers Association for Cinema and Television – www.pact.co.uk) which are based on full Equity fees and contain a great deal more details about exclusivity, overtime and repeat fees and copyright clearances.

These contracts are designed to be as clear as possible – no fancy legal language just plain English.  They have been drawn up in consultation with a professional media lawyer, Mark Lloyd.

The contract should be printed out on company letterhead.

2 copies signed by the producer should be sent out – one for the actor to keep and one for them to sign and return.

WHAT ARE THESE CONTRACTS FOR?

A contract is there to protect - to protect the producer and to protect the actor.

A contract makes sure there is as much clarity as possible between both partners so both know what to expect from the other.

You should always use a contract with your actors no matter how informal the shoot.  It will save you from the consequences of any misunderstandings or disagreements further down the line.

The Shooting People Actors Contract contains things that the actor promises to do – such as turn up.  These are covered in the first 3 clauses which start ‘you agree’

And things the producer promises to do – such as provide insurance.  These are covered in the last 6 clauses which start ‘we will’.

AT THE VERY LEAST

Shooting People members expect that at bare minimum, a producer will pay for travel and food expenses, provide a copy of the finished film and provide Public Liability Insurance to cover the crew and cast for any accidents during the production.

We strongly urge you to retain these elements to the contract, even if you amend or remove other clauses.

RIGHTS AND PAYMENT

Creative people such as directors, writers, composers and actors automatically own the rights to their own creative contribution to a film.  In order to sell or show a film the producer needs to control all the rights to the film.

On a fully funded production, the producer pays the actor money in exchange for which the actor assigns all (or some) of the rights in their work to the producer.

On low budget films the producer is often paying the actor a minimum fee or even no fee at all.  Yet they must still obtain the rights they need to distribute the film even if they simply wish to show it online for free.

Ideally actors will agree to assign all rights in a short film or low budget feature when they sign the contract.  Largely speaking these films do not make much, if any, return on their original budgets and those involved are doing so in order to progress their careers so asking for all rights to be assigned is a reasonable request.   However you may be forced to be specific about the distribution rights you want to clear with the contract – they are primarily cinema, TV, film festivals, internet, video and DVD.   

The draft contract is filled in with the Equity Film School rate - £36 a day - this does not legitimise your shoot in the eyes of Equity, these rates are intended only for film school productions, separate rates apply to low budget productions.  See the ‘Paying Actors’ FAQ for more detail on actors rates.  If your film is very low budget and your actors have agreed to waive their fee, simply remove this clause.

DEFERED PAYMENT CONTRACTS

Both producers and actors are aware that every low budget feature is a potential Blair Witch even though the odds are very low indeed.   It may be that you have an actor who you consider to be essential to the production whose agent is not prepared to sign away all rights for no fee or for only the Equity film school fee. In this case you may want to consider an additional deferred payment contract which promises to pay the actor more money if and when the film is a commercial success.  [see Deferred Payment Contract]