Film-making Process breakdown for Indie film makers.

1. Film making
“A film is a battleground“, Sam Fuller

2. 9Stages of Film making
IDEA
DEVELOPMENT
PACKAGING
FINANCE
PRE-PRODUCTION
SHOOTING
POST PRODUCTION
DISTRIBUTION
SCREENING

3. Stage 1- Idea
The process of film
making starts with an
inspiration or Idea that
sprung from our
rendezvous with everyday
life. There is no dearth of
ideas; however the
important thing is to
contemplate whether it is
good enough to create a
lasting impression with a
viable theme that can be
developed into a strong
script.

4. Stage 2- Development
Idea takes the form of
a script with all the
essentials like a good
screenplay, characters
and moods, defining
key moments in the
film. Shooting film costs
money, and therefore
this is also the time
for budgeting analysis
and getting ready with
the pitch for obtaining
funds for further script
development.

5. Stage 3- Packaging
Once the final scripting
done, producer and
director work towards
ensuring the commercial
success of the idea. The
most common practice to
ensure success is
usually casting well
known faces in the film.
With so much money
and reputation on stake,
it is indeed important to
package the project with
best talent around.

6. Stage 4- Finance
This is perhaps the
most tedious part of
pre-production. Getting
funded can be trickier
unless you have
exceptional marketing
skills to convince the
investors that your idea
is going to make money
in the end. Securing
finance means half the
battle won.
.

7. Stage 5- Pre Production
During this stage every
step of filming is
planned, right from
storyboarding, shooting
permits to budget
allocation, Insurance and
technical aspects. The
more time you spend in
pre production, lesser
are the chances to face
challenges in successful
completion of your
project.

8. Stage 6- Shooting
Once shooting is started,
it is imperative to keep
a regular check on
schedule and budget
since it is prone to go
overboard with many
unforeseen events that
are likely to occur at
the time of shooting.
Production manager
ensures that the budget
and shooting schedule is
managed well with lesser
glitches on the go.

9. Stage 7- Post production
An editor’s job is as
critical as direction. A
smart edit can make an
ordinary film come alive;
on the other hand a bad
edit might totally screw
an otherwise brilliant
script. Sound design,
foley and music play
equally important role to
give an edge to your
film.

10. Stage 8- Distribution
While movie making is an
art, distribution is pure
business sense. It is during
this phase the marketing
plans are executed with
official posters, teasers, and
press kits released for
public screening. Film
distributors usually throw a
launch party for official first
screening of the film and
afterwards it gets distributed
to cinema for wider
audience.

11. Stage 9- Screening
The film gets sent to
theatres across country
or oversees for
screening and voila!
That’s where you sit
back relaxed, basking in
the glory of having
made it to the finish
line. There is no joy
greater than seeing your
idea taking a shape on
screen that is well
received by the
audience

12. Credits: Argalian Pictures
By: Sumie