Making a Movie of it All

                            There are a lot of details involved in even the most modest video production, whether it's a simple training film, video photo album,  a variation on a video slide show or a full scale production complete with created sets and actors.

                            You may be interested in just writing the script and finding a producer for it. If you sell your script, you're acknowledging that you're turning total creative control over to the purchaser. They may produce your script, or they may not, or they may do a total rewrite/editing job on it. It's totally out of your control.

                            Or, if you feel very strongly about your story, you can become the producer and find a director to pull all the elements of your story together. (Finding a director is easy; finding a producer is hard!) With the proliferation of desktop video production companies, finding a technician who can arrange it all is becoming easier and easier. If there is likely to be a limited market for your story (if it's unlikely to be on broadcast television), you are freed from the time constraints of regular tv shows.

                            Before you look for a director, though, it's very important to have all your ducks in a row. As with every producer, the more detail work up front you do, the more control you have over the final costs.

                            The first, all important duck is your script. Is this a story that you would feel comfortable telling in front of a live audience? Words that look great on paper often don't "read" well or smoothly out loud.

Other ducks are:

                            Voice-overs; who is going to do them or arrange to have them done.

                            Music; what type, which performer, who's responsible for locating/arranging for the recording session. Don't forget the little details surrounding royalty rights....

                            Graphics; what do you have ready for scanning or already scanned, what needs to be created and by whom. Do you have enough to fill what needs to be filled in the script? Do you need to have a photographer go out and snap some more stills before the final editing gets underway?

                            Live action; who is going to arrange for a videographer to tape those parts that need movement, any actors needed or special sets?

                            Credits all need to be blocked out and right to hand when you go to the editor.

                            Creating your own video or DVD now is no more difficult than arranging for a book to be printed. In book publishing, you have to know what the printer needs before he can print it. In video production you have to know that the video editor needs before he can pull it all together on the computer timeline. Totally doable.

                            If you'd like to discuss the particular needs of your project, contact jwbrittn@aol.com.  Helping people tell their stories and getting them into reproducible form is what we're all about.

Website and contents copyright 2007 by Pathways to the Past.