What is a Pre-production Package?
A Pre-production package or Book is a reference, a blue print, and your best friend.
Basically, the Book is the holder of all printed materials needed to coordinate the project. For example, if someone else is financing your production, like an executive producer, you'll want to keep all your written correspondences in the Book. These could include all memos and letters.
The essentials of the Pre-production Package:
Concept
Treatment
Budget
Rate Cards
Script
Storyboards
Concept
The concept is usually a one page synopsis of the project. This is where the original idea is first put on paper. Before you can collect the other parts of the Pre-production Package, you must first have a concise and well written concept. If the concept is brief and to the point, you can refer back to it during times of uncertainty. The concept is your written compass. Use it when you feel the project is loosing its original focus.
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Treatment
The treatment is a more elaborate version of the concept. The treatment, otherwise known as the proposal, has three main functions. First, by putting it all down on paper, it allows you to better organize and clarify your ideas. You can spot any gaps or weaknesses in the project before you head into production. Secondly, if your being funded from outside sources, you'll need to get aproval before you start shooting. Once everyone agrees on the treatment or program proposal it's difficult for someone to say later that they didn't agree to every aspect of the treatment. Finally, the treatment can also be used to get financial backing for a project. If you need money to complete a project, nothing impresses an invester more than a well written, compelling, and straight forward treatment.
A simple program proposal may be just a couple of pages; or, in the case of a feature-length dramatic production, a treatment can run 60 or more pages. They are written in the present tense, and often read like a short story. Treatments cover the full story sequence. They typically contain some key scenes (script dialogue that is, or will be, in the script). Some sources say that there is typically one treatment page for every two script pages. Using this rule a treatment for a feature-length (120 page) dramatic production would run about 60 pages. A program proposal or treatment should cover the focus of the production, or, in the case of a dramatic production, the basic story line. Dramatic treatments also include the locations and talent required. In non-dramatic program proposals the basic production needs and the approximate times of the segments are included. Anyone reading a program proposal or treatment should be able to get a clear idea of the whole production. If there is disagreement on the program concept, it will be much easier to change elements at this stage rather than after the complete script is written.
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Budget
It's a good idea to try and figure out how much this is all going to cost. That's where the budget comes into play. If you have a fixed amount of money you can use the budget as a tool to find the places where you can cut costs. If you're getting financing from an outside source you can use the budget as a different kind of tool. The executive producer (the one with all the money) will want to see how and why the production costs so much. If you can provide an itemized budget this should ease the executive producer's mind.
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Budgets are usually set up in an above and below the line style. Above the line costs typically go to paying the conceptual positions like writers, producers, and directors. The below the line costs go to things like actors, crew, and post production. If you have never put a budget together you may be suprised how fast things add up. Click here for a basic budget template that you can download and use. It is a good starting point; you can augment it as needed. For more on budgets CLICK HERE.
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Rate Cards
Rate Cards are needed for budgetary reasons. If you plan to rent studio time or use a postproduction house to edit your project, you'll need Rate Cards. Most everyone in the film and video business has a rate card. A rate card is simply a price list of services they can provide. Searching the internet is the fastest way to find rate cards; and, the telephone is always a great alternative.
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Script
It never hurts to have a hardcopy of the script. We all know, as the production progresses, script changes sometimes need to be made. Keep a copy of the original script in the pre-production book along with any changed versions that happen further down the road. For more on scripts CLICK HERE.
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Storyboards
Storyboards: illustrations of the principal visual elements of a production. They save you time and money in the long run. They keep the whole crew on the same page. No Pre-production Package would be complete without them. For more on storyboards CLICK HERE.
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