Forming Production Companies

Throughout the semester you will be working in small groups as a Production Company. Your Production Company will have 4 to 5 students. Each Production Company will contain an equal number of upper and lower students. Each member of the Production Company will rotate through the following jobs, changing jobs for each project:

Pre-Production Production Post Production
Director/Editor Organize Group Direct Production Edit Video
Director of Photography (DP)/Animator Storyboard Camera Operator Animate
Assistant Camera Operator (AC) Shot List Lighting Update Folder
Audio Engineer/Foley Write Script Sound Score

Director/Editor

  1. The Director maintains and is responsible for the project notebook. The Producer is responsible for the distribution and directs the completion of all pre-production paperwork. The Director assigns different elements of pre-production to the members of the production company and assists different members in the completion.The Director DOES NOT complete all pre-production alone! The Director manages the workload. They make sure that everyone is on task and focused on the project.
  2. The Director coordinates all aspects of the production including: assisting the Director of Photography in positioning camera, movement, and sequence of shots; directing and coordinating the sequence and use of project materials through the operation of production; directing and coordinating talent; scouting and making decisions concerning what sets and locations will be used.

Director of Photography/Animator

  1. The Director of Photography is responsible for the look of the project. They operate the digital video camera equipment.
  2. They position and focus the camera to determine appropriate shots of persons and objects.
  3. The Animator is responsible for the animation in the project.
  4. The Animator designs and creates any and all animations to be used in both the video and on the Web site.

Assistant Camera Operator

  1. The Assistant Camera Operator is responsible for assisting the DP, setting up any lighting, etc. during the production process.

Audio Engineer/Foley Artist

  1. The Audio Engineer is responsible for recording clean audio for the the film.
  2. The Foley Artist is responsible for scoring the film.

Talent

  1. Other helpers may be members of the existing class, or outside of class. Students in front of the camera need not be experienced in acting. Since the focus of the class is technical, the quality of acting is rarely addressed.

Career Opportunities

Job Title Career
Director Producer and Director
Editor Editor
Talent Actor and Writer
Camera Camera Operator and Director of Photography
Composer Composer and Musical Artist
Animator Cartoonist, Illustrator, Graphics/Special Effects

Production Company Objectives

Your Production Company must accomplish the following objectives:

  1. Complete all assignments on time.
  2. Develop a production schedule for each project.
  3. Make sure that each member of your team knows what is expected of him/her at each step of the production process.
  4. Create a “call sheet” including all the Production Company members’ telephone numbers.
  5. Set-up a schedule breaking the project down into parts and deciding when each part will be completed. Confirm each person’s transportation and schedule.
  6. IMPORTANT: All Production Company members must have attended class sessions on the equipment. Producers will not be allowed to checkout equipment without having also attended all tech seminars. Production Company members should do additional hands-on training and research, as needed.
  7. Create an original Web site for your Production Company and post all of your work there.