Production Roles - Miss Miller

Allocating production roles is important this is because if people are allocated specific individual roles then they can get there roles done more quickly and efficiently. It also means that the roles are shared evenly throughout the group members. This is due to the reason that if one person is allocated 5 roles where as the other member of the group are only allocated 1, the person with more roles will not be able to completed their roles properly or work to the best of there ability. Furthermore, it will also leads to no one being left with nothing to do while on set filming. Within creating a film the main production roles necessary are:

• Producers
• Director
• Actors
• Director of photography (cameraman)
• Music producer
• Screenplay writer
• Mise-en-scene co-ordinator
• Editors

We decided on who will be given what roles based on what there strengths are. For example, if someone is good at editing then they would be allocated to editing the footage filmed. This is because if someone is good at the role they are given they will be able to complete the task more easily and will enjoy it, this would hopefully result in our thriller sequence to look better and more professional. 

Our producer is Samara and Leo is the co-producer. A producer is in charge of the financial and managerial aspects of making the film. Therefore when allocating the producers roles we looked at who is organised and can be responsible for time keeping so all of the sequence gets filmed within our time given to film. As well as this Samara and Leo have good leadership skills and so they can organise everyone to make sure that filming runs smoothly and that no one messes around while filming. Also, as Samara is the producer she was responsible for the locations of each scene, which she has organised when we was in the planning stages of our thriller sequenced. Furthermore, i was not given the role of producer or co-producer as i am already the director and so i would not be much use as a producer as i am already busing during the time when we film with being the director and being in charge of the mise-en-scene for each shot.

The director is me, the directors roles and responsibilities is to be in charge of the overall making of the film. We decided as a group to give this role to me as I know how each scene should be set out and what lighting needs to be used as well as props and who of the two actors needs to present. Also, i know what is going to happen in each scene as i know the narrative extremely well. Therefore, by making me the director we can ensure that each scene will be produced and filmed correctly. Moreover, as i am also the miss-en-scene co-ordinator i will already be planning and deciding on the lighting and how each shot should look and what the actors need to be doing or how they should be dressed. As a result because these two roles are similar to each other i wouldn't be doing much extra work on top of my responsibilities of being the mise-en-scene co-ordinator.

The actors are Leo as the antagonist and Rhiannon as the female victim. Although, Rhiannon is not in our media group we had asked if she would be in our sequence as the female victim because she fit the description well and has had acting experience in the past. Without actors in our opening thriller sequence we would not have anything to film, which is why their roles are important in the making of our sequence. We gave Leo the antagonists character as he was the only male in our group as we needed a male to play this role. Also, he was not the director of photography like Samara or given the role of mise-en-sence co-ordinator like me and so whenever we filmed he was free and available to film as he was not given a role that took place while filming. Moreover, we chose Rhiannon for the female victims role as she fitted the description of what our female victim needs to look like most, compared to me and Samara. This is due to the fact that me and Samara have dark brown hair and our victim needed to have either blonde or very light brown hair, which Rhiannon has. Additionally, because she is petite, young and pretty it would attract the male audience as well as fitting the rest of our females victims description. 

Director of photography (cameraman) role is to control the camera and film everything. Samara has been allocated this role as she is well equipped in knowing how the camera and tripod work and how to set them up. As well as this Samara is not and actor as or the miss-en-scene- co-ordinator and so out of our group she is the only one who has not got a role allocated for while we are filming. Therefore, that is why she was given this role instead of me or Leo as he is already and actor who is in most shots and i am in charge of the miss-en-scene for each shot and so i wouldn't be able to film as well. Moreover, by being the director of photography you have to have patience and good leadership skills to tell the actors where and how they she be standing or sitting and you will have to re-film each shot a couple times from different angles. This is so that when it comes to editing to can merge the different angles together to create the best effect. Also, Samara will need to check before filming that the camera is set up properly and that the tripod is level and not tilted to stop the shots from looking unprofessional, which she had learnt to do from performing the preliminary task.

Our music producer is Leo, he will be in charge of what sounds will be used within certain shots. We gave him this role as music producer as he knew different websites we can use to download sounds from as well as this when planning our opening sequence he contributed to what sounds will be used and knows what sounds are most conventional to the thriller genre. Additionally, as he is also the editor he knew exactly what sounds will be needed and when in order to create the thriller atmosphere for the audience and to keep them on the edge of there seats. 

The screenplay writers are all members of our group; me, Leo and Samara. This is because we all contributed in coming up with our thriller sequence narrative. Moreover, we also all incorporated parts from our own individual storyboards and so without all of our contributions we would not have the same opening sequence narrative that we have created now. Also, by us all being the screenplay writers it will be easier when filming as we will all know what needs to be filmed and what shots need to be done and so we won't have to keep reminding each other. This should enable filming to run more smoothly instead of giving one person the pressure of remembering everything that will need to be filmed, we are able to split the role between the three of us.

Mise-en-scene co-ordinator's role was given to me. This role is to plan and prepare the lighting, hair and make-up as well as the iconography. This is an important role as it includes the main elements in which help in creating the thriller sequence. This is due to the reason that with the wrong lighting or iconography being used the thriller could become unrealistic and could loose some on the suspense or tension created through other elements. Therefore, we gave this role to me because I am not an actor and so I can see everything what needs to be done when preparing to shoot a scene. As well as this I know what type of lighting and costumes will be used in each scene and I planned most of it within the planning staged of our opening sequence. Moreover, as i have experience from putting make up on i can easily use fake blood and create bruises on the victims face to make the victim look more vulnerable to the audience. We decided as a group that Leo and Samara shouldn't be the miss-en-scene co-ordinators as Leo is and actor and so wouldn't be able to act and do make-up and consume's on himself and the other actor. Also, as Samara is the director of photography she needs to be setting up shots and planning different angles instead of worrying about how the actors should look and the types of lighting that need to be created in each shot.

The editors role is to edit the footage filmed and to finish the film also, they have to create an effect for the audience through the use of editing styles used. Leo Ly is the main editor this is because he is most knowledgeable with using Final Cut Pro compared to me and Samara. Additionally, he also knows what type of transitions should be used and when in order to create the best effect of suspense and make the sequence run smoothly and be more conventional to the thriller genre. Furthermore, me and Samara however, will also help with editing and will suggest ad help Leo with making decisions of what should be cut or inserted such as a transition or music. Overall though Leo will make all the finishing touches and ensure that the thriller sequence is the best it can be.

To conclude, each person done well in there allocated role, this is because the roles each person was given they enjoyed and new how to do it beforehand. However, if we was to change the production roles and the responsibilities each person in our group had I would change Samara to be the music producer. This is because she was able to find and insert the sounds more easily into Final Cut Pro compared to Leo. This is due to the reason that while Leo had been editing she practised with using the different sound websites and finding the different sounds so when it came to putting them into our sequence she knew exactly what to do, whereas Leo didn't. Furthermore, there is not any other roles I would change because everyone worked well within there roles given and got there given jobs done within there allocated time.