pre-production

Unit 1

Pre-Production.

Pre-production is the planning you do before you start to make your product and is important in the whole of the media industry.

 This includes finance and time. To be able to make a high quality, professional game you need to have a budget. One way you can get a good amount of money to make your game is a distributer. A distributer will give you some money to get things started and ask you to come back and see if the game is progressing well and if it is then they will give you some more money to progress even further. Having a distributer means that you will always have a deadline, if you cannot complete your project by the deadline then they will either extend the deadline or scrap the project all together.

Part of pre-production is personnel. This is the team of people with different roles, skills and experiences in the creative media industry that will help you create your project to a professional standard. A more experienced game maker is more likely to demand higher fees whereas a new inexperienced person would cost less. Some of these people may be artists, designers, writers, directors etc. The size of the team is not restricted as you could use one person for all the roles needed or many. The more personnel you have the better the quality but the higher the cost. A project manager is responsible for ensuring that each personnel is available as and when required.

All the team members need to meet and agree on what steps are needed to ensure the game making runs smoothly. You need to consider meeting places, availability of all concerned and costs of venues. You also need to consider the availability of the facilities you will need to use such as, production equipment and facility houses. Facility houses is where your team will go and use the resources to help them make your game. You may need to outsource which means that you pay someone who isn’t part of your team to come in and do some work for you.

There are many materials you will need to use to complete your game successfully, such as a sound library. A sound library is a collection of sound recordings that you load into a sampler, which is then used to create your piece of music. Sound libraries are used by many people in the media industry such as composers, performers and producers of music.

Before starting pre-production you should already be aware of the codes of practice and regulation. Some things you must consider during pre-production is making sure you don’t copyright because if you are caught you can be sued and getting permission from people who may appear in your work.

Pan European Gaming Information (PEGI) are an age rating system that is supported by the major console manufacturers including Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. The roles they have is to watch every game to ensure it is appropriate for the age rating before it is released. For example films and games with graphic violence and strong language is not appropriate for children.

 Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) advertise across all types of media. The types of responsibilities they have is to make sure that the advertising in all media is legal and appropriate. For example a baby with a cigarette was banned after complaints.

Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a rating system that helps enable parents and others choose games that are most appropriate for their children.

The British Interactive Media Association (BIMA) have offices in England, Scotland, Wales, and with regional representatives spread across the country to do four key things

•      Support and promote the British digital industry

•      Reward great work

•      Share knowledge and great practice

•      Encourage the next generation

BIMA is a membership association for people working in digital media in the UK. They state membership will extend your network, raise your profile, attract and develop talent, grow your business and give you a voice on issues affecting your business.