a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular
end.
This is a production process for a tea- maker.
1. I gather enough money together to buy tea with.
2. I figure which shops sell the tea I want before I go there, so as to not waste time.
3. I make sure I'm dressed appropriately for going to the shops.
4. I figure how to get to the shops and whether I need transport or whether I can walk there.
5. I check to see if it's safe to go to the 'Tea' shop and take safety precautions if necessary. It didn't seem dangerous, so there no need to list and address safety issues.
6. I travel to the shops by foot.
7. I walk around the shop and locate the tea.
8. I take the tea from the shelf and give to the bloke/woman behind the counter and exchange cash for the tea.
9. I walk back home with the tea.
10. Once indoors I assemble all the necessary tea making equipment and check that it is all there and safe.
11. I assemble all of the tea-making gear and check that I have an electricity supply.
12. Check to see that the cables are safe and that there's no water near any of the points.
13. The tea-making gear consists of the following items...
- Electricity supply
- Clean water supply
- Kettle lead
- Kettle
- A cup and saucer (Clean)
- A tea spoon
- Tea strainer
- Optional sugar
- Optional milk in 2 varieties (Vegan and semi-skimmed)
- A packet of tea
- A tea strainer
- Tea - pot
- Tea Cosy
- Pot stand
- A sturdy surface to work on
14. I pour water from the tap into the Kettle making sure I cover the elements.
15. I plug the kettle into the mains and turn the mains switch on.
16. I wait for approx 3 minutes for the water in the kettle to boil.
17. I pour some excess hot water from the kettle into the pot to 'Warm the pot'.
18. Using a tea spoon I measure 1 spoon 'For the pot' and additional spoons for each person that requires tea.
19. As the kettle comes to the boil I pour the water from the T-Pot (Warning water) away.
20. Place the teaspoons of tea in the Tea pot.
21. Pour the boiling water into the pot sufficient enough for the people who will be par-taking of the tea.
22.Place the lid of the tea- pot on the pot and cover the pot with the tea cosy.
23. The tea is now left to brew for the time that suits your taste... 5 - 20 minutes
24. While the tea is brewing, the cups and saucers are assembled.
25. The appropriate milk is placed in the bottom of the cup.
26. Sugar is added using the tea spoon (best without).
27 Once the tea is deemed as being 'Ready', the tea is poured into the cups and stirred using the tea spoon.
28. The tea is then distributed among those par-taking of the tea.
In the context of your work, you'll need to explain the production process involved in someone else's work (Not this example below) and the detail your production process for your final shoot, from conception to finish, what and who was involved and how, what did you have to do to ensure your shoot came together successfully.
Production processes differ from job to job. The subjects that you've been
given are primarily either
'Editorial work' or 'Advertising'.
Here's an example of the production process with regards editorial work for
Fashion magazine that I had explained to me some years ago.
This story pertains to a Fashion Photography graduate, who having completed
their course was looking to do a shoot and get the work published in a well
known trendy London based magazine that is still available in WH Smiths.
The students college/University had strong links with a London based
contemporary fashion publication with ex graduates working in high positions
within the company. The student had forged strong links with the magazine
whilst at University and net-worked during their time in education with Make-up artists,
hair-stylists, stylists, models and set builders.
Working on Spec'
One of the ways that you can get published within the editorial field is to
'Work on spec'. This is where you approach a magazine with an idea and see if
they are interested in running your 'Story/pictures' in a future edition. Again
it helps massively if you're a good communicator and are good at net-working,
this graduate was.
In the fashion industry a lot of people collaborate with each other in order
to achieve a particular end. If you read magazines you'll see that at the end
of the magazine or on the pages where the images are published, several
people are credited with the production of the work... Photographers,
stylists, make up etc.
So the process starts with - coming up with the idea and the concept -
potentially as a result of the persons on-going practice of
researching/thinking.
Then, they have to come up with a plan as to what they're going to do, how
they're going to do it, where they'll shoot it, what problems might arise, who
else will be involved and when they propose to do it. In this instance as it
was a fashion magazine shoot - you have to work several months in front of the
next season, so you have to have knowledge of what's going to be happening
several months ahead of the publication of the article and images.
An early part of the production process might include making decisions about
the equipment you'll use and why? The media you're going to shoot it on and
why and whether this suits the publication. Many publications will expect the
work to be produced on digital media rather than silver based media because
their own production process only allows for the handling and production of
digital files. In the fashion industry their is still scope in some instances
to shoot using film. If film is one of the ways you work and you see it as
being cost-effective and bringing something to the product you produce, it
might mean that you produce the work up to the print stage and then get the
work scanned so that the publication can use the digital files from the scans.
Your research needs to extend to how flexible the magazine or client is when
it comes to production times and handling hard-copy material if they do at
all.
As a graduate straight out of Uni, this person had several friends and
contacts that they knew would get involved offering their services for free.
The goal, is not necessarily to be paid, because often in these situations
payment is either negligible or non existent, but to get published in a up and
coming magazine. This then goes on your CV and in your portfolio and this
applies to everyone involved in the collaboration.
The Photographer whose Idea this was, speaks to all of their contacts, to see
who wants to be get involved and sorts through who's in and who's out ending
up with the 'Creative' team. Then lead by the Photographer the idea is
proposed and firmed up with different roles and jobs being allocated to
different people in the 'Creative team'.
Model - The models who were approached came with their portfolios for
the
'Go see'
with the stylist, hair stylist, make-up artists and photographer to decide
which of the models would be the one for the job. A quick test shoot was done
with each model.
Sorting the location
At this point a friend of mine who was a lecturer at the big college where the
student studied was approached, requesting that they could use her house as
the location. My friend said yes, but her husband would be there and could not
be disturbed as he was working. She also said that she wanted nothing to do
with it either and that she would make sure that her own teenage children
would all vacate the house early in the morning to make space so that they
could use her living room and an adjacent room. She said she would be there to
let them in and then she'd disappear and also get on with work that she needed
to do. They were given 6 hours to get in and shoot and get out.
The location - At this point the location should be decided and
a test shoot already done at the location to show the stylist so that
decisions can be made about the way the shoot is styled.
The Stylist - works with the photographer to decide 'The look',
this involves decisions about the period, the mood, the feel, the style and
the clothes that will be worn and the narrative and the way that these aspects
will knit together in conjunction with the location chosen. The stylist has
access to places where the clothes can be obtained in return for a credit in
the magazine or images to use for their own promotion or some other mutual
agreement that suits both parties.
Make up and hair - Now the style/look/feel and model has been decided -
sample images, the test shoot images of the model, 'Tear sheets' and mood
boards might be produced to show the make-up and hair-stylists. They then get
a sense of what's involved and then have their input about how this can be be
best done, or their skills might already be known and they're simply told what
needs to be done.
Prior to the shoot date - The props and clothing were dropped off at
the Photographer house/flat by the stylist. Everyone had cleared their diaries
and agreed the shoot time and date on a Saturday morning at my friends house.
A van was hired along with a driver and all of the props, clothes and
equipment was to be loaded into the van to arrive at my friends house. My
friend was told the Photographer, model, stylist, hair stylist would all be at
the house at 09.00 hrs with the intention that they'd start shooting at 11.00
hrs.
On the day - No-one turned up at 09.00 hrs and my friend left the house
to get on with day to day stuff she had to do. In the meantime a Van turned up
at 10.00 hrs with a bloke who only knew he had to deliver the stuff to the
address and people would unload it. My friend wasn't there and her husband had
to leave his work to unload the van himself. He wasn't happy.
Just as he settled down to work again the rest of the 'Creative team'
including the Photographer turned up 2 hours late at 11.00 hrs. My friends
husband let them into the house and went back to his work basically giving
them the run of the house. Then then took over several rooms spreading
clothing rails and props everywhere by the time my friend turned up. She says
it was carnage, they didn't have a clue what they were doing. The Photographer
had never shot slide film before or had even used the camera that she had
chosen. Everything took far more time than they expected and by 9pm that night
they had shot the slide film and begged my friend to let them leave everything
in place till the next day until they'd had the film processed at the lab
overnight.
The next day (Sunday) - The film was ruined - massively over-exposed
and the Photographer was on the phone pleading to be allowed to re-shoot with
a different model with the Photographer doing the make-up and hair-styling
themselves as everyone else had other commitments on Sunday. The photographer
turned up with a new model and my friend who is a photographer helped the so
called photographer realising that they knew very little about shooting film
and exposing it. They shot B&W film this time which was problematic as it
needed to be processed and the magazine was expecting to see the slide film
images mid - week. The Photographer had to rush off and get the film processed
trying to meet the deadline to see the picture editor at the magazine.
All the gear was left at my friends house and didn't get collected till Monday
and again my friend and her husband had to load the van with the photographer
nowhere to be found. The 6 hour shoot had extended over nearly 3 days.
The pictures - The B&W images were processed and contact sheet
printed and taken to the picture editor who also looked at the ones that were
massively over-exposed. One of the over-exposed shots though unintentionally
shot like that, was looked at and deemed to have something about it and
because they were from the same college and because the photographer was one
of those types that used and promoted those kind of connections and the was
bubbly/positive type in those kinds of situations (My friends analysis). The
single image was used on the front page of the magazine and she was paid a
front cover fee. Because they used the slide film which was the shoot that had
gone completely wrong all of the 'Creative team' were credited in the
magazine, so everyone who was involved had the front cover of a national and
trendy magazine to go in their portfolio and the Photographer came out
smelling of roses.
- The Photographer hadn't studied photography at degree level.
- Networking, blagging, getting lucky and knowing people was the formula that worked in this situation - not what you know and the photographic skill.
You should identify and discuss aspects of your production process
throughout the development of the project each time you shoot in the
analysis section of your post shoot Gibbs reflections. A detailed account of
your production process for your final shoot should be produced as a key
part of your final evaluation. It's essential that you analyse your process
and come up with valid and comprehensive suggestions with regards how your
production process could be improved.
You also need to explain how the work you've produced will be used to
support your goals going forwards as an aspiring photographer; e.g. what
value has this assignment and the resulting images and learning added to
your skills base and portfolio?
Have a look at the credits on the end of this shoot with Billie Eilish to get some sense of the people involved in a studio shoot. The same applies with location shoots.
