Short Film Project Portfolio

1. After a meeting with my crew, I have been assigned to the role of ‘Production Manager and
Administrator’. As part of the pre-production stage of the project, my day-to-day duties have
included writing up risk assessments, filling out equipment booking forms, filling out contributor
release forms and writing up a filming schedule.
A Production Manager is the person who looks after the business, financial and recruitment side of
the film and television industry. They are also heavily responsible for the pre-production side of the
film and television industry and they have to make sure that all planning is thoroughly thought
through and that they all follow through accordingly. The knowledge that a production manager
needs to have include knowledge about the law – they need to understand and follow the laws of
health and safety, to ensure that a production is following the laws of health and safety. The day-to-
day duties a production manager undertakes includes filling out risk assessments for a film shoot,
writing up a filming schedule and running a production office team.
The Production Manager needs to have acquired skills such as excellent leadership skills, as they
need to run a production office team. They also need to have effective written and verbal
communication skills, as they need to have the ability to negotiate and manage deals that they make
with suppliers, and make sure that everyone within the production crew and people in front of the
camera know what is happening. They also need to have the ability to organise and prioritise their
workload. Production managers also need to be flexible and open to any changes, meaning they will
potentially need to make last minute decisions.
Production Managers spend most of their time working in an office environment, but they will
occasionally go to a film shoot to make sure that the production is running to time and to make sure
that the production crew are fully equipped and prepared for filming.
As part of the risk assessment for filming on the Orbital Footpath in York, one of the risks that has
been identified is Access / egress. This is a risk that will need to be managed carefully on the day of
filming. To manage this risk on the day of filming, the production crew will be required to wear high
visibility jackets. The purpose of this is to warn the public that filming is taking place on the footpath.
Another risk identified in the risk assessment is transmission of COVID-19. As COVID still poses a risk
to public health, the risk will be managed by sanitising all the filming equipment and surfaces before
and after use. The purpose of this measure is to help reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 onto
people.
I plan to manage the risks by attending the film shoots and making sure that all potential risks are
put under control before filming begins and when filming is taking place. This will help to make sure
that every health and safety measure is put in place and adhered to. If I am unable to attend a film
shoot for any reason, then I will ask the director and producer to report back to me, to tell me how
filming went and how the risks were managed.
The production schedule will possibly change, depending on circumstances that arise as the project
develops. If the production schedule does change, I plan to make a note of it in the production
schedule, and I will notify people who

2. As part of my role of ‘Production Manager’, I plan to keep a track of a budget as the project
develops. I will keep track of the budget by using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet
will keep a track of income and expenses. The income will be the money provided to the crew by the
university finance, and from our Indiegogo campaign. This will help with the project so that it
doesn’t exceed the budget.
As part of my role as ‘Production Manager’, my role includes taking care of the filming schedule. The
filming schedule could potentially change as the project develops, depending on circumstances that
arise. Circumstances include the weather forecasts or actors or members of the production crew not
being able to attend a film shoot. If any changes occur, I plan to make a note in the filming schedule
that the day or time of filming has changed. I will also notify the crew of any changes that occur.
One thing that I feel I need to improve on is my written and verbal communication skills. As another
skill required to be a successful Production Manager is to have excellent verbal and written
communication skills. Although I feel that this is something that I am improving on, I feel that it is
one of the key skills that I need to continue to improve on, in order to succeed in the future. Another
area that I feel that I need to improve on is leadership. The role of the production manager requires
excellent leadership skills, and the production manager has to take charge of a production team. I
will work on this by attending the film shoots. This is something that will help me to succeed in the
future.