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Star wars- the force awakens

The force awakens is a Sci-Fi film that is produced and directed by J.J.
Abrams which first aired in 2015. The force awakens was the first film
that did not involve George Lucas who was the franchise creator. The
film is the first one released since the “return of the Jedi” which was over 30 years ago. The
films are allied to each other as it follows Finn, Rey and Poc’s search for Luke Skywalker and
their bout following to the resistance.

Risk assessment:

Force awakens had many stunts in the film. Therefore, the film had to have many risk
assessments. The reason risk assessment are done is so that they can find the potential risks
and finds solutions in where they can overcome the certain risks. For example they need to
make sure that the wires are not left all over the floor as someone could trip over them. To
avoid this, they could tape the wires to the floor so they are flat and have a warning sign or
they could make sure the wires are put away once they have been finished with and not
needed anymore. The main reason a risk assessment is completed is to make sure all the
staff and extras are safe and not at a high risk of an accident when filming. This is an
important thing to do as it will stop the actor/actresses from suing the company as there
would have been a risk assessment completed. It would also reduce the risk of injury to any
of the staff which would result in the film taking longer if someone got injured as they
would have to have time to recover.

Location:

Pinewood studio was where star wars was mainly filmed. This is located in
Buckinghamshire. This is a good place to film in because they have many green
screens and many different types of equipment which is needed for the film.
This meant it was easier for all the staff as most of the equipment was already
at the location for when they need it. However, this was not the only location
they used for filming. Other places that were used to film were pla ces such as Rub al’ Khali
desert which is located in Abu Dhabi. Filming in the desert would have been nice, easy and
quick as there would be hardly any public interference with the movie. There was also the
island which Luke skywalker. All this travelling meant that it would have taken an effect on
the budget as travelling is not cheap. They also would have had to hire a transportation
company. This is a company that are paid to transport all the equipment to each different
location. When they got to each different location, they would have had to have a few
trailers for the actors/actresses. This is so they could get ready for each different scene.

Pre-production:

Pre-production helped the film in many ways. One way pre-production helped was
storyboards. This is because; the production team were able to see each shot separately
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one at a time and see what the film will look like and to see if the film needs any changes or
minor tweaks. By using storyboards it helps you find the scene that needs changing easier
and quicker as you can look to the storyboard to find it. This is a good element to have as it
reduces the time taken to complete the editing of the film, which then makes it cheaper as
they’ll complete the film in less days. The storyboard is done by an artist who will complete
a rough sketch of each scene and once completed the artist will put it on the wall for the
director to see and to see if the director is happy with them. This will save time as the film
will be right in front of them and they can fast forward to what seen they want/need.

The use of a green screen has been used in the film many times. The use of a green s creen
means that the image has been edited and then programmed onto a computer so they can
change the background and the environment so it looks like the character is there in real
life. For example, a person could get a photo of someone in the swimming pool and then
programme it onto the computer and put the sea behind them. The background will be
shown in the storyboard which would’ve been made before and therefore help create the
scene for the editors. The actors will usually do the acting in front of the green screen so
that later it can be edited later. This would make it easier for the editors. The green screen is
used in the force awakens as certain locations are not reachable or accessible. The green
screen is usually used for things such as space and space battles. This is because it would be
pretty much impossible to film this in space as it would take the entire budget up and some.
The use of the green screen also makes the film look more realistic. This means that it will
be more entertaining for the audience and be more interesting. It will also create a wider
audience as it will have many different locations. The use of a green screen means that the
budget will be largely spent on it and the editing. However, it
will make the film more of a success; therefore more money will
be made from the film.

When designing the props, they would have done it around the
same time as making the storyboard. The props would have
been made on a computer. Such as ADOBE, and this will show
how the prop looks in 3d and colour. This will also have all the details included in it. By doing
this, it gives humanistic features to the characters as masks, weapons and ships are all made
and make the film start to look more realistic. These are all made before editing of the film
so if there is any changes needed, then they can change them without going over there
deadline. This affects the success of the film as it helps have the props designed to the
certain style of the character or location. This means it will link to the genre, which is Sci-Fi.
The designer also has to help produce different characters. Such as space monsters and
different types of people in the movie. Once again these designs are done before so that if
changes are necessary. This means it can be done before the final production and shots are
made.
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Pre- production is a big part of helping with the film’s success. This is because it reduces the
amount of time it takes to film because all planning has been done before.

Scripts and drafts:

The draft is made before the script. This is where there will be a meeting with the producer,
script writer and director and here they will make a rough script and there will be many
drafts. Once this has been done, they will then move on to trying to finalise the script.
Usually in a big film like this, there would be more than one script writer as it is such a big
film. The reason there are so many writers is because the film needs to be a success to all
writers and confirmed that it will be a good film. The script also has to be checked by all
writers and see if there needs any changes.