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The production departments
The crew on a shoot, department by department.
- Production officeThe production office is the film's switchboard: every hire, rental, booking, contract and cost runs through it.11 roles, 2 of them a way in
- Assistant directorsThe ADs are the department whose job is not to make the picture look or sound a certain way, but to make sure it gets made at all.10 roles, 2 of them a way in
- CameraThe camera department captures the picture: everything the audience will ever see passes through a lens this team chose, built, focused, moved and looked after.9 roles, 2 of them a way in
- SoundEvery word an audience hears an actor say was recorded on set by a team of two or three people they never see.6 roles, 2 of them a way in
- Lighting and gripThe director of photography has three crews: camera captures the picture, lighting makes and shapes it, and grip provides everything the camera sits on or moves on.13 roles, 2 of them a way in
- Art departmentEvery room a character walks into, every street they cross, every mug on every desk: the art department put it there.14 roles, 2 of them a way in
- CostumeCostume dresses the story, not the fashion: every jacket, hem length, colour and pair of shoes is a decision about a character.11 roles, 1 of them a way in
- Hair and make-upEvery person who appears on camera passes through make-up: every lead, every crowd artist in the back of a pub scene, every stunt double.10 roles, 1 of them a way in
- LocationsLocations finds the real places a script needs, gets permission to film in them, gets the whole circus in and out, and hands them back exactly as they were found.7 roles, 1 of them a way in
- Script supervisionThe script supervisor keeps the official record of every take and the continuity of everything in front of the camera.4 roles, 1 of them a way in
- CastingCasting takes a script and turns it into a signed cast: breakdowns, submissions, sessions, avail checks and deal memos.5 roles, 2 of them a way in
- Stunts and special effectsTwo separate trades that are booked in for the days that need them: stunts for the action, special effects for anything that has to break, burn, smoke, rain or explode in front of the lens.5 roles, 1 of them a way in
- Transport and unitUnit base is the film's village: trailers, mobile offices, the costume and make-up trucks, the dining bus and the toilet truck, all of it parked, powered and watered before the crew arrive.6 roles, 2 of them a way in
- EditorialA cutting room is a small, dark, quiet room with two or three desks and a door that stays shut, where the film is made for the third time.7 roles, 2 of them a way in
- Sound post and musicEverything the audience hears that was not fixed on the day is built here, after picture lock, in sound houses and dubbing theatres over weeks or months.8 roles, 1 of them a way in
- VFXVisual effects are every picture in a finished film that could not be captured by the camera on the day, and most of it is invisible: a sky replaced, a crowd multiplied, a modern lamppost painted out.14 roles, 1 of them a way in
The kinds of film company
The business of film: the companies that develop, finance, sell, distribute and show films, and the ones that serve productions.
- Production companiesA production company is a small, busy office that turns reading into films.11 roles, 3 of them a way in
- Talent agenciesA talent agency represents people: actors, writers, directors, cinematographers, editors, presenters and voice artists.8 roles, 2 of them a way in
- Sales agentsA sales agent is the bridge between the people who make a film and the people who release it, representing the film the way a literary agent represents a novelist.9 roles, 1 of them a way in
- DistributorsA distributor buys the right to release a film in a territory, then does everything needed to get it in front of the biggest possible paying audience.9 roles, 1 of them a way in
- Film financeA film finance company assembles the money that pays for a film: the stack of sources, each with its own conditions and its own place in the repayment order, that is called the finance plan.9 roles, 1 of them a way in
- Funders, broadcasters and streamersThese are the organisations that back other people's films and programmes rather than making them.7 roles, 1 of them a way in
- Post-production facilitiesA post-production facility, which everyone calls a post house, is the building where a finished shoot becomes a finished film or programme.12 roles, 1 of them a way in
- VFX and animation studiosA VFX house and an animation studio are the same kind of building: a factory with a fixed order of operations, from the plate or the storyboard to the finished frame.13 roles, 2 of them a way in
- Commercials and music videoA commercials production company is a small permanent office with a roster of freelance directors and a churn of jobs running through it.6 roles, 1 of them a way in
- Creative agenciesOn a commercial the production company is selling and the agency is buying.6 roles, 1 of them a way in
- Festivals and marketsA festival is a temporary cinema with a deadline: a small office of four to twenty people for most of the year, then a venue, or six venues, running screenings back to back for ten days.9 roles, 1 of them a way in
- Cinemas and exhibitorsExhibition is the trade word for cinemas, the place where the audience finally meets the film.7 roles, 1 of them a way in
- Publicity and marketingNobody sees a film by accident.8 roles, 1 of them a way in
- Equipment hireNearly every camera, lamp, cable, dolly and radio mic on a British production is hired.6 roles, 1 of them a way in
