NORTHERN VISIONS
4 Lower Donegall Street Place, Belfast BT1 2FN

How to find us: Just past St. Anne's Cathedral (Donegall Street) towards Waring Street direction; Opposite North St., Arcade; Underneath Unemployed Resource Centre archway; Drive through arch, collection point in courtyard
Phone (02890) 245495 Fax: (02890) 326608
Email:  info@northernvisions.org  Website: www.northernvisions.org

1. Are you sure? It's a lot of work, it can be expensive! Are you also sure video is the right medium for you project?
2. If you're still determined to go ahead you need to be sure to have completed the following tasks before you begin to shoot the film :-

• Write a detailed outline, treatment or script for your film. The treatment should be a succinct tense summary of your proposed video. Visualise what you want to say in the video from the moment it begins to its conclusion. Remember video is a visual medium, think it more like a short story, you're not writing a thesis! The more you work out on paper the less time will be wasted overall. This is also the basis through which you communicate you ideas with the rest of the people who will be involved in the film.
  
• Work out a budget. This requires experience to do accurately: You will need a camera and sound person, how many days? What equipment will you need? What format do you use? How long do you need a producer to organise the shoot? Where will you film? Do you need travel costs? Do you need the video logged and transcribed? How many days will you need to edit?
  
• Write a proposal for potential funders to look at, enclose your treatment and budget and information on who the video is aimed at and your strategy on how you are going to distribute the video.
  
• According to how successful your fundraising has been, adjust your budget and your ideas about the film
  
• Work out a production schedule
  
• Decide who is doing what
  

• Pre-production. Just before you start shooting you need to tie everything and everyone down. Make sure your actors/interviewees are available and not going on holiday, double check that you have permission to use the locations you want, be sure that the people you intend to interview know what the film is about and are willing to let you interview them. Check that you have the equipment booked and that it works. You may need to arrange training for the crew.
  

• Script/treatment prepared