The Production Bible and how to use one for your Film Ep95

In the name of lights, camera, action - and CUT 🎬 In the 95th episode of the Moonshine Moonshot podcast, your host Sue Collins talks about the importance of clear comms and the Production Bible - the ultimate assets for any production.

A Production Bible is… well… “the” bible - it’s the gospel for your production. The production bible you create will be the ultimate documentation resource that houses every piece of info required to get your film underway. It will essentially become an instruction manual of sorts, that will help guide you to your desired filmmaking outcome.

Sue also emphasizes the power of clear and simple communication in production, highlighting common obstacles many individuals can face when attempting to articulate goals and visions effectively to collaborators. Tune in to learn how to simplify your message and enhance your filmmaking journey for impactful results.

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello, hello, welcome back to episode 95 of the Moonshine Moonshot Podcast. Today I am going to be talking to you about production Bibles and how to effectively give instructions to people to get the results that you are after. Welcome to the Moonshine Moonshot Podcast. I'm your host, Sue Collins, and if you've landed here, it means you're wanting to find out more about how to make filmmaking a sustainable career. And you're also curious about how to make meaningful work that fills your cup. You're ready to learn how to make movies that matter, build a sustainable career, and have a positive impact on your audiences. So you are in the right place. Filmmaking has so many parts, and I'm sharing what I've learned over the past 15 years producing impact films that reach their intended audience and support real-world change. So let's get started. So I'm picking up on the simplify message that I shared in the last episode, which was episode 94. Head back if you missed it. But I was talking about how I'd seen at a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition that his quote was simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, and it really stuck with me. And sharing a good story is communication, and effective communication is clear and simple to understand. Simplification is something that I think many of us have no idea how to do. I see it every day. People are unclear about what they are trying to achieve, they might have a goal or an idea, but they haven't thought how they're going to make it happen, or they've thought about how to share their vision with their collaborators, but their communication is muddled, it's unclear or confusing, and people are not sure what is ultimately expected of them. So to help you avoid some of the miscommunication issues that happen when you're making a film, today I'm going to walk you through some of the practical things that you can do to keep you and your team on track and pulling in the same direction. One thing that many productions use to keep everybody on the same page is called a production Bible. So I'm going to talk about the production Bible and what it might contain. And if you haven't heard of a production Bible, then it's really just a folder or a file that has all information that's needed for your production. It's like a master file and it will grow throughout your project. We no longer have a physical binder filled with information, but we have a folder on our team use one on iCloud, and you could also certainly use Dropbox or any other file system that you wanted. But the idea is that all the files that you require everyone to access is stored in the same place in one master folder. And I'm going to talk you through what that means in this episode. Initially, it would contain things like the script or the treatment and synopsis, a list of key creatives, cast, and crew, and it might have details like a brand guide. So if you've already chosen a title and you have key artwork developed, you'd probably be thinking about getting a brand guide. And if not downstream, I highly recommend you put some time aside to create one because they're extremely useful. Having a document usually, and usually it is called a brand guide, and it's it's contains things like your preferred fonts or colors or keywords, your hero art, logos. It's all in one place. And this can then be shared with designers, and that could be the editors, it could be a content or digital marketer, it could be the poster designer, it could be a website designer or graphic designer. And it will inform things like on-screen graphics for things like lower thirds. And also your website, your web developer, if you're building a website, will definitely draw on it for elements including things like your social media platforms and much, much more as your production gets underway. So having that clearly documented means you have it on hand to share with any new team members and production personnel as required, and it ensures that your branding stays consistent and how you want it. And that is something that would live in your production Bible. A good example of this is our Moonshine Agency projects where we use sentence case for titles and italicize titles throughout any copy we create, whether it's for you know pose proposals for pitching or for funding or for the websites. We always avoid using all caps or all capital letters. When you're reading in capitals, it can feel like someone's yelling at you. Now that is a tip that I learned from one of the most infamous admin of all time, David Ogilvy. And I really do agree with him. All caps equals yelling. Now, on a side note, I should mention emails. Emails don't live in your production Bible, but it's about communication. And I have seen and experienced the fallout from misinterpreted emails time and again. You cannot understand someone's state of mind, emotion, or intent from an email, particularly one written by someone who is in a hurry or in a bad mood. They often lack context, explanation, or are poorly written, which leads to interpretation and assumptions that are often leading to being offended. So be very careful when you share sensitive information by email. It needs to be extremely clear what you are saying and why you're saying it. And frankly, often a phone call first is a better way to go about delivering criticism, news, or sensitive information. Share it by phone or in person and then follow up with an email and then recap those details. Then when the email is read, the context is already known. Another tip I have for you is how to communicate a brief. Paint a picture of what done looks like. I learnt this from Brene Brown, and she is spot on. And if you are not familiar with Brene Brown's work, then I highly recommend you look her up. So, what does paint a picture of done mean? It means you need to create a clear vision of what the final output is. Then you have to explain what that looks like to whoever you're assigning the task to. So if you're vague about what you want at the end, then you could end up with a whole range of versions or something that's not like what you wanted. Figuring out what you consider done to look like is also very, very helpful in defining your own thinking. I experienced this exact thing with a new website we've just had built. I spent a lot of time drafting the copy and suggesting pages and what was required for those pages, but I didn't draw up a sit map. So I thought my pages made sense and they were well labeled, and that that would then be simple for the developer to take each page and create the site. But they had a different set of objectives in mind, and they thought there were too many pages, and for good user experience, they combined the pages and mixed up the copy and the images throughout. So I then had to go back and explain why I wanted separate pages and the way I'd asked for them, which once explained, they understood the logic. But they were responding to my initial briefing notes about user experience and optimizing the site for easy flow through. I wasn't specific about why I needed the pages in the way that I had requested. So they thought they had the authority to move things around and meet the brief as they'd interpreted the priorities. So as you can see, even when you think you have it clear, things can still go sideways. And can I just say designing websites does my head in. It is always such a mammoth job. But had I drawn a site map, then myself and the development team could have looked at it collaboratively, and the issue would have been clarified well in advance before the build took place, and it would have been so much simpler. So, you know what? Live and learn. Oh, I was just looking for a place where I could learn everything I need to know to make an amazing film that changes the world. It's such a shame that that place doesn't exist. Oh what? Hang on. It does. Oh, if you're looking for inspiration, ideas, tools, and ways to learn how to make movies that matter, head to Moonshine Communications Academy over at Instagram and all your problems will be solved.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

Warning, results may vary depending on the questions, and success is not guaranteed. Always read the label.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

So that's what I mean by being clear. Give a clear example of what done looks like. And a site map would have been just that. So thinking about think about how prescriptive you're being. This is gonna vary, you know, depending on the job you want done. If you're wanting a really strong collaboration and input, then that's gonna be a really different process to giving someone a very task-focused job with very clear steps to completion that follow your very specific direction. But if it's a collaborative process, like most filmmaking is, then how much are you willing to take on others' ideas? Are you the one calling the shots? Is it your vision being realized? How much can others contribute and how much are you willing to hand over to others? And you've got to know this. You have got to have a rock solid vision. And it does that mean that you need everyone to do everything the way you want it done? Because this is going to be very different on different productions, and people are going to work in very different ways, depending on whether it's something that's highly collaborative, where there are key creatives that are shaping the film together, or if you're calling all the shots. So no matter which way you work, you just need to be very good at giving a clear picture of what you are asking for. Now, if you want to find some good examples of really vague, borderline, useless creative direction, then I would suggest you just talk to a commissioning editor at a broadcast television channel about what sort of projects they're looking for. I'll save you a few hours. Don't bother. They'll give you something so nonsensical, wrapped up in a seemingly logical explanation that won't even register for you until hours later when you're sitting trying to think how to meet that brief and you'll realize that it's actually impossible because most of what they said means actually nothing. And you know, when I was really early career and still listening to you know these things at conferences, I I made the mistake of trying to mould my project to meet a broadcaster brief. And then once I thought I'd, you know, been able to clarify the gob de gook pitch that they wanted, I pitched to them and they simply said, Oh, we've decided to move on, we're going in a different direction now, and we're looking for something different. So you can waste a huge amount of time trying to uh figure out a vague brief and meet it. It it's I just don't recommend it. And don't behave like a commissioning editor, frankly. When you're asking for something, make sure you give a crystal clear example of what done looks like. Give clear steps to what you want done. If you're not getting the desired results, then ask yourself, did you really make it easy to understand the outcome you're looking for? So then this, hmm, this has taken a long while, but we're winding back now to the production bible. And what other things might be in it? It should have documents that explain any systems or processes that you have, like how to set up a workstation for a new employee, how to log participant release and consent forms, how to log timesheets, how to manage petty cash or reimbursements, how to track production shoots, call sheets, cast and crew contact details, how to log rushes, how to access the website and manage passwords, everything, all those systems and all that admin, all those steps should be documented as you go so that there's a process for the next person. The production bible will have things in it like ultimately the press kit and you know, proposals, permits for filming, insurance paperwork, everything except confidential information that only the producers need to access would go into the production bible. And as I said, this can be an iCloud or Dropbox folder or an internal system that you're using. It doesn't really matter how you store it, but rather that it exists and that all the relevant people can get access to it. And you should set up a naming convention for all your documents. This is a really big tip. For example, the production title and department and date and info. So for consent forms, it might be something like Conquering Cancer, Jane Smith, Cancer Survivor, Participant Consent Form, March 21st, 2024, or something like that. It doesn't really matter what you choose, but it's rather that there is consistency. So it's easy for everyone to file and find everything. So, you know, all files start with the project title, then the name of the department, then the date, whatever it is, just as long as it's consistent and easy, and you know, that consistency is really useful. So try to also make sure of your social media handles are the same and that the website has the same name as the film. So consistency through all of those things. It's all about communication, and you cannot underestimate how important clear, simple communication is when it comes to running your production. So if you take the time to clearly give really good briefs and communicate in the clearest way you are able, then you can avoid so many issues and mistakes. And the time spent doing this will ultimately save you a lot of time that you can spend on the creative elements of your film. So even if you're not a systems and process person, it is so worth it. And you know, as I said, if you're not an admin-focused person, it's okay. But just ask someone in your team to oversee setting up the systems and processes. Thinking of getting a really experienced production manager on as early as you can will ultimately just save your production hours and hours of headaches and it will keep everything on track, which will mean you can be more creative and life will be easier. And that's what we all want as filmmakers, isn't it? We want to have a really smooth and efficient and well-run production so that we can get really creative and make the films as good as they can possibly be, and the time goes into what goes on screen and not what's going on in the chaos of an office. I hope that helps. I hope there's some gems in there for you. And as always, please follow up with questions over at uh direct message me over at Instagram or you can email us um at Moonshine Communications Academy. You know where to find all of the links. And uh I will speak to you again next week. So take care, happy creating. Thank you for joining me today and every week here on the Moonshine Moonshot Podcast. If you're wanting a deeper dive into the topics being discussed on the show, then I would encourage you to head over to Moonshine CommunicationsAcademy.com and sign up for the weekly drop of moonshine via your email. Being on our newsletter community means we can support your filmmaking journey in a more tailored way as well as keeping you up to date with the resources we share on how to make movies that matter and so much more that we deliver inside your inbox every single week. So head over to Moonshine CommunicationsAcademy.com and at the bottom of the homepage you'll see a little box to add your email address, and as a thank you for signing up, we'll also send you a bonus ebook to support your messaging. So voila, you'll be on the way to receive all the best content weekly.