Production Process - Paul (2011)

		Example – Paul (2011)
Idea	Producer finds inspiration, then chooses a director/writer	Nick Frost & Simon Pegg thought up idea on set of Hot Fuzz, and got Nira Park (of Big Talk Pictures) on board for who they worked together on Hot Fuzz & Shaun of The Dead
Development Finance	Producer pitches project to finance companies, also tries to gain investment from government funded companies such as UK Film Council.	Frost & Pegg enticed Working Title on board, as they have worked with them in previous films. Working Title worked alongside other film companies such as American film company Relativity Media and UK based Big Talk Pictures.
Script Development	Producer & director agree on the key events of the film. The writer produces many drafts which are sent to financiers for their input. Final draft then produced.	Frost & Pegg went on their own road trip across America to add ideas to the script
Packaging	Producer & director plan financial side of the film e.g. how much it will cost, and how they will recoup it. They also appoint head of departments to oversee planning & spending etc.
Financing	Finance companies produce contracts on which they state their own requirements. Producer & director complete deals, such as pre-sales, to give the film the go ahead for filming.	The production team sold the rights for distribution to Universal Pictures, for release on 14th February. Overall they have budgeted for $50 million.
Pre-production	All features such as special effects planning, set designs, shooting script, and the casting is all decided during this section.	Frost & Pegg took the lead roles, while Seth Rogan took the character of Paul (the alien)
The Shoot	The film is recorded, either on location, or in front of ‘green screens’	Preliminary filming finished in September 2009, then additional scenes were filmed in July 2010 at the Alburquerque Convention Center
Post-production	Final cut of film is decided upon. This is the time when all post production enhancements, and digital effects (titles/credits etc) take place	Paul was the only CGI element to be used in the film, and was added after filming. During filming Paul was played by Joseph Lo Truglio.
Sales	A trailer is created for the sales agent to take to distributers, unless they have already sold the rights through pre-sales.	Trailer was released in October 2010
Marketing	Marketing team put on test shows to see how audience i.e. film critics react to it. From this reaction they hope to create ‘hype’ about the film.	Film was premiered in London 7th February 2011.
Exhibition	This is the time when the film is released and the investors start to see a return on their money.	Released on 14th February 2010, later to be released in America, 18th March.