Film Production vs Filmmaking – Which Do You Need For Your Project?

If you’re new to the world of video, and the film industry, there are a lot of terms that you might find a little bit confusing. 

To make it even worse, different people may use different terms interchangeably within the industry. “Filmmaking” is one of the terms that can be used for a lot of different things. For instance, when a huge director releases his latest movie, you could describe it as “great filmmaking” but it may just as easily apply to other types of video production and film, such as a commercial.

Filmmaking vs film production is a difficult topic to get right down to the base definitions of as people might mean slightly different things when they use the term.

If we were to put it in very basic terms, film production is more likely to be used to describe jobs including managing the script, working with writers, directing, editing, and arranging the financial aspects of a film.

Roles Change With Budget (and Preference)

Before getting into the exact terms relating to filmmaking vs film production, it is worth explaining just how changeable the roles within the industry can be. 

For example, if you have a relatively small budget and are making a commercial, you aren’t necessarily going to have the same sort of team as you might have when making a huge production or a two or three hour film.

This means that those involved may take on more roles. A “filmmaker” might handle a huge number of the tasks in a smaller scale production. Similarly, a “filmmaker” might just be the central role and creative vision of a big production such as a film with hundreds of people involved.

While modern technology has brought its pros and cons in terms of requirements for equipment, it is definitely a good idea to have a full team of professionals involved in your production wherever possible. Making a film is not something that can usually be done successfully with just one or two people. A team such as that of Insight Studios, offering experience and thorough practice at every juncture, can help to ensure that you get the best results.

When you watch a movie, you will see that there are lots of names rolling on the credits, sometimes hundreds or even thousands if special effects are used in the post production. The job can’t be put down to a simple filmmaker role.

What is a Filmmaker?

Quite a few people might describe themselves as “filmmakers” and this term might be used interchangeably with director when it comes to the process of making large-scale artistic films.

You may also find that a lot of people working in the video industry creating films for smaller brands, and working on things like shorts and even documentaries might describe themselves as filmmakers.

Filmmaking covers such a huge variety of different tasks. It is a catch-all term for the art of making a film, from the absolute basics of planning and concept all the way through to the post-production.

In the modern age, there are also more independent filmmakers working in the industry. For instance, a quick look on YouTue will show you hundreds or even thousands of filmmakers working on their own. The quality of videos obviously varies, as anyone can get a camera and claim to be a filmmaker, but the point is that they are usually coming up with their own ideas and making a film.

“Film” doesn’t have to mean a feature film in this context, either. Films can refer to music videos, or even documentaries. In fact, many of the independent filmmakers working in the industry today are described as “documentary filmmakers”. 

A filmmaker tends to be used as a descriptor for someone who has a creative input of the film, as well. The film may be something that the filmmaker has dreamt up, and it may be based on their own script or creative vision. This is in contrast to the role of video production which might not even be creative at all, the videos could be purely functional in a way that films often are not.

What is Film Production? (And the Role of Film Producers)

When the credits roll on a film you will probably first see that the director is credited. Next come the producers.

If you’re a film producer, then your role, of course, is film production! So what does this actually mean?

Film producers are often brought in by the director or by the production company. They are different from the directors, and handle a number of different aspects of taking the film from idea to finished product.

Once again, it is definitely worth understanding the fact that film producer roles can change from one film to the next. Directors are usually in charge (along with whoever is funding the film) and they may ask for slightly different things from a producer. 

Let’s explain some of the areas a film producer may be involved in. 

In pre-production, the producer may have been brought in to help with some of the aspects of the film besides the actual visuals or sound. As well as helping with the concept, some producers assist with finding funding and getting the right people involved in the movie.

During production, the role is likely to involve and include some, if not all, of the following:

• Identifying partners and other employees and freelancers to be involved, such as casting directors, designers, and directors of photography and cinematography.
• Managing the logistics of the production of the film, including both creative decisions and those relating to budgets and releasing the film on time.
• Supervising the production itself, with things like timings, and managing who is involved on which days of a shoot and what the schedule will be for production. When will the film move from pre-production to production and through to post?
• Budget decisions and keeping the film within the budget agreed, a lot of the time, the producer will have a vested interest in this as they may have their own money involved in the project.
• Help with the creative direction of the film.

As a film moves through to the post-production stage, the role of the producer is still not done, as there are likely to be plenty more things that they need to oversee, especially from a logistics point of view. These aspects of filmmaking are not necessarily things that they are involved in directly, for example, editing, but they still are likely to be the people handling the budgets and making sure everything runs smoothly.

A film may also have an executive producer with the role of sourcing funding and handling all of the financial aspects, as well as some legal affairs. This means that there is a chance they will free up other producers to work on other aspects of the film. 

The Differences Between Filmmaking and Film Production

Film production often refers to the logistics of getting the film made. While filmmakers do have to consider this too, especially on films with lower budgets, the role of producer is very different to a filmmaker.

As we’ve already explained, the roles can vary from one team to the next. For example, some producers may be brought into a production purely to help with the business side of things. These won’t have any say in the creative decisions. 

Other producers may be brought in with a view to helping with the creative side of filmmaking. 

Filmmakers tend to have a big part to play in every single aspect of the production. If you were to describe yourself as a filmmaker, that is probably because you are the sort of creative with a vision and idea for a film, and the art of filmmaking encompasses absolutely everything, from creating the concept and writing a script all the way through to editing it. 

In some aspects of independent filmmaking, the maker will do absolutely everything themselves, and this might even include funding as well as coming up with the idea in the first instance.

What About Video Production?

Many people may be wondering where video production fits into all this. Video production is another term that is often used incorrectly or misquoted. Video producers are involved in a lot of the same areas of creating a full video production, but this may not necessarily be a film. 

There are a lot of other types of video out there and that means that someone might work as a video producer in the making of testimonial or other videos, rather than something that you would ever class as a “film”. 

Technology has also made it easier for amateurs to take on filmmaking and film production, but this has its pros and cons. Making a great video is often about the skills that the team working on the project have to offer. At Insight Studios, our experienced and creative team can bring ideas to fruition no matter what your ambitions for your project.

With all of the different terms in video making it can get confusing quickly and be tough to know exactly where the different terms actually fit in. 

Filmmaking vs Film Production

Filmmaking is a huge industry that is also growing all the time. There are more films made all the time, and some of these are small productions for a local or niche audience while others are huge, global releases. You can see why the actual process has to vary so much and why the roles in each film are often so different.

If you are a filmmaker, you are probably the absolute driving force behind a film and making it happen, and the whole thing might be your idea. 

If you are a producer, then you may be involved more closely with the logistics of the making of a film rather than the creative decisions. It is possible that you will be involved in some of the artistic side of things, too.

Ready to start to make your dreams come to life with the support of a professional team? Reach out to Insight Studios.