In
cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
that features the
production of a film or
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising ...
. This is often referred to as the EPK (
electronic press kit
A press kit, often referred to as a media kit in business environments, is a pre-packaged set of promotional materials that provide information about a person, company, organization or cause and which is distributed to members of the media for pr ...
) video, due to its main usage as a promotional tool, either concurrent with theatrical release or as a bonus feature for the film's
DVD or
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...
release.
History
Shorter behind-the-scenes documentaries are often used as a bonus on DVDs, as it offers more insight into the film, how it was made, and to credit the
film crew
A film crew is a group of people, hired by a production company, for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. The crew is distinguished from the cast, as the cast are understood to be the actors who appear in front of the camera ...
. Occasionally, some films have included a "making of the making-of" as a joke. The making-of is also often released for TV as a part of the promotion of the film.
Examples of feature-length making-ofs
*''
Burden of Dreams'', the ''
Fitzcarraldo'' making-of
*''
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse'', the ''
Apocalypse Now
''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph C ...
'' making-of
*''
Lost in La Mancha'', a making-of documentary of the failed ''
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote'', which was eventually completed more than 15 years later
Lost in La Mancha , Film , The Guardian
/ref>
See also
*Development hell
Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game en ...
*Director's cut
A director's cut is an edited version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, or commercial) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit in contrast to the theatrical release. "Cut" explicitly refers to the ...
*The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...
– a home media company specializing in special features on important and popular movie titles
References
Further reading
*
Home video supplements
Film and video terminology
Film genres
{{Film-term-stub