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 film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
that features the
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
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, e ...
. This is often referred to as the EPK (
electronic press kit) 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
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
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 sto ...
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. 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'' 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 engi ...
*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 – 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