Harman Patil (Editor)

Making of

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In cinema, a making-of, also known as behind-the-scenes, the set or on the set is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. 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.

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Feature length documentaries on the making of other films has become a film genre in its own right. The making-of film may ultimately be more important than the film itself. In the case of Lost in La Mancha, the making-of video ended up documenting the collapse and abandonment of the feature film it was covering (The Man Who Killed Don Quixote), and ultimately the making-of video was the only part of the production to see a commercial release as a theatrical documentary feature.

Shorter making-of 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
  • Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, the The Sacrifice making-of
  • Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, the Apocalypse Now making-of
  • Lost in La Mancha, the failed The Man Who Killed Don Quixote making-of
  • Wrath of Gods, the Beowulf & Grendel making-of
  • The Matrix Revisited (straight-to-DVD), The Matrix making-of
  • Making the Amazing (straight-to-DVD), Spider-Man 2 making-of
  • The Shark Is Still Working (straight-to-DVD), documentary on the making of and impact of the 1975 film Jaws.
  • His Name Was Jason:30 Years of Friday The 13th (straight-to-DVD), documentary on the making of and impact of the Friday The 13th horror film series
  • The Psycho Legacy (straight-to-DVD), documentary on the making of and impact of the Psycho film series.
  • Examples of documentaries as bonus features

  • Rocky Horror Double Feature Show (1995), documentary on the making of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, released on DVD of the film itself
  • The Making of Psycho (1997), documentary on the making of Psycho, released on DVD of the film itself
  • The 12 Days of Black Christmas (2008), documentary on the making of Black Christmas, released on DVD of the film itself
  • Plotting Family Plot (2001), documentary on the making of Family Plot, released on DVD of the film itself
  • Halloween Unmasked (2000), documentary on the making of Halloween, released on DVD of the film itself
  • References

    Making-of Wikipedia