Feature Film could create 13 new jobs in Mid Wales.

Ptara Ltd are currently using a crowdfunding campaign to finance a romantic comedy in Aberystwyth called Dara Says.

Should the campaign prove successful, they will use the money raised to hire equipment, pay for the overheads involved with a film production, provide crowdfunding backers with incentives (including props made for the film and DVDs sent to film festivals), and ensure that they have everything else that the film needs, including people. And when Ptara hire the people needed for the production, they will be recruiting locally, in the Mid Wales area.

In order to attract backers for the project, Ptara shot a promotional trailer for Dara Says in house. The company consulted with a Wales-based editor as well as with a composer based in Hollywood in creating the film's budget. A webpage coder based in Barcelona provided additional support during the pre-production of the project. The small production company was able to find the costs of everything needed for the film locally. After completing a storyboard and schedule and the rest of the development process, the team at Ptara has a very good idea of what will be needed and for how long. As they didn't have the finance to hire outside people during the film's development, Ptara decided to develop the film in-house, with each team member performing multiple roles in the pre-production process.

However, there were only so many things that the founders of this small production company could do at the same time. They soon realized that in order to make the film they envisioned, they would need to recruit.

One of the biggest difficulties in trying to make a film without a crew was monitoring the sound. The trailer they created to attract backers to the project did not have the quality of sound the team had hoped for.

So, one of the first jobs Ptara plans to create is that of Sound Recordist. The Sound Recordist will monitor the sound and manage other sound-related tasks on set, including placing the microphones, and much more.

Ptara is also planning to bring a Script Supervisor on board, someone with a good eye for detail who can tell the director when something on the set is out of place. The script supervisor will take down notes that will be invaluable for the next day’s shoot and in the editing process, and will communicate with the director in between takes about items that could affect the production at later stages.

The third role will be editor. This role may already be taken, as an editor who has worked closely with the company has expressed interest in the position. However, this is still a new job as no editor can be formally hired until financing is raised.

None of these roles are available at present, but these and more could come into existence if the producers of Dara Says obtain their financial goals.

The cast and crew of Dara Says will take on multitasking roles that are unusual in the industry.

Ptara plans to have a position that will sound something like "Assistant Editor and Administrative Assistant." This individual will be near the set, taking phone calls so the cast and crew don’t have to, and looking through the “rushes”of the film to ensure that everything has been recorded properly. This Assistant will be trained to be an Editor on future projects. This role will have to be laid out in more detail later when it is time to recruit.

Ptara also plans to hire a wardrobe, hair and make-up manager. On traditional film and television productions this role will be handled by two or more people, each with their own assistants. In fact, it is not unusual for a lead actress to have her own makeup assistant.

However, this is Ptara Ltd's first feature-length film. Coming in from documentary production, corporate film production and the creation of music videos, the team behind Ptara Ltd are looking for a minimalist approach to makeup and wardrobe. Neither fake wounds nor stylish period costumes will be needed for this film, just an invisible amount of touch-up. And the team at Ptara thinks they know where to find this talent locally.

The assistant editor and wardrobe manager won’t be the only people with multiple responsibilities. Instead of standing around between takes, the whole team will be performing additional tasks when they are not on break. This includes assisting with two special effects that are needed for the final scene of the film.

Ptara has met with a recruitment adviser and will meet with others before the exact roles are specified. Before the roles are advertised, it must be clear that staff will not hold traditional duties associated with film production roles.

Of course, there will be actors on the set too, and a camera operator, as one would expect in any film production. And there are a few more roles for which Ptara will recruit locally.

In addition to the new jobs created in the area, Ptara are looking at hiring Welsh talent currently based outside of Wales in order to compose the score of the film. Though no contract has been arranged in that department, the script has received positive feedback from the composer and a clear expression of interest has been given.

There are plenty of talented budding filmmakers to choose from in a town that has been at the forefront of a surge of new British film graduates since 1997. Finding qualified people to fill the positions shouldn't be difficult, once funding is in place.

In addition to crowdfunding, there are other opportunities available to Ptara Ltd which will enable them to extend some of the new roles for longer than the production of the film. Go Wales runs a scheme whereby talented graduates who are either unemployed or underemployed can have their wages subsidized. This could encourage Ptara to hire the staff for longer-term positions and to hire people that might not normally be considered for challenging roles.

There are other incentives in place for Ptara to hire "neets", or young school leavers who have not yet found work. Ptara has spoken to a recruitment adviser about this, and is excited about the help available in providing an opportunity for a young person to break into the world of work.

At first, the staff at Ptara were concerned that hiring people from outside the industry would just lead to "more unemployed filmmakers competing for a small number of jobs" and not help the young people with their future careers. However, the recruitment advisers involved have shown the team at Ptara how the roles provided in film-making can provide new employees with transferable skills. Ptara are excited about training these school leavers and new graduates in order to provide them with real-world skills in areas like administration, catering, interior design, and others.

Ptara hopes to begin the recruiting process within a month from the time the film is fully financed, and they are looking to commence principal photography shorter after that.