2. Potential objectives and outputs of this phase

The contest was far more than just a contest. The selection process was a rich adventure that went way beyond merely choosing the winners. The film production and distribution phase is certainly no different; it is an opportunity to achieve multiple objectives that might not be evident at first glance.
Please remember that the ideas contained in this section might be useful as you go about putting together funding documents and could give you some good arguments for discussions with potential funders.
You also might want to formulate some of these ideas as specific objectives subject to formal monitoring and evaluation.

a. Contracts, script adaptation and pre-testing

During this initial stage of film production, the Scenarios team can achieve the following:
A clear understanding with the leaders of the film-production teams on all pertinent logistical and legal elements of film production and distribution
Continuity of involvement of project team members, reinforcement of team cohesion and a sense of ownership
C The young author(s) of the scenario can be actively involved in the professional re-adaptation of her or his scenario.
C One of the young participants who drafted her or his scenario in the form of a comic strip might be involved in the creation of the storyboards used by the film-production team and for pre-testing of the draft scripts.
C Pre-testing could be conducted by representatives of partner structures, for example those who helped out with the organization of the contest.
C Participants in pre-testing sessions could be groups that took part in the contest, such as youth groups, school classes, etc., thus providing a way to re-mobilize those organizations and the relevant authorities (such as ministries of education). By involving young people in pre-testing, the Scenarios team is carrying on the dialogue that was started during the contest and was pursued during the selection process. Young people's opinions are further validated and are once again central to decision-making in the project.
C There are phases of the pre-testing that involve a script going through an initial filter of a panel of experts/specialists. This panel can be made up of former jurors.
Capacity-building
By providing training in pre-testing methods and opportunities to practice those newly-acquired skills, you can make a strong contribution to the development of useful capacities among partner organizations. Pre-testing, invaluable as it is, often appears to be a little-understood skill, and its importance is often seriously underestimated. You can change that in the project zone.
Development of a script that is substantively flawless
Pre-testing and redrafting of the script allow you to be verify that:

C the script contains nothing that could be harmful or dangerous in the areas of HIV prevention and care/support for people living with the virus;
C the desired messages are crystal clear;
C the text and actions are socially acceptable, do not shock or offend, and would not arouse the wrath of a censor;
C the audience is likely to identify in an optimal fashion with the characters portrayed;
C the film based on the script will not create any rifts among the HIV-prevention community;
C the final product will be as useful and effective as possible, as defined by the jurors' selection criteria.

Generation of valuable information for the drafting of a Users' Guide through pre-testing
Pre-testing can unearth additional, invaluable insights into the perspectives of the target population and of experts in the field.

b. Shooting

This part of the film production process is an opportunity to achieve the following:
Heightened involvement of artists and film technicians in efforts to stop HIV
This is a chance for artists and technicians to actively participate in the fight against HIV. Such people are often eager to do something, but do not have the time or the information on relevant activities that would allow them to express their commitment.
Furthermore, this is an opportunity to forge direct, sustainable links between project partners and artists _ links that could prove valuable in the context of other activities.

Continuity of involvement of project team members
The young author of the scenario can serve as on-set advisor to the film director.
Depending on the shooting site, filming can attract crowds of onlookers. It's a great opportunity to interact with the public at large. People who have participated in previous project phases can be brought in to interface with the onlookers.
Creation of opportunities for "spin-off" prevention activities and to heighten project visibility
As mentioned above, you can reach out to groups of onlookers during shooting to inform them about the project and to engage them in a broader discussion about HIV.
The shooting phase, with its long moments of waiting around, is also an opportunity to sensitize the larger production team (artists, technicians, assistants, drivers, cooks_) about HIV prevention. In other contexts, it can be extremely difficult to engage those people in a far-reaching dialogue on HIV due to their time constraints. This provides a pretext.
Shooting is an excellent opportunity to arrange media events that would focus public attention on HIV and increase visibility of the local partners involved.
_Thanks to people who recognized me, I saw the article by Françoise Kaboré in the Observateur, which talked about Idrissa Ouédraogo against AIDS. The article was illustrated with the photo where there were three of us: Idrissa, Milena [Assistant to Idrissa] and me. The caption below the photo read _Idrissa Ouédraogo talks with a young scenarist, Olga Ouédraogo, who wrote The Shop._ I was proud to see myself that way._

Olga Ouédraogo, author of a winning scenario on which _The Shop_ by Idrissa Ouédraogo was based

c. Post-production

Among the objectives to pursue during post-production are:
Produce final film products of optimal quality
Ensure that the final film product is of the finest possible quality both as a work of art and as a resource for the HIV-prevention community.
Produce all necessary materials for effective distribution

At the end of this phase, the project team should have everything it needs to distribute the films according to the plan it has formulated (sufficient copies on VHS cassette; enough BETA cassettes for making further copies and for television broadcasts; dubbed versions in the designated languages; international version to facilitate dubbing into additional languages_).

d. Distribution

In the course of its distribution efforts, the project team can achieve:
Longer-term continuity in the involvement of project team members
Distribution can be carried out collectively, drawing once again on as many members of the team as possible, also with a view to re-mobilizing people who have participated during previous project phases and to reinforcing their sense of ownership in the project.
Greater visibility of people involved in the project and public revalidation of their role and contribution
Broadcasts of the films and showings of the compilation video _ on which the names of the young authors and the artists involved figure prominently _ will once again validate the young author and heighten public recognition of the role played by artists in the fight against AIDS. This, in turn, might just spur other artists on to play a more active role themselves. At community level, broadcasts also validate the work of those organizations involved in implementing the contest.
Heightened involvement of broadcasters in HIV-related activities
Through interactions with the project team and by using the projects' audio-visual products, broadcasters and other distributors become more sensitized to the fight against HIV.
The opening up of new channels of distribution, reinforcement of existing channels, and enhancement of relevant audio-visual resource centers
By sharing information on distribution strategies used for Scenarios products, you could be making a major contribution to bolstering the impact and extending the reach of products generated by other projects.

Widest possible distribution of the films by employing all available means
Capacity building of the zone's HIV-prevention community
By providing the members of the HIV prevention community with a top-quality, flexible audio-visual resource, you are giving them a valuable tool that they can use to complement and enhance their existing activities so as to achieve more effectively the behavior-change objectives they have defined.
For the entire film production and distribution phase: remember that you can have a major impact on the success of future Scenarios-type projects by sharing information about your lessons learned and suggesting ways in which the process might be improved.