NOTE: This is a draft I had from April 2021, which I'm happy to finally publish! I included some paperwork from the project proposal which I had to submit as part of this unit.
For my dissertation earlier on this year, i decided to write and produce a short film - pretty high stakes as this was the first film of any kind that i made. Originally, i considered a few ideas, such as making a lightsaber or making a dog puppet, before i settled on the film idea.
Going with resource filmmaking (and with a small budget) the plan was to produce a mockumentary about a drama school, heavily inspired by both my own and other students experiences. However, with COVID restrictions meaning i had to complete the project at home, i looked around with what I had - and that happened to be a pretty mean dog.
A mockumentary about Roxy, our 16 year old chihuahua cross yorkshire terrier, was something that I thought of the previous summer. I recorded a few clips of my family, unscripted, describing her and discussing their relationship with her, but at this point in time the project did not evolve much further then that.
The mockumentary format allowed me to have shaky shots, or audio that maybe wasn't perfect, but most importantly it was acceptable to shoot it with one camera - and with a one person crew consisting of myself, this seemed achievable. Also, I wanted there to be a comedy element to it and the mockumentary format was the more realistic way to achieve all of this.
I researched into the origins of mockumentaries, looking at the common techniques used and obviously watching a few examples, such as 'Best In Show', 'Modern Family', 'The Office' and 'What We Do In The Shadows.'
With the 6 weeks allocated to us for this project, I planned to spend 2 weeks on research and writing the script, 2 weeks filming then the last 2 weeks editing and tying up any loose ends.
Here is some of the work for my project proposal with the Drama School idea:
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Project Overview (summarise the content and aims of
your project):
I am planning
to write, direct and shoot a short film (to be more precise, a mockumentary)
regarding the inner workings and community of a drama school. I plan for the
final film to be no longer than 10 to 15 minutes, to allow me to ensure all
my paperwork is complete and I am aiming for quality over quantity. I have
been planning this project for several months and planned to do it alongside
my studies, however by proposing this project as my specialist research
project it would allow me to dedicate a significant more about of time to this
and ensure that I can truly reach the true potential of this project. Furthermore,
it will take the pressure off the final quality of the film, so I can focus
on my creative vision while I will be mainly marked on the documents and
planning behind the scenes.
The main aims of my project are to complete the required paperwork to help
assist with the production process, learn more about film making and the
techniques and equipment used, write a script, film and direct all the
required shots and then to edit them together to produce the final short
film. While doing this, I also aim to improve my technical knowledge, time
management and leadership skills and to overall be proud of what I have
achieved.
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Project Objective (why have you chosen this project and
what will you have achieved/learnt by the end):
I chose this project because it is a
good combination of my current skills but also gives me the opportunity to
develop confidence in my technical skills. Furthermore, it is an industry
that I am interested in pursuing and this will be a piece of work I can use
as an example if I apply to courses in the future. As mentioned earlier, I
have had this project idea for several months and have been slowly developing
it and I am glad that it will be my focus instead of a side project.
With more musicals and plays being filmed and broadcasted in recent times,
having additional filming experience will also open more opportunities and
chances for me to future develop my camera, vision mixing and editing skills.
I feel drama school is a great setting for a mockumentary as there is so much
to explore. Taking inspiration from ‘The Office’ and ‘Come Fly With Me’ I
plan to follow certain characters as they experience drama school. While I plan
for the script to be ‘funny’ (humour is subjective) by shooting it as a
mockumentary there is a whole new level of comedy to play around with, such
as the camera shots, the ‘interviews’ and the over-dramatisation of the
events.
This project will challenge me a variety of ways but will not be an
entirely unfamiliar field. Firstly, by ‘being my own boss’ I will have to
ensure that I stick to a strict schedule and adhere to my deadlines. It has
been a weakness of mine in the past that I get distracted easily, and with
the short time given to the project it is vital I keep on track otherwise I
may not have a final product to present.
Secondly, this will be my first time writing an original comedy script. I
enjoyed writing the script during applied practice in first year, so this
will build on what I learnt from that experience. Comedy, especially in film
can take years to master, and while I might not perfect it this first time,
everyone has to start somewhere.
Lastly, I plan to set up basic lighting during my filming. This will help me
learn about different types of lights, how to set up a basic lighting rig and
how to effectively light people for filming. I also planning on having an
external microphone with the camera, so I will also gain experience using and
setting up external microphones and ensuring it is picking up the sound.
Furthermore, I plan on adding some voice overs in post-production, which will
further build my sound knowledge by having to source and set up the equipment,
record the voice overs, edit them if required then add them into the film.
I will also be able to practice my
paperwork and improve my organisation skills for future show roles. As the
director it will also allow me to improve on my leadership skills before I
move more into responsible show roles. I also hope to develop my time
management, writing, filming, and editing skills.
Additionally, I want to create a piece of collaborative work that anyone can
help with and have a sense of community with this project. I will have to work around when my actors
are free, which will limit my time even more to I will have to ensure that
the time I have to film is productive.
I feel this project is an excellent opportunity to apply my current skillset
that I have developed in stage management but to also fill the technical gaps
in my knowledge, while being geared towards a subject I am passionate about.
This is a huge project to undertake, and I am sure to run into various unexpected
issues along the way, however, with the right amount of preparation I feel it
is possible to achieve and I hope I am able to clearly express my creative
vision for the project clear enough for others to enjoy.
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What background research
have you done to help you check the feasibility of this project?
Anyone can make a film – just give someone a
recording device of some sort, some actors (they don’t even need to be human)
and you’re good to go. In this outlook, its quite reassuring that that is all
I need – but if I want this to be good, its going to be a bit more
complicated then that.
I have done some research regarding the type of paperwork used for films to
ensure that I have enough material to be marked but to also support the
production process. There is also a lot of material on YouTube with advice
and tips for beginner film makers, which has proven to be a useful resource
so far. There are also many short films with varying budgets that I can learn
and take inspiration from.
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Provide a timeline outlining the principal stages of
the project:
18/01/2021 –
25/01/2021
Conduct research, create a checklist, create a first draft for the script,
compose a shot list, write a casting call.
10/05/2021 – 21/05/2021
Book rooms, film, continue to update paperwork.
24/05/2021 – 28/05/2021
Edit, finalise paperwork.
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