Ideas and Research for Production

Section 1: Research into different genres.

Original Idea.....

• You must come up with some rough ideas that are
   grounded in a particular genre.....
• Factual Based Programming
• Drama
• Comedy
• Promotional Material and Advertising
• Children/Youth Programming/Magazine programmes
• Music/Music Video

Genre Research..

• Your next job is to research your chosen genre. What different categories are their within you chosen genre(s)?

Example.......

First of all, can you say what you think a documentary is? What does it attempt to do? Give some examples of documentaries that you have seen on television recently. How are they similar to each other and how are they different from each other?

Below are a number of comments made by documentary film makers. Read through them and try to highlight the similarities and differences of their definitions and approaches to documentary film making.

"You even have to edit your film as the event is actually happening. Have to decide it is this and this and this I want to look at; and not this, this and this. And you can't sit there wondering, what does the director want me to do? You have to make the decisions yourself, you can't alter anything; nothing can be reshot. You're doing anentirely different thing; you're a social observer. Your own ingenuity becomes less important than the fact of how interesting is the subject; and is your own approach to it interesting enough. You don't show the whole of the
subject; you select; and your selection matters."
Richard Leacock

"It is possible to go to a situation and simply film what you see there, what happens there, what goes on, and let everybody decide whether it tells them about any of these things. But you don't have to label them, you don't have to have the narration to instruct you so you can be sure and understand that it's good for you to learn."
D A Pennebaker

"My definition of a documentary film is a film that decides you don't know enough about something, whatever it is, psychology or the tip of South America. Some guy goes there and says 'Holy Cow, I know about this and nobody else does, so I'm going to make a film about it.' Gives him something to do. And he usually persuades someone to put up the money who thinks this is the thing to do. Then you have a situation where this thing is shouting on the wall about how you don't know something."
D A Pennebaker

The history of the genre...

When did the genre first come about and why and what did early attempts consist of?

Example:

We can see from this documentary from 1940, that sound was not advanced enough to be included so, written words and pictures played a pivotal role. The idea was to get information across, the style seems almost irrelevant...........etc

we can see that this documentary from the 90's is more advanced and concentrates on talking head shots and various shots of the films subject at work. Clips of the film Gremlins are interspersed and a voice over is used at time............etc.

This more recent documentary highlights an interest in cultural aspects, including sexuality, unusual body shapes or parts. Quite often celebrities are used to talk about other celebrities and a series of mid shots are used, with the subjects answering questions but without the audience ever hearing the questions. The interviews are edited and dispersed throughout the documentary........etc

Most of these are styles that we would currently see on television such as:

* fly on the wall
* docu soaps
* docu drama
* investigative Drama
* documentary
* personal

Have a look at the website below for more info about documentaries

www.filmeducation.org

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/482184/
index.html
http://blogs.channel4.com/fourdocs/

Task: Once you have decided on the short film that you are going to produce, you must look into the different genres that may be suitable for your product. You should research three different genres and include the following:

• A working definition for the genre
• The reasons why you feel your product would be suited to the genre
• The origins of the genre and how the genre sits in the current media landscape (what types of products and styles are popular in the genre at the moment, how are they accessed, when are they aired, are they having any social impact?)
• You should write up a short analysis of product from each genre, that was made a number of years ago and compare it with an analysis of a modern product in that genre. (This should be done for each genre.)
• You should discuss any gaps in the market or different ways of presenting products in each genre
• Choose a genre or sub-genre to work in and explain in a summary why you have chosen this genre. (Gaps in the market, large market with huge consumption, so space in the market, rising trend, suitable to a particular medium, ie; internet programmes.)

Audience and Viability

InvestigationYou should now investigate how your idea might be suitable.You must consider the variables when looking at different types of production. It may not be realistic to actually carry out some of your ideas. Task: You should create a table similar to the one below, to help you evaluate your ideas.

If you are making a video for West Yorkshire Police, have you found what the demographic of your 'footfall' is? This means the type of people who will be walking past the big screens that have been erected  and in turn watching your products. The audience is ready made, the police have already investigated the areas where the screens are situated so your target audience has already been defined.

If you are producing a product that will be accessed via the internet, who will be your audience? What is the demographic of people who tend to be users of Myspace/Youtube/Facebook/The school website? Why will they be drawn to your product?

How do you know the genre you are working in has an audience? What time of day do products in this genre get aired and why? How common are products like your in the TV schedule, or on internet sites?

barb.......

Radio Times.....

 

Task: 

• You must define your audience and explain how they will be drawn to your product and how they are most likely to access it. 
  
• You must prove that there is an audience out there ready to consume your product. 
• You must show that there are already audiences accessing similar products to yours and accessing them in similar ways.
  
• You must explain how your product will fit in to the media sector you are looking to broadcast in.

Budget:

Budget...
 
This is a tricky one!
Use the Simply Click folder called ‘Video Production Costs’.
Use the links to investigate one of the production companies listed and base
your budget on the figures. You may have to convert from dollars to pounds.....
It seems common practice to charge ‘per minute’ of finished video with
additional costs for effects, music, titles.
Don’t forget tape costs....Don’t forget travel costs....
Add a ‘contingency’ figure for ‘unforseen’ events. This might be partly re-paid
if all goes well.

http://www.jimzura.com/OtherBudgetSample3.htm
http://www.rossiterandco.com/videoproductionintro.htm
http://www.jimzura.com/OtherProjRatesCosts.htm
http://www.btinternet.com/~drakegroup/drake02/costs_of_video_production.htm
http://wolfram.org/business/camp/costs_1.html

Click on the example below for a guide on how to create a budget and contingency plan..

This year we would like you to create a budget using the costs set by the Grangefield Media Department. The costa are detailed below......................................................................................

Camera hire =
Panasonic Professional Camera (mini dv) = £70 per day
Handheld Video Camera (mini dv) = £10 per day

Digital Camera (Photography) £10 per day

Microphones =
Rode NTG – 1 = £10 per day
AKG C-1000 = £10 per day
Boom Mike + Boom Arm = £20 per day
Standard handheld mic = £5 per day

MP3 Sound Recorders =
Roland = £10 per day

Recording Studio = £30 per hour

TV Studio = £40 per hour

Editing Suite = (imac) £10 per hour

Technical Team =
Camera person = £ 20 per hour
Sound Assistant = £5 per hour

Actors= £50 per hour

Extras = £15 per hour

How to Develop a Production

Research:

Appropriate research should be carried out and evidence of this should be found in your iweb and your main findings evident in your presentation.

You should use a variety of research techniques..........

Primary Research: 

Questionnaires

Focus Groups

Surveys

Interviews

Secondary Research:

Investigate professional examples of products that are similar too your propose product.

Complete analysis using appropriate media language, concentrating on....

• Codes and Conventions
• Narrative
• Representation
• Camera shots
• Editing
• Consumer usage(How the audience access the product, how is it made available to them?)

Exploratory Material:

You must show evidence of trying out your ideas, if this is not evident in your presentation, it must be in your iweb. Exploratory material might include...

• Storyboards
• Drafts and redrafts of scripts
• Short examples of footage, incorporating the style you are looking to use in your final product. 
• Analysis of investigative footage, explaining techniques, sing relevant media language.

Presenting Ideas and Findings

The Pitch

This is your presentation, which should include the following......

In the pitch you need to: 

• clearly describe your proposed idea and its purpose
• present the results of your research into audience and market
• demonstrate the viability of your proposed idea
• set out and explain the costs
• show how your research and development has informed your creative
decisions
• justify your creative decisions.

Example.....

Unit 4 Pitch

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

The Treatment

The treatment must also persuade the people it is sent to that your idea is
a good one. It will:
• describe the proposed product
• describe its audience or market
• show how and where the proposed product will fit into the output of
the organisation it is being offered to
• set out resources, costs, and time scale of production.

Example:

TREATMENT FOR A TELEVISION PROGRAMME PREPARED BY Effie Suss 

25th March 2005
Programme: “Production Countdown”
Synopsis
Production Countdown (provisional title) will be a one-hour (broadcast hour – 53 minutes) stand-alone documentary. The programme will follow the trials and tribulations, the highs and lows of a group of sixth- form students at Great Biestleigh High School. The students are completing their second year of a GCE Media production project.

The programme will have a linear narrative structure, starting at the point when the group make its initial decisions about the media product they are going to make for their A2 production project. There will be lots of interaction, discussion and, ultimately, arguments amongst the youngsters about their choice ofmedia product. We then follow them through the early stages of research and development, through the production process and finally to the completion of the project. The individuals who appear in the programme have been carefully chosen to represent a range of characters, one being very calm and organised, another being rather flamboyant and not always calm, and the third being completely disorganised. The interaction between these characters will form the basis of much of the narrative of the programme. The planning and producing of the project to a deadline will provide both drama and comedy.

Style
The programme will be constructed in the style of a docusoap – that is, it will have a strong narrative line with a cast of ‘characters’ whom we will get to know during the programme. It will be edited to have a strong sense of drama and tension. There will be a focus on the rivalry between the characters, with cutaways of the characters discussing their peers with other students. These cutaways will be filmed in handheld black and white to add a heightened sense of alternative reality. There will be footage of meetings in the style of ‘fly on the wall’ and this will capture the tensions and tantrums of the characters.

There will be a final resolution when the project is completed and shown to a focus group of parents and peers. The programme will show the importance of the work the characters are doing but there will be a real sense of fun in looking at the ensuing chaos and final resolution – leaving the viewer thinking that ‘it was all worth it in the end’.

Scheduling and Audience
There could be a wide audience for this programme, from students thinking about undertaking a media course to adults wanting to be entertained and also informed about how a media product is planned and made. There would be an outlet on Teachers TV – a new venture currently running on cable television. Where the programme is placed there would be opportunities for sponsorship by, for instance, a high street retailer or children’s clothing manufacturer. If the programme were shown at peak time on ITV there would be ideal opportunities for advertising before, after and during the programme.

Budget
The programme budget will be based on current production rates:
Pre-production days
£350
Location/studio shooting days (to include equipment and crew)
£750
Editing days (to include editing facilities and editors)
£600
A detailed budget will be prepared when details of the programme are finalised.
Contingency
A figure of 10% of the final budget will be added to cover any contingency issues during the pre- production, production and post-production process.