Pre-Production: Project Evaluation

Project Evaluation

This project has been a very unique experience. I have learned al lot from it, enjoyed many of its aspects and picked up on a lot of key skills that I can take forward. I think the hypothetical pre production offered me a unique challenge and I think I have produced something very interesting that fulfils many of my interests and brought out writing and research skills I hadn’t touched on in some time.


What Went Well

I think the biggest positive of this project was that I was able to contact these schools and locations for real, and get to hear their real inspiring stories that fuelled my project. I was able to create a clear concept that worked within the genre and brand I targeted. The work I put in to additional details like scheduling marketing/branding and my treatment I think payed off.

My treatment in particular was vert detailed and this along with my script helped to generate a clear idea of how my episodes would be structured and what would be seen. I took on board everyone’s feedback which aided my series. The effort I put In to my character profiles and storylines helped to make each episode feel unique.

I enjoyed putting together my website and I think that it had clear individual sections that help summarise all the key aspects if my show to a potential audience. I included reference images and material as well as my own additions such as pictured schedules, logo examples, diagrams etc. all of witch added to the representation of my show and allowed the website to feel more thought out.

I also think meeting with Beth Turell this unit provided me with valuable insight and inspiration. Allowing me to look at my project from a new angle and develop content that I hadn’t previously considered. Without her help I don’t think the branding, content and other visual elements of my show (including the treatment and my characters) would be as well developed as they are.


What I would Improve

I think I filled out my production with a lot of detail fulfilling and going beyond the brief I was assigned. But at the same time I do think there are some things I would do differently and improve on were I to do this again. Firstly I think I needed to be more self critical and analytical when it came to certain aspects of my production. I think I needed to look in to my chosen platform and brand with a more analytical eye. Many of my first drafts and initial ideas for things such as titles, episode structures and locations simply didn’t fit with the outline of my chosen genre and platform. I should have spent more time looking in to other channel 4 shows to see how they are marketed and structured which would have allowed me to have a more effective development process. I felt my treatment was very detailed and visual allowing the reader to really envision each episode. But I do wonder if it was too long and looses the interest of a reader quickly.

I would like to have produced more drafts for a script and experimented with different contributors to see if I could have made even more entertaining/informative stories. I’m not completely convinced that my script would fill its screen time effectively and that one half is longer than the other. I think if I were to go back I would have added further crew members since my research said that there would need to be a lot of people involved in a production like this. I may have even added more detail to the crew members I had already chosen.

In this unit I really struggled trying to decide what should go on my website and what should go on my blog. To me it felt like the majority of my work should be displayed on my website to keep all of my package in once place. But perhaps I should have written more about my development process, what I changed, what my initial ideas were, how I acted on the feedback of my peers not just Simon, and in general just fleshed my blog out a little more.

I think also that I underestimated the time it would take to contact and collate all my information from my contributors. This lead to me having to use their websites and my own writing to flesh out parts of their story since they took so long to reply to any of my emails. This had a knock on effect of leaving me to delay other aspects that I could have been working on and obtaining feedback over, as well as making my documentary feel a little more constructed than I would have liked. I think more research in to the fixed camera set up would also have given me a clearer idea about scheduling budgeting etc.

Given the chance I would also experiment with a website builder that wasn’t wix, as I found their site to be rather buggy and unstable. It downscaled a lot of my images and changed a lot of my text causing me to spend more time on it than necessary (time which could have been used to work on more drafts of branding material and research or other profiling, some of which I was happy, with, others I would have liked more time on).


Overall though this unit was a valuable experience that I poured my skills and energy in to. Although the final product isn’t exactly the same as I had first envisioned I am still contempt with it, and will be able to take forward what I leaned.

Pre-Production: Website

Website

For my pre-production package I collated everything in to a production website. All details, information and project concept can be found here.

https://georgenicholls81.wixsite.com/mysite

Building the website was a very interesting process. It was really nice to see all the elements of my project that I had been preparing finally come together in one place.

I think my site provided a nice, reasonably formatted central hub for the project that could be quite simply navigated to find out all the details someone would want to know. 

I was able to properly display items like my treatment which at first I kept quite short. But then taking on Simons advice and thinking about the scale of the project, I ended up wording it to be very detailed in regards to the visuals of the show.

On this site I was also able to properly display some of the diagrams, reference material and marketing/branding that I had prepared to help show how my show fits its format branding etc.

I did have a lot of trouble with the website builder though, since it downscaled a lot of my images, re-formatted a lot of my text and in general was more fiddly and time consuming than anticipated. But overall I am contempt with its outcome.

Pre-Production: Project Development (What I decided to Include and scrap form my site)

Project Development: What I decided to Include and scrap form my site

Putting together my website where my whole pre production package will be housed was a valuable experience. I put a lot of thought and effort in to each of its sections but ultimately there were a few things I decided to scrap or not include in my package.

What I did decide: In addition to what was outlined on my learning agreement I also have included poster designs, logo’s and other branding/promotional information. This helps w=outline the visual approach and design of my series. I also included a full script for the first episode of my series on the website, instead of keeping it separate (writing the script in its self was a unique challenge since I haven’t done much of it since the start of second year, and its never been one of my strong points. But having made it very visual and focussed on contributors that I began to know quite well, I was able to make it feel realistic and give a clear vision of the show).

I also included a full production schedule as well as research in to my time slot. This demonstrates that I have clearly thought about each aspect of my production and have allowed for contingency palns and additional filming in my schedule since there is a lot that could go wrong in such a large scale production.

At the same time there were some items I chose not to include.


At first I wanted to write a script for a different episode (possibly episode 5) but I this was at a point when I didn’t have all my contributors nailed down, and wasn’t aware myself of all the information related to the production. So I ultimately decided episode 1 would be more efficient to write.

When writing my crew profiles I strongly considered the possibility of including more roles. On such a large scale production some if the other key parts that would need to be filled would be things such as audio and visual engineers. With this kind of set up and its parallels to live TV you would rely on engineers to keep things running smoothly. But I ultimately decided that adding more crew roles would oversaturate my readers with information. And that such a role, even on a production like this is not unique and different enough to warrant a full profile dedicated to it. Especially since I would likely need a large number of engineers and production assistants to keep the show running and writing about them all would not be practical.

One contributor that was also rejected from my website was Taylor Fry. Taylor was an Australian drama student who would have formed part of the Jute cast. She only started attending the school recently and is due to take her first exam later this year. Despite this she is one of the most confident and promising young students Jute has. But I ultimately decided her inclusion wasn’t necessary for multiple reasons. Firstly I already had a large number of female students from Jute, as well as drama students. Her character had some strong resemblances to others like Jade or Grace and as such she didn’t feel different enough to get her own profile and episode dedicated to her. I also wanted to reduce the contributors in Australia by one to give me more of a chance to explore the teachers and founders of each school that would be more interesting to an audience than Taylor.

As you know I already scrapped CenterStage school from my plan as it was too large and wouldn’t have made an effective comparison with Prima. But another location I decided not to include was a theatre location. I wanted to have a theatre as my “diary room” and it could also be the location of the finale shows. But I had trouble finding such a location in rural Australia. Its inclusion also may not have made much sense to speak to contributors in and would require further rigging and permissions when we could just use the open more attractive grounds next to each school.

Pre-Production: Contacting Schools

Contacting Schools

To keep in line with my role as producer on the major project I underwent several tasks and processes that a producer would be responsible for, in this pre-production unit. One of these tasks was physically contacting these schools to get an accurate real life insight in to how these schools are run, how they came to be, and the contributors that make each school the place it is.

Most of my correspondence was done through email. Once I was set on which schools I wanted to include in my documentary I began emailing them to open a line of communication. In my opening email I explained that I was putting together a hypothetical production package that I wanted to center around their schools. I explained that I had looked at a couple of different schools before choosing them (such as center stage school, and the maidstone players) but none of them seemed to embody the small sense of community that I was looking for.

I wanted to find a school that helped its students peruse their passions and guide them through the shows and exams that (if they chose a career in performing arts) they could use as their first steps in to the industry. The schools needed to be part time but offer a dedicated yet supportive environment centred around its local community which both these schools were. I explained this to them in my opening email to peak their interests and engage them with my project.

In my opening emails I asked about how each school was structured and the classes they offered. I enquired about some of their stand out students were and what their goals for the year were. Prima was the first to reply and was very helpful in getting my creative process started. I first spoke to Katie who was a teacher at Prima and the person that handled all social media and admin work etc. She gave me some information about the schools classes and some of her fondest moments the school, mentioning a few stand out students to her. This got things started but I wanted to know more about how the school came to be, how it was run and what kind of goals or paths lead some of the students to the school.

Katie then kindly gave me Julies (the schools head and founder) contact details and I took it from there. Jute took quite a lot longer to reply and I had to explain in a little more detail what this project was and what I was doing but they did seem interested. I was emailed by Suellen who told me a bit about how the school was founded. Explaining to me the positive impact performing arts had on her life as a child and how she wanted to bring that positive experience to more rural parts of Australia so everyone has the same chances she did. She also told me about her friend and fellow teacher Gill, who before joining Jute was a social worker, who spent a lot of time with troubled young people that suffered from behavioural problems and she experienced first hand the positive effect that performing arts had on these young people. This was really valubal story and something that will help shape the tone and arc of my series.

Meanwhile I continued email contact with Julie, learning about why she decided to set up Prima. She told me about Primas strong sense of community and that although Prima is a positive environment, it also strives to push students to reaching their full potential. Having a strong exam focussed ethos that helps these students get one step ahead of their peers. This pressure felt by students is something that will have a significant impact on the contributors and stories that I include in my pre-production. After further emailing though I still wasn’t getting enough information about contributors. At least not enough to form detailed character profiles as part of my package. So I asked if I could arrange a phone call with Julie as it would be invaluable to be able to speak to the founder of the school and be able to more effectively communicate and share my interest in the performing arts to receive more valuable information in regards to contributors.

To my surprise Julie actually agreed and shortly after I held a detailed phone call with her where I explained why I had chosen to shape this unit around Prima and the performing arts and in return I got valuable insight in to some of the students currently attending Prima, such as Rosa, Joseph and Lucy and several others that I wrote extensive notes about. Jute continued to email me back but at a significantly slower rate than Prima, leading me to have to retrieve some information form the schools website and blog. None the less with my producer skills I was able to gather enough information from this to write character profiles for students at both schools. If I had emailed Jute earlier I may have gotten more detailed information, but since this was a hypothetical pre production I expanded on each character anyway, to make them more interesting to an audience.

Before publishing these profiles online however I had to check if I had permission form both schools, I emailed them examples of what I had done and explained the process. Since there wasn’t time to ask each students concent individually both teachers agreed I could publish this if I changed their names. I was also welcome to use any photos from the schools website since there already public and they were sent over to me.


Overall I’m glad I made the effort to contact both schools as I don’t think my pre production would be as interesting, detailed and effective without the information they provided me.

Pre-Production: Project Development

Project Development: Beth Terrell, Diagrams, Sponsor and Promotional Material

I recently discussed my project with guest lecturer/producer Beth Turell. She was able to provide a new perspective over my project and offer valuable advice that led to further development of my project. After explaining my idea to Beth and taking her through my various pitches she gave me a few pointers on how to improve my project which I have since acted upon.


Firstly similar to Simon she recommended that I look in to sponsorship. Since even though this is a hypothetical series, if it were to be produced it would be quite reliant on s sponsor to help with the production. Channel 4 being a more open platform has worked with many sponsors before and frequently utilises the open collaborative nature of its platform to attract attention from sponsors who may partner with individual programmes or at times, even a whole genre of programming. Mistubishi the car company is a frequent sponsor of Channel 4 documentaries and has been partnered with the broadcaster for some time. This was some option I looked in to. However it was unlikely that my show would be appealing and be able to utilise a sponsorship from this company. Being a large scale international performing arts series, it would be attractive to a different kind of company. Beth suggested that I look in to a travel company (which Simon had also mentioned) to help with the logistics of the series. At first I looked in to Kayak, the popular online travel company that compares and offers deals on international travel to multiple countries around the world. They might have been able to reduce the cost of travel for the show and they have a history of sponsorship. However looking in to their history they are not known for sponsoring non-fiction content, becoming more associated with fictional series and adult cartoons like American Dad. They are also currently tied to the Fox network in America and have signed a deal with them for another year, which also rules them out as a potential sponsor. I eventually settled on the company Qantas, an Australian based airline that is not only one of Australia's oldest and most recognized air travel companies. But is also a leader when it comes to flights between the UK and Australia. Flying more passengers than any other airline. As such it makes an excellent sponsor for the show. The company will feature at the beginning and end of every episode, as well as the start and end of every commercial break. Giving the company significant exposure and association with this compelling international documentary series. The sponsor will get a short sequence that shows their logo and other company associated images, paired with a short narrated massage giving key positive information regarding the company and its flights and the fact that it sponsors the show. Any money they provide in return for the sponsorship will feed back in to the travel costs and arrangements for crew and contributors, crew especially who will be traveling between the two countries throughout production. Making it easier and more viable for crew to travel at short notice without blowing all the budget money.


Continuing my discussion with Beth she also advised me to make sure that every episode had a major plot point or interesting development that would keep audiences attention and make them want to keep watching after advertisement breaks. This will affect the writing of my script and treatment as I will now have to ensure that there is a mini story arc that takes place in each episode. This also led to me expanding on the stories of my contributors to make sure they were interesting to an audience and able to hold an entire episode on their own.

She also advised me to look carefully at the structure of Fixed Camera shows, gaining a better understanding of how they work and the setup/crew that would be involved. She also reminded me to keep in mind what Simon had also said, that my show needs to reflect its branding well and be as visual as possible. To aid with this I have since produced a series of hand drawn diagrams that will feature on my website, and serve as a guide for people to see the number of cameras/microphones I would need, how they would be arranged/rigged in each room and how I planned them around the subject matter. I produced a diagram for most of the main locations that will feature in my series and wrote a key that even non technical people will be able to understand. As a little extra to add to the visual approach and branding/promotion of my series I also have been working on some designs. In photoshop, after researching channel 4’s current marketing styles, I have prepared a logo that would feature with my show (and online in relation to it). This helps to give the show its own unique branding and makes it seem more real and developed. As well as this I produced two different posters that can be used for online web advertisement as well as physical displays on billbords, busses etc (since channel 4 still market their shows physically as well as digitally). In keeping with the Channel 4 brand these designs are quite minimalist and only feature the key information about my series, arranged around a plain background and a contributor. Helping to market the shows style platform and brand. Without Beth’s advice it is likely I wouldn’t have done this and I think now that I have it improves the visuals of my show.

Pre-Production: Greenlight Pitch + Pitch Update

Greenlight Pitch + Updated Pitch

The presentation for my greenlight pitch and updated pitch can be found here.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cshMQO4UIIvrEOdq7LvmHNTSFL-tutAGbYMgymmHYEA/edit#slide=id.p 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13N-O8S0oopVnS0g5KFa1pIpCPdcZdly1uZZHGPusfpE/edit#slide=id.p

Pre-Production: Project Development (New School, New Title, New Pitch)

Project Development: New School, New Title New Pitch

After the feedback I received from my recent pitches and tutorials I have been hard at work to act upon it.

Some of my draft titles include “Lights Camera Action” and “Sing and dance your way from Australia to the UK”. But I didn’t like either of these, firstly one was quite long and didn’t roll of the tongue very well. Neither of them felt like they fitted the channel 4 brand and honestly felt a little bit cringe to say out loud. However I eventually settled on a new title “All The Worlds A Stage”. I liked this one since it was short and snappy, it fitted the channel 4 brand of “doing whatit says on the tin” and sums up my show quite nicely. Even a casual viewer could pick up on the Shakespeare reference and infer that the show is preforming arts related.

I also went through multiple pitch drafts before finding one I liked. These included “Stage Schools help teach people the art of pretending. But when all the worlds a stage are the people real or are they just players?” and "Performing Arts ignites the passions of people world wide, but while they might share the same scripts do they also share the same stories”? Neither of these felt particularly snappy and didn’t do a very good job of summing up my series. I needed something that got audiences interested and gave them just enough information about the show that told them what to expect but left them wanting more. Neither of these did a good enough job in my opinion, but the one that did was “Many people dream of a life in the spotlight, but at opposite ends of the world do those dreams differ or connect us all together?”. Again this filled the channel 4 brand of doing what says on the tin, and describes my series in an enticing way.

After taking on broad Simons previous feedback I also came across a new stage school in rural Queensland Australia. The Jute theatre academy is a much smaller school that has a strong focus on helping its local community and providing a supportive environment for its students. When reading their blog I found they have humble beginnings that resemble the same passions as Julie has for Prima. This school takes in students who may not be that familiar with performing arts and encourages them to reach their undiscovered potential which is a really positive theme that not only helps my series, but creates more of a parallel with the UK’s system.

Pre-Production: Greenlight Pitch: (Feedback, Competition and Location Change)

Greenlight Pitch: Feedback, Competition and Location Change

After my greenlight pitch and update pitch I received a lot of feedback. Some positive some constructive criticism. On the whole my idea was well received and described as well thought out. However there were multiple things that were suggested which will improve my project, and that I have since worked on.

Firstly the idea of the competition didn’t really workout. I had looked in to the NYPAF (New York Performing Arts Festival) a friendly competition that invites international parties to come and compete, sending a selection of their students to perform their best acting, dance or singing pieces in front of a judging pannel. This is a real competition that is held every year and would work our well with the timing if my shooting. However Simon questioned weather it embodied my themes and would provide a satisfying conclusion to my show. After some consideration I realise he is right. This idea would not necessarily allow for each school to meet properly and it would not embody the collaborative theme I had in mind for this project. There is no guarantee that each contributor would get to compete so not everyone would get closure to their story, as well this would be a whole new set we’d have to obtain permission for and rig.

Instead I will write this series so that each school will perform their end of tear show to one another, with a chance for each of them to meet fellow students at the dress rehursals and help one another practice their performances. By scrapping the competition in favour of a show this will allow the contributors we have been meeting to meet one another properly and encourage collaboration and a sense of community (the key themes of my show).

The next bit of feedback that I received was that if I scrap my competition I’d need a new title that was more “channel 4”. This is something I will work on, my synopsis and pitch could also use a little work and Simon also encouraged me to look in to a sponsor for the series to help with the international travel and budget. It was also suggested that the school seemed to different, one wa rural, one was city based, one was big the other small etc. I will look at other options that might resolve this.