Pre-Prod. Storyboarding

Having almost complete the transcription i'll then be able to focus on bringing the narrative to life through my own visual interpretation. This will be done through constructing a storyboard from the transcribed audio file, through drawings & photographs.

I'm thinking as this pilot episode will be set in the 1940's, an would ultimately be shot like a period piece, then perhaps when we do begin to complete test shoots, to shoot them on 35mm film rolls. I feel it would capture & portray the whole concept & aesthetic much more appropriately then to use to a DSLR. The test shoots shall be lit & set up accordingly, as we will be wanting to just capture the general tones of the location and present the completed shoots how we would present a recce shoot.

So once i've completed the storyboarding, i'll then choose specific scenes to carry out the test shoots on.

How will you decide on which scene to test shoot?
I'll test shoot a scene which would clearly portray & demonstrate how the vodcast would look and be shot in actuality. A scene with the most creative flexibility that would hopefully underpin what we set out to achieve.

What camera would be used on these test shoots?
I would be shooting on my own 35mm SLR, the Olympus OM2N. As i'm extremely familiar with this camera and fully aware of its capabilities i feel it'd be a suitable choice for capturing images of these particular style.

Obviously these will be stills, so within them, will the people be in costume?
It all depends, theoretically it would be ideal to have the people i'd be shooting in costume that fits the piece & scene, however from a cinematic perspective, i just want to test out the framing & lighting, to make sure that it's genuinely viable & achievable.

Overall i'm happy with the progression so far made regarding the storyboarding and hope soon to have a completed storyboard to display!

Pre prod. Pitch feedback

Having completed the pitch, and answering all the feedback & general queries regarding our subject matter we had just presented, we then received a more in depth critical response from Simon. 

'Professional pre-production - Vodcast "Truth and Justice"

Overall the pitch was pretty good. You presented an original idea that has good scope for you to develop your skills as a DP.

I got a good portion of the idea, that you will be taking an existing podcast and turning it into visual form - but I wasn't clear if this was a one off or a series? Are you only doing crime stories.

You need to research and develop what kind of form this will take. It's critical that you work to idea that this is a mobile medium and all your visuals must fit and work to that sizing. What kind of budget would be put into Vodcast?so you need to be working towards that.

Think about the visuals you will produce, what are they? a sequence? a title sequence? what else?

You need to research cinematography and DP's, and the genre of mobile content. Short docs. Vodcasts.

You need to write up a detailed list of what you both will be producing for the pre-production package so we can draw up your learning agreement. Email this to me before next tutorial.'

From this specific feedback, we realised that not all queries had been answered and thus we needed to develop our concept to solidify the basic construct of it. In our mind we knew that more research had to be done about the content of it, as it is a original piece, that has new implications to the medium it is screened on. 

After this pitch, i now know that research is needed to grasp a real aesthetic for this show, and i'll be able to capture that with further inspection into my favourites D.O.Ps and cinematographers that have a style which matches the proposed aesthetic we want to try and achieve with this project. 

As my approach for this unit is through the perspective of a D.O.P, i'll be looking at DPs for inspiration on general aesthetic, lighting, colour/tone & framing. Some DPs i'll be further dissecting will include - Jeff Cronenweth, Adam Arkapaw & Natasha Braier. They've all done work or collaborated on work which interests me but also has the similar kind of aesthetic that we desire for our project.   

Pre prod. Finalising production & What we need to do

With the days passing by, focus needs to be put on certain areas on the production more so than others to prepare for shoot days of the title sequence etc. I need to plan out what is going to be included within the title sequence & also how the pilot episode will be formatted. 

WHAT WE NEED TO DO & FOCUS ON.

- WHAT THE PILOT EPISODE NEEDS TO CONSIST OF
- What the opening title sequence needs to consist of
- How to format the pilot episode - Think about what/who/why we will be using actors/actresses for the vodcast.
- Create a storyboard from the transcription. Full transcription?
- Branding - App design - 'CastLight' - Create a full brand to sell.

- Umbrella term - It's our brand & app, which adapts original podcasts already created, and turns them into visuals, (Accompanies the audio narrative with a visual interpretation of the audio & the world it's created).

Look into locations for Title sequence & Pilot episode? Look at places in London for studio's that will be big enough for our cast/crew. Look into spaces that will suit our desired aesthetic to shoot. I need to plan out a storyboard for the title sequence to get a better understanding of what i will actually need to shoot.

Title sequence length - 30 - 60 seconds long.

Each opening title sequence will be catered & constructed in relation to the current season that is being filmed. Each season will deal with different topics/genres and therefore the conventions of each series would change to fit to the aesthetic of that particular style.

Pre-prod. What is a Vodcast?

As myself and Aimee have chose to create a pilot episode which would be as the format of a Vodcast, I thought i'd do some research into what actually is a Vodcast. 

What is Vodcasting?

After podcasting, which lets users subscribe to audio files, comes vodcasting, the easiest way to bring Internet video to your desktop. Here's how it works.

Portable video players make watching vodcasts a snap

What is vodcasting?

A step beyond podcasting, vodcasting, also called video podcasting or vlogging, adds video to the downloadable sound files podcast listeners are used to. Download the video files is a simple matter of subscribing to a vodcast in one of the many freely available directory programs.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The RSS feeds, short for really simple syndication, bloggers started using in 2001 to send their entries directly to readers' inboxes are just as useful when it comes to receiving vodcasts. An enclosure feature, standard to RSS feeds, allows links to videos that can be processed by programs like iTunes and Ipodder, which then download the vodcasts automatically, and leaves subscribers only with the work of finding vodcasts that catch their interest.

WHY NOW? 

So we decided that this would be a very good project to cover now as their appears to be a gap in the market for something like this. As there is clear demand for this medium, we feel that creating a Vodcast now would be using our initiative to fill in that empty space first. There is a platform already out there that can be our place to advertise & promote our project. 

https://www.dw.com/en/what-is-vodcasting/a-1849043 - Link to website defining what a Vodcast is. 

Pred Prod. Podcasts & Concept development

We've started to do some research into podcasts and their mass implications. Podcasts our listened to by millions around the U.K. and so this got us thinking about how we could maybe incorporate using a podcast somehow. We liked our previous idea's but we felt they had no end game, with nothing to really say or have an impact on. 

Target Audience
BBC 3/IPLAYER/Chanel 4 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GQKV7eb6wA 
(Run Lola Run - Example) 

Quick idea brainstorming -  Everyone can access these - Free downloadable - makes the relatable & wide reaching.


"The traditional limitations of the podcast form create much of its appeal: Listening to a story without visuals feels intimate. Restricting podcasts to audio encourages a small, loyal audience—but it also poses a hurdle for increasing their audiences. There's no easy way to share snippets of audio files through social media, and no easy access to shows outside of the Apple Podcasts app; those steep barriers to entry have resulted in a vast untapped audience of not-yet-listeners. This is the year when the podcast medium will prove whether it can reach listeners beyond its largely white, wealthy, and educated core. Through experiments with multimedia and even new distribution models, we're about to find out just how far podcasts can spread." 

https://www.wired.com/2016/01/serial-podcasts-multimedia-distribution/

A lot of concepts have been going around, finally reaching an agreement - Vodcast, combining podcast & visuals - 

We now need to think of a universal name for our brand/production company. Our goal/objective would be to approach podcast companies and creative visuals for their podcasts that seem suited for such things. - CASTLIGHT would be the name of our brand, we feel this fits with our brand ethos as it would be 'casting' a 'light' on the podcast, bringing it to life by creating a world for it to exist in.  

We feel that this is a fresh, unique & original concept, with a lot of potential. No much is like this out there and with research done, it seems like there is an appeal for it, thus creating a gap in the market. Hopefully with more conceptual development this idea will become stronger.

Pre prod. Green Light Pitch

GREEN LIGHT PITCH 

For the progression to be seen with our concepts, we had to give a 'green light' pitch which involved briefly going over what the concept of our project is, the research that has been done so far, and what is still yet to come. At this stage Simon either gives us the green light, amber light or red light, green obviously meaning the concept is sound & the project has a green light to continue developing it, amber meaning there is still a lot of work to be done, red thus resulting in a project that isn't going in the direction Simon thinks it should be. 

So me and Aimee created this pitch, in hope that Simon would give it the all clear. We wanted to demonstrate a clear & cohesive concept, with some research being portrayed through our use of the title sequence dissecting part. Here is our pitch - 

Hopefully this pitch is an indication to Simon that we're on the right path & heading in the right direction with our research, concept and overall work ethic. Research is going to be key within this pre-production package, so I know the work needs to get done.  

Pre-prod. Concept - Brief

UNIT BRIEF - PRE PRODUCTION PACKAGE

For this 3rd year unit we've been given the task of creating a fully developed pre-production package for either a major or hypothetical project. The major would then be carried out come January, where as the hypothetical would be complete and finished with in December. However you would then have to jump on board with a Major pre-production package post December time, and choose a delegated role to take on within that production. 

For this unit I have chosen to work with Aimee to create a hypothetical pre-production package in the hope that we can create something unique and really innovative. We do have a plan for after this project finishes, we will jump on board with Callum & Will to participate in their Major project and fill in work roles. I will be taking on the DP role, and Aimee the editor. 

IDEAS

Even though the unit has just started, concepts have been thrown around but it's just about finding the right one and which has the best direction & outcome. We've been discussing certain topics and found that we want to look into social media groups/reenactment groups/groups within subcultures. Some of the terms are quite broad, so it's just about narrowing it down and finding a narrative amongst it all. 

We have a talking point, so it's a start. Now we just have to research each discussed topic and see if we can find a story out of them.