As my team and I formed together for our 264MC project, we were immediately drawn to the following script ‘A Story of Toys (Maddy Ryder)‘. This was due to its central theme of a different entity (other than humans) taking over the world (set in the future). Further capturing the toys as they set out undertaking humanely activities with struggle and unease (influenced by George Orwells 1984). Thus as my team and I looked deeper within this message, we found it to be somewhat relatable to current times in terms of regime, rules and even change.
Furthermore, we were very keen to include only still photographs, but with the inclusion of modern cinema-graphs to bring our piece to life and give it some added punch. Thus hoped to create a powerful piece of animation in a more unusual format, filming in a similar style to Chris Marker’s La Jetee (Cinebuleuse, (2012).
In terms of the pre-production process, I began to research our idea through secondary source material. This is because, as the producer, I felt I needed to know our project inside and out for me to stand by it. Further making sure that we’d create a piece of film which would stay consistent all the way through.
My research included: *[VideoSparknotes, Orwell’s 1984 Summary]
The two examples above showcase some of our research material, with the latter proving to be our main inspiration for our film, due to style, format and substance. As for the former, (George Orwells 1984) certainly proved valuable in material for us, due to its main messages, themes and even formulation of ‘Regime’ and ‘Change’. Thus giving us a better understanding of where we wanted our narrative to go (working from the script), and how we’d make sure to get across our message clearly and coherently in order to initiate a reaction from our audience. Whether that would be in an emotional sense or more of an intellectual one (through topical based content).
I further researched my role in more detail, in order for me to prepare myself for the challenges ahead. Whilst making sure to extend my skills to various other roles which would require my attention throughout. Furthermore viewing the educational video based service Lynda.com (producing). Which helped me to pinpoint what my role would entail, and tips to excel in my role fully within a collaborative environment. Overall my role set included location scouting, liaising with our writer, creating Bio’s for EPK and organising production folder whilst keeping tabs on our Official facebook page & TSoT fundraising page and adding content to it daily. Thus establishing variety within each responsibility, giving me a chance to extend my skills as a producer, compared to previous experiences on other projects as one.
One challenge I faced included location scouting. This is because it took me and my group time to lock in all. Furthermore proving challenging, as we had to include the nature of our project and the duration we’d need the location for, as many locations had space but months later after our project would be completed by.
In terms of our films genre, this included it being an experimental sci-fi short film. With the latter being represented through the main narrative of the central theme of “Taking over the world”. With the former aimed at our techniques adopted within our film (in terms of editing/filming styles). Thus includes modernised cinema-graphs, adding to the experimental nature of our film. As we wanted to compile a film through pictures, prompting the viewer to engage with our film, memorising the film itself as a moving piece of video as they’d link up each photo after watching full film. Thus seeping in with audience engagement and also intrigue, as we hope to stimulate the viewers thought processes through our experimental sci -fi film, fitting under ‘Sci-Fi’ (in terms of its genre).
Upon bringing focus onto our target audience (due to the nature of our film), we made sure to market our project towards a varied audience (through blogs, weekly facebook updates and more). As our film features themes of a strong political nature (deeper hidden meaning). Thus being constructed to make the viewer think and reflect, acting as an active viewer rather than a passive one. Further counteracting the ‘Hypodermic Needle Theory’ suggesting audiences take in information passively. Offering us scope and inspiration, in catering all individuals needs further featuring some elements, to bring in different people to celebrate and see our short respectively. However for certification, we have opted for a PG rating as on the surface there is no violence or even sensitive material present throughout, thus mature rating/parental guidance warning informs audiences that some scenes may be distressing for a child to watch by themselves.
Upon viewing our final film we have managed to clearly identify our narrative in each frame, through each still photograph. Furthermore, the narration leads the viewer on nicely, giving them time to understand each situation and event (i.e the toys taking over the world and struggling with humanely activities). I’d further say that although we did not include cinema-graphs in our final edit, we still managed to lift narrative with visuals, bringing up the speed of the photos as they appeared on screen, thus creating an effective piece of film, told purely through still photographs, however creating the effect of a moving film through repeat viewings and linkage of clips through one’s eyes.
In conclusion, I have learnt about the key importance of the production process, and how its important to work tightly as a collaborative workforce. Considering it was vital that we listened and communicated effectively as each role fed into another (at some point). Thus this helped me to understand patience, communication and also develop understanding (in terms of our overall goal for our project).
Although we did face considerable time constraints we hope that we have created a film that our audiences will enjoy, with its innovative premise and unique format. Thus offering a raw representation of civilisation, on the whole, told from the viewpoint of the toys in a very intriguing way with easily digestible narrational passages and clear sound (reflecting each situation). Furthermore, as a collaborative, my team worked well in a limited time frame, further identifying each other’s weaknesses in due time. This helped us to communicate effectively and to create a mental to-do list amongst ourselves. In order for us to feedback to each other on our progress upon creating a short film representative of our team ethic and collaborative skillsets.
References
1) Cinebuleuse, (2012). La Jetee (Chris Marker). Available at: https://vimeo.com/31209852 [Accessed 27 Mar. 2017].
2) Global Pictures. (2017). The Process of Producing a Professional Short Film. [online] Available at: https://www.globalpictures.com.au/producing-short-films/ [Accessed 27 Mar. 2017].
3) Lynda.com – from LinkedIn. (2017). Creating a Short Film: 01 Producing. [online] Available at: https://www.lynda.com/Filmmaking-tutorials/Creating-Short-Film-01-Producing/129018-2.html [Accessed 27 Mar. 2017].
4) Patel, Ashish. “The Story Of Toys (Official Page)”. Facebook.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.
5) VideoSparkNotes, (2009). Video SparkNotes: Orwell’s 1984 Summary. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9JIKngJnCU [Accessed 27 Mar. 2017].
Namaste Media Minions! 