Assignment one for BTEC Media gave us the instructions to create a short 90 second film for the DepicT! contest. Depict is an international short film competition that challenges filmmakers to create 90 second masterpieces. Our focus was on the creation and maintenance of pre-production paperwork including a production schedule, releases for location and talent, budgeting and recces for locations of filming.
We were quickly placed into small groups and given ample time to brainstorm our ideas. Our decision came to an initial idea of a policeman busting a criminal gang at a party. We always wanted to focus on creating a comedic piece, so we decided on creating a goofy protagonist with over-exaggerated features. We researched previous depict entries with a comedic theme, and found that the entries with the comedy theme all shared the same common feature of no spoken dialogue. With clever acting or smart editing techniques, we decided to focus more on features like subtitles/visuals to create a successful, funny piece.
As previously mentioned, our main focus for this contributive assignment was the pre-production process, and the things that go into creating a successful piece of film. The initial requirement we decided to fulfill was a storyboard and a shot list. The shot list is a document that outlines essentially what happens in each shot. It gives space to explore which types of shot can be used, including angles such as canted or low. The storyboard goes hand in hand with the shot list, as it is small illustrations that show a general sense of what is happening in the scene. Again this gives space to explore shot types and angles, but also gives the opportunity to explore dialogue (which we decided was not necessary)
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| Storyboard |
The next piece of pre-production paperwork we filled in was releases and recces for location. These required signatures from owners of the property we needed, (i.e. The teacher who occupied the room we decided to film in) because we decided to film in a media room in college, we just needed a signature from our media teacher, and we were good to go.
One major piece of paperwork we needed to complete was a production schedule. This shows what needed to be completed in a specific time frame that was set, rather like a diary or a calendar. The production schedule allowed us to fully stick to a linear plan, and allowed us to be a bit more lenient on our working, as our timing was set out perfectly.
With a few minor adjustments to our plan, because of issues we ran into for location, our planning was pretty close to our final product. The reason our location changed is because in the times documented on our production schedule, the room we decided to get a release for wasn't available when we needed it. Therefore, we needed to get permission to use a different room that was free in the same timing, which we managed with relative ease. Another change we made from our planning was the use of dialogue in our piece. We originally agreed on diagetic sound, which is sound that we can see where it's coming from (such as seeing someone talking on screen) however due to messes with location, and not being able to handle getting equipment, we changed this idea to no dialogue, and decided on subtitles instead. Using subtitles, it was harder to convey emotion, but we still managed to produce this relatively well.
The most successful part of our production was the completion of the pre-production paperwork. I managed to complete most of the pre-production paperwork to a professional level, then completing recces and location releases with signatures was helped by the rest of my group. It was done with effectiveness and ease, which therefore makes it the best aspect of the production in my opinion.
If my group were given the opportunity to do this project again, the main aspect I would specifically like to change is the sound. Although the subtitles work well, our original plan was for diegetic sound, and I believe this would have enhanced our piece a lot.
Another thing I would change is the talent used. I wouldn't change our talent, I would believe that our piece would have been more effective with more people on set/in character. as it was meant to be a party set-up, with just two people this was not as evidently clear as we would have liked it to be.
Overall, I really enjoyed this depict challenge, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
One major piece of paperwork we needed to complete was a production schedule. This shows what needed to be completed in a specific time frame that was set, rather like a diary or a calendar. The production schedule allowed us to fully stick to a linear plan, and allowed us to be a bit more lenient on our working, as our timing was set out perfectly.
With a few minor adjustments to our plan, because of issues we ran into for location, our planning was pretty close to our final product. The reason our location changed is because in the times documented on our production schedule, the room we decided to get a release for wasn't available when we needed it. Therefore, we needed to get permission to use a different room that was free in the same timing, which we managed with relative ease. Another change we made from our planning was the use of dialogue in our piece. We originally agreed on diagetic sound, which is sound that we can see where it's coming from (such as seeing someone talking on screen) however due to messes with location, and not being able to handle getting equipment, we changed this idea to no dialogue, and decided on subtitles instead. Using subtitles, it was harder to convey emotion, but we still managed to produce this relatively well.
The most successful part of our production was the completion of the pre-production paperwork. I managed to complete most of the pre-production paperwork to a professional level, then completing recces and location releases with signatures was helped by the rest of my group. It was done with effectiveness and ease, which therefore makes it the best aspect of the production in my opinion.
If my group were given the opportunity to do this project again, the main aspect I would specifically like to change is the sound. Although the subtitles work well, our original plan was for diegetic sound, and I believe this would have enhanced our piece a lot.
Another thing I would change is the talent used. I wouldn't change our talent, I would believe that our piece would have been more effective with more people on set/in character. as it was meant to be a party set-up, with just two people this was not as evidently clear as we would have liked it to be.
Overall, I really enjoyed this depict challenge, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
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