Week 4: Documentary Plan

Friday 25th February 2022

WEEK 4 -

TO DO: PLAN OUR SHORT FILM/DOCUMENTARY

PURPOSE FOR DOCUMENTARY

This Short Film/Documentary will be made to showcase our development process, project goals and purpose for Getaway. It should tease what is yet to come and our thought process behind the idea! On the 22nd February, we were lucky enough to be given a lecture by 'Mind The Film' who taught us everything there is to know about a good film, set up, lighting, equipment and other important tips. This lecture inspired me to begin thinking about how we might go about our own short film, involving the kind of information we will include and the background for our shots.

WHAT WILL I BE DOING?

The majority of the week was taken up by Gameplay Design and having discussions to talk through our current problems and ways to overcome them. Because of this, I have given myself today to do something less mind-puzzling, while Kiera continues to work on the VR prototype. Today, I will be making a plan for our short film, with the guest talk still fresh in my mind. I can take their tips on board to get the best possible outcome from our short film and have everything prepared for when we begin to film, which should take place around Phase 3. During this Phase, we should have enough content to show and to film to make it more interesting.

GOALS FOR THE DAY

Make a detailed plan for our short film! - What will we talk about? How will we introduce ourselves? Interview style? What kind of content?

QUICK PLAN FOR THE DAY

Friday 25th February

Reflect upon 'Mind The Film' guest talk.
Outline purpose for short film, what should be included?
Begin to plan short-film.

TASK 1

TO DO: 'MIND THE FILM' - A quick reflection

Documentation from this guest talk can be found on my Notion here: https://www.notion.so/WEEK-4-81df3d1e5eeb4fe3afc517cb23c50849

WHAT DID I LEARN?

This guest talk essentially taught me everything I needed to know regarding how to get started with filmingg and the best ways to go about it. They gave us lots of advice to do with setup and content to film to keep an audience engaged but to also keep it as professional as possible. I have a greater understanding around the set up of different shots, lighting and pre/post production, which I can apply to our own film.

"Choose the best ingredients, refine your taste, know your timings and master your techniques"

NOTES - Keep in mind

Outline your goals before hand - what do you want to make?
How to do it? Outline the process step by step.
Pre-production - planning, briefing etc.
Production - equipment you'll be using, camera or iPhone? Microphone and tripods?
Consider different camera settings - composition, ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture settings.
Editing - who will be editing?

HOW TO BEGIN?

Step by step
Think about what we need and which order we will need it
Set up - natural lighting, work on the walls/panels to ‘stage’ the project
Incorporate text into the film - team names, stage of process etc
What to film? Pre-Production approaches (see below)
Capture - The decisive Moment
Create - The theatre of images
A-Roll and B-Roll (A - interviews, story, shots and conversation in it)

PRE-PRODUCTION

Briefing
Planning
Budgeting
Script writing - video/audio, what can you see and hear?
Storyboard
Subject Research
Casting
location Scouting
Preparing interviews
Hiring/team, talent and kit
PPM
Licensing
Soundtrack
Call sheets
Shot lists - what kind of camera angles will you use? audio? what will be in the shot?
Risk assessment

ASSETS WE MIGHT INCLUDE:

Narration

Written text
Interviews - what are we going to say? is someone going to be asking questions? will the questions be on screen? introduce topics on screen?
Voice-ovER

Visual story

B-roll footage
Screen Recordings
Graphic assets
Animation

Audio

Music - can mix the music and voice-over to make audio work in unison/work well together
Sound Design - sound details can be nice

PRODUCTION

Which camera will we be using? Camcorder/DSLR/Mirrorless
DSLR - top mic used to capture ambient sound, for interview this wouldn’t be clean enough
Better to have good quality sound than visual/shots
Tripods - fluid head allows movement rather than fixed tripods. These tripods allow you to create ‘bands’ and ‘fields’. Movement will be smooth.
Transitions to merge shots.
Handheld - stabilisers to keep camera still and avoid shaking

EXAMPLES OF EXISTING SHORT-FILMS

MOVING BRANDS PROCESS FILMS: http://www.movingbrands.com/work/

MIND THE FILM WORKS: http://mindthefilm.co.uk/works/

TASK 2

TO DO: WHAT ARE OUR GOALS?

One of the first things 'Mind The Film' told us was to outline the goals for your short film. What are you trying to achieve and what's its purpose? This will help me identify exactly what content to includee and how to capture it in the best possible way.

WHAT ARE OUR GOALS?

Documentary/short vid 3-5 minutes MAX
Make a film about your FMP
The game (pitch) - how will we introduce it?
The team (founder story)
The ideas behind it (concepts, inspiration)
The process of making it (behind the scenes)
How to play it (demo elements)

THE GOALS FOR THE FILM

Showcase our idea
Share our project goals and reason behind the project
Gain interest in what we do and the game in general
Share our passions and ambitions
Share development process behind the idea, what we did and how we did it.
Tease gameplay
Document the behind the scenes.
Promote the game.

WHAT'S ITS PURPOSE?

The purpose of the short film is to showcase our development process and thoughts behind our FMP idea. We have to introduce the 'pitch' and dive a little into the Team, the concepts and inspiration behind it, then the process of making it. Last few clips should include demonstrations of different moving parts. This should tease the final deliverable and highlight the main aspects of the project.

WHAT TO INCLUDE?

A brief pitch
Introduction to the team - who we are and what we do/stand for.
Focus on music, therapy, physical spaces to provide people with a safe space to reduce feelings of anxiety and stress.
Inspiration behind the project
Clips of development process/places we visited that inspired us.
Sound production, interaction prototyping, timelapses of drawings.
Final deliverable demo's.

TASK 3

TO DO: THE PLAN

I have a better understanding of exactly what content I'd like to include in the short film and how to go about recording this. Now I feel inspired, I plan to get my thoughts written down in a more straightforward plan ready for filming in Phase 3.

PLAN: How should we structure it?

STRUCTURE OF THE FILM

In my sketchbook I planned the structure of our short film, using everything I learnt from the guest lecture and watching existing film documentaries. I began with a brief outline of the games pitch, to introduce what the game is about and overlay this with a sneak peak into the player - projection interaction. This would then lead into an introduction of Kiera and I, highlighting our roles in development and touching upon our project aims. This can be overlayed with a video of our project aims and essential experience mind-maps. We can then touch on our focus on music, visual design, therapy etc. The third part of the film should be about our inspiration. Speak about how we began looking into physical spaces, multi-sensory experiences etc, to create a safe space for people to escape to. Input clips of our visits of these locations. This then stemmed into a series of concepts - include video of concepts and mockups we have made. The fourth main stage will involve the process of making. Clips should include webcam processing interaction, writing code, prototypes, sound production. "All elements work cohesively to..."

STRUCTURE OF THE FILM

The fifth part to the film will involve demonstrations of the game itself. "Such a heavy focus on these elements allowed us to tailor an experience that benefit you". Overlay this with gameplay clips.

"Slow body movement gives you control over both your mind and body, as well as providing you with a soothing soundtrack, composed to evoke feelings of calm and relaxation". Once viewers have an understanding of gameplay, we will close by talking a little about how we can help. Outro - "we've thoroughly enjoyed working on a project so close to our hearts...".

"We know how tough times can get, which is why we wanted to provide you with a space to cope with these feelings, and to not be ashamed of needing to spend moments like this".

"Grab a tea, visit the Getaway".

IDEAS

Both of us to sit down in the first scene. One to begin to sit down, transition into the other sitting down.
Team Intro clips - team member to sit on the right hand screen with their name and role labelled on the bottom right. Behind should be a backdrop of our best work.
Role can include: 'Art Lead. 1/2 Bit Short Studio'.
Not too many transitions or fancy effects, should be stripped back.
Only use face clips when necessary. Most of the content can be overlayed onto our voices.
Overlay our soundtrack in the background - subtle, not too overpowering.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO FULFIL THIS IDEA? - THE SETUP

A space full of natural light and no echo.
A microphone each. (Attach to clothing or headphone mic - must be hidden.
A good quality recording device - iPhone.
Tripod to hold phone still.
Ability to Edit!

EDITING

An important part of the production is the Editing! I have some experience in the Editing sector and enjoy it very much. I have taken responsibility for the editing of both our short film and trailer this year because I have done this before.

TIPS FOR EDITING

Post-production: Back it all up!
Ingest, sync audio, sort the footage, make and select reels, lay down the music!
Sound design - freesound.org
Sometimes you may have to include the credit of the music used
Export your file (Films for online and social use code: h264)

WHAT SOFTWARE WILL I BE USING?

I have a lot of experience using iMovie - would be most comfortable using this program. No need to pay additional fees.
Some experience using Premiere Pro.
Some experience using Vimeo and other online sources.

REFINED PLAN FOR SHORT-FILM:

STAGE - THE GAME IDEA

Introduce game pitch
Overlay videos of gameplay interaction
Subtle music throughout

STAGE 2 - THE TEAM

Introduce Team members
Name and Role
Highlight Project Aims
Overlay clips of Project Aims and Essential Experience
Subtle music throughout
Speak about heavy focus on music, therapy and safe spaces.
Overlay with clips of research, informative posters etc.
"These elements allowed us to create an experience that provided players with the tools to regulate their emotions".

STAGE - INSPIRATION AND CONCEPTS

Inspiration for project
Visited a number of physical spaces, multi-sensory experiences, immersive exhibitions.
Overlay clips of field trips/visits to these spaces and our other findings.
Our findings led into a series of concepts.
Overlay with videos of our concept creation and brainstorms.
We then began to mockup ideas for our own physical space, thinking about the materials we could use with a focus on sustainability.

STAGE 4 - MAKING/DEVELOPMENT

Process of making
Talk about gesture control, working with James on a program that allows players to interact using gesture/motion sensor.
Highlight importance of physical movement for regulation and heart rate.
Clips of interaction in action, writing code, timelapses of drawing, sound production.
All elements work cohesively to provide players with the perfect space to escape and take part in playful gameplay while feeling comfortable doing so.

STAGE 5 - GAMEPLAY DEMO

Game Demos - game in play
Slow body movement gives you control over both your mind and body, as well as providing you with a soothing soundtrack, composed to evoke feelings of calm and relaxation".

STAGE 6 - OUTRO

"We've thoroughly enjoyed working on a project so close to our hearts...".
"We know how tough times can get, which is why we wanted to provide you with a space to cope with these feelings, and to not be ashamed of needing to spend moments like this".
"To the Getaway".

NEXT STEPS

I feel confident with the current plan and feel we have everything we need to begin filming our documentary. Now I have got this out the way, I can focus the majority of my time on the making of the project and will ensure to take clips when I can, to put in our film. This should include time-lapses and clips of finished work. We have scheduled to begin filming the documentary (with voiceover) around Phase 3, and around this time I should begin editing too.

To begin next week:

Team Discussion