Pre Production - Plausibility and The Legisitics

How Plausible is my project? 

As the director, writer and presenter in this project, I want to consider the plausibility of this project and start to think of what issues we could incur and how best we could solve them.

• I already have a car and team confirmed to help with the project. This means that all that needs to be done is when the 2019 racing calendar is ready, we can decide which event we will be filming. Then we will go about sorting out payment with the team. This has all been set aside in our budget and we are happy with how the budget lines up with the money we are putting together as a group.
• Trackside filming access will be no issue. I have obtained it many times over the summer while filming interviews for this project. George, as the producer, will be in charge of obtaining this access with the track. To ensure we pick the best filming locations, we will scout the location once and then obtain access to film trackside in a test shoot to make sure that the shots being created are the same to those planned.
• We need to source one or two additional cameras. We may be able to afford one in our budget, we will also rent alongside my personal equipment and one University Camera. I have personally already looked into cameras and suggested a number of cameras to the group. (Pansonic G7, Lumix G85, Sony A6300 and the Olympus E-M10). All four of these DSLR's capture 4K Quality and through videos watched on YouTube and Dailymotion would be able to film the high-speed sport of motor racing. 
• The most unpredictable circumstance will be obtaining the racing license. As long as I am methodical with my approach there should be no issue with this. But as a group, we are fully aware this could be a place where the documentary could end and the race would not happen. It still fits our narrative of how hard achieving your dream is, however, so we still have options of how the documentary could end. If the project did go in this direction we would have the option to focus on if failing the license would change my perspective on motorsport. Do I still want to pursue the dream? Does it give a new found respect for motor racing drivers at all levels? Has this changed me as a person and how disappointed am I? Of course, we do not want the documentary to end this way, but knowing what we could do if it does happen is vital otherwise we are left with a documentary with no end.  
• We understand as a group that motorsport can be dangerous, but with all of the safety equipment and precautions in modern motorsport, it is a subject we are happy to involve ourselves with. I have had the opportunity throughout the summer to understand this in more detail as I have gone trackside in Global motor racing events like the World Endurance Championship an DTM (German Touring Car Championship). I have been able to understand the safety concerns and how to conduct yourself when trackside. These experiences will enable me to share them with the group and show them how we can create a cinematic film while following all of the safety procedures. An example is you are often left with little room behind the barriers and may struggle to set up a tripod. This means on our location scout, we should see which barriers offer more space so we can set up our 2/3 cameras on tripods in those specific locations. 
• A lot of the interviews have already been completed. Before the summer I spoke with Simon who gave access to myself and a friend to film at various large motor races over the summer. We obtained some great footage and we think we got some interviews with great answers. We did not manage to get the answer needed, but it gives a good base of answers to help guide the documentary. We can film the rest of the interviews in the new year once the team comes together and have decided which interviews are needed to help the documentaries narrative. 
• The overall budget has been a worry since the start of this project. As a group, we all understood that doing a documentary on this subject (motorsport) would be expensive as the sport is one that costs a lot, even for regular fans. Along with George, we have been looking through the sequence I have planned as a director and worked out a good idea of how expensive each item and sequence should cost. (picture below). George created this "cost-map" with guidance from myself on items he was unsure about. We all agreed before the project started to put in 500 as a minimum, but now the costs have been provisionally worked out, we have spoken more and agreed 600 each would be completely fine. 

What are the logistics of my Project?

• Each filming location will be located inside of England meaning we will be able to drive to each location, locations which will be confirmed as soon as we know where the race is being held and what interviews we need to obtain. We will normally be a team of 3 (myself, George and Cailan) but for the test day and race day, we want 4 or 5 cameras to cover each area (multiple trackside & garage/pitlane) so that we do not miss any of the key events that will happen during this documentary. 
• One way we have decided that will help with communication, is the use of walkie-talkies. These, as shown above, have been allocated to our budget. We think this will be an effective way for all crew members keeping in contact. We will test these when we are on location at Brands Hatch or Donnington Park when doing a location scout or camera test. (The 2019 calendar will be revealed in late 2018) 
• As the director/presenter/driver I will not be able to "direct" scenes on the test and race days. This is where effective teamwork with George and Cailan will make this less of a challenge. Through camera tests and location scouts, I will be able to decide what shots I want in specific scenes. However when I am out on the track, I will not be able to communicate with the rest of the crew, this means George will become the director on those days and make sure the shots I will have planned are taken out. Cailan will know the shots inside out at this point and will be able to help out camera assistants in what shots are needed. Communication will need to be very clear for these days and while I will be focusing on driving, I personally want to be involved with the crew and understand what is going on. This will ease my nerves and hopefully enable me to perform better out on track!
• Sourcing filming equipment may also be a logistical hassle. We have access to 3x 4K Cameras at my Home (Mine + Families) along with 2 Go Pro's that record in 4K. We will have access to the Universities 4K Panasonic and Cailan is buying a 4K camera. We also may decide to hire a 4K Camera that shoots slow motion for one day (either the main race day or testing)
• Transporting that equipment also could provide us with a small issue. There will be a lot of kit on both the test session and the main race day. We may have to take two cars on these days to make sure we have all 5/6 cameras, tripods, extra equipment and the people who will actually use them! We will certainly have to see how to fit all the equipment into the cars.
• Over the coming weeks, we will understand other possible circumstances that we may incur. When those present themselves, I will update the situation in a blog post. At this stage, we are happy with how realistic this project is. There are many things to plan and finalise, but as third-year students we have learned a lot from previous projects and can put that into place in this unit.