Pre Production - Project Evolution AUGUST

This blog will be dedicated to all the work I have been completing over the summer. I knew my project would have a long turnaround due to the nature of it, so I wanted to be as prepared as possible when I started University in September. I started my planning in May, just after we started our summer break. I also had permission from Simon to film some interviews for my project over the summer.

The Interviews

Over the summer I conducted multiple interviews with a number of racing drivers that do motorsport as a job. I even got to interview some drivers who raced in Formula One as recently as 2017. The video on the right is an example of the interview I conducted. I asked each driver different questions about their specific career and also asked about advice for what I should be doing before my first race in motorsport. These interviews will be vital in helping the documentary have a credible base and allow me to further understand the subjects mentioned, by then living those situations myself.

These drivers have lived the racing driver life since a child so they know the positives and negatives about the sport. I plan these interviews to be placed throughout the documentary and help move the narrative along with the topics discussed and stories told. I spent a lot of time planning each shot while filming, but I realise that not every interview will be included in the documentary. If we feel there is a need for filming more interviews, I am sure that will be a possibility. I am very happy with the quality of these interviews and the questions asked helped deliver some very interesting answers. Once some of the actuality sequences are filmed, it will enable us to decide which interviews fit and also which interviews may need to be conducted again.

Organising a car and team to race with
While at this stage not every moment of the documentary is known now, it is certain that the end of the documentary will be my first race in motorsport.

I knew from the start that motorsport is expensive, but once I started to do my research I did not realise it would be THAT expensive! At this stage I had to lower my expectations, I would not be able to race in a series with purpose-built race cars and large teams. After going through many forums and watching videos on YouTube, I decided to message a race series called "750 Motor club". The series is based on creating a variety of low-cost motorsport options to let people with small budgets get involved in racing. I contacted them regarding advice on how to get involved in motorsport and if they could suggest specific drivers and teams speak to.

Right away they replied and said that if you wanted low-cost racing this would be the best option for me. They put me in contact with Sam Mckee, who has a unique car that he actually drives to the track and then races!

I met Sam in April to watch him race at Brands Hatch and got to know him more. It also allowed me to learn more about what I would need to do so that I am ready for my first motor race. He talked about how I would need to get my license and then we should arrange a test session before eventually racing in early 2019. He helped me understand the costs which, are still a lot, especially for a university student, but not unattainable. I decided to work extra days over summer and agree to go back to doing my weekend job after understanding the costs that would be involved. I knew there would be production costs outside the race itself as well so I would rather be in a situation where I was not having to worry about money as much. It was great to meet with Sam and understand what I need to do, and I was pleased that racing a car in this championship would be possible as when I had started my research, some of the numbers I was getting were very high.

I have kept in contact with Sam since and now we know that Sam and I can race together in his car in 2019 once everything else around the documentary is sorted. I was excited that we had sorted out such a large "issue" before the 2018-19 University year had started. This meant I could be focussed on planning the project and work out how the story can be told to create the most intrigue and drama.

The Story

I started to develop an idea for the story over the summer. I knew it would not be the final layout or whole story, but it gave me a good idea of how we could fill 20 minutes and also how it could be directed and written (and presented!).

I started out with a mood board including content I had been inspired by over the previous few years, as well as ideas I want to be captured in the documentary throughout - I also spoke to George about certain things he wants to do in the edit. This was the basis of the research into how I want this documentary to be shot and then how George wants it to be edited. This is a good reference point for later on in the project if I ever forget what I was originally thinking!

I then started to think about what "topics" I could include throughout the documentary. I understand some of the parts of motorsport are boring and we possibly should give less time to these in our documentary. We should definitely prioritise the subjects which are important but also interesting to learn about and can be shot in an interesting way and give depth to our story. Once I speak in more detail to George about what topics we should include, we can narrow down the documentary to possibly three or four main subjects that we focus on so that the viewer doesn't get lost in a mountain of information, which could be possible.

Finally, I decided to put my original ideas into a timeline and see how they could possibly end up filling 20 minutes. I talked about the flow of the documentary with George and we both agreed the pace should be pretty fast because motorsport is full of action and we want to keep that intensity through the documentary. We will definitely have moments of realisation and contemplation, which will be slower, but the general edit will be fast to keep with the theme of motorsport.

I am really excited to see how this story evolves and I am looking forward to working with George and most likely Cailan on this project. Of course, a lot of development has to happen between now and January for this project to be viable and work as planned. But, as my passion for this project is undeniable, I am willing to overcome every challenge that is present! Now the hard work begins!