Pre Production - BUDGET AND SCHEDULE (As of October 2018)

Before we can start this project we need to know the possible budget for this project could be. Once we know what the documentary should cost to make, we can plan around that. However, we should exercise caution with the budget as there will be additional costs that could arise without us knowing until very close to it happening. I have looked at the cost of the potential sequences that we will have in this documentary and worked out the costs accordingly. This is a rough guide as George, as the producer, will take upon this role full-time in January. However, I feel it is very important to understand all of the costs before I finalise the script so that I do not include too many expensive sequences that we cannot fit into our piece.

Opening Sequences - PTC In studio or Spare campus room. We can obtain access to a university lecture room with a projector or some space in the studio. This will enable us to film the piece to camera segments planned. We will liaise with the university and get this at no cost. We could use a room at the Maidstone studios campus, but we may be tight for space which could compromise quality. As the producer, George will be in charge of finding this location and securing it. The cost for this should be nothing, apart from the travel costs.

Interviews - Throughout the documentary, we will have interviews with race drivers as well as possibly a doctor and family members. The only cost involved here would be getting to the locations and transporting the camera equipment. This is a cost we have all stated we should not include in the budget as we would have been travelling to the university as much anyway, so it would be a similar outlay to before. Worst case scenario, we would be spending £30 per person a day on travel (by car or train) as we would be meeting people rather than paying them to visit us.

Travel for other members of the group - We will be paying for our own travel, but we will need to pay for the travel of people helping us with the project. Assuming they will be local, that cost should not be any more per day than £30. We will only need extra help on the Race day and potentially on the test session a few weeks prior. This should help keep costs down. However, we have allocated at least £100 for other people helping us in this project.

Go Karting - One of our opening sequences will be at a go-kart track, this will be one of the first locations we see on screen. The use of the kart session will be the start of the journey. This is where I am at right now and we will talk about what I think might happen in the future. This cost comes to £30-50 depending on the track. I have some contacts that may allow me to film and have a discount, so that cost will hopefully reduce, which would help our overall costs.

The Racing License - To ensure I can race, I need to obtain a racing license. This will enable me to participate in the race, without it, I cannot race. Including the starter pack and medical, this will cost around £500 and £200 will be funded by the project budget. If we get outside funding through our fundraiser or sponsor this will help cover the gap in cost.

The Trackday - To prepare at the circuit I will be racing in, I will be taking part in half a days track running with my co-driver, Sam. He will help me learn the track and give advice. This will be a big moment in the documentary as it will be the first time I drive the car. This will come to around £300 for half of a track day.

The Race - The main race which will conclude our film will undoubtedly be the most expensive part of the project, but as the climax of the film and the part that will have the most screen time, it will be worth it. To complete half of the race and pay the entry fee it will be £600 all-in.

Recording Equipment - While we in a fortunate position that we have the use of multiple cameras, we still aim to buy a camera between us. This may sound extreme, but as we will be filming a motor race from multiple different angles, we need a lot of cameras. We have 4, including one from the university, but we will need at least one more. We have set a budget of £100 to buy an extra camera. Cailan has already bought a camera and it is shown as the only item which we have all contributed towards and paid for. We have also set aside money for a possible slow motion camera hire, a new Handheld microphone and an extension cable. We are aware other equipment may be needed but as of writing this, we think this is all the equipment we should need.

We may also rent a slow-motion camera for one day/ weekend to capture glorious shots at a high frame rate. I have looked on various websites and we could hire one for £200. This may be a cost we simply cannot afford when we have paid for the rest, but we think this option would enable us to create some very slick shots. This has been allocated to our budget but this will be the first thing to be removed if we are tight on money.

We will buy some walkie-talkies for the shoot days, these will cost £60 for 6 walkie-talkies. I have looked on various websites, including Amazon, I feel like we should buy the walkie-talkies before we recce the locations before the event so we can test that they work!

We fully expect the budget to fluctuate but as the document is set up clearly, it shows what each person has already put in, and shows how much money they still need to put in towards their individual total which is currently £603.33. You can see we have all contributed some money towards the cost of the camera. Over the coming weeks and months, this will go up and the amount of money each person has put in will change, but we will all come to the eventual figure of £603.33 put in.

Schedule


It will be George's job come January to make a proper schedule but I have made a hypothetical plan of when I think we should film, just for my own guideline throughout pre-production. I fully expect this to change and for George to give me a much more developed schedule come the middle on January.

As the narrative is linear, it is important to note that draft cuts can be edited after each segment is completed, which will help in the overall turnaround of this project as the eventual race will be late in our schedule.

• January 2019 - What and where we are going to film will have been decided by this point. January will consist of location scouting and Cailan developing the storyboards. We will also be completing camera tests.
• February 2019 - Filming will commence. The opening scenes exploring motorsport in my childhood. We will also be filming the scenes that include Go Karting and obtaining my racing license.
• March 2019 - Majority of filming will be completed by the end of March. This includes moments in my personal journey eg. Fitness & Training, Simulator Sessions and similar actuality experiences. The race that will end the documentary normally happens towards the end of March which gives us time to edit. 
• April 2019 - Cailan will transcribe the clips and I will put these clips into a new edit script. We will work as a team to decide the best clips to tell the story. April will also leave us with a slim opportunity to film any extra cover shots or film an additional interview if we feel one is needed.
• May 2019 - George will be given the opportunity to edit and we will constantly feedback with ideas. By the middle of May, our production will be complete. 

While neither of these is finished or will be my responsibility come January, they are vital for me to know for Pre Production. Thankfully George has helped me create this budget and he has created a Google Document to illustrate it. Both having a rough idea of the schedule and the budget will enable the pre-production planning to be easier for me. I will continue contact with George and Cailan to make sure I keep them in the loop about the project alongside their own ideas.