Pre Production - Evaluation

Pre Production has been an incredibly rewarding process, but one which has had many hurdles along the way. It all started in September when the unit started, but I had my idea conceptualised since early 2018. I knew I wanted to tell the story of preparing for a motor race, but I was not sure what the best way to tell that story was.

The first issue was understanding what roles I would be completed as part of this unit. This was more complicated than first thought as Cailan and George were doing their own pre-production projects and would be joining me in January. My roles of being the Director/Writer/Main Contributor were clear, but understanding how I complete pre-production by myself without completing their roles would be a challenge. Early on we set out the clear boundaries between each role, if I needed to have help from a Producer or Cinematographer, I would ask accordingly. I was not completing any part of their role in pre-production, I was working with them to ensure they were happy with the decisions I was making and my reason for them.

My next step was to find reference material to enable me to understand how I was going to film this. I have studied a number of pieces which have allowed me to form a directors statement which can be viewed on my website: https://dreamchasertv.wixsite.com/documentary This reference material helped me make the key decisions needed, including whether to present to the camera or off camera. Other decisions like shot types and scene styles were informed by this research. This research also allowed me to understand that I am not a presenter, rather a contributor to my own documentary. Being a presenter makes it a lot more formal and less personal, as we have a huge emphasis on the emotional connection between myself and the subject, it was decided early on that I would be a contributor presenting off screen towards the producer.

The reference material also allowed me to understand which broadcaster I would be targeting my documentary towards. BBC 3 was the perfect fit as they are constantly looking for new and innovative ideas which break the mould. They also broadcast a number documentaries with a small crew and budget following niche subject matters. Further inspiration came from shows they air from Stacey Dooley and Reggie Yates. These shows allowed me to understand the brand of BBC 3 and how their documentaries are crafted.

Understanding the contributors that would be needed would help the tone of my project vastly. I knew I would be the main contributor and my teammate in the race would also be present, but further contributors were needed to allow the documentary to have depth. Professional advise from racing drivers was going to be important. I decided that they should form my approach to tackling certain scenes, such as the fitness and financial aspects. After further script development and advice from tutors and peers, I decided that including my Father should be involved in this documentary. As he was the reason for my passion for motorsport, his inclusion was key. He will now appear on multiple occasions; once near the start where we visit the sit of our first race together and another after the race is complete and we celebrate together after achieving the dream. The inclusion of my Father allows an incredible emotional connection to be formed.

The scripting process was my largest challenge as previously, I had not done much script writing meaning I had a lot to learn. The early scripts were about getting the story on paper and understanding what I needed to include to ensure the script could be used to turn into storyboards. As the scripting process evolved and the story became deeper, I was able to understand the best way for each scene to be visualised. This process enabled me to write a story which has incredible meaning and is backed up by powerful moments of emotion. The personal journey that I will be going on will be captured in a way to show the struggles that you have to go through to live a dream.

By my final draft, the context was given throughout, allowing the viewer to immerse themselves in the story, which meant the emotional connection was always there. There was a consistent sense of jeopardy in the fitness/license/financial scenes now which meant the end goal had a deeper meaning.
The emotional connection throughout can be seen by the various encounters with other contributors through the documentary. Subtle changes were made to ensure this documentary was natural throughout, enabling the viewer and myself as a contributor to have a connection.

The final script can be seen below. I am very proud of it and I have enjoyed the process. This experience has allowed me to become a more proficient writer, who understands the importance of scripts, even in a documentary which few sequences that are overtly staged.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jSGFDCqt2bKsr7DCGDilhUH0pqoFdBu6Nr9atVs9WwQ/edit?usp=sharing

Understanding my role as the contributor was hard to understand at first, but after I started to change the script it enabled me to see how subtle changes in delivering sentences can change the tone of the documentary. These changes enabled me to write a script which showed me as a contributor rather than a presenter. My initial drafts also included many voiceover segments which can lead to the viewer assuming that I am the presenter. My reference material showed me that how you deliver sentences can drastically change the tone of the piece. This is something I was cautious of, as I want to ensure the viewer knows I am being candid when speaking to the producer, rather than saying pre-decided lines.

Over the past four months, we also decided to start a fundraiser which would help with the cost of our project. When we started to factor in the costs we had not included in our budget, it was evident that we would need additional funds to make this project a reality. This fundraiser has already reached £350 and we have been told by numerous people that will be donating soon. This will help us reach our £800 goal which will enable us to complete this project.

We also completed a number of camera tests and location recce's to ensure we had further information about the possible locations. These also allowed us to come together as a group and talk further about this project. This communication throughout was key to my pre-production being a success.

What Worked Well?

• Overall I am very happy with my pre-production, the communication throughout was fantastic, even though they were completing their own projects. This enabled me to focus on my roles and keep them in the loop with details about the project. The constant calls between us enabled the project to be influenced by everyone, ensuring no surprises in January.
• The script evolved vastly over the three months that I was writing it. It started off very basic and lacked any connection. Soon after changing the story from one about motorsport, to one about chasing dreams, the documentary started to have depth. Through the new sequences that I have added and others, I have stripped back, it has allowed this documentary to become a lot more personal. This has allowed the viewer to connect to be and understand my story. 
• My visual style is very clear and I am very happy with how it has evolved over the past months. Having a distinct difference in style, without changing the tone has enabled the story to gain depth while allowing the crew to attempt scenes with stunning visuals.
• I have a strong selection of reference material which can be used to adapt my script into storyboards, the amount of time I spent observing other documentaries allowed my visual style to be decided. I am impressed with the depth I was able to analyse each documentary, picking out the specific parts which made each scene great. This has helped me in all areas as I am very prepared for the challenges that face us when shooting
• Overall, going forward we clearly know our plan of shooting and what needs to be completed and in what order. Once this unit is over we will be able to start creating a proper shoot schedule which will enable us to film this documentary in the best way possible.
• My time management was great in this project. From very early on I was planning what I needed to complete each week and each day, to ensure progression in the project. This worked really well and relieved me of having a lot of stress, particularly towards the end of the unit. The fact I was able to plan out a schedule was thanks to experience that I had learnt in the previous units. This meant I was constantly hitting my own deadlines and progressing in the unit.

What Didn't Work So Well?

• I struggled with my director's statement at first. It was hard for me to understand what needed to be included, meaning I spent more time on this then I really needed too. This was down to me over-explaining everything, meaning my first drafts were very long. I did get the hand of what needed to be included later on, but time was wasted as I struggled to understand what I should be writing.
• I struggled at times to communicate my ideas to the rest of the group. This was mostly an issue in the early stages of the unit as I still did not fully understand the story myself. Pre-production would have certainly been a simpler process if we had worked together, enabling a better sync throughout. The biggest challenges were understanding what they would want to do when it came to making this project. I was very wary of "Taking over" and doing parts of their roles in my pre-production. I was worried at times, that I would have made all of the decisions for them, meaning they could not be creative come January. This was only an issue for the first month, once I knew the story and they knew their roles, we managed to have weekly chats about this project and what I should be doing.
• I would have liked to have done more test shoots. We only did one as a group which means we need to spend more time in January testing. This is not a massive issue, but it would have left us more time to work out the logistics of the project in January.
• Currently, my script length is 24 minutes and I wish I had more time to decide with the group how we reduce this below the 20-minute intended length. As development was going on until the last days, it was hard to make a dramatic change this late in the process.

What I Have Learnt

• This process has been a great learning experience. It has enabled me to push myself to an advanced level where I have been able to produce work that I am very proud of. Over the unit, there have been a number of key things that I have learnt.
• Time management is key to the success of a project. Without my work to plan each week what needed to be done, I would be in constant worry about what needs to be done. This planning enabled me to have a consistent workflow throughout the unit. This enabled me to get each piece of work done in time, allowing time for feedback to be given as well. 
• Communication with the team is vital in ensuring the project is something we have all worked towards. Even though I am in a different situation than most, keeping close contact with my team enabled me to not step on their shoes and do work for them. Our weekly meetings enabled me to explain the developments and gain vital suggestions about what should be done going forward. Without these meetings, I don't think pre-production would have been an easy process, it would have led to a lot of confusion about who completes what work. 
• Analysing reference material very closely enabled me to pick up on techniques that I had not understood before. This research enabled both my script and my website to have much greater detail, improving the professionalism of both vastly.
• The script writing process is not as frustrating as first thought. It allows great freedom, meaning you can craft a highly sophisticated project which much depth and emotion. It was great fun putting the project together and developing my story into one that I am very proud of.

What I Would Improve

• If I were to do this unit again I would only change a couple of things.
• I would have conducted more test shoots together, ideally at each location that we intend to film at, so we had better knowledge of what cameras would be needed. This would have enabled us to do fewer test shoots in January and focus on filming the actual project. In hindsight, if we had done pre-production together this would have happened. I am not disappointed that we did not work together for pre-production, however, as doing it separately enabled us to learn our roles. We were able to spend some time apart before we have the intense process of the major project which will help us work professionally.
• I would have liked to have handed my script in with a 20 Minute piece, but as a singular working on the unit, it was very hard to decide what needed to be cut to shorten the documentary. I did not want to make a big decision on behalf of the group so this will be something we tackle in early 2019.

Closing Thoughts

This has been my favourite unit to work on since I started uni. It has enabled me to grow greatly as a content creator. I have been able to adapt my skills and learn new things, especially in presenting and script writing. This process has enabled me to critique my own work and allowed me to create a story which is relatable to all. The development in the ideas has been incredible, I am really happy at how it has changed for the better. The story is now one that can allow everyone to question themselves and think how they can chase a dream.

I am really excited to start this project with my friends and colleagues in 2019. This has been the perfect learning process to enable me to develop this project fully come January. The long nights to adapt this story have been worth it as it is something I am now very proud of. The challenges that will present themselves in 2019 are exciting and I am looking forward to seeing how we overcome each one.