Our group has decided on DOUGHNUT as our script. The process that we took in order to choose this script was by going through the scripts that we liked and then finding crossovers between our seperate lists. Our crossovers were:
DOUGHNUT
SHORT FILM SCRIPT
HOW DOES THIS MAKE YOU FEEL?
DIAMOND DOGS
GLUTTONOUS GIRL
We decided on Doughnut because it fitted all our set criterias. We wanted to choose something that was challenging and was also achievable. It is achievable because it firstly fits the original script criteria of being in one location, having 3 characters (a few minor parts but nothing that’s unachievable). We all agreed that we liked the fact that it didn’t rely heavily on dialogue, but said a lot through action, such as the final scene having the main character biting through the doughnut with a look of extreme pleasure on his face. I particularly liked the antagonist Jonathon who is typically the swarmy young office employee, and reminded me immediately of Pete a character in Mad Men, who to me is almost the characature of swarmy-ness. Since, I am currently obsessed with this show it seemed fitting to make a short film set in an office environment, so it worked for me quite nicely. The only problem I had was perhaps that the protagonist wasn’t intriguing or interesting enough. However, Eliza pointed out to me he was intriguing because he is a man stuck in a job, confined and controlled by people that are younger than him, which would be a painful and extremely frustrating situation that could lead to a rather irriational moment of desire to eradicate said annoyances. Therefore, this script really pulls together numerous desires; the gluttonous desire of the routine of a weekly doughnut, and the desire to be on top again which has been taken away from him by the younger, less experienced colleagues that surround him.
We went through a few things and came up with some ideas in terms of conveying a sense of being trapped, which can be achieved through drab set design and the confinement of a cubicle environment. Logistically it should be a relatively easy location to set up and also advantageous as it is indoors, and therefore there is no threat of unlikable and typical Melbourne unpredicable weather. In terms of my role of production it ticked all the boxes that I set as my criteria in my previous blog post. In terms of budget it is definitely viable- the only purchase will need to be doughnuts, as all the set design pieces should be viable through group resources. Location scouting as I have previously discussed is achievable, it would be achievable in RMIT itself or any type of office or classroom space. Transportation doesn’t really need to be thought about in detail as yet, but I don’t think we would need to travel far from RMIT to find an office building. In terms of scheduling there is no reason why this film cannot be made in one day it requires one singular location, that relies on action rather than copious amounts of dialogue and there is nothing in it that is overally difficult to achieve. Obviously there will need to be a lot more reading of the script and going into fine detail of everything that we will need to achieve with this script. Therefore we decided that we would (before our next meeting) go through the script in terms of our roles, eg. I will go through the script in terms of my role as producer in a large amount of detail, the sound recordist will go through it in detail and think about what we will need in terms of dialogue, sound fx and music.
Overall, our script decision meeting went really well as we were able to feed off each other and talk in detail about what we liked about the script and how it would work, and also how the script would work logistically as well as creatively. There is also something that Eliza said to watch that has a similar type of character, or more reminded her of the main character in Doughnut, which I will watch and blog about shortly.
I’ve been reading my way through numerous of the scripts written by the people in this course and I am truly flabbergasted by how good a lot of them are. It’s going to be so extremely hard to choose a script to make because a lot of them are so good, and also from a producer stand-point easy to achieve logistically. Due to my role as producer when I have been reading the scripts I have been thinking about logistics. Asking certain questions to myself in terms of logistics. As I outlined in a post on my crew role I took into consideration the following things when reading the scripts:
- budget (not really from a finance point of view, but on a can this be achieved without the use of money and how many resources will we need to achieve this script, mainly in terms of props and costumes)
- location scouting (is the location achievable, or more importantly if the script is fantastic, yet the location will be hard to acquire, how would I acquire that location or will the same script work at a different location. Also the size of the location, will we have lots of space to move around in for all our equipment, or will we have to weary of where our equipment is place because it is a small location?)
- transportation (in terms of is the location or will the location be hard to get to, will we need to transport equipment a long distance, etc. etc.)
- scheduling (will we be able to film this script in one day? This really lays on the previous points. If there are ticks on the previous points it should be able to be achieved in one day, however I will need to take into consideration: the amount of dialogue, camera movement, establishing shots, etc. etc.)
In terms of scheduling a lot of this will need to be discussed with the director of our production Eliza who will have an idea of how she would like the script to be shot. Obviously if there is a lot of dialogue it will take time, because we need to make sure our actors will perform correctly, and there will most likely be a lot of different takes on dialogue- getting close-ups, mid-shots, wide-shots, etc. As Scorsese says it’s about capturing emotion. If Eliza wants lots of camera movement this also takes time, and of course we will have camera movement not everything will be static.
Therefore there is a lot to think about and when reading these scripts and I have read a lot of them already. I will write a blog post shortly that will analyse some scripts in terms of the above criteria that I will be able to bring to my group meeting when we discuss what script we would like to make.
I thought it was about time I thought and blogged about this. Basically, in our Wednesday tute I got assigned PRODUCER, which I am excited about! My group is a lovely group of four:
Eliza: Director
Renee: Director of Photography
Albert: Sound
I don’t know these people very well, and therefore think it will be exciting to see what we all have to bring to the table seperately and then together. We talked through some stuff and decided that this week we would all try to read through the synopsises and email each other the ones we like, and then see if there’s any cross-overs, if we can compile a list of synopsises that we all like it will mean that we don’t have to read through every single script. We also talked about when we were all available to determine when we coud have group meetings, which were 1:30-3:30 on Monday and Wednesday 1:30-3:30, which is convenient because it’s right before our TV class.
Now, on to my role as PRODUCER. I found the google doc, which outlined the roles of the producer or in the industry what is described as the Unit Production Manager:
The UPM, under the supervision of the Exec Producer, coordinates, facilitates, and oversees the preparation of the production unit, including: all off-set logistics, day to day production decisions, locations, budget schedules and personnel. Specific duties will include:• Prepare script breakdown and preliminary shooting schedule with the 1st AD• Prepare and coordinate the budget• Oversee search and survey of all locations and the completion of business arrangements for the same• Assist in the preparation of the production with a mind towards efficiency collaboration• Supervise completion of the production report for each day’s work, showing work covered and the status of the production, and arrange for distribution of that report to proper channels• Coordinate arrangements for the transportation and housing of cast, crew, and staff• Oversee the securing of releases and negotiations for locations and personnel• Maintain a liaison with the local authorities regarding locations and the operation of the company
