Task 1 - Origination of an idea
Idea 1
This whole mind map is rather a thought process of mine - a splurge of bits and pieces which concern me most about people's sense of identity. It would make a very good topic to cover on its own in a short video, but I’m not sure there’s enough material to really discuss without repeating what I’m saying. It could also be difficult to describe and elaborate on some of the more complex trains of thought, which are really more feelings about it than established, definite thoughts. It could however be very interesting to work with and to see how people react to the video – hopefully feedback from my peers will help me decide whether it could work or not.
Idea 2
With more of a structured layout, this idea is probably the more logical of the two to carry out as I know exactly what it is I’m trying to say. There are fewer ‘feelings’ than in the previous idea, and more actual points and arguments that would be easy to present. Also I feel like visual symbolism for the ideas I have written down will be quite easy and I already have several ideas about how I can link each idea to a piece of footage. Also there is more of everything in this idea. There are more topics; more points per topic; more connections and links to other ideas and similar points – in fact in general everything works quite well together which is what makes me think it might be the better idea to pursue.
Survey
Moodboards
Mock ups
I created the following image in Photoshop as a still example of the shot I'm going to try and achieve when filming. The shot utilises the Display Recorder app for iPhone, which allows a user to record to video the actions they perform on their phone. I will capture the footage from an iPhone screen, reverse it and lower the transparency in Premiere Pro, and underneath it layer a separate video of the supposed iPhone user pretending to touch a phone screen in front of the camera. The shot will aim to provide a perspective of someone using their phone from behind the screen. I have built an external frame for my camera which will allow me to effectively create this shot.
Feedback
I presented my original brainstorm of ideas to some of my peers, who gave me plenty of good constructive criticism. They outlined several points to me:
Idea 1:
Idea 2:
General Comments:
1) Favourite Idea:
Idea 1:
- Celebrities’ lives are idyllic – people prefer idolising them to the reality of being imperfect
- Speech and slang – ‘allow it,’ ‘bear’ etc.
Idea 2:
- How phones at the table are awful as well
- Leads to no exercise which is unhealthy
- Young children play games based on violence rather than using traditional toys
- Could show a kindle for opening scene
General Comments:
- “I picture it as a documentary. Pure narration as the footage shows you interacting with different scenarios.”
- “Try not to be arrogant with the wording, could almost seem like you think you’re better than others in the sense of identity part. Word it carefully to avoid this.”
- “People could argue that use of phones makes us the generation of knowledge”….. “But, we may have the power to learn whatever we want at our fingertips, but we don’t utilise it.”
- “Structure it by flicking between points. Link them together, round off a point, then start the cycle again."
- “The ‘phone use’ and ‘generation of knowledge’ sections work well together, but the ‘identity’ section is difficult to fit in. I’d base it solely on the other two.”
- “Also, regarding identity, people can be hypocritical when they judge each other on actions they themselves are guilty of."
1) Favourite Idea:
Idea
Identity 'Generation of Knowledge' Paradox Excessive Phone Use |
Popularity
3 4 1 |
2) Any points you disagree with?
3) Is there anything you wish to add to any of the arguments?
4) How should the film be narrated?
- (Identity) Leads to no exercise, makes you unhealthy - I agree with the unhealthy part, but disagree with the no exercise part as I personally and others still exercise regularly.
- (Identity) The idea that we are imperfect I kind of disagree with in one sense, that in order to create the idea that we are imperfect does it have be constructed from a place of perfection in the first place?
- (Generation of Knowledge) People let life pass them by... I disagree with this, I think people are too aware of their lives and surroundings that they try not to pay attention to it deliberately. No one in the world can just ignore life
3) Is there anything you wish to add to any of the arguments?
- (Excessive Phone Use) Maybe you could talk more about over use of Facebook, Instagram or twitter - everyone feels like they have to use it now.
- (Generation of Knowledge) On the other hand for people knowing not knowing exactly how something works is that today's people can just expand on the idea without ever knowing the interior design. This can save time i.e. with computers.
- (Generation of Knowledge) Speak more about spiritualism and the brain, how it subconsciously requires technology- Is this the reason we can only access 10% of our potential brain power because we are not testing ourselves enough, we are leaving it down to technology
- (Generation of Knowledge) The idea of 'easy parenting' - kids are put in front of the TV, XBOX, PlayStation, iPhone way too easily so parents can get on with their busy lives (it can't be helped at times and I myself am to blame for this as well). It’s a way of entertaining kids without actually having to. I know life is busy and time is precious but I think Parents of children as young 1 should be partially blamed for this generation of cyber kids. Children should know how to work these objects as it is our future but they should also realise that face to face conversation and outdoor exercise is also very important and that is something that needs to be taught at home.
- (Identity) With the internet, it can lead to internet addiction which adds to the unhealthy lifestyle.
4) How should the film be narrated?
Way of narrating
Narration only On-camera dialogue only Narration and on-camera dialogue |
Popularity
2 0 6 |
What are the most important factors when making abstract films?
Factor
Topic Frame Composition Lighting Camera Angles Editing Techniques Sound and Music Narration and Dialogue Visual Effects |
Popularity
/// 3 //// 4 / 1 ///// 5 /// 3 /// 3 // 2 //// 4 |
Post-feedback development
After receiving my feedback, I have several valid points to expand on that I know members of my Target audience are interested in. I have chosen to go with the ‘Generation of Knowledge’ Paradox and the Excessive Phone Use topics – despite a lean in favourability toward the ‘Identity’ topic. This is because the majority of my respondents specified the ‘Generation of Knowledge’ Paradox topic and this and the ‘Excessive Phone Use’ topic work well together. I particularly like the idea of ‘easy parenting’ and will definitely expand on this as a part of my ‘Generation of Knowledge’ Paradox topic. I have also confirmed my own thoughts about what most makes an abstract film abstract – in that I thought Topic, Camera Angles, Frame Composition and Visual Effects were the most important aspects of abstract films. My respondents confirmed this – and also showed popularity for the Editing Techniques and Sound and Music choices.
Audience research
I’m aiming my production at 10-25 year olds. This is because I want to speak out my thoughts to my peers and hopefully change the way they see the world they live in instead of just going with the flow of a technology dominated routine. I have strong feelings about the topics I’m focusing on – so why shouldn’t my peers too? I want to speak out to these people to accomplish a change in their opinions. Gender does not come into it – I believe that all young people, male or female, should receive the same message.
In terms of socio-economics and demographics, I’m aiming my production at those who are in middle and lower class environments with access to technology and internet. This is because those who fall into those categories are the people most likely to be users of the technology around them.
In terms of socio-economics and demographics, I’m aiming my production at those who are in middle and lower class environments with access to technology and internet. This is because those who fall into those categories are the people most likely to be users of the technology around them.
Market Research
Regarding competitors – I’m not happy calling them that. The whole point of my film is to express an opinion, and I want to encourage others to do the same and look for other examples. I don’t want this project to be the only one of its kind because that would ruin the whole point. My ‘competitors’ then, become my peers. Either way, here are a few of them.
Running some very simple online searches immediately gave me a lot of material to work with – clearly I’m not the first to raise this point. From what I can find, there aren’t any blogs or websites or magazine/newspaper articles which address exactly the points I’m going to make – what they do seem to be more concerned with however is the way we, as a race (and not just the youth, although similar to my own productions, many entries and blogs do lean towards this too) are too dependent on technology. Some speak of experiments that were carried out to see just how dependent we are on technology – one article I read on The Telegraph online stated “A “clear majority" of almost 1,000 university students, interviewed at 12 campuses in 10 countries, including Britain, America and China, were unable to voluntarily avoid their gadgets for one full day…“They expected the frustration. But they didn't expect to have the psychological effects, to be lonely, to be panicked, the anxiety, literally heart palpitations.”[1] This was an incredibly interesting article to read, as, being similar to my own idea, I found myself comparing the experiment to my own idea and wondering if I myself should include an experiment of my own. (Note: in hindsight I’m actually uncertain about this idea – it might change the video from being abstract to being too much like a documentary. Although I do want this documentary effect slightly with my video, I do want to retain some of the abstract quality of the idea I’m currently working with, and I feel that carrying out something as generic as an experiment like this might throw some of the abstract qualities of the production too much.)
Other articles I’ve read include an article[2] on Mother Nature Network which identifies 7 signs that the human race is too dependent on technology; a preview of a book[3] called Better Off [Flipping the Switch on Technology] which asks the question “what is the least we need to achieve the most?” A very interesting first few chapters were available for preview which I highly recommend you take a look at. The link is below. The main other online-sourced piece of research I’ve enjoyed picking apart was a post on tumblr. It isn’t actually an article in favour of my opinions, but rather against them. Despite that, it’s become a very good piece of research for me to utilise. It’s a poem[4] – not rhyming – which defensively protects ‘the generation of knowledge’ and, although some points it makes in its passionate outpouring tumble of argument can be soaked up in the enthusiasm of the moment, there are several points made which I can provide a strong argument to – and plan to in fact. This was the post which first gave me inspiration to do this project – I’ll be going through it with a toothcomb and retrieving every point Emily Palermo (author) makes which can be argued by my own opinions and discussing them at length.
References:
[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8436831/Student-addiction-to-technology-similar-to-drug-cravings-study-finds.html Paragraphs 3 & 11
[2] http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/gadgets-electronics/stories/7-signs-we-are-too-dependent-on-technology
[3] http://www.harpercollins.com/browseinside/index.aspx?isbn13=9780060570057
[4] http://starredsoul.tumblr.com/post/78721736907/so-maybe-were-the-generation-of-the-selfie
Running some very simple online searches immediately gave me a lot of material to work with – clearly I’m not the first to raise this point. From what I can find, there aren’t any blogs or websites or magazine/newspaper articles which address exactly the points I’m going to make – what they do seem to be more concerned with however is the way we, as a race (and not just the youth, although similar to my own productions, many entries and blogs do lean towards this too) are too dependent on technology. Some speak of experiments that were carried out to see just how dependent we are on technology – one article I read on The Telegraph online stated “A “clear majority" of almost 1,000 university students, interviewed at 12 campuses in 10 countries, including Britain, America and China, were unable to voluntarily avoid their gadgets for one full day…“They expected the frustration. But they didn't expect to have the psychological effects, to be lonely, to be panicked, the anxiety, literally heart palpitations.”[1] This was an incredibly interesting article to read, as, being similar to my own idea, I found myself comparing the experiment to my own idea and wondering if I myself should include an experiment of my own. (Note: in hindsight I’m actually uncertain about this idea – it might change the video from being abstract to being too much like a documentary. Although I do want this documentary effect slightly with my video, I do want to retain some of the abstract quality of the idea I’m currently working with, and I feel that carrying out something as generic as an experiment like this might throw some of the abstract qualities of the production too much.)
Other articles I’ve read include an article[2] on Mother Nature Network which identifies 7 signs that the human race is too dependent on technology; a preview of a book[3] called Better Off [Flipping the Switch on Technology] which asks the question “what is the least we need to achieve the most?” A very interesting first few chapters were available for preview which I highly recommend you take a look at. The link is below. The main other online-sourced piece of research I’ve enjoyed picking apart was a post on tumblr. It isn’t actually an article in favour of my opinions, but rather against them. Despite that, it’s become a very good piece of research for me to utilise. It’s a poem[4] – not rhyming – which defensively protects ‘the generation of knowledge’ and, although some points it makes in its passionate outpouring tumble of argument can be soaked up in the enthusiasm of the moment, there are several points made which I can provide a strong argument to – and plan to in fact. This was the post which first gave me inspiration to do this project – I’ll be going through it with a toothcomb and retrieving every point Emily Palermo (author) makes which can be argued by my own opinions and discussing them at length.
References:
[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8436831/Student-addiction-to-technology-similar-to-drug-cravings-study-finds.html Paragraphs 3 & 11
[2] http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/gadgets-electronics/stories/7-signs-we-are-too-dependent-on-technology
[3] http://www.harpercollins.com/browseinside/index.aspx?isbn13=9780060570057
[4] http://starredsoul.tumblr.com/post/78721736907/so-maybe-were-the-generation-of-the-selfie
Constraints
Legal Constraints and Copyright
Ethical considerations
In parts of my film I plan on doing some secret filming. Many people have moral issues with this, so I did some research and now know the following:
The legality or illegality of recording someone boils down to whether or not it violates the person's privacy. In general, recording someone is only considered illegal if it violates their privacy and that is typically determined by the situation and who is the one doing the recording. It is legal if there is no set expectation of privacy.
Information quoted from: https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100417182040AAhTHre
Costs
I already own the majority of the equipment I plan to use for this production. There are however some pieces of lighting equipment I have purchased for this project, as lighting is the only piece of major equipment I don’t yet own. The cost of this purchase was £56. Also, I have built a custom stabiliser frame for my camera out of PVC piping and an old tripod! The DIY build cost me less than £10 and works extremely efficiently. There are few other costs here and there – public transport and petrol costs, but nothing too major.
- Any quoted articles must be properly and fully referenced
- Many copyright issues that could otherwise arise
- Abide by Human Rights Act when dealing with cast and crew
- Video Recordings Act – I think I can rate this feature PG – I will have to make sure it is appropriate for such a rating by monitoring the type of language I use and the visual appropriateness of the film.
Ethical considerations
In parts of my film I plan on doing some secret filming. Many people have moral issues with this, so I did some research and now know the following:
The legality or illegality of recording someone boils down to whether or not it violates the person's privacy. In general, recording someone is only considered illegal if it violates their privacy and that is typically determined by the situation and who is the one doing the recording. It is legal if there is no set expectation of privacy.
- It is illegal to record anyone in a restroom, locker room, or changing room. These are areas automatically deemed locations where a level of privacy is expected.
- Anyone can legally record anyone else outdoors in a public area such as a street, park, or beach since there is no expectation of privacy.
- It is illegal to record someone when they are inside their own home since there is an expectation of privacy. There are rare exceptions for specific situations where it may be deemed not in violation of the person's privacy and is not illegal.
- Businesses and schools can legally record anyone on their property for security purposes except in areas such as restrooms, locker rooms, or changing rooms.
- Law enforcement can use surveillance equipment to observe and record anyone appearing in a public place and is treated as any other "plain sight" observations made by an officer "in person" at the location. The only difference in this case is that the observing officer is doing so from a distance through the use of remote technology.
Information quoted from: https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100417182040AAhTHre
Costs
I already own the majority of the equipment I plan to use for this production. There are however some pieces of lighting equipment I have purchased for this project, as lighting is the only piece of major equipment I don’t yet own. The cost of this purchase was £56. Also, I have built a custom stabiliser frame for my camera out of PVC piping and an old tripod! The DIY build cost me less than £10 and works extremely efficiently. There are few other costs here and there – public transport and petrol costs, but nothing too major.
Quality
Quality could have been a problem for me last year, but recently I purchased a high quality film camera which I now use for all of my film productions. The camera is more than capable of high quality – shooting in full HD and even featuring slow-motion effects as slow as 480fps. The quality of sound on the camera is not ideal – I bought a set of external microphones to combat this issue. As for quality of camerawork, as stated before I have made an excellent quality camera stabiliser and also own a shoulder mount and a pistol grip – so shaky footage is highly unlikely. With the above order of a 3-point lighting set my lighting quality will be particularly fantastic. I bought the LED Video light rather than a 3-piece studio lighting kit as I wanted the option of manoeuvrability in this film.
Resources
Being a student and having a low budget and only a little experience does sadly limit my options with my projects. I would love to be able to hire professional actors to be in my video, and buy proper sets and even better cameras, but I’m broke. I’d also love to include some 3D animation (or even 2D!) in my production, but have not the skill (nor really the time to learn and practice) to produce an animation sequence in the time I have. Oh well.
Quality could have been a problem for me last year, but recently I purchased a high quality film camera which I now use for all of my film productions. The camera is more than capable of high quality – shooting in full HD and even featuring slow-motion effects as slow as 480fps. The quality of sound on the camera is not ideal – I bought a set of external microphones to combat this issue. As for quality of camerawork, as stated before I have made an excellent quality camera stabiliser and also own a shoulder mount and a pistol grip – so shaky footage is highly unlikely. With the above order of a 3-point lighting set my lighting quality will be particularly fantastic. I bought the LED Video light rather than a 3-piece studio lighting kit as I wanted the option of manoeuvrability in this film.
Resources
Being a student and having a low budget and only a little experience does sadly limit my options with my projects. I would love to be able to hire professional actors to be in my video, and buy proper sets and even better cameras, but I’m broke. I’d also love to include some 3D animation (or even 2D!) in my production, but have not the skill (nor really the time to learn and practice) to produce an animation sequence in the time I have. Oh well.
Contingency plan
There are some things I should consider having a ‘Plan B’ for.
What happens if my actors don’t show up?
As with most of my projects, I have enlisted the help of several willing voluntary actors from the Performing Arts department at The Henley College to act as extras in my film. The students have (through no fault of their own) ben unable to attend some of my recording timeslots in the past at short notice - to avoid a repeat of this scenario I have requested that the students write down the dates of my production schedule and check with their teachers whether there will be anything important for them happening on those days. Using that information I have been able to plan my production schedule around what my actors are doing; and I have plenty of willing actors from the department so if some are unavailable, they can easily be replaced.
What happens if it rains?
It rains. Weather isn’t a problem for me in this production – I have weatherproof gear and a lot of patience. Also I can’t see the rain doing much other than potentially adding to the quality of the production by providing me with material for some interesting abstract shots. If for some reason an apocalyptically severe weather change does occur, like a hurricane, earthquake, volcanic eruption or a blizzard, hopefully everyone will be too occupied with not dying to be concerned about the continuation of my project.
What happens if my camera breaks?
If my camera breaks, I have an exact duplicate. I also have multiple high-quality memory SD cards that I can use if one becomes full on-location or damaged.
What happens if someone notices they’re being secretly filmed?
If someone notices that I'm filming them and requests not to be in the video, I will firstly appeal to their better nature. I am only making a small student production after all, and “that shot I just got of you was particularly flattering if I do say so myself sir.” If that fails, and depending on the context of the shot, I might ask to blur them out. If they refuse, I will politely apologise to the citizen and delete the footage of them.
What happens if I lose all my data?
As someone who has experienced this heinous ordeal on more than one occasion, I am now just about the most paranoid student on the entire planet. I already have several backups of my work, and when I begin filming I will carry a laptop with me so that I can frequently dump/duplicate memory card footage and potentially upload it to a cloud server as well to further reduce risk of losing data or footage.
What if I break every bone in my body in a death-defying stunt to jump the Thames using only a trampoline and an old jetpack?
I probably won’t make the film. I mean, I'm not Superman, and I probably shouldn't have tried to do that.
What happens if my actors don’t show up?
As with most of my projects, I have enlisted the help of several willing voluntary actors from the Performing Arts department at The Henley College to act as extras in my film. The students have (through no fault of their own) ben unable to attend some of my recording timeslots in the past at short notice - to avoid a repeat of this scenario I have requested that the students write down the dates of my production schedule and check with their teachers whether there will be anything important for them happening on those days. Using that information I have been able to plan my production schedule around what my actors are doing; and I have plenty of willing actors from the department so if some are unavailable, they can easily be replaced.
What happens if it rains?
It rains. Weather isn’t a problem for me in this production – I have weatherproof gear and a lot of patience. Also I can’t see the rain doing much other than potentially adding to the quality of the production by providing me with material for some interesting abstract shots. If for some reason an apocalyptically severe weather change does occur, like a hurricane, earthquake, volcanic eruption or a blizzard, hopefully everyone will be too occupied with not dying to be concerned about the continuation of my project.
What happens if my camera breaks?
If my camera breaks, I have an exact duplicate. I also have multiple high-quality memory SD cards that I can use if one becomes full on-location or damaged.
What happens if someone notices they’re being secretly filmed?
If someone notices that I'm filming them and requests not to be in the video, I will firstly appeal to their better nature. I am only making a small student production after all, and “that shot I just got of you was particularly flattering if I do say so myself sir.” If that fails, and depending on the context of the shot, I might ask to blur them out. If they refuse, I will politely apologise to the citizen and delete the footage of them.
What happens if I lose all my data?
As someone who has experienced this heinous ordeal on more than one occasion, I am now just about the most paranoid student on the entire planet. I already have several backups of my work, and when I begin filming I will carry a laptop with me so that I can frequently dump/duplicate memory card footage and potentially upload it to a cloud server as well to further reduce risk of losing data or footage.
What if I break every bone in my body in a death-defying stunt to jump the Thames using only a trampoline and an old jetpack?
I probably won’t make the film. I mean, I'm not Superman, and I probably shouldn't have tried to do that.