Direction unit- project update

So I have been having a week or so of extremely hectic planning for my direction unit. I have been trying to get my actors, location, script, shoot schedule, shot list and props and wardrobe all into place and ready to go for when i film my short segment from my chosen drama Desperate Housewives. Here is how things are going so far:

Script- i handed a draft script into Simon and he said it was all fine except for the possibility it would go over my 3 minute time limit. So I have been trying to take lines out here and there from the script which i feel would not be missed if they were not there. This turned out to be tougher then i thought it would be!

Actors- I have 2 main actors and the walk on parts for my filming, but i still need to find one more person, this should not be too hard and hope to find someone in the next day or so.

Location- I have decided that I am going to have my scene set on the beach as it will give a new dimension to this scene but then not take away from what is happening on screen and confuse the audience too much.

Shot list and shooting schedule- I have started my shot list and gone into a lot of detail as to which shots I am wanting to use as i feel it is better to have more options of different shots then less options. My shooting schedule is over a full day.

I will still be doing some more planning so that I am as organised as I can be.

Narrative and genre- research

I have been researching the techniques used for One born Every Minute and have found out a few things.

• The type of documentary it is is called a fixed camera observational documentary. This means that cameras have been set up and fixed to various parts of the maternity ward, for example several labour rooms, the theatre room, reception desk and nurses area, and they are constantly filming. There are many positives to having a set up for filming like this, for example the cameras will be highly unlikely to miss anything important. Also it means that because the cameras are fixed there will not be unesscessary crew getting in the way of the nurses/drs/patients on the ward whilst filming. There are some downsides to choosing a filming technique such as a fixed camera observational documentary too though. For example, because there are so many cameras rolling constantly the editing team ends up with hundreds of hours of footage of which most is not likely to be used at all. This means that the edit team will have to go through the filmed material which could take longer then if you were just filming what you wanted when you wanted. 
• There are also a few portable cameras on the ward at various stages. This is so that the documentary does not feel static all the time and adds some movement to it. This is good because it means that the crew can choose what they want to film and do not have so much stuff to edit and cut down. But it could also cause a problem for the people who work on the ward incase the film crew were to get in the way. 

I will continue my research to see if i can find more filming techniques used by One Born Every Minute. 

Narrative and genre: Idea development

For my narrative and genre unit i have been thinking about what programme i would like to use for the essay. I have come to the final decision that i will use the documentary programme, One Born Every Minute.
One Born Every Minute is a factual series, based on the reality of what a woman goes through when giving birth. It is based in the maternity unit of a hospital and an average episode is following the birthing experience of 2-3 couples. The gripping thing about this programme is that cameras have been set up in every part of the maternity ward, making sure that the viewer gets to see everything, including the most intimate of moments, for example the first time a mother and father meet their new born.
I am really looking forward to researching this programme and how it is filmed.

Narrative and genre: Lecture notes

The story of narrative.


Every drama, documentary, entertainment, news and reality television series uses a story to communicate. To tell a story they all use narrative devices.
Christopher Booker argues that all stories can be broken down into 7 main plot lines:

• Tragedy- 
• Comedy
• Overcoming the monster
• Voyage and return
• Quest
• Rags to riches
• Rebirth

Tragedy- usually concerns a hero with a fatal floor which causes a tragic ending. Examples such as Achilles and Macbeth. The tragic hero gets 'committed to his course of action.'

Examples of television tragedy drama plot lines-

• Madmen
• Shadowline
• Eastenders
• Red Riding.

Comedy- always a happy ending, typically of romantic fulfillment. Usually involves a hero down on their luck, looking for love in some shape or form. The hero and heroine are destined to be together but a dark force is preventing them from doing so. The story conspires to make the dark force repent and then the hero and heroine are free to get together. 

Example of television comedy drama plot lines-

• Friends
• Scrubs
• Gavin and Stacey
• The Office

Overcoming the monster- the fight against a seemingly unbeatable monster at its core. Only will the hero prevail if they overcome the monster.  Examples of television overcoming the monster plot lines: 

• Dr who
• Supernatural
• The Big C
• Deal or No Deal

Voyage and return- follows archetypal structure of personal development through leaving and then returning. The hero usually enters a time/place/land that they don't understand and must overcome hurdles, villians, before succeeding and returning 'home'. About going on a journey of discovery.

Examples of television voyage and return plot lines:

• Secret Millionaire
• Supernanny
• Wife- Swap
• Undercover Boss

Quest- enables for a large sweeping story and great characters. It allows for you to on a journey to get something (have a focus.) Usually requires the hero to have team or companions with them to help. 

Examples of television quest plot lines: 

• Total wipe out
• The Cube

Rags to Riches- the riches can be either literal or metophorical. the hero will go from rags to riches which is mirrored by the protagonist who moves in the opposite direction. A coming of age version would have rags to riches replaced by immaturity and maturity. 

Examples of Rags to Riches plot lines: 

• Forrest Gump
• Pursuit of Happiness
• Only Fools and Horses
• Weakest Link
• Makeover Shows

Re-Birth- the central character finds a new reason for living and turns their life around. It can be seen as a more optimistic form of Tragedy in which the villian spirals into evil and then at the last minute raises their head and gets pulled out by a redeeming figure. 

Examples of Re-birth plot lines:

• Eastenders
• Trainspotting
• Secret Millionaire

Commission Unit- Draft Pitch

I was asked as part of this unit to make a pitch for my documentary idea. The basis of a pitch is to propose an idea to someone and make them want to use your idea.
The do's and donts when pitching your idea include:


Do's 

• Brave and surprising
• passionate and engaging
• challenge conventions- use new angles
• paragraph ideas together
• pitch top line
• know existing output/opportunities
• dialogue with commissioners
• pith the ideas and not the subject matter

Don'ts 

• Lots of ideas in one pitch
• patronise the editors with gimmicks
• water a idea down too soon
• flog a dead horse
• develop a 'off message' e.g not right time slot. 

This is the draft pitch for my documentary idea: 

Draft pitch

Title: Millennium Mum

Location: surrounding areas, which involve the families lives.

Subject: becoming a teen mum in the year 2000 and what peoples opinions on this are and how they have changed since that time.

Style: interviews, archive footage (videos and photographs) and observational.

Central characters: mother, child and the family and friends closest to them.

Conflict of characters: the difference of opinions people have about girls becoming mothers in their teens and how this has changed over the past 10 years.

Characters journey: this documentary will be based on one mother in her teens who had a baby in the year 2000 and how this has changed her life and the people around her lives. I will mostly be concentrating on the mothers point of view with interviews about how she thinks her life would be different and what things she would change if anything about her life now if she had the chance. I will be adding in archive footage of the mothers life before she had her baby and also archive footage from after she had her baby. More archive footage such as photographs and videos of the child growing up will be included with things such as his/her first Christmas, first day at nursery, all the way up to current day and his/her first day at secondary school. I will also be having interviews from the general public about what they think of teen pregnancies and if there opinion on it has changed in the past 10 years.

I will have information from newspapers and tabloids on screen as well showing how teen pregnancies have been covered in the press over the past 10 years. Also statics of teen pregnancies.   

I have been giving some advice as to what i could add to this draft pitch to make it better. I will do this and then re post my final draft.  

Direction Unit- Idea/research

For research i have been watching a lot of episodes of Desperate Housewives and have been thinking about how the show is so so glamourous. The thing that i thought i would be able to do is make it less glamourous. But not so much so that it ends up seeming like i have turned it into a comedy sketch.

Wisteria Lane

Bree Van Der Kamp

For example i wouldn't want to take it from the glossy and glamourous street of Wisteria lane (above) and then change it to the complete opposite which would be a run down, grimy council estate. Another example would be taking one of the many glamourous characters from Desperate Housewives, and replacing them with the complete opposite, which could be a unclean, dirty woman. 

So to stop this from happening I would just make simple changes that can be noticed but don't take it so far that you can't figure out what the programme i choose was in the first place. I had an idea that i would use the basis of a womens book club and that 4 or 5 women meet up to discuss books at a library or one of their houses and intend to talk about the book they have been reading but instead they end up bitching and gossiping. I will do more research into other ideas before i settle on this one for definate.  

Commission Unit- Idea

I have now made my decision on what subject i will be pitching to make a documentary for. I have settled on the idea of using the basis of a mother who gave birth in the year 2000. I will also be filming a mother who had her baby in her teens- a millennium teen mum. I will outline the basic vision i have for this project below:

Title- Teen millennium mum
Basic outline of documentary- this documentary will follow the story of one teenager mother who had her baby in the year 2000. I will want to be documenting how having a baby that was unplanned has changed her life, and if she would change anything. I will be using interviews of the mother herself and her close friends and family to see what all of their opinions are, also i will have interviews from the general public which will express how people felt about teen pregnancies 10 years ago and how they feel about them now, to see if opinion has changed in anyway.
i will then document the journey of both the mothers life before she had her baby and then the mother and baby's life from the year 2000 onwards, using archive footage such as videos and photographs. Other things i am looking to use is factors and figures about teen pregnancies from the last 10 years. Also press cutting and archive footage of media coverage to show the opinions of the media world.