Production Diary 1

Creating the animatic was difficult as the computers at school need updating and Adobe Premier kept crashing, and because of this we needed to keep saving the project after we had added to it, otherwise we would lose all the work we had done.

Shot List

1. Slo motion walk & falling over
2. Posing & title
3. Talking heads - Sophie
4. Talking heads - Ashleigh
5. Talking heads - Molly
6. Talking heads - Harry
7. Location & narration 1
8. Location & narration 2
9. Location & narration 3
10. POV journey to location 1
11. POV journey to location 2
12. Arriving at the house
13. Surveying the location
14. POV setting up equipment 1
15. POV setting up equipment 2
16. Fast forward sun setting
17. CCTV of house with time & location 1
18. CCTV of house 2
19. CCTV of house 3
20. Scanners beep
21. Team goes to investigate room
22. Team finds room very cold
23. Team sees a floating chair
24. Team freaks out & runs, dropping equipment
25. Someone holding up chair
26. Team talks about what happens
27. Harry takes photo, Ashleigh gets possessed (epileptic fit)
28. Ghost runs into a wall
29. Team carries Ashleigh outside & douse her in Holy water
30. Team exorcises Ashleigh
31. Ghost opens door
32. Team screaming
33. Door closes on the ghost
34. Team Screaming
35. After the break...

Documentary Research: Most Haunted & Ghost Hunters

Most Haunted
Most Haunted is a British paranormal reality TV show about a group of people researching haunted locations in and around the UK. First aired in 2002 on the channel Really it has since had 17 series and 197 episodes, as well as an online edition of the show. Each episode is around 30-40 minutes long depending on the season and is played weekly. It was originally aired in the UK but is also shown in international countries. The target audience is adolescents and adults interested in the paranormal.

Crew roles:

• Yvette Fielding - Presenter
•  Karl Beattie - Producer, Director, Cameraman
• Stuart Torevell - Rigger, Cameraman
• Fred Batt - Demonologist, Historian
• Gregg Smith - Director of Photography, Cameraman (2015)
• Eamonn Vann-Harris - E.V.P (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) specialist (2015)
• Glen Hunt - Sceptic, Parapsychologist (2015)
• Darren Hutchinson - Sound and Cameraman (2015)

Series 1-4 saw a more theatrically filmed show, using steady came and coloured lighting at night to create a higher emphasis of quality production, as well as using dry ice and illuminating the windows.

However in series 5 due to the show becoming more mainstream it lost its grungy look. The shows music is original, produced to picture by Alan Clark, who used his own sounds and samples. 

Ghost Hunters

Ghost Hunters is an american paranormal reality tv show originally airing on the american channel "Syfy", it premiered in October 2004, and the show is now aired internationally. The producers are Craig Piligian, Tom Thayer, Alan David and Rob Katz. Its target it audience is adults and adolescents who are interested in the paranormal. The show follows the team as they investigate supposedly haunted locations.

The team uses a number of high-tech equipment, including night-vision cameras, which we plan to replicate in our piece by using filters.

The shows success is largely due to the audience it has garnered because of its mix of paranormal investigation and interpersonal drama. This audience had grown over the years as the show has become more and more popular, leading to cast members signing on with talent agencies to help the manage their public appearances. They have also created a website where they can share stories, experiences and footage with fans  which has also lead to an increase in its popularity due to its interactions with the fans.

Pitch

Initial Research

March of the Penguins
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Release date: 9th December 2005
Production companies: National Geographic Films, Bonne Pioche, Wild Bunch
Intended target audience: This is intended for all adult audiences, as an informative piece of media. It may also appeal to adolescent audiences.

Synopsis: The documentary follows a colony of emperor penguins through their hardships through out the Antarctic year. Showing their long march to the breeding grounds, survival through the harsh winter and the perils of raising their young.

Documentary narrative & representation techniques: The type of documentary is Direct Cinema: showing the natural lives of emperor penguins in chronological order, with minimal interference from the crew.
All narrations can be reduced to binary opposites, for example: predator vs. prey - krill, fish, squid -> penguins -> leopard seal.

Effectiveness: This documentary is effective as it succeeds in informing the audience about the penguins lives. This is done through narration (by Morgan Freeman) over each scene of the penguins, describing and explaining exactly what is going on at that point.

For example in this picture we can see the penguins marching to their breeding ground, this is narrated over, explaining that they have many  hardships to come, and that some die before they reach the breeding ground. This is effective as it causes the audience to begin to feel sympathy for the penguins. Especially in this shot as it shows the great distance that the penguins have to travel.






TT3D: Close to the Edge
Director: Richard De Aragues
Release date: 22nd April 2011
Production companies:  Isle of Man Film, CinemaNX
Intended target audience: This intended for all adult audiences as an informative piece of media. It may also appeal to adolescent audiences.

Synopsis: The documentary follows the month building up to the TT as well as the week full of races. Focusing mainly on Guy Martin and why he and others continue to risk their lives in the worlds most dangerous motorbike rice on the Isle of Man.

Documentary narrative & representation techniques: The type of documentary is Talking Heads & Compilation: This shows interviews with racers and other that take part of the race as well as a compilation of old footage and images of the racers during and after the racers. Narration has also been used to inform the audience of what is going  in certain points  of the documentary

Effectiveness: This Documentary is effective as it gives the audience an incite into the lives of the racers and behind the scenes of the TT. It also informs the audience of what happens before, during and after the TT, allowing them to see all aspects of the races. The effectivness is achieved through a mutlitude of interviews, narration and following Guy Martin around.

Main Production Review

Production group: Ashleigh Woodberry, Harry Goodman, Max Barnard and Molly Weiss

Chosen production task: Documentary

Ancillary task:

• Radio trailer
• Magazine listings

Finalised ideas so far:

• Spoof ghost hunting documentary
• Talking heads (with ghost hunting team members)
• Slow motion walking introduction

Work produced so far:

• Planing ideas and basic story line