Test Footage

I edited together a very rough draft with the test footage and rough logo I have recorded/designed. This shows a rough narrative structure and how I may put them together when it comes to the full thing. I wanted to test the transition for the title screen and I feel like the top to bottom push transition was very appropriate but for the final product I may change the speed of it. I also didn't edit in any music for the timelapse and the camera wasn't very steady. I'm going to look for ways to keep the camera more steady and find some appropriate music or maybe even create some. This is only the rough narrative structure and doesn't follow the storyboard as much as I want it to. I also didn't make Sam follow the script as much as he will in the final product.

Shoulder Mount

Pictured below is a shoulder camera mount. I will most likely use this because it would help to stabilise the camera during the following shots which are typically in documentaries. In documentaries there is typically following shots and still shots with tripods which gives multiple angles.

I found that the footage I recorded from this wasn't very stable so I would have to be able keep the mount more stable than I did during the test footage. I also was going to include some royalty free music during the timelapse but couldn't download any in school because the audio was blocked. I also found that the lighting in the kitchen was very poor so I will need to improve on this by turning on more lights or recording in brighter daylight. 

Phone Mount

I found a tripod mount, which can hold phones on a tripod, below for very cheap and though it may be interesting to see how the camera on my phone compares with the digital camera I was intending to use.

I found that the digital camera was far better than my phone camera in terms of audio and video quality. I made the audio louder on my phone camera so that it would be similar to the digital camera and I could compare them. The quality was still worse anyway though. I will record some footage my brother's phone because it is a higher quality and more up to date phone than mine. I will then compare it to the footage from my phone and the footage from the digital camera.

Camera Comparison Test

I tested two cameras with the same lighting and audio conditions.  I found that the second camera looked and sounded better than the first one. The first camera had a faint buzzing in the background and looked better in terms of lighting

Prop Update

I am planning to create a frame with about 10-15 ties in it. This would represent the importance of some of Sam's ties to himself. This would really showcase his addiction because there would be ties that he doesn't use for their purpose. I plan to have it in the background of his interview shots and he may refer to it a few times.

Typography

Filming Update

Sam will be free from the 26th of November until the 4th of December. During this time I plan to get some of the filming done. This will be interviews with him and some voice overs. I may also film the initial introduction. For some of this I may need 2 cameras to stick to the conventions of a typical documentary. This would mean that I would have alternate camera angles. The locations for this are established except for the charity shop. Hopefully I can use Age UK to film but I will have to ask in advance, but a majority will be filmed at home. During this time I will alter the script and storyboard.

Gender Representation

Sam keeps conventional to some male stereotypes because he is a typically messy character. I hope to reflect this in his shed/home. He also has facial. He isn't a very macho character so does breaks some conventions due to not being very masculine. This is based on what was seen as masculine. He doesn't fit the conventions of the action hero because although he will be a slightly aggressive character, he will not want to engage in violent behaviour. He does not fit the conventions of the big shot because he is not at all successful and doesn't have possessions that are seen as valuable by society and doesn't have very much money. The big shot is however what he aspires to be. He doesn't fit the strong silent type because he isn't very masculine and will talk about his feelings. Sam doesn't fit the stereotype of the jock because he doesn't feel the need to fight, doesn't mind being soft and isn't successful with women. He fits the character of the joker in the way that he is always looking for approval by trying to make jokes but will sometimes show his emotions and also isn't very popular. Sam does fit the character of a nerd because of his lack of confidence when it comes to social skills, his lack of masculinity. However it is clear that he isn't a smart character due to him giving up his job to pursue a very distant hard dream.

Draft Script

Link to script
This is a link to a draft script which I have developed with Sam. The shots are based on the storyboard which can be found here. We will most likely include more scenes to extend the narrative and include more about his life.

Update on script writing process

Storyboard

Creating this storyboard has given me a much better idea of how I'm going to structure my mockumentary and will help heavily when it comes to writing my script

Locations Update

I have decided to use a charity shop as my location rather than Sam's workplace because I feel that it would make a better suited narrative for my mockumentary. This will cause the amount of interviews to suffer because there will be less people to interview, however I will most likely get interviews with his friends and family to compensate for this.

Semiotics

Questionaire Results

My My sample was biased because there was a large majority of men and a small age range of 17-21. This is the target audience I am aiming for but I may have found others that may have been interested if I had a larger sample size. I did find that people preferred serious documentaries because they preferred to learn than laugh and that there are more good documentaries than mockumentaries. I also found that people who liked the office enjoyed the cringe, humour and reality.

Editing Software

Rough storyboard 1

This is a very rough draft for my storyboard. I am going to create a similar storyboard and use some of the same slides but it will follow a slightly different narrative. This will help me pick between the slight differences and further expand them

Potential Locations

Initially we will probably film outside of my house before running through the house to reveal that he lives in a shed in the garden. I will probably use a timelapse for this.

This is another potential location because this is where Sam works so that would be the best place to film him quitting a job because he knows everyone there. He has told me that he thinks that everyone would be fine with me filming there if I wanted to take that route. However if this was unable to happen I would be able to film other ideas for the documentary in more length.  

I may also film in a charity shop to overlay while he's talking about where or how he's gotten some of his ties. However I may not be able to get footage in a charity shop if I don't get permission from the person on the counter. I may use age uk because it's very close to me and they may have a decent selection of ties.

Character Profile

The Basics
Name: Sam
Role:
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Race: Caucasian
Complection:
Eye Colour: Blue
Build: Slightly tall and fat
Hair colour/Style: Black and scruffy
Style of Dress: Smart-Casual
Most memorable features: Colourful ties, Mostly smiling and nervously laughing.

Personality
Back Story: Average life before infatuation with ties
Behaviours/Actions:  Awkward laughing/smiling
Appearance/Movement: Scruffy, shaky, sudden
Critical flaw and how it influences the story: Enjoyment for ties which causes him to quit his job
Weaknesses: Too optimistic
Strengths:
What makes him unique:awkwardness and infatuation for ties

Inner journey
Motivations: Dreams and money
What he really wants: Success, to share interests
What character is most afraid of: Failure and lack of money
Mask that hides him from the world: Attempts at comedy
What he would want to be remembered for: Youtube channel and personailty
Journey at the end looking back: He didn't know he wouldn't succeed

Identification Factors
Character flaws and introduction:
Meeting with other characters or pivotal scenes:
External Conflicts: Kicked out of house, rival, lack of support
Internal Conflicts: Lack of money

Similar Products

The Office (UK)
The office is a mockumentary which I think will be quite similar to my mockumentary but with a different approach because it will be focused on one person instead of being focussed on an entire workplace, however to begin with there will be interviews with his workers. It will stop being about his workplace nearly instantly though. Because I've only got about 5 minutes this may end up being the main focus, however I may try to include some footage before he goes to work to quit because I want to focus on his character rather than on other people. The Office also focusses on a David Brent who is in charge of the workplace however Sam will be a character who has very little influence on the workplace.  My newspaper advert will probably be similar to the poster for the office but include some more information.

David Brent: Life on the Road
Life on the Road will be more similar to mine because it will be focussed on a man of little power who will leave work to pursue his dream. Sam will give up his job entirely whereas David Brent just takes a vacation. The story will also be similar throughout because it will be about his dreams failing as he puts everything at risk. Also interviews will show that no other people have faith in him pursuing his dream. It will also be similar because he won't be very popular. Life on the Road included travelling whereas Sam Tied Down will not focus on travel because he will be relatively stationary. Ricky Gervais also performed one of his songs on BBC radio 5 live. Doc Brown who also stars in the film also hosts a radio show on Fubar Radio. Because I want to create a radio interview this is quite helpful because it shows that radio is still relevant and that even for new films they are doing interviews. Doc Brown's radio show doesn't help much because it doesn't have anything to do with the film, however he may have spoken about it on his radio show. My radio advert would just have to be an interview because there's nothing else that could tie in to radio.

Blake Vapes: Viva Las Vapegas
This is what I would consider this to be the most similar to my product because it's about one man who most people look down on, but who is also really full of himself, trying to achieve something and enjoy himself. He also has a strange obsession with vaporizers. Viva Las Vapegas had little advertising and couldn't give inspiration for my ancillary products, however I could still use some ideas from the mockumentary. The poster is also to colourful and packed

Questionaire

Newspaper Advert First Draft

I created this as a rough draft for my newspaper advert. My final ancillary product will probably go into more detail and have a better quality photo and a more suitable font. I also might change the colour scheme but also may not because it adds simplicity.

Narrative Theory

Todorov

My mockumentary is slightly unusual but will match a typical narrative. My narrative will match Todorov's narrative theory because I intend for it to start where my protagonist is living a normal life with a decent job, but then the conflicting event will be him leaving his job. He will eventually realize that his dream is unrealistic and attempt to return to his regular life. He will then return to his normality but still continues to enjoy his ties.

Levi Strauss

My narrative will not be typical  according to Levi Strauss binary opposites theory. I may have a rival character who is more successful at tie reviewing than Sam but I'm not sure whether  will include it. There probably won't be any other binary opposites.

Barthes

My narrative will not fit Barthes' enigma code because there is no mystery to be solved.

Propp

My character doesn't fit any of Propp's characters because I wouldn't describe him as a Hero, villain, dispatcher, donor, helper, heroine or false hero. He could be seen as a very loose hero because the audience will want him to succeed, however he won't actually do anything heroic. I may also include a rival to Sam but he won't be seen as a villain because he won't really have a goal.

Freytag

My narrative will follow Freytag's pyramid because it will start at an equilibrium and then escalate when he's quit his job but then the action will fall when he attempts to get another job. An equiibrium will then be reached once he gets a normal job again

Narrative

Sam will initially be working a normal job before making a decision to leave and pursue his dream of becoming a popular tie reviewer on youtube. There will be interview with his family and co-workers which will comment on his decisions. He will move into his parents' shed and live there after being unable to support himself. Sam will go to the charity shop and meet his rival 'Danny Tied Up' and confront him. Sam will then be kicked by his parents because of his lack of money and ability to support himself. He will then be stay with one of his friends until they kick him out. Sam will return to his job once he;s realised that his dream can not be a reality. He will still run his channel along side his job but will not focus as much on it. Danny will have a successful channel at the end.

Audience Research

Sam Tied Down pitch

Sam Tied Down pitch from Max Shepherd on Vimeo.

What I may include in my five minutes

The first five minutes of my mockumetary will start with a small segment where Sam briefly talks about himself. I will include an introduction to his workplace and why he's leaving. This will include interviews with workers and himself. This may cause an inconvenience to the workers so I may not make this scene. I will probably include a scene where he shows a tour of his shed. This may result in two storyboards for the different alternatives of what I may include.

Brief 7

Presenting Breaking Bad presentation

Breaking Bad presentation from Max Shepherd on Vimeo.

Breaking Bad Presentation