Pre-Production Update
George Nicholls Hypothetical Pre-Production
So What’s New?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
New Name
After looking at other Channel 4 and SBN shows I eventually decided on a new name that I think better describes the subject matter and premise of the documentary series.
The name I settled on was \/ \/ \/
All The World's A Stage
New Location
New Location
In order to achieve a more direct and authentic comparison between life at UK and Australian Performing Arts Schools, I decided that the schools needed to be similar in size and structure.
So to get a unique perspective I decided it was better to focus on two small scale schools. This way it allows the audience to see the students as “the kid next door” and they will be able to relate more closely to them.
This lead to me “Re-Casting”the Australian school. After some research I found the Jute Theatre Company, a small school that Runs sessions from a small studio they rent at a mall in the coastal town of Carnis in Queensland Australia.
They offer a small selection of classes taking on students from the age of 9 upwards for weekly lessons after school, encouraging students to help turn their passion and hobby, into a fully realised dream.
Crew
Crew
After looking at shows with a similar setup I have a much clearer idea of the crew i would require.
Looking in to the “Behind The Scenes” of shows like Educating Essex and 24 Hours In A&E I can see that despite its relatively small scale in comparison, my show would actually need a substantial number of crew members and would have many parallels of a Live TV Studio set up.
For example in order to monitor all camera feeds and ongoing events throughout the classes the show would require a gallery room. This way the producers, directors etc could watch every class without their presence being a distraction that would affect the authenticity of the story.
In terms of crew i would need at least 4 producers on site at both locations. The main producer would be in the gallery monitoring all the footage and guiding the story and handling all logistics. They would also be in regular communication with the 3 associate producers stationed on the floor. Their responsibilities would include getting release forms signed, helping decide which contributors need to be micd, advising the gallery on any on set developments they should be monitoring and much more.
I would need a large number of camera operators for the set up, but during the shooting this number would decrease considerably thanks to the fixed camera style. During and after the shoot I would also need a large number of editors, one to act as a sort of vision mixer at each site, and a number of offline editors to piece different stories together.
Episode Structure
Episode Structure
After researching in to shows that followed a similar subject matter, I have a clearer idea of how each episode of my show should be structured.
As previously established this will be a 6 part series taking place in both the UK and Australia. But in order to stop the audience getting overwhelmed by content and avoid discouraging newcomers that may jump in, in later episodes, each episode will limit itself to following the stories of a maximum of 4 characters (2 in the UK and 2 in Australia).
Over the shooting period the producers will be able to pick out as many engaging contributors as they come across, instructing the gallery of their stories that the crew can then put more focus on. Then during post production the editors and other crew can further narrow down who provides the best content.
At this point it can then be arranged for small satellite crews to visit these specific contributors to get additional interviews with. Through this method we can then create individual “mini arcs” that can be self contained stories in each episode.
With a different set of events and characters occuring in each episode audience will have a reason to keep tuning in, even if they didn't connect with the previous characters.
The editors will be able to use the months of footage to find major events with heightened emotion to use in each episode.
Sponsor
Sponsor
Since this production is going to be on a global scale, and is arguably more ambitious than similar shows that have preceded it, the cost of production could be a concern.
Even though the show will be a collaboration between two different networks, there are still major travel, location, equipment and crew costs to consider.
One way to solve this potential issue os to get backing of a sponsor. Since this is a channel 4 show (in collaboration with SBN) all programmes on both networks are structured to have regular “commercial breaks”. The sponsoring company and its services could be advertised at the beginning and end of every commercial break, providing them with a wide new audience and incentive to back the show.
The two networks have a history of working with sponsors as well so there's extra incentive.
Since this show is based over two significantly distant locations an ideal sponsor would be either a travel company or an airline.
Two companies that I believe would make the best sponsor for the show would be Qantas Airline (one of Australia's oldest airline that serves as a popular choice when flying between the UK and Australia). And Kayak (a well known travel site that has a history of sponsoring TV shows).
The Competition
The Competition
After looking into different performing arts competitions that take place around the world, I wasn’t convinced that any of them would make an interesting enough story. This is because many of them are limited to a certain format or style and i'm not convinced they would allow each of the contributors to get the focus the audience would like.
As such as part of the hypothetical pre-production I’m now considering making the competition also hypothetical. It could be one specifically set up by the show that will bring the two shows together and place our contributors in front of a large audience and a panel of judges.
This way we could ensure that each of the contributors is put in a situation that would give them the opportunity to complete their personal goals that they set out in previous episodes. It would also allow more time and focus to be dedicated to the schools meeting each other for the first time.
What’s Next
The next steps would probably be to start working on hypothetical character Profiles of some of the contributors that will feature in the series
After further research and planning the budget is now looking to be around £100’000 per episode to accommodate the scale, locations, crew size, specialist equipment etc. I will continue to research in to the exact amount each episode will cost.
I have begun email discussions with both schools, in order to get the most accurate information. I will continue to talk to each so that I can ensure my pre-production is detailed and well informed by real sources.
Plan out the visual elements of the show in more detail.