Digital Video - Lockdown Week 2



02/04/2020

James sent an email with relevant resources from the New Zealand Film Commission last night and told me he would find some more on pitching documentaries tomorrow, which will be of great help to me, especially if it concerns pitching characters for a documentary.

It's hard to say concerning Ashleigh whether she will still stay involved beyond the lockdown. When it comes to the next school climate strike, School Strike 4 Climate is looking at creative solutions to make their message loud and clear while in self-isolation, while I also need to find creative solutions to capture and document that for my documentary. I don't have a solution, but I am hoping I will soon.

 I may end up contacting the School Strike 4 Climate Facebook page and see if they are willing to help me out in some way.

 I didn't get any equipment out the day before the lockdown began because there was no way I could film the documentary in any way while in self-isolation. It's also challenging to describe the characters since only with Ashleigh at this stage and the rest of the country living in fear. I'm not likely going to contact Ashleigh during the lockdown because of this, as well as the risk of her leaving the project. I have to make big assurances.

 It would be good if I had more about Ashleigh as a character, but I don't because of this se;f-isolation lockdown and meetings and filming with her have not begun yet. She got unwell one week before I had a chance to do so.
I took another look at my synopsis with fresh eyes. I tried to compress it down to as a convincing argument of the what, why, and how of the story. It's still quite bulky, but I'll send it to James and see what he says. But for now, I'll take a read of the resources he sent me.
Synopsis

 Climate Fever is a 15 minute New Zealand short documentary on the school climate strike movement in Invercargill, a small city situated at the ends of the country. It will explore the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been having on climate action and how they get their message across. 

At its core, it's about social change.  A voice for a generation wanting radical change before it's too late and perseverance by encouraging and demanding such change.

The main protagonist, Ashleigh, a climate change activist and local campaign organiser for School 4 Climate Strike NZ. The film will follow how both COVID-19 has affected her climate activism and how she is plans for such things in the future. Will this pandemic make her question whether addressing climate change is important anymore? How do her family support her through the drama and conflict?

This is a film to remind the public from the ages of teenage millennials to the middle aged population that the school climate strike movement and the effects of climate change are still alive and well in these times of uncertainty. 
This is a story that has not yet been told in film and I believe that the historical value of this film will grow as decades and years pass. It is important to document and record these escalating events as they happen and to give context to those who know little about the movement or future generations. More people will be more engaged in a documentary about current or recent events than they would be in another decade or so.



I started by looking through the resources and recorded information that is directly relevant to pitching in my documentary and will go back to them again to record notes that will help me more later on, likely when at those simailr stages in developing my presentation.

Fresh Shorts– Pointers for Applicants

 Questions to answer in your logline
Who is your main character?
2. What is she or he trying to accomplish?
3. Who is trying to stop her or him?
4. What happens if she or he fails?

 In writing a documentary script, you should either write a script outline or treatment instead of a screenplay. However, you must articulate the emotion, drama, and action and explain how you plan to convey it in the form of a film. The outline can include the story arc or dramatic tension in the documentary.

 Treatment pointers
How will the film fell sound and look like?
What makes it different and stand out from others?
How will it move an audience?
Fresh Shorts – Guidelines for Applicants

 What films would I like to make and what type of person you are?
Modifying research questioning
One way I could modify my amongst the crowd question is to use a long lens if there is a future physical protest, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. But if need be, I could make use of footage already done and add a aspect ratio mask with the permission of the video creator.
My current ideas on the visual tone seems bleak and depressing with a type of overcast colour grade like you see Terrence Malick films and some films in the psychological horror genre, but I believe it best suit in visually provoking a naturalistic tone of the outside world

I spent quite a bit of time on my presentation today. Mainly influential practitioners related to my project and films with similarities and differences to my films, and developing my mood board










References for my presentation in order

 Opening quote
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2019-09-23/remarks-2019-climate-action-summit

 Use of aspect ratio
https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/4-3-aspect-ratio
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/video/discover/aspect-ratio.html
https://aso.gov.au/about/aspect-ratio/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdPsyLtlamM
https://filmmakerfreedom.com/blog/2015/5/23/using-aspect-ratios-like-a-pro-why-choose-one-ratio-over-another
Meek's Cutoff
Mid90s
Se7en
It Comes at Night
The Shawshank Redemption
The White Diamond

 Background research
https://climate.nasa.gov/solutions/resources/
https://climate.nasa.gov/solutions/adaptation-mitigation/

https://climate.nasa.gov/news/1010/climate-change-and-the-rise-and-fall-of-civilizations/
https://www.mfe.govt.nz/climate-change/why-climate-change-matters/evidence-climate-change
https://www.mfe.govt.nz/Environment-Aotearoa-2019-Summary#issue-9
https://www.mfe.govt.nz/node/16596
https://www.mfe.govt.nz/climate-change/why-climate-change-matters/agriculture-emissions-and-climate-change
https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/112213918/patiti-point-erosion-cuts-off-carpark?rm=a
https://niwa.co.nz/climate-change

School Strike images
https://www.facebook.com/schoolstrike4climatenz/
Sharon Murdoch comic
https://twitter.com/tweetwithkieran/status/1177394961139978241/photo/1

 Mood board
https://www.deviantart.com/artigianodellaluce/art/--729544445
https://www.deviantart.com/nataliadrepina/art/Rustling-forest-in-his-heart-722240803

Wes Anderson
IMDb. (n.d.). Wes anderson. Retrieved April, 2 2020, from https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027572/

Merata Mita
Wellywood Woman. (2015). 'Merata Is Always With Us'
https://wellywoodwoman.blogspot.com/2015/10/merata-is-always-with-us.html

KITT
Ben Dean. (2020, January 16). KITT [Video file]. https://vimeo.com/385369619

Patu
Mita, M. (Director & Producer). (1983). Patu [Motion picture]. New Zealand Film Commission; Awatea Films.

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Bush, E., Dawson, J., Frazer, J., Rales, S., Rudin, S. (Producers), & Anderson, W. (Director). (2014). The grand budapest hotel [Motion picture]. Fox Searchlight Pictures: Indian Paintbrush

Start again
Brock, W., Harvey, B. (Producers), & Donaldson, R. (Director). (1972). Start again [television documentary]. New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation; Aardvark Films.

03/04/2020

There have been creative decisions I made in my head today that I would like to make on my documentary.

 1. Having no talking heads by making more different from conventional documentaries or even student documentaries. Instead using voice-over in a similar fashion as Start Again . This gives more room for the authentic footage to play drama properly without being interrupted by personal interviews.
2. Great, I had it before, but now I have forgotten it
No wait, I remember now. I will have dramatized radio reports voiced by actors and/or students. Easier and more cost-effective than buying licenses from media outlets. 
It will also help in developing my AV script for this assessment. 
I just need to make it sound authentic in the final cut.

I'll be sure to mention those creative decisions in my presentation and treatment

 It could work, but 'social issue' has no new relevance to expanding on my research, only on specifying the subject of my documentary and my research is more focused on aspect ratio.

 I tried to make progress today, but I had trouble focusing. It just wasn't my day again today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better for me.

04/04/2020

High concept films can be a big ask and rare thing in New Zealand cinema, but I think we should appreciate more what has been done and what can be done.

05/04/2020

I do some minor work on my presentation today like adding images and keeping track of my reference as I work.

06/04/2020

With this global pandemic happening, health and safety has become more important than ever in our course or in the film industry

 Bray, G. (2020, April 6). Journalists under increasing pressure to be safe amid coronavirus pandemic - 'The mouthpiece of the public like never before'. 1 News. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/journalists-under-increasing-pressure-safe-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-mouthpiece-public-like-never-before

 1 News tonight said how they are dealing with the doing their job and keeping their distance. It shows to me that my project is still possible

 TVNZ's basic rules during Covid-19 pandemic
Wide, but tight camera angles
Constant hand sanitizing and sanitizing equipment

 They also mentioned this website with resources for journalists doing their job, which I believe have elements that are also relevant to documentary filmmaking. 
It was last updated on March, 25 2020. 
This source and the 1 News may yet be a big help to developing my ethical and health and safety consideration for my research project
Committee to Protect Journalists. (2020). CPJ safety advisory: covering the coronavirus outbreak. Retrieved April 6, 2020, from https://cpj.org/2020/02/cpj-safety-advisory-covering-the-coronavirus-outbr.php
  • Do not work with those who are elderly or have underlying health conditions, or vulnerable to covid-19. 
  • Keep the subject and the subject's family well informed of the health and safety plans before commencing.
  • If in any doubt about the location, do not go ahead
  • Use anti-bacterial wipes or hand sanitiser if you have no access to running water. Use regularly, but also do wash hands regularly with hot water and soap and not take it for granted. May have to use hot water and soap if there is no hand sanitiser to purchase
  • Use common sense (2 meter social distancing, avoid touching your face - difficult for me, and cough or sneeze into your elbow)
  • If you have spectacles, clean them regular with hot water and soap
  • If you have cellphones, clean the screen regularly
  • Individuals involved with have their own cutlery, food, drink, and cups, which will not come in contact with anyone else
  • Do not wear watches or jewelry and do not bring them with you
  • Ensure your clothes have been washed at a high temperature with detergent
  • Travel is a very tricky thing - try to avoid public transportation, but use hand sanitiser before you get on and after you get off. If you are giving people a ride if you have car, be cautious about that person since the virus can exposed to others in the car
  • Use boom pole for sound recording, instead of lapel mics
  • Expose your equipment to sunlight for several hours since sunlight can kill viruses
  • Face masks and other PPE are not necessary if you don't have COVID-19 or working in a high risk environment (hospitals, clinics, morgues)



If they are meeting somewhere with potential risks of covid-19 after the lockdown is over and I have doubts about the location, I could ask them to film for me, but that seems like a big ask.
I know how difficult will be would be moderate health and safety rules related to COVID-19 and hearsay from others may not be enough, but I just have to trust my crew and others and have faith they will take it seriously.



06/04/2020


 I did some more progress on my presentation and added more images. I also typed up a slide on my unique creative decisions around the documentary's style









07/04/2020

I tried to practice some APA referencing with EndNote like it has been required for the research paper. I tried to use EndNote to oragnaise my reference for my proposal presentation, but it became quite tedious and tiring after nearly an hour. 
Like Zotero, it does miss out on some details compared to if I did it manually and referring to SIT's APA referencing guides.
EndNote can also be vague on what constitutes to being audiovisual or multimedia.


 I have been spending more time today looking after myself. It has been difficult for me focusing on my work this week.

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