In our brief, we would form groups to recreate two scenes from a popular TV drama/show aimed at young adult audiences. We had to film one interior and one exterior scene, with a choice between parts from Euphoria, Heartstopper, This Country, and Inbetweeners. The interior scene would be filmed in one of the rooms at BOA, with the exterior scene being filmed about five minutes away from the school. We would have to work a 6-hour day to film both scenes, with another 6-hour day for some of our crew to act for another group.
The purpose of this task was to learn how to communicate humour and drama using camera focus and movement, as well as post-production techniques such as sound effects, music, and story-driven editing.
To ensure our ideas would appeal to the specific target audience, we would look at excerpts of the shows in class so we could get a feel for the atmosphere so we could nail that throughout the production process. Since the crew consists of young adults, we also drew upon our own knowledge and desires when it comes to how TV looks when it’s specified to us. As such, it also helps with discovering how best we can maximise on retention.
In our brief, the class would split into two groups, where we had to create a multi-cam show using the codes and conventions of a magazine show. In line with those conventions, we had to work in professional roles and collaborate to create an engaging show that would be suitable for broadcasting online (and potentially even on TV).
The roles we needed to organise
Instead of the typical three parts of production you would find on film and TV dramas, we would have to undergo four parts of production, those being idea generation, pre-production, production, and post-production. We would also have to propose our ideas to the rest of our class through a pitch.
All of the slides from our pitch. My specific pitch style involves making a separate script, so there’s not much text on the slides besides important titles and figures.
To ensure we hit those specifications, we had to make sure we paid attention to what exactly the conventions of a magazine show are, so it doesn’t morph into a different show entirely, like a game show.
Our initial brain storm
Around the time we would have been filming, train strikes were occurring. Given that quite a few of our crew take the train to get to school, we had to make sure we were flexible and get everything (such as equipment, call sheets etc.) done way in advance. This way, if there was a major problem faced that could only be sorted by a person who took trains, then we wouldn’t be affected as much.
Time would also be a key factor. The 1st AD (who in this case was me) had to get a stripboard schedule ready to keep the rest of the crew on time, accounting for travel time, potential retakes, as well as latenesses and absences at role call.
Health and safety was another key factor. Since we would be filming our exterior first thing in the morning, it would have been rather cold. We would have to dress up warm, and make sure the crew looks after each other before something bad happens. Being considerate towards others was of essence, since we would be filming in a playground near a residential area. We also had to be safe to make sure we weren’t filming in a place with lots of foot traffic or that is hidden from general view.
Speaking of the playground, another challenge was also having to consider the legal implications of our filming. We would have to take the time and effort to contact Film Birmingham to get a permit to film at our desired place and time, or else we could have faced trouble otherwise.