You are currently browsing the archives for March, 2012.
With reference to: http://vogmae.net.au/integratedmedia/post/375
and…
This (especially 4:09 but the whole video is kinda in the same theme to something I’ve been considering cos of this course)
(Will update soon, there’s something I want to say, but there’s so much work….)
Well, we had our auditions today. A weight is off my chest, as the audition run is one of the most stressful things for me. Organizing and timetabling a large amount of strangers to follow a tight schedule is… frustrating, to say the least. Nevertheless, all auditionees were on time, my team managed to stay perky and on the ball and everything went as smoothly as could be, at least from my position outside of the audition room, running back and forth as the point of contact for the auditionees.
For the most part, I’m impressed with my team.
I’ve still got to arrange for some more auditions to give them more choices, but getting this out of the way feel really really good.
On a sidenote, I do need to inquire about legal agreements and the rights of students’ work.
As the deadline for the submission of the first draft of the script approached I came to a great realization.
First, I’ll explain what happened. On Saturday night, two days before the submission date, I was expecting a blurb from my screenwriter because I was contacting several agencies for our cast. When it did not arrive I asked my screenwriter and director what was going on. Apparently, my director had decided to change critical components of the story’s direction, rendering a blurb that he had already written moot. In addition, my screenwriter was now faced with a story that went on a completely different tangent. Short on time, I told my screenwriter to disregard my director and proceed with the original plan to keep to the schedule.
What followed was a heated disagreement with my director. However, we both realized, after cooling off, that both parties were just trying to help the final product. Neither of us were against improvements, and neither of us wanted to be late.
I realized several things that only clicked in my head when I told them to my director.
First, the schedule always runs, and any disruption to it, affects everyone. This is one of those things everyone knows, but easily gets forgotten in amateur practice.
Second, when you’re going to be presenting something to a public audience, you’ll always see small things you might want to change. It’s a mixture of trying to please everybody, as well as being self-conscious of failure. Whilst we should always strive to produce the best work we can, we must be willing to let go of it eventually when other factors like timing, cost and effort are limited.
Third, the script, as important as it is, is not the final product. Spending too much time on the script robs time spent looking for locations, actors, considering lighting,etc. As producer, managing the production timetable and considering the big picture, I’ve had to realize that I’d rather have my team stop spending so much time obsessing on the script.
Fourth, the screenwriter will always have problems if disrupted mid-way through a draft, and if he has to consistently start from scratch, it will demotivate him. The screenwriter should not be asked to make changes to a script until AFTER he’s worked with one set of changes.In the meanwhile, the other creative inputs can plan changes they want to make. Of course, this means that the screenwriter must work quickly.
Finally, as producer, I must always realize that this isn’t a machine, it’s a creative art. I will always have to consider adjusting my schedule within reason if the outcome means that the final product will meet our artistic goals.
One point first brought up in the lecture was the drive for content publishers to gather an audience. The original model was to guard the content so that the audience would pay to view the content. However, with the ability for people to release content and discuss content easily with the advent of online media platforms, truly original content becomes less and less rare, reducing the monetary value of content to near zero. This has been discussed in the tutes several times. However, is it always beneficial to be connected? I’m probably understanding this wrong, but the example of commenting on blogs and linking to each other with it is the basis of spam comments that I get a lot on my posts. But spam posts, which don’t have any actual feedback relating to my post, and are clearly just trying to promote their sites just make me annoyed so I don’t approve them.
A large portion of the lecture involved the power relation of objects and spaces on people, as well as the power relation people had on objects and spaces. Spaces designed for a specific use, can be repurposed for other actions to be facilitated within it. I am inclined to recall discussions on modernist and postmodernist architecture, and mentalities of designing for specific purposes.
In the case of online platforms, it is natural that users will be attracted to platforms that allow them a more options. Facebook as a prime example has constantly attempted to maintain relevant. When Twitter popularized easy tagging functions, Facebook integrated it. When Foursquared popularized location sharing, Facebook integrated it into their system. Facebook was quick to be a part of the rise of smartphones. All of these are examples, of how Facebook has maintained a strong sense of relevance in being a social platform by giving more options for users to generate content. Combined with an existing base of users, Facebook’s model is proving rather successful.
So the producer diary pieces will be for me to express on a semi-personal level my feelings as a producer.
I admit it’s very overwhelming right now. My main priority is to make sure we’ve got a firm direction and a large part of it means getting the draft script defined so that I can source for resources. I hate feeling like I don’t know where I’m going.
The group seems to be working well but it’s entirely possible that everyone has their own vision that is drastically different from another’s and this may result in problems.
- Sound
- Effects/Foley
- Band (?)
- Camera/Lighting
- Production Crew
- Make Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGA35CNpH08