April Update

So it's been a while since I've updated this, and that's been down to a number of reasons. I'll try and fill you in as I go.
The last 2 months were spent solely on the External Client Project. The way I saw it, I was creating something for them and that made me under their employ, so I dedicated myself to creating exactly what they wanted. The project still has a few finishing touches to be made, but is as good as finished at the time being.
My biggest concern at the moment is the research project. Before Easter my hard-drive was playing up so I got a new one just to back up all the essentials that I'd been working on, which was all the recruitment video files. I'm lucky I'd backed them up when I did because the whole thing went kaput shortly after. I was just relieved to have the client's work, I didn't even think about my research. Unfortunately, over Easter my back-up hard drive also experienced a malfunction. Nothing was lost that time, having learnt my lesson from weeks before. The problem that remains however, is that the only research files I had backed up were my video diaries (Artefact 1) & my condensed case study of Amazon Studios (Artefact 2).
Needless to say, the next four weeks will be focused on damage control. On the bright side I received vastly positive feedback on my recruitment video from family, friends and members of the public.

External Client Project Mock Version

So to create a rough test version of the video I decided to take the images from the storyboard and have them accompany the track we'll be using. This is just a rough version so ignore the 8 seconds of notes that appear towards the end. Any feedback would be appreciated, enjoy.

Researching Amazon Studios

Since late 2010 Amazon Studios, a division of Amazon.com have been developing feature films & episodic series in an experimental new way, boasting an "open door" for creators. As all projects are submitted online it makes it easy for hopeful writers/film-makers from across the world to have their work seen, not only by potential investors and producers, but by like minded people who may have advice on optimising the concept. This is because Amazon Studios features a large number of users who review the movies, watch the pilots and comment on the work they see. By including the audience in the development process they can get a better idea of what the wider audience would like to see.

When a project receives a lot of good attention and ticks Amazon's boxes they put it on the Development Slate, their roster of the projects currently in development. This could mean that they organise to have their story department work with the creator on developing the script. For some projects they offer paid assignments for directing, writing and anything else that could help the story, including artwork and animations. The creator's role in production is something that will be decided over the development phase so as to get a better understanding of their skills and areas of experience.

Starting a project is a surprisingly straight forward process where all it takes is uploading an original script made up of wholly new material. If you wanted to make a series then you would submit a pilot script and a mini-bible designed to display the show at its best. You then decide whether you want to submit it publicly, where all the other users of Amazon Studios, as well as the development staff, can look at and review your work, or privately, where it will only be seen by Amazon Studios staff as well as their subcontractors. This process is made that much easier by the fact that participation is free and, in regards to copyright, uploading your material to Amazon Studios gives a dated public record of an expression of an idea. 

Once a script has been submitted, Amazon has 45 days to decide whether or not to push it into development. They do this by reading the script but also by paying attention to the ratings and reviews that other users have left. If they select a project for development then the writer gets $10,000. Should the developed script be selected for distribution as a full-budget series, the writer would receive $55,000, as well as up to 5% of Amazon's net receipts from toy & t-shirt licencing, and other royalties & bonuses. 

So far Amazon Studios have received over 10,000 feature screenplay submissions and 2,000 TV pilots. As of September 2012 the studios had 9 TV series and 17 films in active development, although none had reached the production stage as of then.

I'd like to try Amazon Studios out first hand in the upcoming weeks to get a better holistic view of the operation they've been running, but for now I'm pleased with the amount I've managed to learn about them and their business strategy. 

Client Project - Storyboard

This weekend saw the completion of the treatment and today is the first a number of client meetings this week to ensure we are up to date. Beneath is the project storyboard:

Update on Research Project

This term I have been working on three separate projects with my creative consultant, Ryan Harvey. To gain a better understanding of my research topic Ryan has agreed to experiment with unfamiliar collaboration techniques whilst we work on these projects. The aim of this is to document our experiences and review the various advantages and disadvantages of online/offline collaboration.

When I say 'online collaboration' I am referring to any means of communication that allows a space for shared contributions to a piece of work. Some notable experiences would be Celtx, Collabowrite and Amazon Studio, however there are a number of everyday gadgets that were implemented as part of the collaborative process. Skype, for example, with its "Share Screens" function, proved to be extremely useful for researching music and for sharing work. Another useful everyday gadget was "Wunderlist", the to-do list app. We were able to organise our schedule and send each other updates on work and the clients.
'Offline collaboration' pertains to face-to-face communication, such as our meeting with the client as well as any meetings we had separate to that. To get an accurate overview of our experiences we each kept a video diary to record how we thought the meetings went, both online and offline.

January proved to be the ideal time to experiment with these means of collaboration, as one of our meetings was nearly cancelled as a result of the snow, however once we rearranged our schedule we were able to have our meeting online rather than face-to-face.
I made notes in each of our meetings, pictures of which can be found here. They provide an accurate insight into each of the projects that are currently being worked on. A summary of the video diaries will be uploaded within the next 24 hours. It will aim document and evaluate the experiences Ryan & I had with the different collaborative styles.

So far this is as much as I can include in this little update, but the Video Diary Summary will have a lot more information on our working processes and what we each thought of the different techniques.

So, to summarise, over the past couple of months I have taken on three very different projects; a music video, a recruitment video and a short fantasy film. The development for these projects has been done using various methods of collaboration, both online & offline. I hope to analyse the advantages that these different approaches have in my summary of our video diary entries within a day's time.

Tour of ATRG

Today's tour of NTU's Advanced Textiles Research Group provided much needed insight into the internal client project. Luckily, the facilities that are currently in use by the innovative task force are extremely close to those I'd previously envisioned. When it comes to shooting on Wednesday I hope to get plenty of shots of the facility, as well as a short interview with some members of the ATRG such as professor Dias. This interview will hopefully churn out some useful buzz words that I can interlace with the footage of their equipment.
In my opinion, the work being done by this group has the potential for great applications in not only the medical field, but also sporting, military and even fashion. Hopefully, due to this, there will be very little narrative needed, as the advanced technology will speak for itself to a certain respect, my job here is really to make it speak up.

Behold, The Collective.

My latest film-making feat, known in its triology as 'The Collective'. Enjoy, and please post feedback.

'The Choice'

'The Chase'

'The Charity'