TVCs - post 7

On Tuesday we had to make a full treatment presentation to the class and tutors, with idea being that we should try to inspire confidence in the "agency" and "client" by demonstrating that our ideas were effective and well thought out, and our planning was thorough and organised.

I'm not very good at time management. I never have been. Although I am proud of the improvements I have made in time management while at Unitec, I am still pretty bad, so of course my presentation was prepared at the last possible minute. This meant that I put a lot of pressure and stress on myself and on my production manager, and also did not have time to print a full colour copy of my treatment for submission. I heard that it had cost someone $63 to do theirs, and decided it was not worth the time as I want to keep my budget for things that will actually affect the outcome of my TVC! I later discovered though that it would actually only cost me about $20 because I have fewer pages, so I may go back and print a colour copy today.

One of the ways I am bad at time management is that I speak for a really really long time without even realising it. Poor Lisa had prepared for this by making a countdown list that she would cross off as I went, so that I could see this and not go over time, however once I began to speak I completely forgot about this and didn't even look down once. I felt like I had only been speaking for about ten minutes (out of a possible 25 total that should also include Q&A) when suddenly Dan said, "You have two minutes left". I was very annoyed at myself. Half of the reason for doing a presentation is so that you can receive feedback on your ideas, but I talked through all my feedback time! As a result there was only time for a couple of issues to be raised:

1. Brent pointed out that my choice of forest location did nnot have very iconic looking forest. I definitely agree with this and it was one of my major concerns in choosing the location. I had been looking for really old forest - I wanted tall, majestic, impressive trees. But the fact is that there is virtually no old forest at all around Auckland, and the little patches that do have very tall trees are completely inaccessible for our camera crew.

2. It was pointed out that we probably would not be able to see the lines of the bus shelter in our city location, given my choice of shot. This is also a concern I raised with Ben, and I think the tutor was probably right. We would be unlikely to see them unless we were at a very low angle.

3. Our planned track zoom from across the road from the character is unlikely to be effective, as track zooms depend on a clear change in perspective for their effect. This is not something I had thought of, and I am glad it has been pointed out now.

4. If this ad is shown publicly, we would somehow need to get release forms for any members of the public that we see in the city shot.

And as far as I remember, that was all there was time for after all my blabbing on :-(

So, my reaction to point 1 is - yes, it's unfortuately not iconic forest, but it's the best we're going to get and we will shoot it in ways that will enhance its advantages and hopefully hide its disadvantages.

In reaction to points 2 and 3, I have three options: change my shot, or change my location, or both.

At this point I think changing location is almost a certainty, as Lisa has heard back from the council about a filming permit and they have said we cannot film in peak hour, which is when we really need to film in order not to cut down our time in the bush. If I stick with the track zoom shot (which I originally said I wanted to begin as a mid-shot, but now I am leaning towards a long shot) then I am unlikely to use one of the key advantages of the location - the lines on the roof, so I might as well move to somewhere where we can film at the time we need to.

The problem with track zooming from across the road is also a serious one. I could look for a location with a pedestrian crossing that is merely across a tiny one way street, but I can only think of one place, near Sky City, and I don't think the background would serve my purposes very well. Alternatively, I could change the shot to something else, and at the moment I am thinking about a time lapse with slow track in on the character. If I can get the actor to hold very still then I can speed up everything around her, which would also be an effective way of showing the business, stress, and overwhelming nature of the city, as well as giving a sense of a machine-like, inhumane quality. It would also solve the problem of getting release forms from the public or filling the frame with extras.

OR... and I've just had this idea as I write. Maybe I could combine the two (track zoom plus time lapse) and I could turn my actor around and place her back to the crossing. I would place her at the lights opposite the ones I had originally planned, so that I could still have the lines of the roof in the background. With her facing the opposite direction to everyone else it helps to set her apart from the crowd (which I have been concerned about), it solves the problem of releases (as everyone will be facing away AND sped up), I get to do my track zoom close to the character, so that it will be effective, AND having everyone's backs to camera will dehumanize them and add a sense of the loneliness one feels in crowds. Yes, I like it!

One problem remains. I still probably won't be able to film in that location at the time I want. So I may still have to move.

Anyway, I must discuss the potential of this idea with Lisa and Ben. Ben especially, as I need him to save me from doing anything super cheesy, as I have a tendency to do, and my impulsive ideas are not always my best. Still, I have high hopes for this plan...