Lara McEvoy - 319311
Unit 13: Final Major Project
Ideas Development - LO1 1.1
The ideas development stage is the very first step in undertaking Unit 13, giving me the chance to explore different ideas and make a decision on what I want to produce for this project. Below you will find buttons which will take you to the relevant sections of work, such as 'initial ideas' and 'chosen idea', so just click on them and you should be taken there.
Initial Ideas
The first step I took for initial ideas was to create a mind-map and write down as many ideas as possible. Doing this allows me to explore the different mediums of media production, and to see what I could possibly make for this. As FMP 2 has come around at a similar time to me taking part in a dance show with my dance school, it meant that my ideas are focused on the dance show as I am there all the time for me it made sense. Though I am saying this, there are some ideas which won’t be focused on the dance show as I want to see what I can think of without that limitation.
In the mind-map below I have written down 3 mediums and explored what could possibly be done with each of them. Doing this allows me to explore the three mediums of media in detail, and find out which one I have more ideas for and take most interest in. Also, it's important to note that although I haven't explored all the mediums of media production, I have explored the ones which I take most interest in and feel are I have more ideas for.
Click on the image above to view the mind-map in more detail, or click the link below:
​From creating the initial ideas mind-map, I made the decision to investigate my documentary ideas with more detail, as this is the medium, I want to use. I made this decision as for Unit 12, I looked into how documentaries have developed overtime to tell a story, so have an understanding of how they work. Along with this I feel as though creating a documentary is more ambitious for me because I haven’t made one before, risky I know, however due to the research undertaken in Unit 12 I believe this medium is the best option. Using a mind-map is the most effective way to do this as I can note down my ideas quickly and then expand in more detail as I go. I am using a software called X-mind, which I find makes creating mind maps a lot easier, and I am able to save the files with ease, so I don’t loose the work. Below is the mind-map I have created with my documentary ideas on.
Click on the image above to view the mind-map in more detail, or click the link below:
Creating the mind-map, shown above, has really given me the chance to explore 4 possible ideas in some detail. I have been able to write down as much as I can for each idea, giving me time to think through the 4 ideas and see whether I can come up with a basic outline of a narrative for each of them. It is obvious which ones I have more thought for, but that’s because I have been thinking about the two ideas for a while now so have had more time to think about the content for them.
After creating the documentary ideas mind map I made the decision to narrow down my ideas to 3 main ones. Doing this allows me to explore these ideas in more detail and eventually make a solid decision on which idea I am going to choose. I am going to create a mind-map and mood board for each idea, as well as including a SWOT analysis to determine which idea is the most ideal and realistic for me to produce. The first idea I am going to look further into is the dance show documentary.
Dance Show Documentary
Mind-Map:
Below is a mind-map for the dance show documentary idea. In this I have noted down ideas for narrative, mode, the audience and content. Doing this gives me a rough idea of how I want the documentary feel and possibly look. As this idea centres around following a couple of different students the content, as noted in the mind-map, would be focused on them dancing during the show and interviews after, so that the audience can feel as though they know these pupils better. If I were to focus on the dance school itself then the audience for this idea would become a lot more niche.
Click on the image above to view the mind-map in more detail, or click the link below:
Mood Board:
After creating the mind-map, I moved onto creating the mood board. Mood boards help to visualise the idea with ease giving me a better understanding of how I want the idea to look. For this I used photoshop to create it, using Pinterest and google as sources for images. I found that Pinterest was one of the better sources as you are able to do quite specific searches but get the images that you are looking for. The mood board can be seen below.
For the mood board I was wanting to capture the aesthetic/vibe that I am trying to go for within the documentary. As previously mentioned, I used Pinterest a lot for this because I was able to find the images with ease, displaying my idea. In the mood board the top left focuses on the community feel that the dance show has, everyone working together, ready to take part in an engaging show as this is something that I want to convey to the audience when watching. There are also a lot of images that are from the side of stage POV, this is because during the actual shows I will not be able to film from on the stage or the auditorium so most of the show footage would be from the side of stage, as though they are watching from the wings. Doing this allows for the audience to feel as though they are a part of the cast watching their fellow pupil/pupils dance. Then in the bottom right corner I have added in some images of the nutcracker, specifically Clara, Drosselmyer and Snowflakes, because the show that Sally Prout are producing at the moment is the nutcracker so I wanted to add these in for that aspect.
SWOT analysis:
SWOT means strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, giving me the chance to analyse if the idea is going to be realistic to create. Strengths mean I can identify the areas that make this idea a good/strong one for me to use, while weaknesses allow me to assess areas which aren’t as strong which will require me to work on. With the opportunities I can find the areas where I can learn new skills and use the idea to my advantage. Threats are like the weaknesses, but they are more crucial issues, such as consent, that could pose a threat to the production going ahead. Within this SWOT I have identified the creative and logistical areas of weakness and parts where there are threat’s that I need to take into consideration.
From this I can see that this idea is one where I have more thoughts and can visualise how I want it to look, so at the moment this is the idea I am leaning more towards creating. The next idea I am going to look into is the dance school documentary, which would be centred around the same dance school as the last idea but framed around a different topic.
Dance School Documentary
Mind-Map:
The mind-map below is focused on idea 2, as explained above, for this as you can see, I had a lot more ideas in terms of content compared to idea 1. I found that I had a lot more ideas for the content because its more of a classic style of documentary that I would be creating, so as I have watched more expository (conventional mode of documentary) documentaries I can place my ideas in this format. Whereas with idea 1 I haven’t watched many reflexive/observational documentaries, so the idea I have I am struggling to put into words/my mind-map as I don’t know how it works structurally.
Click on the image above to view the mind-map in more detail, or click the link below:
Mood Board:
Below is the mood board which I have created for this idea. Now I found this one more difficult to create as conveying what’s in my head is a lot more difficult to do when you cannot find the exact images you want. So, I have tried my best to create a mood board which imitates my ideas and the view I want to create.
The bottom right corner of the mood board centres around the interview aspect. As I would be using the expository mode of documentary this means classic interviews and interview styles, something which could be researched further. The images represent the classic interview style of having two cameras set up, one front facing and one on a diagonal/side angle, which is the approach I would take for this. Above these images are some from the dance school (Sally Prout School of Dancing) off of their website, showing the last dance show that they did. I have chosen to use these to represent that there would be talk of the dance shows within the documentary, as well as use of archive from past shows as these play a big part in the dance school. Next to these are images about the RAD, Royal Academy of Dance, which is the syllabus which is taught at the dance school for ballet. I feel as though this would be talked about a fair bit as all the teachers are RAD trained and is the examination board the school go by. Along with this there is an image of the ISTD, Institution of Teachers of Dancing, the examining board the school use for Tap exams, which again would
be spoken about. I have used images within the mood board to showcase the topics which could be spoken about within the documentary.
SWOT analysis:
On the left is the SWOT analysis for the dance school documentary idea. In this I found that through identifying the weaknesses and threats that the audience for this idea is very niche. Now this isn’t necessarily bad, however in terms of audience research for me it means that there won’t be that big of an audience to research, and it will be harder to find that audience. Along with this, when it comes to audience feedback after producing it, I would struggle to get many responses from the target audience so it may be worth broadening the subject area. Overall, the SWOT analysis has given me the chance to express areas of concern that I can contemplate, and areas where I am happy, and feel would be positive for my FMP.
For this idea, though I have more thought into what it would look like and how it would be structured, from creating the SWOT analysis and mood board I feel as though this idea isn’t likely to be picked. This isn’t to say that I wouldn’t want to create it, I just feel that I want to push myself to create a more engaging and visually interesting production.
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The third and final idea I’m going to look into before making my decision on my chosen idea, is the documentary about boys and dance. I feel as though this could be an interesting idea and would have a wider audience other than the pupils of Sally Prout. Below you will find the mind-map, mood board and SWOT analysis.
Boys and Dance Documentary
Mind-Map:
For this mind-map I found that it was the idea where I had the least thought for. What I mean by this is that I hadn’t thought about this idea more in depth other than just a basic outline of what I could do. As you can see the idea is quite rough and the content within is actually quite sparse, as I’m not sure how to frame it other than expository. The mind-map is shown below.
Click on the image above to view the mind-map in more detail, or click the link below:
Mood Board:
The mood board shown below is focused on the boys and dance idea. In this I have included mainly aesthetical images of men/boys dancing as this is the vibe I am wanting to go for. Using footage of the interviewees dancing or in class, as well as footage from current classes, so that the audience have an idea what’s being spoken about.
In the bottom right I have included the Royal Ballet logo as this is a potential dance school I would want to talk to, as well as a dance company I would want to talk to about men and dance. Specifically, from their view (teachers) how dance affects the boy’s mental health, from both society and the dance school themselves. As this idea isn’t fully developed the mood board is more for ideas of what the vibe would be compared to what would be included. With this I have included an image in the bottom left of a male student learning with a female student, as I feel it could be interesting to get a female perspective of how dance affects the boys who do it, and how they feel it is. This would allow for different views to be shared, creating a wider audience.
SWOT analysis:
On the right is my SWOT analysis for the boys and dance idea. From completing this idea, I have found that there aren’t many strengths for this idea, the threats and weaknesses overweigh the strengths and opportunities. For me this idea isn’t very strong, and although there are opportunities which would be interesting to work with, personally I feel as though because of the threats this idea isn’t suitable for me to produce. Also, the audience for this would be bigger than the two previous ideas, but at the same time it would still be niche due to the topic that its centred around.
Overall, I don’t think that this idea is even a contender for what could be my chosen idea. This is because from the other two ideas, this one isn’t as realistic for me to be able to create as I don’t have the sources to find people to be in it, and for filming during the period I want to film I myself am unavailable for this. So, this idea, though it would be an interesting one to undertake, isn’t one I am going to consider for my chosen idea.
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In the next section, I am going to explore my chosen proposed idea in more depth so that I can fully understand the idea and how I want it to look and feel.
Chosen Proposed Idea
Dance Show Documentary
Through undertaking the initial ideas stage, I have made the decision to go for the Dance Show Documentary idea. I went for this idea because I feel as though it will push me to create something professional and it’s something that I want to create, so as I feel more passionate about it, I will be more willing to undertake the research and want to produce a high-quality production. In this section I am going to explore the idea in more depth, looking into the structure of the documentary, detailed mood boards with annotations, title ideas etc. To start with I have looked into the content, mode and title ideas with more detail, these can be seen below.
Content:
As shown on the left, I have looked further into the content ideas for my chosen idea. In this I have included some possible shot ideas as well as how the main narrative could work. At the moment, I am still unsure on how to frame this, what I mean by this is should I follow around 2/3 people or just 1. Following just 1 could become boring for the audience as they would only see one perspective of the show, whereas following 2/3 would allow for more content, giving the audience more variety. With this, as shown in the mind-map, I
am not sure whether to do interviews at the theatre or at home a day or two after the shows. This is more of a logistical problem for myself as I don’t know how to frame it, so during research I may look into a documentary/docuseries which follows a similar structure to what I think I want to go for. In the mind-map I have mentioned the idea of montage, which is an editing style/technique that I like so am considering using it within the start of the documentary and at the end. Because this is only a development of my chosen idea, I can make these decisions more solidified throughout the research stage. From this I moved onto looking at the mode of documentary.
Mode:
With looking into the mode of documentary I am able to develop a better understanding of how the mode will work. I am wanting to create a hybrid documentary, so am mixing the observational and reflexive modes together, due to the fact that they will work best for my idea. In the mind-map on the right I have explored how these modes will work for the idea, stating that the observational mode would allow me to film events unfold in real time, giving the audience the fly on the wall feel I want to achieve. The reflexive mode is
one which I would want to use as I am in the dance show myself, so by including myself (the filmmaker) I could get footage with a more personal feel.
Title idea:
The title of the documentary isn’t something that I had necessarily thought about before, and from previous experience, I am not the best at coming up with titles. So, as I had decided that I wanted to create a dance show documentary, for me it meant that the title needs to be simple but capture the attention of the audience from the start. From this I started to think about the elements that may feature in the documentary, one of them being that for many pupils this is their last dance show at the school, so the first two ideas were ‘the last show’ or ‘the last dance’. I like these title ideas, but they don’t stand out to me if I’m being honest. The final title I have on the mind-map ‘behind the curtain’ which fits my idea quite well. I want the documentary to be a behind the scenes style, the audience watching what happens behind the curtain before, during and after the show, so this title is more fitting for the idea I am going for. I know me and I will probably debate on this title for a while but at the moment of writing this ‘behind the curtain’ it the title I will go for.
Next, I have annotated my original mood board, seen above in the initial ideas section. Annotating the mood board gives me a chance to explain why I decided to use the images I did. I find that mood boards are a good chance to try and visualise what you envision in your head, so for my mood boards they tend to contain more aesthetical images and images of how I want parts of it to look. This mood board annotation can be seen below.
Mood Board
After annotating the mood board, I made the decision to create a rough timeline of the documentary, as well as the structure of the documentary. Creating both of these has helped me to understand further how I want the idea to work out, and how the documentary will look within the final edit. However, the only factor I haven’t taken into consideration is the duration of the documentary, so this is something I am going to have to think about while writing up the proposal.
Timeline:
Below is the initial timeline I have created for the chosen idea. This is just a rough idea of how I think the documentary will flow, from start to finish. Now this isn’t a definitive timeline for the documentary, it’s just a rough idea so I can start to plan out in my head how I want it to flow.
Click on the image above to view the mind-map in more detail, or click the link below:
Structure of Documentary:
From creating the timeline, I moved onto creating a structure of documentary logic chart. When creating this I realised that it isn’t specifically focused on the structure of the documentary, but more so what could be included in sections. Such as the introduction, interviews, show footage and the end of documentary. This shows how I am thinking that the sections will work within the documentary, specifically the introduction and ending. This can be seen below.
Click on the image above to view the mind-map in more detail, or click the link below:
Summary:
I feel as though this chosen proposed idea is going to be an ambitious project for myself, for many different reasons. The main reason that it is going to be ambitious is because I have never made a documentary before and I am going to be working with children, which is a challenge in itself. Due to the proposed idea involving a production with children, this means consent is going to be a huge issue for myself as I am going to have to work the dance school closely to make sure that everyone filmed has given consent. To go with this, I feel as though I would need to figure out how to get consent from all pupils involved in the show, rather than just the pupils who are the main focus of the documentary.
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Overall, I think that the proposed chosen idea is going to be challenging, but a good challenging. I am going to be exploring a medium of media that I did extensive research into during Unit 12, meaning I have an understanding of how the medium works, even though I haven’t produced one before. Through the research stage I will be able to use primary research to explore the fundamentals of the production process, ensuring that I will be able to confidently produce this proposed idea.
Throughout the initial ideas stage, I have been able to develop and focus in on one idea, giving me the chance to see how I want the idea to plan out in the long run. Also, it allowed me to work out some areas of research that I will need to focus in on for the research section of this project, and hopefully this will allow me further the idea and make it work. The next piece of work I need to complete is the project proposal, by clicking the button below you will be taken to my project proposal.