Project 2: Week 3 Proposal script and recee.

Today, since it is the last official week of pre-production, we have obviously needed to finalized all of our proposal ideas in preparation for the physical production of our project- which I had already completed a few weeks ago so that made me ahead of schedule. However, what we have also done today is create a shooting script as another part of our pre-production paperwork. The overall purpose of this it just like with the shot schedule: to ensure that all shots are taken in the order that we require for the video piece and as a result, no time, resources or money are wasted. The only difference in comparison with the shot schedule is that it contains the number of shots throughout the whole piece, the action occurring in each shot and the dialogue, commentary and/or sounds that will take place during the shot. In my script, I have included: the shot number, action and audio that will be included in the shot and also the type of shot which will be used along with the dialogue and commentary in the background/ whether or not it will be voice-overs or live.

Here is my final proposal script:

Final Project 2 plan

Final Project 2 plan.

Aims and objectives:

Our aims of this project (the interactive video element) will be to produce a video piece which will be 2 minutes long and clearly explains the topic (Red Squirrel endangerment) to the audience. It will have a balanced combination of facts, interviews and relevant footage of the topic to make it professional but interesting to watch. The objectives are to show that we have achieved our aims through the final video and also to show that we have stuck to our research ideas, shot plans and professionalism with the filming equipment while filming.

Who is your target audience and why?

The target audience for this video piece will be people who are interested in these endangered species; animal and wildlife trusts who are protecting these species and other endangered animals and even people who adopt any endangered animals would be interested. The reasons being this case is because our final piece would bring them a number of facts that they may not know already and it would even give us ideas for primary research interviews to include in the final piece.

Synopsis; Describe what you want to include in the video and why. (Montages/interviews/vox pops):

For this, we have selected different areas we want to investigate in the video. These include: How the Red squirrels are becoming endangered; how the Grey Squirrels are ‘outsmarting’ them; what other trusts are doing to help them and even diseases that play a part. All these gave us ideas for what to include and what shots to take: for example, for investigating what other trusts are doing, that would be the chance to carry out a live interview and include it in the video.

In terms of researching the topics, me and my project partner (Carris) have split the content between us so we each have 50/50 to research, which is also reducing the work load for both of us. I have taken up what other trusts are doing to help and also investigating suitable shooting locations. Looking up all the different local animal and wildlife trusts is really handy for two reasons: because it helps me get ideas for interview questions and we can both read about what action is currently being taken- more facts for our video. Carris has volunteered to look into squirrel diseases and how the Grey Squirrel species have an advantage over the Red Squirrels like this. This means we can refer to what has already happened with the Reds and how the Greys have already had an advantaged over them.

Think about how you will meet the aims of the video:

There are a number of ways we could achieve our aims. For example, Carris and I have split our research so that we can share our ideas and depending on what we find out, we can organise our video content from there in a way which will make sense to the audience. It will also help us organist our camera shots too. For the objectives, it would be a good idea to refer to them throughout to ensure that we have ticked part of it off as we go along. This is because it is basically saying the evidence of our aims will be in the final video, so we could see what we still need to do to meet the aims during the production and what we have done already.

Lists of questions for interviewees:

How long have you been trying to protect the red squirrels for?
In what ways are you trying to reverse the endangerment of the red squirrels?
How have they been effective so far?
Regarding they grey squirrels and their powers to compete against the red squirrels, do you feel they should take complete responsibility for their endangerment?
How do you become aware of what other wildlife trusts are doing to take action?
What other tactics are you hoping to achieve in future for the red squirrels’ survival?
What goals do you hope to achieve in the future for the red squirrels?

Below is my shooting script for my 2-minute video piece:

project 2 Shooting Script

Location

Shot No.

Action/audio

Dialogue / Commentary / Sound

(Establishing shot) The city centre of Canterbury with busses passing by.

(Audio) faint noises of the busy high street with buses passing by.

(VOICE OVER) This is where many of us are everyday…

(Establishing shot) A nearby park which features squirrels (mainly grey).

(Audio) the faint background noises of wind blowing and very minimal sound from the traffic

(VOICE OVER) But this is one of many places where the problem lies.

(Three sequence shot):

1^st– a mid-close up of plant bed area of the entrance.

2^nd– another mid-close up of

3^rd– a close-up shot of branches with leaves, which will become a focus-change shot (from near to far).

(Audio) wind and nature sound effects slowly black out.

(VOICE OVER) Ever since the introduction of the Grey Squirrels during the 1870s (¹), the Red Squirrels have clearly met their match due to the other species’ powers to compete for food and natural resources- with the evidence being a worrying decline of them.

(Full body shot) me walking towards the camera in the same park location.

(Audio) due to dialogue being spoken live to the camera, wind and leaves quietly crunching can be heard alongside my voice.

(LIVE AUDIO) Though sadly, this has had its consequences; there are a staggering less than 140,000 left in the UK today, from 3.5 million in the 1950s (²).

(Tracking shot) Carris and I walking along the path of the park.

(Audio) The conversation between Carris and I can be heard beneath the voice over.

(VOICE OVER) This worrying decline is the result of the Red squirrels becoming out-competed by the greys…

(Close-up shot) my hand on the computer mouse.

(Audio) No audio.

(VOICE OVER) …as well as catching what is known as ‘squirrel pox virus’ from the Grey Squirrels.

(Three sequence shot):

1^st– a close-up of the computer screen showing information on the Squirrel pox virus.

2^nd– a mid-close up from behind of Carris and I looking at the information on the screen. The focus changes from far to near.

3^rd– a mid-close up of a side view of Carris and I looking at the screen.

(Audio) No audio.

(VOICE OVER) This virus is passed on in a way that means it’s totally immune to the Grey Squirrels (³). whereas it can be lethal to Red squirrels. But the question is: are these the only reasons that these species have become endangered over recent years…?

(Close-up shot) The computer screen showing the Wildwood Trust page on Red Squirrels.

(Audio) No audio.

We were lucky enough to visit the Wildwood trust in Kent- who have spent a number of years…

(Mid-close up) behind the computer we were using which changes focus from near to far.

(Audio) No audio.

…helping to protect these vulnerable creatures in order to investigate more upon this matter.

(Rule-of-thirds shot) showing an interview with the member of the wildlife trust.