Second Idea: Fictional Reality.

Although not that many people like to admit it, I'm one of those people who watches reality shows. I don't watch the British ones, mainly because I find them over the top which is strange because the American versions are just as bad. I think it's because our generation especially, are so used to watching American programming that we don't see the cringe and the over dramatics as much like we would the British version.

In my spider diagram, I had a few categories connecting to my second idea. I had entertainment linked with TV to start off with. I'm a big television person; I haven't got around to watching the big shows like Game of Thrones, House, House of Cards or Orange is the New Black yet, because there isn't enough hours in the day. I am however a massive fan of shows like The Office (The American version, not the British) and Parks and Recreation, to name two that I thought of as soon as I first came up with this idea. Both shows are mockumentaries, following characters around their daily lives; one being a parks department and the other being an office environment. They both have 'talking heads', where a character will sit or stand in a room and talk to the camera directly and I wanted something similar to this for my second idea.

Another aspect taken from the world of television was the thought of reality shows. There have been numerous reports of former reality stars like Lauren Conrad for example who came out against "The Hills" (One of two reality shows she had been on) and said that the show was in fact for the most part set up. Phonecalls were set up, if you got in a fight with someone, that person would then be at the same restaurant a few days later and you weren't made aware until they came up to your table, meaning the camera could catch your first reaction, whether you wanted the person there or not. There has always been a lot of spectulation about these types of shows and of course, we all know that they're not real, but how much of your actual life is ACTUALLY on these shows? I wanted to use this as a fake behind the scenes of this type of thing and show the audience that it can be just as fake as a fictional show.

Going back to the spider diagram, I wanted to include 'trapped' and 'emotional' in the story too because this girl feels trapped in her own life which is why she is opening up to someone but then she suddenly gets trapped her own reality and doesn't know why. So I want the story to be fictional but with a reality aspect. Below are notes that I wrote down when I first initially thought of the idea to give you more of the story itself (because I hadn't exactly explained that yet):

• A girl is talking to a therapist or a friend about everything that's going on in her life, she says "my life's like a TV show" and says how everything on TV looks/sounds so much easier. As she puts her head into her hands, she sighs. She lifts her head up to see a camera has replaced the person she was talking to. It's clear that she's on her own reality show; she's been asked to adjust her mic, someone has come in to fix her hair; she walks out of the room to the director and he tells her that she needs to go home and ring the friend that she had had a falling out with a few days before.
• The end of the story comes when the girl walks into the original room complaining about what she's been through with the director; constant cameras etc. and she's asked by the camera person (who has now turned into the original therapist/friend she was talking to) "TV's harder than it looks isn't it?" She answers with a line saying yes and puts her head into her hands. She lifts her head up again and the cameras, scripts, sound mics, are gone' the therapist/friend then says something inspirational like "Now let's take this one step at a time. Soren Kierkegaard once said that 'life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced'."

I understand that this story has a few points that I need to address first. It could be very cliched and there is only a small possibility that that could work in my favour. I am also aware that the ending needs to be worked on; she needs to breakdown, or have something happen to make her realize that she needs to be happy within herself and find a way to do that, so that's why she gets taken back to her 'old life' essentially. This is still a very basic idea, but I'm hoping over the next few days I can flesh it out and even if I don't get to make this, I still think I will keep it in my notebook for future reference.

Even though I can see a few problems with the idea, it fits into the theme of 'dislocation' quite nicely. The girl is stuck in her own problems, and she feels dislocated so to help her fix her old problems, she has to face new problems with the cameras being stuck in her face and being told to see people that she doesn't want to. As she does these things, she learns that she's not the only one going through this situation.

Vegan/Vegetarian Documentary Proposal

Purpose (What’s my goal?)

My purpose for my chosen documentary subject is not only to inform the public on another way of healthy living but to educate everyone on what they may not know about vegetarianism or veganism and to break down some common misconceptions about these lifestyles.

Audience (Who will be watching?)

I would like a wide range of people to watch this documentary. It would appeal to younger people and their parents and to people who are looking to change their eating habits or maybe just don’t know anything on the subject, and this will give them more information about both lifestyles.

Content (What do I want to say?)

I want people to understand more about the lifestyles of a vegan or vegetarian; I want to be able to show more of a personal side of people. For example, I want to ask who I interview about how people first reacted to their change, why and when they started, how difficult or easy it is to go out food shopping or going out for dinner. I don’t plan on making this a scientific documentary, I’m not going to go into the science of the body or how food works.

Voice (How do I want to say it?)

This will be a documentary piece with the slight possibility of adding stop motion animation. This will all depend on what footage I film and the topics of conversation as well as stories that come up along the way.

Imagery (What do I want to say?)

I want to interview a number of people who are vegan or vegetarian or have been in the past. I would also like to get the opportunity to visit a few businesses who do vegan/vegetarian food and ask them questions such as: why did they decide to make this type of food, is there a big demand for it, how has it changed in the past five or ten years and if any of them or their employees are following the same lifestyle. Before I even start filming, I want to know what questions or how much information the public really know, so I wanted to create short anonymous questionnaires for people to fill out so I can cater the questions they have, to the documentary.

Style (How do I want to show it?)

I want it to look quite smooth, I don’t want it really slow but the only time I can see it going fast paced is if I choose and/or able to get a number of interviews, while editing their interview together, make their answers quite choppy and follow into each other.

Tone (How do I want the audience to feel?)

I want the audience to feel like they have watched a short documentary and they have learned something and they have a better understanding of a different lifestyle to what they may lead. It may also give the audience an opportunity to want to explore more lifestyles like this and possibly go to the businesses that I mention and try out something different.

Platform (Where will it be viewed?)

It will be shown in the Odeon, Belfast as part of the HND Film Festival and once it has been shown there, I plan on putting it on YouTube on my personal YouTube channel for more people to see, my personal Facebook page and my own Twitter page too.

Promotion (How will it be shared?)

I plan to promote this documentary on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and quite possibly, Vimeo, as well as the blog that I am using to keep track of my progress. I may also put it on a number of DVD’s and USB sticks.

Budget (What can I afford?)

I am not exactly sure how many locations I will be visiting, but to get to these locations, it will simply be using public transport, car or walking. I may also purchase some food from the businesses that I go to because I want to see what they offer as well as going in and knowing something more about them.

First Idea: Vegetarian and Vegan Documentary.

After taking some time looking over my spider diagram, I decided to first choose an idea that I want to find out more information about. In doing this, I choose vegan and vegetarian. For a long time I have been very interested in both lifestyles but I don't know very much about both so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to learn more about each or one or the other. I want to create this in a documentary format so that it is more informative and along with the research, if I choose to go with this documentary, throughout the process I will be able to find out new information about both subjects and it may even make me explore them more in my own personal life.

In my notebook, I took a few basic notes on my very first thoughts on the idea:

• Exploring the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, how people react, the questions they get asked, their experience eating out and food shopping, is it as hard as people think it is.
• Interviewing shops/bakeries that make vegetarian and vegan food, how different or difficult it is, how in demand it is and possibly shooting them making the food. 

The theme of 'dislocation' shapes around this idea very well. A lot of people of vegetarians or vegans when asked by 'normal people' or meat eaters, are often questioned why they lead this lifestyle and are often told that they need meat or that "it's just a phase" so many people who live these lifestyles, I would assume, feel quite dislocated until they find people who live the same lifestyle, and don't have to worry about fighting their corner every time they go out for something to eat or if they are invited round to someone's house, for example. 

First Introduction.

This is a small introduction post to my new blog for my Final Year Film. On this blog, I'll be posting anything and everything that I find inspirational, whether that be towards my final idea or something that has absolutely no relation to what I'm wanting to do but I could possibly try and work into the project.