Proposal
Role
As the producer, my role is to handle the business side of the production such as the budget, risk assessments and other documents. Producers predominately do work in pre-production so the other roles will be able to actually shoot the film, this is why they're so integral to the process of making one. In general I'm also the one responsible for sourcing majority of what's needed for the short film. I was the producer in the music video unit as well so I know what I'm expected to do and how to do them (like fill in hazard forms and so on). Producers often need to be resourceful, knowledgeable and organised. I listen to the director as they're the one who's vision will be put into the film, producers are often the role that funds and helps them to get there. If there were production assistants I would be leading them as well
I applied for this role as its best suited to me, I'm resourceful and have time management skills. When it comes to researching I'm very good at it which is needed for this role as well (finding costumes, locations, ect.). I also have the experience with this role as I've done it previously. Producers have to socialise and they often have connections with other people or companies (which helps with sourcing and saves time since they already know who to contact), however I notice that I do lack that trait in particular. Since I'm good at researching I should be able to overcome that challenge, I can still contact new places and people. Compared to the music video unit though I'm much more proactive and social, this helps me for reasons I've already explained. Talking to other people (like other roles in the group or production meetings) should also help me with my social skills
Daily Diary 04/10
Today I went to the UCAS fair. I feel a bit better about university options but I'm still not sure I want to do them yet, let alone which one to even go to
I don't have much to talk about, I still haven't confirmed any locations yet and I'm starting to get worried. I've checked a few websites dedicated to filming but all of the options listed on those sites are too far and way too expensive. This is also taking away time from me being able to contact any actors as well, but I'm not sure where to start for that either
Daily Diary 05/10
Today I continued to research for locations, using airbnb and Vrbo
I'm extremely disappointed in myself since I still haven't found any locations yet. I was recommended to use airbnb previously but dismissed it since I assumed it was like a hotel site. I now have to scramble to find a location that the rest of my team will be able to film in, which was an issue I should've taken care of days ago by now
I was originally searching for more cheaper options since I was planning to pay for each night and I had a small list of houses we could possibly film at, but I was told that a previous film was shot in an airbnb and they didn't pay for their stay. I've since messaged many people (including everybody on the list) but I recognise that because I'm asking to do this for free that I'm going to get a lot of no's. The contingency plan is to use the directors house to film, but I hope it won't come to that
Daily Diary 06/10
Today I confirmed a location and started looking for actors. For homework I have to finish all of my assigned documents, finish everything in my submission checklist and fill in a checklist for everyone else's work in the production team
I got a response from Micheal, a house owner on airbnb, saying we could film at his house. He mentioned that since I can't actually book a stay, there may be a guest that'll be in the house. I was told it'd probably be best not to film in the guest bedroom if that happens and I agreed. We've since exchanged contact numbers and emails.
Now that I had a possible location, I looked into actors since we didn’t have any yet. The director said she had an acting club nearby where she lives, but they mainly teach children. I thought it’d be a good idea to check if there are any acting classes that could work for our film but the same problem appeared
Instead of acting classes, I decided to look into any acting courses in colleges nearby. The first one I found was from the University of Bedfordshire, they have a few performing arts courses but I thought the Media Performance for Film TV and Theatre BA (Hons) course would be the best to ask. I also found a few other colleges like Oaklands college and Bedford college that do performance arts courses as well. The PAD is another option since it’s in Dunstable, it focuses specifically on performing arts and also has an acting course. I tried to call the University of Bedfordshire through their press office and even their internal communications but no one responded, even when I called them later on. I emailed them all for now
Another option I looked into were sites based on finding actors. I first looked at starnow and almost posted a listing, but it required money that went over budget. I made an account on Bark and posted my job listing there and contacted one professional on the website to help me find any actors, but I can’t do much else on the site. I wasn’t confident in it so I went on CastingNow and posted a job listing there
I found an article on the best ways to cast actors in a student film and found a website called Mandy on it, I could use it free for one month so I used it as well. I made an account and contacted every local actor I could find using its search engine, but I couldn't post a listing because it had to get authorised by an admin first. While going back on some of the messages I sent I noticed that some of these actors hadn't even checked the site since 9 years ago. The article also recommended Facebook groups and contacting local agencies, I tried to look for some local agencies on Yell but none of them were for local actors. I did find Next Generation Youth Theatre though, which is a performing arts group in Luton. I’ve emailed them as well
Location Sheet
Risk Assessment
Hazard Form
Talent Release
Location Release
Call Sheets
11th October
12th October
13th October
Location Release (signed)
Talent Releases (signed)
