First Production Meeting

In today's lesson we as a class were allocated a entire hour long period to hold our first production meeting, after having been split into our groups for our upcoming Thriller projects. I was put in a group with Arabella and Brandon respectively. In the lesson we were instructed to discuss ideas for our videos and if possible result in choosing one. 

We initially decided that it would be best to give each member of the group time to deliver all four of their own ideas, from a task that was given to us the previous week. Doing this allowed us to try and visualise each sequence from the description of the group member. Firstly, a good idea should engage and appeal to us. It is only after that we should ponder the logistics of the idea and whether it is feasible. A balance between these two is good. After hearing all twelve ideas we realised we would have to narrow them down in some way. We initially decided to do this by narrowing down the sixteen to three different ideas that we all agreed that we liked. These were;

1. My political thriller idea in which a president of Russia is poisoned mid-speech and consequently dies on the spot.
2. A sequence in which a girl is followed on her way home by a stalker, we see the shots through the eyes of the stalker.
3. A film based around the life of a troubled teenager where in the opening sequence he is jumped and severely beaten up by a group of bullies, only to return home to parents who barley acknowledge this and tell him to stop being so weak.

We could see that these ideas are all completely different yet despite this all feasible in terms of shooting. Next came the task of choosing our final idea. Neither of us could decide upon an idea conclusively so we thought that the most simple, diplomatic way to solve this was by creating a pros and cons list for each idea. This offered a visual clarity on what was good and bad about each idea. 

1. Pros - This is an idea that immediately looks fresh and original compared to others. It hasn't been done before and has a very unsettling and dramatic element to it.               

       Cons - We have a lack of adults at our disposal for shooting meaning that show of the audience during he speech would become difficult.

2. Pros - In terms of logistics, this sequence is easy to shoot with no foreseen complications.

       Cons - It lacks originality in it's story line. It is predictable and will have been done before.

3. Pros - It is a scene that could visually be really interesting and could be shot in various ways using quick cuts and slow motion.

       Cons - It hasn't been entirely thought out, especially in relation to the rest of the film. 

When looking over the pros and cons as a group we could clearly see that no idea was without its faults. So in the end it came down to a vote based on which idea we found most exciting and interesting as individuals. Through this process, we settled on idea one as it was something we all felt was unique and could be effective if done well. This vote was conclusive with every member of the group voting for the first idea. When telling Adam, our teacher, the news he was less confident being more of a fan of idea three as he was weary of the potential filming issues with idea one. However, as a group we all felt we were capable of the challenge and decided to do number one. Of course, we are still in very early stages of production and this decision may be subject to change but it is reassuring to know that we have other ideas to fall back on. Thus far, I am happy with the way the group have worked in concordance with making the best possible sequence being each persons priority.