Production Schedule

I made this production schedule worksheet. More will be marked along the way as they're done.

Mini-Site Renditions

Both of the mini-sites above are my personal renditions of our website, with the help of emaze. Of course, this is only a pilot test, not the final product, but in my opinion capture the essence of what a short film website should look like, as it adheres to many conventions but also has a sense of originality.

1. https://app.emaze.com/@AWZQCOFW/the-last-ridemeet-us#1

2. https://app.emaze.com/@AWZQCOOF/management-teamjane

This, on the other hand, is Jack's more minimalistic rendition of our website.

Website Sitemap

Film Festival Postcard Drafts

My drafts:

Sanaz's first draft:

Jack's first draft:

Website Drafts

 On the above is a website draft sketched by Jack, following the standard conventions of short film websites of large full-page photographs and little to no text, aside from the typical large title and a few tabs to allow for easy and convenient navigation.

Here is a quick preview of what we think the "about" page will look like, which will outline the sypnosis of the film as well as provide information on the cast members and their respective roles.

Inspiration for The Last Ride (Sealine Documentary)

Car Crash Observation

Jack, a member in my group, came across this catastrophic car crash on his way home of a Bentley near the Qatar Golf Club. 
He managed to get a few pictures of the accident before he was ordered to leave by the authorities.

Social Media Research

Film Festival Research

Production Studio Research

Production Studio Research (A2 Media) from xmariabi

Plot Summary

Casting Choices

Shot List

Logo Design

The logo was designed by Jack.

Location Planning

(Pictures on filming day)

Planning Notes

Characters 

Stunt driver ASHRAF
ER person
Family of victim of stunt driving accident
Spectator


STATS - against
- 66.5% aged 18-39

• Start out with statistics.
• Voiceover of interviews 
• Cut to actual interview - victim
• Montage between lusail clips and victim family interviews
• Interviewees - first against, then stunt driver/spectator
• Sealine clips

Audience Profile

Young to middle-age people in the GCC

Khalid, 18.


According to several interviews and a mass online survey/questionnaire, there is a specific demographic interested in or advocating against stunt driving. Since this phenomenon is especially prevalent to Qatar, the demographic can be narrowed down to the GCC population - still a quite vague and large demographic, therefore more insight is needed. In 2010, 226 people were killed in Qatar as a result of stunt driving - 66.5% of them aged somewhere between 18-39, in other words young to middle-aged members of the GCC, often male; 96.5% of stunt driving victims are male. This creates a much more specific target audience. Of course, one other important factor is class. Since stunt driving often requires expensive vehicles (usually large 4x4 wheelers with plenty of room) and equipment, especially since this is common amongst the younger population, a high amount of income has face validity, in regards to the target audience. So overall, this indicates a mostly male young-to-middle-age upper class demographic in the GCC.

Take for instance our model for this scenario, Khalid. 18-year-old Qatari male, wealthy and stunt driving enthusiast. He understands the consequences behind the dangerous world of stunt driving, and yet continues to partake in this deadly form of entertainment - despite losing an acquaintance to the famed sport. 2 years prior, his friend and driving partner Omar lost his life performing a dangerous stunt known as "sidewalk skiing". Khalid survived the accident, but the guilt never escaped him. This makes him the perfect candidate for this profile since he understands multiple perspectives when it comes to reckless stunt driving. Our documentary takes a strong stance against reckless and uncontrolled stunt driving, although it does allow stunt driving enthusiasts to freely express their opinions regarding the topic. This will appeal to Khalid's thrill seeking nature that pushes him to continue participating in the controversial sport. He has multiple cars and goes on a trip to Sealine every weekend, while settling for Lusail during the weekdays.

Questionnaire (Audience Research 2)

Evaluation

As shown in the results above, there is a clear delineation of opinions; most people agree that reckless driving needs to be controlled in Qatar, especially in regards to stunt driving. Most people seem to go to the dunes near Sealine Resort to perform dangerous stunts while driving, likely because of the open space and quiet location. 

With a fast-growing amount of responses we can ascertain with confidence that the  majority of the audience believes the plot of a documentary is the absolute most important component of said documentary. We received over 70 responses in under 24 hours due to sending mass emails to other 6th Form students as well as all the teachers in the school, in an attempt to achieve a diverse age range. Therefore we have a large enough sample to draw conclusions from the results. 

Most people attribute the rising and problematic prevalence of reckless stunt driving in Qatar due to boredom and lack of activities within the country. This is an interesting  and insightful finding as it is not as obvious as other factors which have also been mentioned in the written responses - such as an abundance of wealth, possession of durable vehicles, space, lack of strict intervention from law enforcement, etc. It can definitely be argued that there are a lack of activities and things to do in Qatar, leading to boredom and frustration amongst youth - who are allegedly meant to be having 'the time of their lives', hindered by the fact that Qatar is a rather uneventful country. Combined with the fact that the desert country is quite humid and hot, this eliminates other options of sporting activities; after all, a car is well-conditioned meaning the sport can be done in tolerable weather.

Focus Group (Audience Research 1)

• What do you think is the most important component in a short documentary film?*
• Is the message clear? What message did you get?
• What do you think about the actions of each main character? Do you agree with them?
• What had the biggest impact on you in this documentary?
• What aspects of the documentary should be changed/any improvements?
• Does a slower pace help you understand what is going on?
• What do you think of reckless driving?
• What attracts people to stunt driving?
• Why do you think this problem is especially prevalent in Qatar? Why do people drive recklessly even when they know it is unsafe?
• What do you think is effective and why - music, characters, camerawork and editing, story, etc.
• Would you prefer a focus on interviews or a focus on action?*

I wrote most of these questions, with a few occasional assistances from Sanaz.

I set up the camera and also interviewed the subjects, Sanaz held the mic up which proved to be especially tiring. Jack pressed the record button and edited the video.

Mood Board

Short Film Narrative Analysis

https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2016/02/05/the-dogist/

The Dogist is an interesting documentary narrative-wise as it simply explores the twists and turns the average photographer with an obsession faces - except the average photographer in question has millions of Instagram followers under the username 'thedogist' and a cult following for his unique choice of subjects - canines. The Dogist explores the daily life of a photographer who shoots dogs professionally for a living by asking random dog owners he meets if he can take pictures of their dogs. He then uses objects such as tennis balls to divert their attention to the specific angle he wishes the dog to look at; side, straight on, up above, etc. Therefore there is no clear linear narrative - Todorov's narrative theory is not especially relevant to documentaries, and this fact is amplified in this particular personal documentary.  Todorov suggests the following stages in order:

Stages:

Equilibrium: Mostly maintained throughout the documentary.

Disruption: No clear evidence of disruption.

Recognition of disruption in equilibrium: No disruption to begin with.

Attempt to restore equilibrium: Equilibrium never actually faltered.

'New' equilibrium: State of equilibrium is not new.

Short Film Editing Analysis

https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2016/09/07/claressa/

Claressa is a movie that surrounds a successful middleweight two-time Olympic title winner and the obstacles she faced to get to that point as well as the struggles she continues to endure as an African-American female boxer. She marked history in 2016 when she proved her worthiness by being the first ever American, male or female, to win an Olympic title twice in a row.
Since this film obviously revolves around the world of sport entertainment, action-packed is an appropriate word to summarise the documentary. This means the fast paced editing employs very frequent scene changes and quick cuts - it's a very short movie filled with several clips of Clarissa training to become her very best, so naturally this means ascribing to the convention within boxing films of using close-ups or extreme close-ups to display the protagonist's angry or determined facial expressions in the good moments, or despairing and agonised expressions during the bad moments to spark a sense of sympathy within the viewer.
There is also a particular scene that uses montage editing to display the sheer amount of training the hardworking Clarissa does in her daily life. This makes the viewer root for the protagonist in a way, since they see that Clarissa deserves it. The lack of continuity editing serves to shift the audience's attention away from the plot and on solely Clarissa.

Short Film Sound Analysis

https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2016/08/05/nzingha/

Synergy Campaign

Limina is a short 2016 film that is the product of a campaign itself. A funding page was started on the indie film crowdfunding website "Indiegogo" in 2015 to help raise funds for the production budget. What allowed this film to have such a successful campaign? What made people so willing to give away their money to a film that has yet to be filmed? 

One important aspect to consider in this is the intended or target audience for this project. Independent films often have a niche audience, in other words they are usually made for a specific demographic rather than attempting to appeal to a wide variety of groups of all ages and interests.

It is obvious from both the storyline and the crowdfunding  background story who the intended audience is; people who are questioning their identity in terms of gender. 

The plot follows a gender-fluid child on a journey of exploration, which intrigues people who are in a similar situation - a number of people that are rising not in numbers but in expression of said quality. More people are willing to be open about their gender identity than they were years ago. There is still a stigma surrounding this cause, which means a film like this would bring recognition to situations like this and even acceptance.

Several pitches have been made for this film, including the original webfunding webpage as well as on the YouTube channel, TurbidLakePictures.

The film poster showcased below is an interesting choice. The tagline displayed is "they challenge the binary by being human," which appeals to the target demographic and draws them in. The font is simplistic and soft so as to not take away too much attention from the main subject: the questioning child. The colouring is warm-toned and has a vague nostalgic quality that is perhaps reminiscent of less turbulent, ignorant times.

This likely rings true for people facing a similar situation, thus capturing their attention.