LO3: Treatment

Working Title

The Shift

Genre

Documentary

Target Audience

All age groups - mostly between 14 and 50 as I don't think anyone younger or older would understand the content of the documentaries enough to interest them. 

Brief

My documentary is going to be an episode that is a part of a series surrounding social media and it's impacts on society. My episode will be centred around the rise in diversity in the media industry and products, whilst exploring both sides of the arguments surrounding it. In the episode, I will explore why and how things have changed so rapidly over the last few years, and will interviews various people to gain there opinions about the topic. I will also use data gathered from an online survey to show the broader, more generalised, opinions of the wider population. Both the survey and interviews will contain potentially provocative statements about diversity and representation, and will ask each respondent to offer information about their age, race, sexuality, disabilities, and geographical location. I am hoping to find connections between certain demographics and how they respond to the statements, and whether or not they could be bothered/were comfortable enough to expand on the agreement/disagreement with the statements. 

Equipment

• DSLR Camera
• 4K Camcorder
• Attachable Microphone
• External Light Source 
• 4K Action Camera
• Computer 
• Editing Software (Da Vinci Resolve)

Personnel

Director & Producer = Myself

Camera Operator = Joshua Rackham & Myself

Actors (voiceover) = Josh Rackham

Editor = Myself

Reasoning

I have chosen to create this documentary as I enjoy researching and collecting data about topics that interest me. I came up with the idea whilst watching a movie and noticing how much more diverse it was compared to things I watched as a child. I was curious to find out why such an immediate change was made in such a short space of time. I wanted to explore the idea further by asking a wide range of people from all demographics their opinions on diversity, and the increasing amount of representation in blockbuster productions. I want to share my findings with others as I really love learning things and then teaching other people about it. 

Time Scale

I want to begin filming by the end of September and finish by October 11th to allow myself adequate time to edit and re-shoot. I've allowed myself a long time to shoot so that I can make sure the b-roll is as good as it can be, and the a-roll has the correct lighting/composition. 

Contingency Plans

In the event that filming plans fail, I can fine tune the script and go over everything again just to make sure it's good. I can also record any voiceovers that have been added after production stars. By giving myself this much time, it will create more filming dates in the event the actor is unavailable. I am also going to bring a spare SD card in case my current one runs out of space or breaks somehow. 

Legal and Ethical Constraints

One legal constraint would be that I have to gain permission from anyone captured in the b-roll or in the interviews. I will ensure that any person filmed in either the background or the foreground of any footage has signed a release & consent form, allowing me to share the footage however I please. 

One ethical constraint would be the data collected in the research survey. Some of the questions ask for personal opinions regarding that people may not be comfortable sharing. To combat this constraint I have added a disclaimer at the start of the survey, and again when at the start of what I believe to be the most personal part of the survey. Each questions has the option not to be answered, so if the responder is not comfortable, they can move on to the next question. 

Another legal constraint is that I cannot collect and share data from anyone under 13 without parental consent. To solve this problem, I am simply not collecting data from anyone under 13. The start of the survey asks for the respondents age, and there is no option lower than 14. I will avoid sending the survey to anyone I know to be under 13, and will have to trust that anyone who comes across the survey will know not to answer if they are under 13. 

Another ethical constraint would be that minors are given access to the survey. In the disclaimer I specify not to include any information that could reveal the responders identity, and in the even a child does not understand or does not read the disclaimer, I will delete any responses that reveal identifying information.