This week was a very exciting week for Sketchy Students. We had our first shooting day! It was a very different environment walking into class on Thursday surrounded by cameras and of course – Mop Poole. Well, Mop Ponde. I could agree with everyone in class by saying it was a bit chaotic. Similar to the first time you ride a bike – it takes practice so we knew what to work on for next week. I say “we” but personally I contributed very little to the way the day unfolded. Under the direction of director Nethaniel and the clapping of Jordan, we got through the bulk of the trailer! It was an exciting day and despite being a little unproductive at times I really enjoyed getting to know people in our class. It’s funny how things like this can bring people together and it was wonderful watching people in class do what they’re passionate about. Below is a picture of our cameraman and director hard at work BTS for the trailer and the first post I made on our instagram!

#sketchystudents is an episodic sketch series that explores the perks of #uni life. Tune in this Thursday to see the trailer and get a taste for this brand new #comedy series that's been inspired by #parksandrec and #theoffice ??

A photo posted by @sketchystudents on May 2, 2016 at 4:17pm PDT

This week we pitched our ideas for Screen Australia. My idea was titled The Real South Side of Melbourne. I think my cover letter does a good job of explaining the concept:

Screen Australia Cover Letter – Bonnie Dunleavy

To whom it may concern,

My name is Bonnie and this is my pitch for Screen Australia. Titled “The Real South Side of Melbourne” it is mimicking the series title “The Real Housewives of Melbourne”.

I am born and raised in the north-east part of Melbourne, and attended an arguably prestigious private school on the south side. I have grown up and been surrounded by some incredibly wealthy people and I feel there is opportunity to capture their lifestyle in a way that doesn’t ridicule them but does show just how ridiculous rich people are. A “spoof” if you will. I am therefore the one responsible for the production of this series.

The thing that has always made me laugh is conversations between two wealthy people – stuff that is common knowledge to them (e.g. everyone having a beach house), is not to everyone else. Suburbs like Brighton, South Yarra, Elwood and Malvern are enormously wealthy.

I was inspired by a number of programs that I have incorporated into my pitch – the very popular Chris Lilley character and series “J’amie King – Private School Girl”. I was also inspired by the early 2000’s movie Hating Alison Ashley – which shows Alison Ashley (a very rich girl) being made to attend a public school.

My series is essentially the reversal of that film – a girl from the north living the lives of the private school elite.

Kind regards,

Bonnie Dunleavy

In terms of the actual pitch I created myself a script to work off. Last year in a studio class we learnt how to write scripts and I thought it’d be a good “refresher” to see if I could still do it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wasn’t very happy with my overall pitch. I liked my idea but the execution of it was pretty amateur but I didn’t have access to anything better than my webcam or iPhone camera for recording. Had this been a more professional pitch I definitely would have put in more effort.

During Week 2 we learnt about how to become better at pitching our ideas. Mark played us a ‘Talks at Google’ video starring Stephanie Palmer, giving a speech called “Good in a Room”. The video was a step-by-step guide on selling an idea quickly and confidently. I personally struggle with maintaining focus on the audience and not on my script (a fairly common issue) but something that I’ve always wanted to work on. Stephanie’s video showed me a good example of how to be confident. I didn’t notice her once look down at any sort of script or notes that suggests her level of professionalism.

We watched this video as an introduction to our unofficial first assignment that wasn’t assessed but was to create a pitch for Screen Australia. The guidelines for that were more specific than what was required for an actual submission. On the website it stated that “We are looking for pitches that grab our attention, that evidence a story concept that will generate and sustain the dramatic structure of a feature film, online and interactive drama or virtual reality drama installation and one that knows its audience.”. We were also required to submit a cover letter. This weekend I’m planning my idea and will talk more about that in next week’s blog post.

I suppose Week 1 is a good opportunity to identify my goals for this course. When I selected The Digital Director as my studio – I wanted to do the course because I have a passion for digital media. Social media, I feel, is an area that isn’t covered in many classes and courses at RMIT but after reading about the studios I felt that this course would help me develop a better understanding about social media and how to operate in a team for projects – but all with the overarching theme of using a digital platform to create it. I hope this course will allow me to use what I am best at – such as Photoshop, Instagram, etc., but also allow me to learn about more ways to go about running a successful online space. This aligns with what it says in the course guide outcomes: Examine the role and skill sets of the contemporary director and explore the potentials and implications of digital technologies and the online space for the role of the director. I’m fairly sure that across the semester I will be able to produce something that I’m able to show and be proud of at the end.

­Today was the all important first shoot day. After delaying our shoot by one week, we were pleasantly welcomed by the 18 degree day with an overcast atmosphere that we were looking for out in Warrandyte. Our call time was 10am. After picking Alex and our actress Christina up from the station we made our way out to Warrandyte where we were met by Sarah, Laura and our actor Chris at our first location which was down Everard Drive by the river and along the walking track.

Scene One took us upwards of two hours to film. This was way longer than I think any of us had anticipated. I think it was most likely due to us trying our best to comply to the constraints of our shot list, which would make it easier in the editing process if we knew exactly what shots would match up with what audio. I was camerawoman for this portion of the day which was a really good experience, however I was keen to let others have a go of it because it’s something that’s best experienced or judged by different eyes. Our actor Chris was great for his scene, and he proved to be quite the good “Boyfriend” for someone who had never acted before, and was just Laura’s mate!

We wrapped this scene at around 12:30 when we broke for lunch and sat outside. We then drove onto scene 2, out at location #2 where we met Scott, who was playing Ted. Again for someone who was not an actor, and who had not seen the script prior to this day, he was really good for someone who had been thrown in the deep end. We can all agree that he definitely embodied the creepiness of Ted especially when he said “sweetness”.

While still adhering to the shot list, we found that we wanted to adventure with the gorilla tripod that Laura had brought along, which we rested on our shoulders and used it as a way of stabilizing Laura as she ran backwards up the hill while filming.

We were pressed for time in this scene, knowing that we would have to wrap the shoot in order to make it back to RMIT wit the equipment before 4:30. It felt like we were on the Amazing Race, trying to decide the quickest way there. We wrapped at 3 and had the content imported to two hard drives by 3:15 when Sarah’s mum kindly offered to drive into the city in order to make it there. They made it by 4:25. Phew.

Had this day been different we would have allowed far more time for our shoot in the morning, and we also would have given the scripts to the two guys who were not professional actors. On that note, we were absolutely wrapt with Christina’s performance throughout the day and I can’t wait to see what Laura and Jackson do with the footage!

Here’s the script: