Purpose: This piece is intended to inform the audience as to the origins, structure, message, purpose, and future of animal rescue shelters. Or just one.
Contacts: Tammy Alsterlind, Redwood City animal shelter (it’s owner, the workers, perhaps people who are adopting)
Interview Questions:
What does the shelter do? How does it work?
How did the shelter start? Why? Were there any challenges in doing so? If so, what were they and how were they overcome?
What is the ideology (if any) of the shelter?
How do you go about rescuing animals?
What do you plan for the future?
Shot List: Close-ups of the interviewees, wide shots of the inside of the shelter if possible, shots of the workers, well, working with the animals, establishing shots of the shelter itself, shots of potential adopters meeting animals (if possible). Close ups of the animals themselves in the shelter, being taken care of, sleeping, etc.
General Flow: Beginning: It will start out with a brief description of what the shelter actually does, with shots showing the volunteers (employees?) doing their job. Middle: Then it will move into the history of the shelter, why it was started, who started it (if possible). Then, descriptions of challenges/problems that have to do with their job. End: It will finish off with the workers plans for the future, mentioning how people can get involved, how they work with other shelters.
OMFG IF YOU GET A CLOSE UP OF A PUPPY OR A SAD LOOKING ANIMAL I WILL BREAK DOWN IN TEARS DURING YOUR DOCUMENTARY'S SCREENING. On a lighter note I really like your concept, or more so i love animals and it's really strikes a chord with me when I see animals suffering or without owners. I suggest trying your best to make one of those emotional documentaries (possibly referencing to ASPCA commercials, animal abuse PSA, or other stuff.) I also suggest for B-roll maybe being a bit more interactive then just shots. Maybe like one of the workers pulling out a dog and saying, "oh this here is marcy! she's a ... and she's been with us for..." stuff like that to have the audience create a bond with the animals. Other than that looks amazing! GOOD LUCKKKK MISTAHH BAHHHNNYEEETTT.
ReplyDeleteI've personally never been inside a pet shelter so I'd find this piece certainly interesting. Plus animals always attract some audience. The flow seems logical, but you could always adapt it more. For your beginning you could start with close ups of animals in different situations, as they create questions for the viewer and they're more motivated to keep watching the film. However the description is definitely needed, i'm just saying it probably shouldn't be the first thing. You could look up statistics on the amount of sheltered pets, or some interesting concrete facts to back up the documentary. I like the shots, mainly because i like to stare at animals that aren't dead. (: Good luck with your project, I can see you going a long way with this one.
ReplyDeleteThe concept is very cool. There are some debates about what really happens in animal shelters and this could clear some of it up for some people. This could inform people on how to adopt, care, etc. for a a pet. The flow of documentary works really well. Quite a bit of research about this facility or its aims can help with the documentary. Some research about animal shelters in general won't hurt either. The B-roll seems fitting to be in this kind of documentary. The idea is nice and this could turn out to be a great documentary. INNN THE AAARMMMMMSSS OFFFFF AN ANGELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.
ReplyDeleteI think that in terms of layout you should go deeper into your structuring. Because what if the facility does have a film-able or editable history? You should have some kind of back in that sense so that you can account for this possible misstep. It will be interesting to explore the shelter itself and especially nice to see the volunteers, I feel like seeing each one a unique character will really make your documentary memorable. Also factor in the cute-factor and your good to go. To qoute Jhon"INNN THE AAARMMMMMSSS OFFFFF AN ANGELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL." should be a nice influence in the emtion department. I'm not sure however, on whether the feel should be emotional or upbeat inspiring.
ReplyDelete