26/10/11 -10am - 2pm

all members present.
today we prepared our media products and presentation, as we displayed our workings to scott smith today at 11:30. we showed our promo material, our webpage design, and our pilot demo, alongside our presentation layout and structure. we were pleased to hear that we have considered all areas of the project, from scott, although it is necessary to fully flesh out all details for this presentation.
after this we organized our materials, as well as presentation data, in order to assign individual task for the last day before presentation revision is primary, so the key goal today is to complete all outstanding work and assemble all works into presentation.
 currently we are a little behind on schedule, but are all able to complete the necessary tasks, as well as being able to designate a day solely for presentation revision.

25/10/11 - presentation layout and media completing

today we continued to fill the presentation in preparation for the mock presentation tomorrow. we have decided that as a safety option, we will make the presentation through powerpoint first, then transfer all slides to prezi at a later time.
additionally, we continued to finalise some of the media products, including title screen, promo posters and character designs.

Filming & More Research

Last week, we finished writing the script and we shot the footage for the television promo on Friday for Death Staff. We also recorded some voice-overs for the narration and for the end of the video. Kiran made the props we used and edited the footage over the weekend.
additionally, Adam C edited music to function onto sections of the video, and Adam T also created a revised document, with a more in depth description on the story arc, plot, character profiles and type of humour.
Across the week we have taken some time research some show demographics, such as mobile device usage, popularity and show statistics. This was all research to support the new media requirement.
Kiran has continued to finish character designs as well as begin design work on the web page.

20/10/11 = 11am -

members present:

• adam tipping
• mickey bowen
• adam croucher
• kiran bevan

today we began by discussing what needs to be done within the next couple of days as well as what everyone will be doing across the weekend. we also returned to the discussion of the script, as well as additional ideas to consider for tomorrows filming session.
we also decided that having a narration sequence to start the film scenes would be a good idea, in a similar fashion to little britain's tom baker sequence. we chose adam t to be the narrator of the sequence, and is fleshing out the script.
adam c is creating and compiling more music samples to have more variety. some ideas for the 3rd sample have been made with the astro farm theme in mind, particularly the pace and upbeat nature of the song.
we also did some research into early theme tunes that were catchy and analysed why they were catchy.

on monday we attended the group meeting with scott smith to go over our most recent works, as well as where we should go form here, all members were present. we took out some additional reading materials for the group to read, as well as classic sci fi films that have been most useful at identifying science fiction niche's. we met up before the tutorial to discuss story arc and finalize any ideas about the plot. we also were introduced to prezi, which proves to be a very impressive form of presenting, and began conjuring up ideas about how our presentation can look, and hold a sci fi-esk feel. time of meetings were from 11am to 4pm
on tuesday adam c, adam t and mickey met up and began working on the script for a scene that we have decided to create. we decided that it will solidify our pitch idea if there were scene footage available for the assessors to see, and get a rough idea of how the shows humour and behaviour will be broadcasted. time of meeting were from 12pm to 2pm

today we elaborated on the script and were able to fully flesh out 4 seperate scenes of the show and begin test acting the scripts out. we decided that the main members acting out the scenes will be myself and mickey. additionally i have started reading books, particularly in "from alien to the matrix". part of the book analyses the film "galaxy quest", and how its a well made comedy sci fi film. we will be looking into this to see how the film displays its humour. time of meetings were from 11am to 4:30pm

Television Promo & Studio Shoot

Today we began writing the script for the series television promo. The basic outline of the sketch involves the two writers of the film, Bob and Tom, being in the middle of a heated argument over whether or not light-years is a measurement of time or distance.Whilst arguing, they notice that they are actually being filmed at the time by the production crew, which makes them quickly change gears and start talking about the series and promoting it. This will act as a form olf advertising for the series aswell as a kind of prequel.

We have also booked the studio for Friday where we intend to shoot this sequence and also some stills for the promo posters which we plan to create.

today we took a step back to look into our current project progression and our current strengths within the project as a whole. we agreed that our weaknesses lie within the research section of the project, and therefore is what we focused on today. we looked into readin materials that covers tv, film, music, design and story telling, and then split the material to sort through relevant material efficiently. here are the list we chose to look up:

• classic sci fi
• alien zone
• art of wall-e
• art of ratatouille
• alien to matrix
• cinematic storytelling
• 100 modern soundtracks
• brangwyn hall organ
• mechanika

we had tried looking up articles and journals via the smu database, but unfortunately we were unable to save any articles due to permission setting problems.
although we are uncertain as to how relevant these materials are to our work, they proved to be more relevant than other reading materials we discovered. our aim is to research relevant material from these books, as well as watch (research!) films and tv shows to further solidify our ideas.
here are some of the media we will be covering:

• office space
• family guy space trilogy
• paul
• senicdoche
• it crowd
• big bang theory
• inbetweeners
• thundercats
• the office
• futurama
• american dad
• red dwarf
• the man

my current work progression involves completing character designs for the show, as well as begin designing prototypes of website design for the show, and a 3d model representing the space office.
work progress has been slow for the group due to illnesses, so we hope that next week will be more productive.

here is the attendance record for this week:

monday:
adam tipping
adam croucher
mickey bowen
kiran bevan
jim beckley

total time of group meeting: 11am - 2:30pm (3 hours 30 minutes)

tuesday:
adam tipping
adam croucher
mickey bowen
kiran bevan

total time of group meeting: 10am - 2pm (4 hours)

wednesday
adam tipping
adam croucher
mickey bowen

total time of group meeting: 12am - 3pm (3hours)

thursday:
adam tipping
adam croucher
mickey bowen
kiran bevan
jim beckley

total time of group meeting: 10am - 2:30pm (4 hours 30 minutes)

friday:
adam tipping
adam croucher
mickey bowen
kiran bevan

total time of group meeting: 11am - 4pm (5 hours)

various members of the group have suffered with illnesses throughout the week, and thus have not attended the full hours of the meeting on which we have agreed upon. next week will hopefully be more beneficial

Story Outline Idea?

The documentary follows the story of two failing writers (Bob and Tom), who feel this is their last chance to make it in the "big leagues" following a string of previous unsuccessful sci-fi films. Failing success with the new film "Informal Frontier", the duo plan to retire from writing. The film is being backed by the financial support of business man/addicted gambler, Mr Faguette, is the story of an office, set in deep space. A struggling, up and coming actress desperate for fame, is hired as the female lead, in a bid to make it as an actress. We see the progress of her life on the film, as the only female, cast or crew, trying to fit in around a mostly male environment. Cast along side the female lead is "Alberto Stevens", in his very first acting job. As a distant relation to Mr Faguette, who had owed him a favour, he got cast in the role of "Rod Neck", even though Alberto suffers from asthma and has a very strong "red neck accent". Over the series, we follow the filming from day one up until the deadline of the 7th week, when the film must be finished due to it being shown at a sci-fi convention.

theme music for the clip

for the theme music, i came up with 2 ideas, the first being a 70 cop show/van halen synth mix, which features 2 amp simulations with Wah pedal and a mono-phonic synthesizer brought in with space fade style chords.
my second idea is more of a star wars esque theme, comprising of classic marching drum styles and ending in a chilli pepppers style swing
however this is still a work in progress

Show Title Card & Title Sequence

I have created a preliminary design for the logo/title card for the television series we are producing. I used Adobe Photoshop CS5 to create the design, because I have previous experience with this software and I thought that it would be the right software for the job. However, I also used Adobe Illustrator CS5 to create the text of the design. The reason for this being that in Photoshop, text cannot be converted into vector outlines, which allows for more robust manipulation. The font I used for the text is called “Futura”; I thought it had the right look for the effect I was aiming for. I created a sticky note for the last two letters of the title in order to fit in with the office style theme and to make it seem more comical. Initially for the background, I made it look like TV static to try and break the fourth wall. I then went for more of a space background with a sort of “hyper speed” effect. I also used the design to start creating an animated title sequence for the series. I did this using Adobe After Effects CS5. Because of this, I was able to import the layers from Photoshop and animate them.

Character Descriptions

Over the weekend, I have been working on descriptions for the characters in our show. Here are the descriptions so Kiran and Jim can work on the character designs.

Main Characters

Boss – Mr Faguette

• Main job is taking the camera crew around, showing the backstage environment of a film set.
• He takes delight at the misfortune of others
• Can be very threatening and intimidating
• From a French background
• Always correcting people on the pronunciation on his name.

Writers

Bob –

• Very relaxed and chilled out.
• Has to drive Tom to work everyday.
• Both are like an old married couple.
• The more likable of the two.
• Always arguing, but overtime Bob has given in to Tom’s stubbornness and most of the time lets him have his way.

Tom –

• Very OCD and nit picky.
• Eccentric personality, and extremely clever.
• Corrects other grammar
• And always changes parts of Bob’s scripts to suit himself.

Cameramen

Ron & Jeremy

• Both very creepy
• Have moustaches, and wear lots of gold chains.
• Both are so similar they could be like brothers.
• Always amusing each other
• Both hit on the only female actor, much to her disgust.
• Ron – short and fat. Jeremy - tall

Director – Spencer ‘the director’

• Very similar personality to Tom the Writer.
• Very fussy about the quality
• Shouts cut far too often.

Male Lead - Alberto Stevens (real) Rod Neck (actor)

• His role in the film is as the ‘Hero’…saving the damsel in distress.
• Cast only in his role, because of a being a distant relation to Mr Faguette.
• Suffers from asthma. (Darth Vader type pun, because when not in shot he sounds like him.) Recurring joke through out the series. And over time gains the nickname ‘Darth’ from his fellow colleagues.
• He is a red-neck from Nebraska USA.
• He has a very strong accent, and so working with British actors, not many people can understand him properly.

Female lead – Ruth (real) Ruby Jewels (actor)

• A very good looking actress
• It is her first acting job
• A stereotypical blonde.

Alien – Wayne (real life name not known)

• Very lazy
• Always sleeps in between filming of scenes.
• A bit of a slouch.
• Plays the office villain in the film.

Robot – Eric (real life name not known)

• The gossip backstage
• Always bitching about people behind their backs.
• Bit of a ‘Prima Donna’… ‘I cannot work in this environment'

Producer – Charleston

• Thinks he’s extremely important, though was only given the job due to budget cuts, and so people make a mockery of him behind his back.
• Always goes around wearing a Bluetooth headset.

Soundman – Mike Stand

• Hippie
• Very relaxed, what ever goes type guy

Clothing staff –Tee Shirt

• A very camp bloke
• Has the sole purpose of costume design for the 4 actors.

Promo poster

elaborating on the show structure

group members present
kiran bevan
mickey bowen
adam tipping
adam croucher

today we discussed how the show was going to be structured, as well as the plot of the film and show. i created a small document that briefly outlines what the show will entail, as well as what kind of humour we aim to achieve.
adam croucher has began created sound samples depicting a 70's synth/rock mix, including what can only be described as 'porn wah wah' sounds! this was a good idea, and the group agreed, but more samples will be made to ensure variety of ideas.
adam tipping and mickey have also begun researching other various areas of the project that need addressing before the production stages, mickey with logo design and other theme design, and adam with character profiles and behaviours within the show/film.
i have begun researching character design ideas by creating a small picture reference folder, including characters, clothing, office designs, and typical sci fi niche's.
for the weekend, we have each decided to take a section of the research and pre production work, and elaborate onto it. as we will not be able to organize group meetings on weekends (travelling complications), here is what we have agreed to work on:

mickey bowen - preliminary logo design and further research
adam croucher - further research into sounds, sampling and theme songs
adam tipping - complete character profiling and revised tv show brief
kiran bevan - preliminary character designs, environment designs, picture reference research and tv show research
jim beckley - preliminary character designs

jim and myself have agreed to create 2 different designs of characters based on our own interpretations on the show. this will give more variety of ideas to the group and perhaps better choice.

as of today, i have allowed access to the blog for all the group members, as i cannot include work that the group members have made myself (did not know how to do this initially). hopefully this will mean that there will be 5 blogs from now till sunday, from each of the group members.

our aims are to complete these by monday, so that we can begin production of the show.

Brainstorming

(All members present)

Today we discussed various brainstorming strategies, as well as discussing some research ideas to further structure the production process. We created 2 brainstorm diagrams, one specifically for character and one the show in general. This proved useful as the group engaged with their own ideas in a clear, unstructured way. From this we began constructing solid character and setting ideas, as well as the type of humour this show would emphasize on.
We also made some additional ideas onto title name and catchy slogans to further promote the show.
We began discussing ideas for character design also, and decided that we would have broader range of ideas if each design specific course member would create designs of a few characters based on their own interpretations of the show, we will begin these designs now and create solid designs by beginning of next week.

preliminary show ideas

members present - adam tipping, adam croucher, mickey bowen, jim beckley, kiran bevan

what we did?
today we arranged a group meeting for 10am to discuss some additional show ideas. we also began researching marketing and advertising strategies, that will further promote our show to the public, whilst keeping in mind of new advertising strategies we can use. these ideas included:

• posters
• business cards
• social sites fan pages (facebook,twitter etc)
• website banner adverts
• mobile apps (android, apple)
• tv/viral adverts
• prototype website design
• paid advertising like tshirts, keyring, toys etc (optional)

we decided that part of our research will need to come from actual shows that have had success in their own unique way. this included shows like:

• mars attacks
• family guys star wars spoof shows
• 3rd rock from the sun
• red dwarf
• tripping the rift
• futurama

we also began throwing ideas out about what the tv show will entail, like mercenaries in space, exploration team, office environment, or lost in space. more research will be needed to assist in creating an unique tv show.

as well as this, we began getting some name ideas down:

• trekking to the unknown
• informal frontier
• death staff

the latter was instantly liked by the group, and ideas of a show like the comedy show, the office, but in space came from this. we plan to construct brain storming or mind mapping strategies to articulate further ideas into one area.

first day organization

the first day was simply a chance to quickly meet and get to know a little about our group members. thankfully, all members of the group were present and immediately discussing ideas and methods we should undertake to complete this project.
the members present and attended in the group are:

• jim beckley
• adam tipping
• mickey bowen
• adam croucher
• and myself (kiran bevan)

being that it was the first day, ideas were slow but we have all agreed to construct some ideas of our own, and discuss these ideas when we have met up again.
we will have another group meeting tomorrow at 10am to discuss our findings.