Production Diary - Oscars Rundown

May 01, 2019

Production Diary - Oscars Rundown

When it came to the Oscars predictions show, i knew exactly how I wished to present it.
To start with, me and Thomas Raby went through a planning process where we brainstormed individual ideas for the show - finally landing on a more humour orientated production in an attempt to not only make the project more fun to film, but to interest an audience that might not usually care for content related to the Oscars.

This was our plan going forward, to make the project accessible to a larger audience, which would in turn help to spread the name of U-Films and it's content to a wider audience.

I decided that a scripted approach to mine and Thomas' project simply wasn't going to work. This isn't to say I didn't use or write any script all together, but instead of creating on to reference word for word during filming, a creating a simpler one that just reminded us to stay on track with the topic of conversation during filming (to help make the editing process easier).

Onwards with the planning process, I decided to take inspiration from RedLetterMedia, an production company located within Milwaukee in the U.S. The team put up videos online that consist of move reviews, skits and projects they've worked on. They're ability to create a comedic video that also informs the viewer on topical points within the film industry has always been one of their greatest selling points, so I jumped at the opportunity to create something even remotely similar as i believed it would be the perfect match for the U-Films channel and Oscars content we were in charge of producing.

When it came to set, I wanted to create something that seemed relaxed, almost lived in. The reason for this was due to me wanting the audience to feel comfortable, like they're watching two friends talk versus two students reading from a script in a bland setting. I drew up a storyboard that included seating and positions, as well as props such as Blu-Rays, movie posters and bottles of beer.

We began filming our rundown straight after Olivia and Danniella's Fashion Rundown, once we got the set together and got ourselves into position, we gave Adam Cowperthwaite directing duties and began filming. Filming went on for around 40-50 minutes, covering all aspects of the Oscars nominations with every category being covered. I should've definitely referenced the structured script more, as the duration of filming became an issue in the editing process. Overall though it went very well and we moved onto the editing process.

Due to Thomas' lack of knowledge with editing, the job came to me which i thoroughly enjoyed doing as it allowed me to place the humorous spin on the video that i'd propositioned since the inception of the idea for our Oscars rundown. It took a while to edit but early starts and late nights allowed me to get the video up on the U-Films channel in time in conjunction with the set upload timetable for the individual videos. The video did very well and achieved our job of reaching a wider audience.