Pre-production: Saved by Drag Review

Saved by Drag is a documentary that follows Delirium is a female drag queen attempting to conquer the British drag scene. It also looks at the other side of drag and talks to Sid who is the alter ego of Delirium, much more shy and reserved.

It's a documentary that's part of the sex map of Britain series on BBC 3 looking at LGBT people.

Link to video

The doc follows Sid in both her normal life and performing, it shows viewers her reasons for doing drag and challenges their misconceptions about people's decisions and drag culture. It introduces them to drag clubs and parts of drag that they might not know about.

This documentary looks at the idea of not being accepted by traditional drag queens, or the LGBTQ+ community. This is similar to our documentary in that we are following a AFAB drag queen too and the idea that she might be shunned by the traditional drag community. other examples of similarities are interviews with people about whether you have to be a man to do drag, this is what our doc explores.

It covers delicate topics like mental health and how drag helps Sid with her anxieties. It also explores the idea that Sid's dad leaving had an impact on her mental health which was one reason for her exploring drag. The end of the doc sees her dad seeing her in drag at a performance and getting his views on it all.

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From this I've learnt are ideas for locations where we could possibly film our documentary. It's reaffirmed the fact that our documentary is relevant as people don't know female drag queens exist. It's helped me understand the level of backstory a contributor needs in order for the audience to connect, it also means it can be used as part of a constructed story.

I'll use this in my pre-production by contacting the locations used in the doc as they might let us film there too, I'll also get in contact with our contributors to learn as much as I can about them that might assist the script writing process.

Pre-production- what is my role?

My role - research into being a producer

"The producer is like the conductor of an orchestra. Maybe he can't play every instrument, but he knows what every instrument should sound like" - (Producing for TV and New Media: A Real-World Approach for Producers)

What is a Producer?

"producing is the least understood job in television. It's also the most demanding and time consuming of media jobs..." - (Producing for TV and New Media: A Real-World Approach for Producers). Producing is a job that follows a production through from pre-production to post, the role requirements depend on the genre of show being made and what kind of producer a person is.

"A documentary producer is the person who makes a documentary film happen. The producer may have to act as a manager, a financier, a visionary and an entrepreneur. Sometimes they're directors, cinematographers and writers. These are the people in charge of all aspects of making a documentary film." -(Documentary Producer, What they do - CFNC.ORG) As my group are making a Documentary about LGBTQ+ it's my responsibility to work closely with Jemma (Director) and Gavin (DOP) to make sure that we are all on the same page in terms of ideas, and ensuring that everything we do stays within budget. Because I am working in a group with a DOP and a Director some of the roles traditionally given to a Documentary producer are someone else's job. However I'll be collaborating with everyone to create a documentary that we are all happy with.

Producers with the production team (e.g. Directors) to ensure that everything runs to plan and smoothly , they are often required to take charge of a situation.
In the case of our project I'll be working with Jemma as Director to make sure that her creative vision works with what I'd like from the film and that I'm able to get her contributors/locations within our budget that would still be effective.
I work with Gavin as DOP talking about cameras and kit that he needs to achieve the images he wants to get within Jemma and I's idea, further ensuring that he keeps the core intention of the doc and stays within budget. 

Main Duties

"Being a producer means you have to do everything if you want to see the project through...most documentaries are done on a shoestring budget, and you wear many hats in the course of the project." - (Documentary Producer-What they do, CFNC.ORG)

In contrast to this I'll be working closely with the production team (Jemma and Gavin) while we go through the project.

My responsibilities will include:

• Develop ideas and concepts
• Co-writing and developing scripts with the director
• Creating a detailed budget plan and schedule for filming
• Finding kit rentals 
• Finding contributors and locations
• Following progress of the project from Pre-production to Post, holding regular production meetings through the process
• Building a network of contacts that we can use
• Finding any potential funding and publicity for the filming
• Making sure everything is being done safely and correctly

Who do they work with?

A Producer is required to have good working relationships with everyone within the production team. However there are certain people more then others that they need to work as a united team, over time when working with various people they'll find crew members that they trust and share creative visions with.

"Over time, you'll build your team of experienced, talented, and collaborative crew members who can be trusted and share your vision. They are, quite simply, your lifeline." -(Producing for TV and New Media: A Real-World Approach for Producers)

The Director and the Producer need to share creative ideas and be on the same page as well as be able to compromise on some things, overall they need to be a cohesive team and communicate with the rest of the crew. 

Pre-production role

Within the pre-production process multiple ideas come together and develop into a final product, the more time and attention that gets put into the pre-production phases (I.E. research of topics) the less expensive the production will be.

Things a Documentary Producer should remember during pre-production:

• There's no substitute for a good story 
• Working with great people is better then working with a lot of money
• How to write
• How to use as much of your production gear as possible (just in case you need to during filming)
• How to budget (and stay within it)
• If you're travelling with equipment show up really early to the airport
• If you're going on location somewhere it's best to have someone local on crew
• It's never going to be the way you expect it to be
• It's ok to ask for advice
• Everything takes longer then you think it will

-(Producing for TV and New Media: A Real-World Approach for Producers)

From this I have learnt that the quicker the story is secure and finalised the more time I have for scripting, budgeting, casting and scheduling. I need be prepared if things go wrong and have back up plans for these issues that are accommodated within both the budget and schedule.

As well as the importance for keeping good working relationships between the crew, that way they'll work well together and produce good work between us all.

"The producer's team succeeds through mutual trust, respect, humour and shared vision." -(Producing for TV and Video: A Real-World Approach) 

Production role

"...the producer takes an active part in the production stage...The producer also keep the action moving along, knows who is doing what job stays on top of what needs to get done..." -(Producing for TV and Video: A Real-World Approach) it isn't always required for the Producer to be present on set while filming, however during our shoots I will be present and able to help out when needed and answer any questions people may have. This way I can see what is being filmed and how it looks, as well as being there if there was any trouble.

During filming my jobs will include:

• Reviewing footage from the day
• Having any creative input 
• Assisting crew if needed 
• Being on hand if any problems arise 
• Make sure filming is staying on schedule and within budget 

Post-production role

Generally speaking the producer will over see the entire project through to post-production. During our post-production phase I will be collaborating with Gavin while he edits as will Jemma, and contributing any ideas I can. As well as this I'll be able to see if all the footage works together and if we need a reshoot at all.

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From this research I learnt;

• What my role is in at each stage of production so that I can confidently assist the rest of the crew with their work.
• Know how my role fits in with roles such as the Director and how we can collaborate.
• I now have an understanding for the importance of being able to multitask.
• Having a full understanding of my role means that I can do it to the best of my ability.

Pre-production- Pitch

Today we pitched our idea 'Re-worked' to the class.

"The verbal pitch can effectively convey your passion, your professional skills, and your ability to handle the project" - (Producing for TV and New Media)

Our idea had changed slightly from our original pitch plan. Our original pitch was going to be a documentary looking at the LGBT society today and focus on the rise/inclusion of straight drag queens. 
We'd have static interviews from people in the LGBT community and ask them about the history of the community and how they've seen it change, they'd be re-visited through out the doc.
We'd then meet the main contributor of the doc (a straight drag queen), and look at everyday life for them. They'd be interviewed about work and life experiences from being a drag queen and how they feel they fit in the LGBT community.
There'd be three 'expert voices', Oliver, a young drag queen, DR Elly Barnes, who started an organisation called 'educate and celebrate' with an aim to educate schools about LGBT issues, and the organiser from a nursery who arranges for a company called 'Drag Queen Story Time' to come and talk to the kids about gender fluidity.

Target Audience: 18- 50. Adult range, preferably male and female demographic.

Target Channel: channel 4. Longer, more serious format. Based on education and celebrating diversity.

Because our doc is aimed at Channel 4 I looked into what they look for when commissioning a doc.

It is given that we always look for warmth and humour in the ideas that we take forward with independent companies, but other things we look for in documentary proposals and discuss at length with independent companies include:

1. Authenticity. Do the ideas reflect the real world in a way that feels genuine and authentic? (Diary of A Junior Doctor, 999 What’s Your Emergency, Benefit Street)
2. Freshness. Is there something in the proposal that is genuinely new, says something about society now and tells a story that has not been told before? (Kids on The Edge, Extremely British Muslims, Secret Life of Prisons, Gun Shop)
3. Innovation. Is there something about the boldness of proposition or the use of technology that is breaking new ground? (The Trial, Hunted, UKIP First 100 Days)
4. Compelling storytelling. Are we likely to be gripped by the narratives that unfold in the programme? (24 Hours in Custody, Murder Detectives, Supervet, A&E)
5. Extraordinary and pleasurable access that feels like a privilege to the Channel 4 viewer (A Very British Hotel, The Mormons, Secret Life of the Zoo)

(Channel 4 Documentaries commissioning website)

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Pros of this idea are

• We'd have a wide range of views and opinions from people of different ages, locations and sexualities
• We'd be exploring an angle that hasn't been looked at really in mainstream media
• It uses the popularity of Drag Queens to gain an audience and appeal to a wide range of people

Cons of this idea are

• The audience isn't able to connect with the 'panel' of people we have put together
• The 'panel' take up a lot of air time that would other wise be going to Zodie
• We had the idea that Zodie would perform at a Drag cabaret at the end of the doc in front of the 'panel', however we don't have the budget for that.

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After a meeting with Helen myself and Jemma made some amendments for the narrative. 

The producer's role is to bring a film idea all the elements it needs to reach an audience. This will include:

• developing the idea with the director

(Creative Documentary: Theory and Practice) 

We decided to focus in on drag queens and therefore decided not to use Dr Elly or the Drag Queen story time organiser as they wouldn't be relevant to the subject. We also choose to have an older drag queen to give an input from someone who has been doing Drag for many years. We'd also have two heterosexual people to have a opinion from their point of view.

Overall we received good feedback from the class, Simon had some pointers for us that included;

• Guardian Docs, for research - Link to Guardian website
• Sheffield Doc Festival, as a potential place to submit our Doc after it's made. We'd have to look into the guidelines for their submissions.
• He also suggested we take a look at our narrative structure- and ensure that we can cope with which ever way the ending goes. 

Overall from this experience I learnt;

• What I needed to include in my part of the pitch and what I will need to go on to include in my pre-production package. 
• I was able to talk to fellow class mates and potentially help them with their locations and vice versa (for example George Lock's group are looking for a theatre like we are and are able to help us, we can help them too with the same situation).
• I collaborated with Jemma to change the initial idea, we then went on to pitch it to Gavin to see if he was ok with what we had changed in it.

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Pros of this idea are

• There is more time dedicated to Zodie and 
• It's not as much of a strain on the budget in terms of looking for drag cabaret shows
• It's a more interesting narrative

Cons of this idea

• Finding a theatre that won't blow the budget will be difficult
• There is a change contributors will drop out if I don't keep in regular contact with them

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Feedback from Simon

"Overall this is a solid idea, with great potential for you to explore your role as a Producer with great depth.

The idea seems clear and a storyline is emerging - however I think it needs work to bring it further into focus. Think about how you construct this story. You are dealing with an unusual story, with unusual characters who are complex and original, so you should consider taking this approach with the form of your documentary too. Think about taking risks in how you put it together and as producer you should to considering all angles.

From the perspective as your role - it needs to be very detailed. You need to consider with huge detail all the elements that will make up your role. A detailed production plan is essential.  Your contributors are perhaps your most important element of this project. Make sure you are keeping them on side etc through the long process ahead.

You are only being assessed on the producing aspect - so you need to really put the detail in.

Research producing and producers. You should research the genre too of short docs. Think about your platform - go into detail on where this film might have an output. 

Producers often fall into the trap of thinking all they have to do is organise, where as you need to be taking a creative view over the whole production. You will need to produce a detailed list of the elements you are including in the pre-production package so we can draw up your learning agreement with your team." 

From the given feedback I can centre my research around things that will benefit my project. I need to start creating a detailed pre-production package that has research behind it to back up what I want to do.

Idea Development

When coming up with an idea it's important not to go with the first thing you think of:

Initial ideas that one has are usually those that anyone would have, so prepare to reject the obvious. This is an important habit if you are to refine subjects so they become compelling. Try asking yourself:

• What is this subject's underlying significance to me?
• What do most people already know, and what don't they know?
• What would I-and most people-really like to discover?
• What is usual and interesting about it?
• Where is its specialness really visible?
• How narrowly (and therefore how deeply) can I focus my film's attention?
• What can I show (as opposed to narrate)?

(Directing the Documentary) 

Over the summer our group (Jemma, Myself and Gavin) developed our starting idea of going to America to meet 'Desmond is Amazing' and do a full doc on kids doing drag. 
Through out this whole process I had consistent communication with Desmond's mother who was very excited about the project. We also had 'Drag Queen Story Time NYC' (an organisation of Drag Queens who go to schools and read stories to kids with the intention of teaching them about gender and LGBT people), as a contributor.
I also had contact with the American and UK embassy help lines to find the best visa for us. I was also in communication with people to help sort out a Carnet for our kit.
Due to funding issues and an inability to get a visa in time though we were unable to go through with this idea fully and had to email all our U.S. contacts that we were unable to come interview them.

We then decided that we could still do a documentary about kids doing drag in the UK. I emailed Jamie Campbell (a teenage boy who had been refused the right to go to prom because he wanted to go in drag)Link to article, Violet Vixen (who appeared on loose women) and Lewis Bailey (who wasn't allowed to enter a school talent show because he wanted to do drag) Link to article.
We weren't able to do this angle as participants weren't reliable in replying and were gaining more attention from mainstream media potentially making the doc angle unoriginal.

Our next angle would look at misrepresentation in media, looking at examples of Bisexual characters in TV dramas, "Things still aren’t perfect. TV still depicts some bisexual women as fast and loose, and they are more likely to end up dead than is statistically reasonable. As for bisexual men ... well, they still barely exist onscreen" - ('How bisexuality on TV evolved from a favourite punchline to a vital storyline' https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/5/16/17339992/bisexual-representation-tv-callie-rosa-darryl)
I contacted a Youtuber named Noah Finnce (Link to Channel)to present the doc that would bring his following to our audience, Noah is a trans man who documents his life online.
I also emailed a lot of Youtubers who had large established followings and were representing themselves, Dodie - Bisexual (Link to Channel) and Rose and Rosie (Link to Channel) were among a few of them.
We also got in contact with the a representative for a Nursery who organises Drag Queens from the company 'Drag Queen Story Time' (Link to website) to come talk to children about gender. 
Who were very interested in taking part in the filming.
The reason we didn't go with this idea is because there wasn't a clear angle to go down for the story and contributors weren't consistent in replying.

The next idea was to look at Drag in education. Jemma found the contact Dr Ellie Barnes and I went on to email her, she is the founder and chief exec of the charity 'Educate and Celebrate'. She was very interested in taking part in filming and was keen to hear what we had to say. We would also use the Drag Queen Story time organiser in an interview.
The reason we didn't do this was due to inability to get access to schools, there was no clear narrative to follow and access to the actual organisation of 'Drag Queen Story Time' wasn't possible.

Master Class with BBC Producer

Producer 

The lecture started telling about her journey through education and how she ended up where she has. She told us about her time at the BBC in the Arts department going from being a researcher for a documentary series 'What do Artists do all day' Link to video to being an executive producer. She showed us work she was involved with such as 'Women who spit' Link to video. The important components to the success of a documentary are; Access, Format and Talent, this is demonstrated in documentary 'Charli XCX - The F Word and me' Link to video where she was able to get access to Glastonbury and Charli XCX as her talent. 

Pre-production package

For our pre-production packages that we will be pitching next week highlighted the importance of having a visual treatment for the 'commissioner'. She also mentioned the need to have a title that was eye catching and memorable- "Tabloid title with Broadsheet content". 

When pitching to a  commissioner you need to be aware of who you are dealing with, getting a sense of what they want as it varies from broadcaster to broadcaster. Commissioners are looking for timeliness, scale and ambition. 

BBC commissioning videos - link

BBC3's aim is to make people laugh and make people think, they are looking for;

• Relevance- to it's target audience e.g. demographics
• Stimulating content that gets spoken about and passed around
• Timely, why now?- talk-ability
• Original, different, ground breaking, is it genre and form breaking

There is a big opportunity for short form content and you're not always confined to a slot duration.

When pitching an idea you need to know, who your idea is for as different commissioners and broadcasters want different things. You should watch a lot of TV so you become aware of the landscape that your work would be in, this makes it less likely to be a copy of someone else's work.

Pitch

A pitch should map out the story that you want to tell, it should be visual as well as informative and include the who, what, when and why of your story.

• Story- the heart of the treatment
• Format
• Contribs/cast
• What is it
• Style + Tone- what will the camera do?
• Example scenes/screen shots
• Who is in the crew
• Budget
• Schedule

We then went on to create the start of a treatment for a Doc that we came up with.

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I found this lecture hugely helpful for my work as a Producer. It has shown me what a professional pitch looks like and what I need to include in my groups pitch next week. 

It's allowed me to have questions answered and given me confidence in our Doc.

Pre-production: Producer questions Rob Fletcher

To help with my Producer research I asked questions to the Producer of "Alfred and Jakobine" Rob Fletcher. "Alfred and Jakobine" is story of Alfred and Jakobine who were crazy for adventure and each other. They married as impetuously as they decided to drive around the world in a beat up London taxicab. Their love, like their trip, was defined by passion, brushes with death and even stardom. Jakobine was certain they’d last forever—but without warning, Alfred left, breaking her heart. Forty years later, their son Niels takes up their story when, at 84, Alfred decides to restore that old wreck of a car and head across America to see Jakobine one more time. A trove of beautiful archival footage and emotional recollections guide Niels’ tender but pressing need to reconcile the man he never really knew and the love his mother never forgot. Thoroughly engaging, Alfred and Jakobine is a beautifully crafted love letter to four decades of heartache, two unforgettable characters and one extraordinary past. - Alfred and Jakobine website

Scheduling

How did you format the schedule to accommodate everyone?

The film is a documentary so it’s the other way round - I needed to find crew that could work with the timings we had locked in and the vagaries that come with the territory

How long was, the pre-production period, shooting period and post?
Pre Prod - not long enough!
Shoot - not long enough from a filming perspective and too long from a budget perspective Post - +/- 16 weeks, probably a bit too long from a budget point of view

How soon after filming did you plan reshoots if needed?
Fairly long, can’t remember the actual time but we had to raise money to get into the Post process before it was clear that we needed to fill in parts of the story

Budgetting

How did you find funding for the filming?
Shoot - personal credit cards / friends & family money
Post - 20% Via an advance from a Distributor & 80% via Film Agency Wales after a successful initial meeting with the Director at Sheffield Doc Fest Meet Market.

How did you stay within budget? - How did you ‘compromise’ if there were things that would go over budget?
Shoot - this was pretty much just an exercise in spending as little money as possible with no upper or lower limits
Post - I’m set the costs and stuck to them, as any Producer should!

Do you have any advice for gaining funding?
It’s a long game - network yourself silly so everyone who’s anyone knows who you are and what you’re doing. Then keep going... It took us over two years to get to the money to finish the film.

Researching

What inspired you to make the doc?
Rollo, the DoP, who I worked with a lot mentioned that Jonathan, the Director had an interesting project that I should look at. It came into my life at the exact point I was looking for a “hobby”... No regrets!

What interaction did you have with the Director?
Watched him sleep talk/walk during the shoot - sharing motel rooms saves money! Tried to be as light touch as possible during the shoot/edit process

What interaction did you have with the Cinematographer?
Ditto.

Scripting

How detailed was your original script? - How detailed was your final script?
Before the shoot I think we built a rough “shot list/script” of how we thought things may pan out on the journey, not very detailed and not really with any intention of sticking to it!

How much did you stick to it?
Probably not at all, as is the nature of things with a Doc.

Contributors

Do you have any advice for building trust with a contributor?
Don’t force it.

How did you gain access (to locations, interviewees)?
As the shoot was basically a road trip we tried to have an “advance party” of a Production Manager a bit up the road from us spotting interesting places that we may or may not hit. Then we just asked and were never declined, as far as I can remember.

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From this I learnt five things:

• That the crew need to work around fixed dates such as locations date contributors are available.
• The importance of having a close working relationship with crew and the need to step back during things such as the edit.
• Plan enough time (which may be more than you think it is) when creating the schedule.
• Although having a script is important it isn't always stuck to depending on where the filming takes itself.
• Not forcing trust with a contributor makes it more natural and more likely to have them trust you.

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I will use this during production when taking consideration into scheduling as our location of a theatre could be time sensitive. I'll write a script alongside Jemma and keep in mind that questions could lead off on tangents and mean the conversation goes in a different direction.

Pre-Production: Raised by Queers review

Raised by Queers is a documentary following/presented by Keiron Richardson 'Hollyoaks' actor and his exploration of being while in a same-sex relationship. Kieron through out the doc is preparing for his twins to be born via a surrogate and meets with other people across the LGBTQ+ community and how they feel towards it. The doc follows Kieron in 'real time' as he receives calls from his surrogate about the twins being born. 

The documentary celebrates fifty years of progress since July 1967, which saw the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales. Kieron is a modern gay man, one who has embraced every legal milestone achieved since then, and has always dreamed of having children of his own. The film sees Kieron and his husband Carl entering fatherhood, and goes behind closed doors as they begin life as a family, with personal footage capturing their beautiful twins’ arrival.- Burning Bright Productions

This doc is very upfront and bold about what it stands for. Even in the title being fast and snappy it is what it says and doesn't try to hide what it's trying to show, 'The phrase is now LGBTQ - so we are reclaiming the word Queer,' Kieron, 31, explained, defending the title of the show- Daily Mail. 
The doc is actuality mixed with camera footage from the crew and camera phone footage when the twins are born. Interviews are conversational and means that more dialogue can progress from structured questions to other conversations. Kieron often talks to the children of the people featured too.

Interviews are set in contributors houses/in one occasion a nursery attached to a contributor house, this allows the viewer to relate to them more and breaks down any barriers/misconceptions about same-sex couples/parents. The access goes further to the hospital after the twins are born and we see them with their parents.

By using a well known recognisable actor from Hollyoaks the documentary gains the following of viewers from that show, this helps the documentary spread the message it's holding further. It also has an array of sexualities within its contributors showing diversity in parenting. The conversational interview style helps to make the documentary less formal and more relatable for the viewer.
The presenter Kieron, is also used in voice allowing information to be quickly conveyed over another scene and/or sequence.

The repetitive phone calls that both the dads receive through out the doc are all from their surrogate, this builds anticipation and allows the audience to go on the journey and be involved with them.

The documentary fits in with Channel 4's remit and aims to educate the general public (includes general facts and knowledge about LGBT people and anecdotal stories), it also promotes diversity. It shows a range of ways that different people with different sexualities can become parents, this level of education and awareness helps to normalise the LGBTQ+ community having children.

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Overall from this documentary I've learnt:

• The importance of having a variety of contributors in a documentary as this provides a wide spectrum of opinion.
• Access to locations is vital and can help with the story telling aspect of interviews, the setting is very important to set up the character.
• Real life events like the surrogate phone calls in this situation allow the documentary to have something to be based around.
• Having a presenter who is personally involved is important as they then aren't detached from the subject.

I will use this in my pre-production to; try to find locations for interviews that are relevant to the interviewees to avoid just putting them any where, finding a 'presenter' or lead contributor who is personally involved in the subject, and finding contributors that demonstrate the wide spectrum that is Drag.