Thespians the Movie

"Everything has already been done. Every story has been told every scene has been shot. It's our job to do it one better"

famous film director, Stanley Kubrick

 Whether or not you agree with this statement I suppose is subject to personal interpretation. As I've just discovered through research and exploration for my documentary, I personally believe this to be true, because...

... this exists.

Thespians the Movie, a 2011 documentary following four high school troupes' journey to the Florida State Thespian Festival, who would've guessed! While this obviously has the same premise as my excerpt TV documentary will have, they both strive to capture very different aspects of the festival. This film seems to be more focused on the intense and rigorous process of performers around the state preparing and competing at the festival alongside there cast mates, directors, and performance coaches, while mine is more centered on the special experience of one troupe as a whole. 

Despite the differences, I still wanted to watch the documentary to possibly gain inspiration for shots and filming locations since part of the film is shot in downtown Tampa at the actual festival, unfortunately I cannot seem to find it anywhere, not even on iTunes as advertised on their website. I'm going to keep searching, but until then, the trailer alone has already given me some ideas. 

Another aspect from this film I will definitely take into consideration is their promotional poster. Although I'm not quite at the stage to begin working on the poster, I think its important to have ideas so that I know what I want to take pictures of in Tampa that can potentially be part of my poster. This promotional poster is something very similar to what I initially had in mind, performers looking out into a beautiful theater reveling in their craft. This image is just the first thing that comes to mind when I think of theater and the love of performance, so while I may end up doing something similar to this and go this route, it also might be a little cliche and overdone for my liking, so as I go on in the project, perhaps I will go a completely different direction. 

A Glimpse Into the Future

Week two out of six that I have to work on my documentary, which when put in prospective means that by the end of this week, one third of the time I have to finish all components of my project will be over… which is scary, but I remain confident. Next week is States which means next week will be completely dedicated to filming and immersing myself into the production of my documentary. I’ve officially decided the route I will take will be to document my troupes experiences and successes at the State Festival. Toying with some title ideas I’ve come up with Troupe 6510, And We Proudly Represent, or Superior, all which I really like and think are appropriate and accurately represent what I’m trying to portray; I think I’ll decide on a final concrete title once my documentary has been (at least roughly) edited and I see the transformation of the final product.

Speaking of editing: Next week is all about filming, but to keep on task and maximize my time making sure none of it goes to waste, I plan to completely edit, or at the very least have an extremely probable rough draft, by the end of the third week so that I can have my major task completed by the halfway mark of my schedule and then I can begin working on the minor tasks. This is something that seems helpful for my process also because, once I have the final product of my piece, it will be easier for me to decide how I want to market, advertise, and portray my documentary to the public. This will aid me in making the best choices as far as designing my website and promotional poster and deciding what content will be included.

This week, in addition to finalizing my plans for the actually content I want to capture for my documentary, I will be doing research in order to gather more inspiration and get an even better idea and understanding of how I’m going to portray this slice of life. I would also love to say I’m going to begin the rudimentary work on my website, and while this will certainly be my goal, I am in my school's production of Hair the Musical this week so I will be balancing performances, school work, and other daily responsibilities. It’s a busy week for me, but since I will be immersed in theater, the arts, and my cast mates who will also be attending States with me (subsequently being the main subjects of my documentary) I am ready to dig into the meat of my project and hope to only be further excited about my work.

Below is a schedule I have made for myself in terms of deadline goals. Cheers to week two!

March

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15 FILM- trip and opening ceremonies	16 FILM- performances, workshops, free time, etc.	17 FILM- performances, workshops, free time, etc.	18 FILM- performances, free time, closing ceremonies
19 Catch up on any blog postings, edit ones from past week	20 EDIT & plan to film any missing or follow up interviews/ b-line footage	21 EDIT	22 EDIT	23 EDIT	24 EDIT	25 SERIOUSLY IF NOT DONE EDITING BY NOW… WHY?!
26 Poster & Website (figure out exact distribution of time as needed when this time comes)	27 Poster & Website	28 Poster & Website	29 Poster & Website	30 Poster & Website	31 Poster & Website

April

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
						1 Strive to FINISH poster and website by this time; if not, should be relatively finished with only need for minor touch ups.
2 Begin drafting CCR	3 Produce CCR, should not take more than one day to finish	4 Final touches	5 Final Touches	6 Final Touches	7 Final Touches	8 FINAL DUE DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!