Proj 2 proposal guidelines
TIME-BASED COMMUNICATION 2
YSDN 3013 (S) Winter Term I Academic Year 2008/2009
Creative Project Two
Proposal Guidelines
Due dates:
Hard copy due at start of Friday, March 6 class.
Length: 250-750 words.
REQUIRED ELEMENTS
All Project Proposals must include:
1) Cover Sheet, with the following information:
- course code and name
- instructor’s name (Mary Daniel)
- date of proposal submission
- your name
- the title of your proposed project
- the name of your ‘production buddy’.
2) Project Summary
A 1-3 sentence description of the work, including medium, proposed length. Articulate, as succinctly as possible, what kind of video you are proposing, and give an initial idea of what will happen, what it will look like, and/or what it will be about.
3) Synopsis (1-2 paragraphs)
Describe WHAT you envision: what we will see happening, as though we see it happening now.
4) Approach (1-2 paragraphs)
Describe HOW you will go about creating this work: with an emphasis formal strategies and technique. Include notes on the look, sound and style of the project. Mention here any logistical strategies or technical details relevant to your vision, or to your ability to pull off your idea.
5) Rationale (1 sentence – 1 paragraph)
Tell me WHY you want to make this film. For the purpose of this assignment I am most interested in what you hope to learn from making the video. If the work is important to you for other reasons, feel free to outline these here.
6) Statement of Theme (1-2 sentences)
Identify the main idea you will be exploring or trying to communicate through the work.
These together should form a 1-2 page document.
7) A storyboard or thumbnail sketches, as appropriate.
8) Schedule
Outline your time-line for different stages the production, including deadlines for finishing certain aspects of the project.
FDN 133 Video Project Proposal
Guidelines
AIM FOR:
Clarity. Is the document readable, easy to follow, engaging? Can the reader see what you imagine making, understand what you are planning to do?
Completeness. Does it give the reader a sense of the whole project? Are the ideas are well developed, thought through?
Originality. Is your idea interesting? Does it feel like your own idea rather than a copy of something you’ve seen? Have you taken a unique approach instead of falling back on clichés? Are you proposing something not like anything I’ve seen before, or would have thought to make myself?
Viability. Can the piece be made within the available time and technical resources? Are your logistical, shooting and editing needs reasonable? Will it work as a 1-2 minute video?
Learning. Are you likely to learn a lot from making this piece? Are you proposing to try something new to you?
Playfulness/ Experimentation: Are you open to exploring the creative potential of the medium? Is your idea intriguing; does it sound like fun?
Heart/Guts/Soul/Insight Does the proposal feel honest, thoughtful, or heartfelt? Are you proposing to say something that is important for you to say? Are you offering any insights?
FDN 133 Video Project Proposal
Guidelines
MAIN PROPOSAL ELEMENTS:
1) Project Summary
A succinct summary of your proposed project, stating the title, the length, letting the reader know what kind of work you are planning (documentary, fiction, poetic, guerrilla, satirical, installation, double-channel…), and giving an initial idea of what the film will be about, and/or what it will look like.
Metamorphosis is a 2 minute poetic documentary video about personal growth. It follows a caterpillar’s transformation from larva to butterfly, through a delicate dance of time-lapse and macro cinematography.”
If it is a plot-driven piece, summarize the story. If it is a documentary, identify the subject of the documentary. If it is an experimental project, you may want to identify the theme, and summarize your approach. If the style of the work is important, you may want to drop a hint about the style. It is up to you to decide which of the different aspects of the project are the most important, and to communicate those in the summary.
2) The theme
What is your film’s main idea? What do you want to say through it? What is it at its heart about—in terms of ideas rather than action or plot? If you think you are dealing with many themes, try to sort out which one is key.
3) The Rationale
The ‘why’ of your proposal.
Why do you want to make this video? If its making is propelled by political or personal reasons, or if it is important to a particular community or intended audience, you may want support your rationale through an additional background information. For the purpose of this course, I am primarily interested in what you hope to learn from making the video.
4) Synopsis/Story Outline
The ‘what’ of your proposal.
Give an overview of what you envision making. Describe what you see in mind as though the work is already made and we are seeing it now before us. If your video tells a story tell it here, in visual terms, as you imagine it unfolding on screen. “A spider dangles at the end of its thread. A single raindrop splatters across a bright green leaf. A yellow worm inches up along the stem.” If you plan an improvised shoot of a particular place or person, describe that place or person so that we can imagine a video about them (you may however choose to spend more time on the section below than on this one). If an installation project then describe the video in relation to its surroundings. Try to use the present tense for this section: ‘the raindrop splatters’ instead of ‘the raindrop will splatter’.
5) Approach
The ‘how’ of your proposal.
How do you plan to make the work, from a formal, stylistic, and/or logistical perspective. Do you have a particular style or technical strategy in mind? To shoot everything hand-held only, or in a single long take? You need not detail every aesthetic or logistical choice you intend to make, just enough to fill out our sense of the look, sound, or feel of the work, and to inspire confidence in your ability to pull it off.
