Research Dossier

Secondary Research:

For the secondary research, we looked around online on websites such as ScreenCrush as it shows the best superhero movies as well as details of them such as the amount it cost to make and how much it made at the box office as well as who acted in it. This was helpful as it allowed us to take notes on the most popular films that may interest the audience if mentioned within the 3 minute wonder.
When searching, Google also gave a list of the highest grossing comic movies. This helped in the same way as ScreenCrush as it gave us a popular movie to discuss and ask questions about within out interviews.

We also watched a documentary on the hidden history of comics called 'Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked'. This documentary went in depth into the ethical and legal side of the industry, showing the problems they've overcome such as racism and copyright issues. This helped as it gave us a set of questions to ask the older generations that read comics in the early days when these issues were most prominent.



Primary Research:

For our primary research we used SurveyMonkey to conduct a survey that was going to be sent out to a group of people that would hopefully give good feedback that would help us mold the documentary to fit the audience's needs. This survey gave us specific information for what our audience wanted. As well as this, it gave us a definitive answers and details to what our target audience was, such as age and gender.

We asked what kind of comics people are interested in so that we could include some references to them in the documentary. This is a good thing as it will intrigue the audience more when they see or hear something about the things they are interested in.

We also got interviews with someone that has one of the largest comic book collections in Norfolk. This is great as he gave us insight into the history as well as his opinions on the topic of adaptations.

Production Research

In the research for the production of our 3 minute wonder, we made a budgeting sheet that showed all the expenses we would have to pay our for such things as travel of props if needed. We made the decision that we would use our own props from home, such as comics and statues, for cutaway shots. The final cost was about £3 for the travel to the locations on the bus.

When scouting the locations, I went to 'Outer Limits' and Macaulay went to 'Hollywood Cinema'. The other 2 locations weren't accessible for scouting, so we had to wait till the day to figure out the best places to film when there. We got permission for all the places we wanted to film, but we chose not to film at the Cinema at the last minute as there were no related films out at the time.

When it came to talent release forms, we left them till last just in case a interviewee couldn't make the day or cancelled completely. We did get all the interviewees to sign one of the forms and they all said that the process was easy for them.  

Our production schedule went all according to plan apart from one thing which was that there were no 50mm lenses available when we wanted to film which was a shame as it would have garnered some nice shots. Other than this, all the equipment and locations were suited to the plans we had made previously.

The current laws on filming in public state that we need to get permission for the council or any other person that may need to give consent such as local authorities if you plan to use weapons or replicas of said weapons. As well as this, if we get an individual or two in shot, then we have to ask for permission to use the footage or to show their faces, but if there is a large crowd or busy streets in shot then its fair use for us to use the footage accordingly. We did not risk any infringements upon those laws as the only public place we filmed was in Outer Limits, and we made sure the shop was clear of customers before shooting and the police have no right to stop filming.

I find the Ofcom broadcasting code interesting as it makes sure all broadcasts are safe for viewing from all ages, as well as making sure its not false information and that the shows or films are up to standard for the public eye. There is no clear breach of any of the guidelines that Channel 4 gives creators, in our 3MW and this has made me and my partner happy as we feel we have done well to not make a short film that is bale to be shown, without drawbacks, on TV.