A film project I'm working on.

Process of Maturity (Characters)
By: Cam King
Running Time: 5-10 Minutes

Project Synopsis: the film titled, "Characters" will focus around a group of friends reflecting back on their past decisions while in school. As they near graduation, the real world is steadily approaching them, which in turn is causing this group of friends to ponder their past choices, and think about future choices as well. I will pick their brains and piece it together to create a provocative film.

Project Summary: What is the proposed subject/content of the film?
The content of the film will focus around a list of questions that I will interview a very tight knit close group of friends. Their actions and stories together throughout the past four years has led to many laughs, some tears, and a lot of stories for when they get older and reminisce. I am planning on capturing these folks on camera as they near graduation in an elegant manner. Their youth will forever be immortalized on camera as they talk about some of these stories, and the good and bad times they've had together. Uncensored, and pieced together as each one of these friends is interviewed, will be entwined into creating a stellar piece to look at a very unique male group of friends.
Who will be investigated or interviewed? There is a select group of friends, about eight who all live together in two separate houses. I wish to gather each one of these roommates on film, as they have all remained good friends for the past four years of college. I plan on shooting each interview in under 15 minutes, as a list of about 7 questions has been made to cater to the interesting lives of these young men.
What other locations of materials will you draw from to create the film?
The group of friends and they're houses are unique locations. They have a bar built into their kitchen, and some very unique set ups within their houses. Also, there is a rather large field across from their house, and I believe having a single chair for the intervewees to sit in, would be rather comical, in such a large field. Other locations such as driving around town in a car, or random short shots outside of the house amidst their daily life would be used for b-roll.
(Examples:Photos,archival film, home movies, drawings, artwork, locations?)
Also for the film, I won't be able to just show each interview in it's entirety. I'm going to need a lot of B-roll, which I will hope to achieve after some of the itnerviews are being done. For instance, if one of my friends happens to tell a funny story about the science center, I'd go shoot some nice B-roll shots for filler amidst the interview. Also having my friends on camera outside of their interview is going to be crucial as well. I'd almost like to hide the camera for an hour in their house to get random shots of them going through their daily life. Odd footage of them dancing, will be laughable and be implemented into the film just about anywhere.
What is the style? The viewpoints and memories will be the main points of the film. Each interviewee will not have privy information to what each person is saying. I plan to cut the film in a manner where similar stories will be shared, and I can get different accounts of the same story. I will have to play off from the first interview to the second and third. The style will be fluid, and linked, going from one funny chapter to the next.
What type of storytelling approach will you take? I don't want to be in the film right now. There may be moments where you will see me, or hear my voice, but this film is planned to be one for my friends. An ode to them, and a nice entertaining piece for them to engage each other in without direct contact with each other. The third party (me) will put together their individual voices and the film will come around full circle in the end.
What is the production style? It's going to be observational and expository. Clearly, stories will be exposed on public record and film, and from the viewer of the film, they are going to observe the person's memories, and perhaps have some shared stories, or even similar stories. Everyone can relate to their youth in some way.
What are your ideas for editing/structure/soundtrack? I am not a fancy editor, and for this, I'm aiming it to have more of an old school look to it. There will be quick cuts, and to break up the monotonous of the film, I'm going to have the interviewer's favorite songs accompany the transitions coupled with B-roll footage.
Describe your approach and try to give some interesting examples of the film? I'm taking a huge risk by allowing a free range of speech to be recorded on camera. I know these guys very well, and the things they say will be uncensored. The film will be provocative, not in a sexual way, but clear attempts of discussing perverse things may come up. I'm shooting for this film, whether it becomes ultra provocative, or more of a look-back on those college years, to be a chance for my friends to look at themselves through the eyes of a camera. The pace of the cuts will advance and become faster through out the film, as well as different music segments transitioning us through each memory, and each new interviewee.
What is the potential audience and plan for distribution? This film would serve much more as a "Look at these typical guys in college" rather than plans for this film to be distributed by a major company. If some of these guys end up becoming famous, or well-known, then perhaps this film could makes it way into major distribution markets. But until then, it's doubtful, and will most likely entertain people on youtube, or collegehumor.com
Personnel: Cam King= Director/Producer/Cinematographer
Interviwers: Tim Gombos, Dillon Pierce, Mike Leavitt, Josh Stone, Jeff Provost, Jeff Juneau, Ryan Colleran, Greg Remmey, Colin Bates, Dave Maloof, Tyler Redes.
Project Timeline:
Pre-Production: Getting interviews lined up for the weekend of March 26th and 27th. Also, finishing up the project proposal with any additional feedback. Also, lining up music for the film, and setting up the list of questions. Figuring out what days would be nice to shoot and interview outside during the week of March 26th would allow for some great shots for additional B-roll.
Actual Production: Shooting will occur on March 26th and last through to April 1st. Getting enough footage will be key, but the most important things are the interviews. The interviews will drive the story and also help figure out what B-roll needs to be taken into account, and edited into the film.
Post Production will last until the film is due on April 8th.