Planning - Sound management at comic con

When filming at the NEC and interviews of cosplayers, one thing to bare in mind is the diegetic sound. Being in a busy location, this may affect the sound quality which means that the cosplayers in the interview may be hard to hear and the footage will be wasted in which this is a big risk as this cannot be refilmed. 

I intend to resolve this issue by filming the cosplayers in a quieter, less noisier location and I will also try to film some of the local Cosplayers at the train station which won't be as loud or busy as it is in an open space, even though there is the risk of trains passing by disrupting interview footage. 

Planning - Interviewing at comic con

As a part of my filming on the 21st November, I will be interviewing people in their cosplays at comic con. Interviewing at a busy location with limited battery supply can be very time consuming, and so I will reduce the amount of questions I will ask on location to around 2-3. As shown from the questionnaire in previous blog post, the most popular responses were;

Why do you cosplay?
What do you get out of cosplaying?

As a result of this, these will be the questions I will ask the cosplayers at comic con. In addition to this, I will also ask the cosplayers who are they cosplaying as to give the audience an idea on the vast range of different cosplay styles.
 

Planning - Call sheet #1

These are scanned copies of my first call sheet. The areas where I have written "refer to blog" I have written a blog post as there wasn't enough space in the boxes provided;

Planning - Props

These are the props I will be using in the interviews in the talking space in my documentary. These images have been sent to me by one of the cosplayers I am interviewing (Jess Sharman) in which these possessions have a significant importance to her and inspired her to do cosplay;

 

This image shows a popular manga called "Deathnote" and a small anime action figurine next to the book. By putting the figurine by the book tells the audience that it relates to the manga comic on the shelf, in which these props are important for the interview as they are what the person being interviewed (Jess Sharman) has taken her cosplay inspiration from.

This prop is of a poster from Alice in wonderland, in which is a book that has been adapted by Disney and become a popular icon. Alice in wonderland is another cosplay inspiration for Jess, in which by using props and merch in the background shows that they are of significant importance.

This shot shows a collection of figures and plush's from various franchises from the conglomerate Walt Disney. Disney characters (especially princesses) are a popular choice in terms of dressing up and cosplay, in which these props are a good choice in terms of representing Disney and cosplay.

These props relate to the choice made by the cosplayer in terms of representing her interests. It further shows the viewer her interest for Alice in wonderland, in which tells them the significant impact it has in terms of inspiration.

This prop is an icon of the animation producers Studio Ghibli. It is from the anime My Neighbour Totoro, in which also happens to be the ident of the Japanese animation studio. Studio Ghibli are heavily associated in the world of anime, in which anime is also linked into cosplay, and so by using this prop it further links together the significant impact of anime with cosplayers.

Planning - cast for filming location

I am going to be filming at Birmingham comic con at the NEC on the 21st November. As well as using the cast from the interviews, I will be filming and interviewing various other Cosplays from the local community who are also attending the convention. The people I will be filming are;

Coren Farley
Jessica Sharman
Jess Fisher
Harrison Majithia
Conner Bass-Twitchell
Danny Mead
James Chaplin 
Max Holmes
India Lay
Beth Taylor 
James Rose
Lily Darvey
Hanna Lingard

The people I am interviewing have all agreed to be filmed for my documentary. They are travelling to the location by train, in which will be departing at 9:55 from Banbury station.

Planning - Equipment for comic con

As I am filming in a busy and crowded location that involves a lot of walking around, I will not be requiring excess equipment that would take a long time to set up including lighting rigs and tripods. The camera I will be using will be hand held and I am using a Panasonic HDC-TM700;

This is a hand held device which films in a HD quality. The camera can automatically adjust to the lighting by pressing the iA/Manual button switches the camera from Intelligent Auto to manual mode. This means I don't need to spend too much time adjusting lighting and focus.

Planning - Location

I am filming my documentary in two locations. One of my locations will be in the interviewees house, in which is located in the local area. The means in terms of transport, it is an accessible location and won't cost much to get there. Because this location is local, it also means that is less of a hassle to transport equipment needed for the interview such as lighting, cameras and tripods. I have also got permission from the interviewee to film in her house as well as film personal belongings in use in the mes en scene. By filming in the house of a cosplayer, it gives the audience a better insight into their interests through mis en scene such as posters and props. 

The other location I will be filming in is the comic con expo in the NEC at Birmingham.
Inside the NEC, there are over 182,000 square metres of indoor space, 20 interconnecting halls, 34 specialist conference and meetings suites in which the NEC host over 500 events every year, including MCM comic con;

Initially, I planned to film at London Comic Con on October 23rd 2015. However, these plans were cancelled due to lack of organisation and income. The benefits of filming in Birmingham comic con is that its closer locally than London, and is much cheaper to travel to. Also, in terms of travel it is easier as there is a train station next to the event, in contrast to London where you have to travel on the tube from one side of London to another. Therefore, transporting luggage and equipment will be easier for Birmingham comic con than it would've for London.

This location itself (NEC) doesn't really represent the icon of cosplay, but the content of the convention in the surroundings represents the topic of cosplay's through mis en scene, costumes and props within the comic con environment. It is an event where cosplayers from across the UK gather, in which there are a range of stalls available selling merch from a range of tv shows, comics and animes in which are considered to be an icon of a "geek" e.g. Batman, Pokemon, etc. This icon of the geek is also associated with the topic of Cosplay, in which the props and merch used in the mis en scene relate to the topic under discussion.

The same goes with costuming. The people dressed up will be representing their favourite character from comic books or anime through the use of costume, in which the whole idea of Cosplay is dressing up. By using this location, I can show the audience how successful cosplay is and the vast amounts of people who enjoy cosplaying and the different varieties of Cosplay's available.