Assignment #3

Director

Conflicts/What’s at Stake

Who wants what of whom?

The wildlife rehabilitators and environmental researchers want the general public to change common household habits to promote the preservation of the environment and welfare of wildlife.

What principles do the characters stand for?

Amelia Mason and Jennifer Gordon: authorized wildlife rehabilitators of SkyWatch Bird Rescue and Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, who have witnessed and helped aid several injured birds within the local area. They will provide the audience with an insight to the injured waterfowl’s entire recovery process.

Dr. Mallin: professional environmental opinion regarding water quality in which local waterfowl inhabit

Dr. Joni Gnyp: a veterinarian who will show an insight to medical procedures that admitted birds must go through

Charley Winterbauer: the President of the Cape Fear Audobon Society, who will give the audience an inside view of bird enthusiast who work to preserve wild bird habitats.   

Recovering waterfowl: (not yet determined) will provide the audience with a sympathetic character in which they can build an emotional connection with.

Different principles in opposition?

I can not think of an expert that would provide an oppositional view for the film, but if one comes along, I believe it will add an interesting complexity to the film’s narrative.

Potential obstacles and confrontations?

Not finding a suitable waterfowl recovery story and perhaps presenting unpleasant footage of injured birds at the rehabilitation organizations (SkyWatch and Carolina Waterfowl Rescue). There is also the issues of disrupting or stressing the rehabilitating birds while filming them.

What developments do you see emerging from these obstacles?

Although I would like to avoid any disturbance to the recovering birds, I believe the ‘invasive’ footage is essential to the documentary. Without presenting the harsh truth of how simple household habits severely harm wildlife, I do not think the film will have as strong of an impact to promote the audience to change. We will have to work very closely with the wildlife rehabilitators to properly approach this issue.

Resolution

How the film will end and its impact on the audience:

The film will conclude as a call-to-action piece to promote the audience to change their common habits in order to prevent any further and unnecessary harm to local wild birds and their environment. This will be done through the ‘recovery story’ of a waterfowl residing at SkyWatch Bird Rescue or Carolina Waterfowl Rescue. The pathos of this story will create a sympathetic connection to the recovering bird and a negative attitude toward the human habits that lead to the bird’s injury. The film will begin with the bird subject at the early stages of his rehabilitation process and will progressively follow his recovery. These minor glimpses of our recovery bird’s story will interject our other expert interviews, such as Dr. Mallin, Dr. Gynp, and Charley Winterbauer to give an insight for people who are passionate about protecting wildlife and their environment. Amelia Mason, head of SkyWatch Bird Rescue, and Jennifer Gordon, head of Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, will both serve as the prominent experts that will guide the construction of the film. The bird rehabilitation organization that we find our ‘recovery bird’ subject will have a larger focus and role.  

Target Audience

Age: 40-65

Location: Suburban areas located near a freshwater ecosystem

Gender: Male and Female

Income level: Middle class (preferably any household owner)

Education level: At least a high school education level, but more towards college educated

Marital/Familial Status: Married with or without children (a homeowner)

Occupation: Business, marketing, communications

Personality: Open-minded, caring, intelligent, selfless, responsible

Attitudes: Diligent, enthusiastic, passionate

Values: Environmental care and preservation, animal welfare,  

Interests/Hobbies: Fishing, hunting, boating, birdwatching, going to a lake/river

Lifestyles:  Community-oriented, outdoorsy, charitable

Behavior: Adaptable, innovative, moral, proactive

Form and Style

• Crisp, clean look; high definition
• Natural lighting (wildlife rehabilitator interviews, broll)
• Steady, smooth camera handling
• handheld footage may be used from the GoPro
• intercutting of found-footage and photos of rehabilitating birds
• ambient nature sounds (particularly those heard at a pond/lake)
• parallel the story-telling of our ‘recovery bird’ subject with broll

Equipment

Camera/Lighting

• Blackmagic URSA
• Manfrotto Tripod
• Kino Flo Kit, Tungsten
• C-Stands x3
• Sandbags x4
• Stingers x3
• Slate w/pen
• GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition

Audio

• H4n Audio Recorder
• Shotgun Mic
• XLR Cable
• Lavalier Mic
• Headphones
• batteries