TRANSITION: Final Idea & Research

I did some research in preparation for a group tutorial with Simon. We originally wanted to do our own version of a new mockumentary called Cunk On Britain but while thinking about the idea we came across a few issues:

- Thinking of a new subject matter that Cunk On haven't done, and something worthy to make a short film on
- A subject matter that we can create a comedy out of

We all definitely want to do the mockumentary idea so Alex came up with another plan - a mockmentary of The Supervet. 

The Supervet is a documentary showcasing Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick (the Bionic Vet), one of England’s top veterinarians, as him and his staff treat hard-to-cure ailments with innovative care and surgical techniques. The programme gives the emotional stories of pets, owners and the passionate team that pushes boundaries of medicine to save animals from life-threatening conditions.

The Supervet - Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick

As The Supervet is a documentary, it's shot exactly like one with establishing shots, fly-on-the-wall cameras and interviews with the people we focus on in the programme. We want to incorporate all of this in our mockumentary - the comedy will come from the comments that the vet makes. 

We want the vet to be really naive by showing a lack of experience and knowledge towards animals, e.g. a cat would come in with a simple cut from fighting with another cat and the vet could think it's dying.

An example that comes to my mind is the Specsavers advert:



In the advert the man needs glasses so can't see that the 'cat' is actually a fluffy hat. He proceeds to work on the 'cat' by checking his stethoscope on himself to check it's actually working, before placing it back on the 'cat'. Then his co worker enters the room in a rush, thinking there actually is a cat unable to breathe, but then realises it's her hat and takes it and puts it on her head - the vet then looks very bemused and rethinks about what's just happened.

These simple mistakes from the vet is the sort of thing we want to include in our mocumentary to create the comedy, and then possibly real people with real reactions being the owners of the animals. Similarly to Cunk On Britain, Philomena Cunk talks to professionals and asks them stupid questions and it's their reactions as well as her questions which bring the comedy.


Editing technique of The Supervet:
- Clinical look during surgery, this is achieved during colour correction. I will aim to replicate the look of The Supervet alongside Katie (as director of photography). 

- While we are listening to the vet, we are watching the reactions from the owners, this will be the method I choose to use, but the reaction shots will be for comedy purposes. 

- The Supervet has a structure to it, opening sequence, establishing shots, interviews, back stories and then into the consultation. This is the structure we want for our mockumentary. While it's Katie's job to film these specific shots, it'll be my job to put them in the same order, replicating The Supervet.

Image:

- http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-supervet/on-demand/65174-006

Video:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3MUX3V0aUE