As stated by Actor turned Director Mike Birbiglia
"Directing your first film is like showing up to the field trip in seventh
grade, getting on the bus, and making an announcement, 'So today I'm driving
the bus.' And everybody's like, 'What?' And you're like, 'I'm gonna drive the
bus.' And they're like, 'But you don't know how to drive the bus.'"
The team at Zouzou sympathies with this feeling
and like to feel as prepared as possible for when the time comes to 'drive the
bus'. Even with degrees behind us we still believe that further practice and
experience is the only way you can grow as a creative and that the learning
process never stops. The media industry is forever changing so it is
practically impossible to keep up. Once you feel you have learnt everything you
need to learn about the onset environment something changes. So we asked
ourselves what essential basics do we consistently need to know to execute a
film? We aim to produce the best quality we can so we came up with a strategy
that will work no matter how much technology changes.
The creative process we follow at Zouzou is
detailed yet simple. Our pre-production process begins with creating a
blueprint for a film. We form an idea and write down any themes, genres or
inspiration to help influence the piece. We then create a draft script and edit
it numerous times until we reach satisfaction. The next step is to analyse the
script to determine shots, create a shot list and then storyboard. Finally we
need to consider all props, costumes, go location scouting and cast the roles.
If we plan meticulously enough the filming runs smoothly plus it is what keeps
us focused and prevents us from crashing that bus.
