island kids

Project Proposal
Title: Island Kids
Production team: Fritz Boonzaier, Liam Stacey, Angel Valverde, Alex Schlenker
August, 2020
Category: Documentary
Themes: climate change, conservation, islands communities

Duration: 70 minutes

Project Outline

The film allows local children to show how communities on each of the islands work together in response to ecological challenges such as invasive species, industrial pollution, and climate change.

Cinematic documentation of effect of invasive species on ecosystems of each island.

Documentation of views from world voyager and sailor Captain Liz Clark on the ways that kids on remote islands react when she works with them cleaning up plastics and other projects.

Documentation of an interview with a consultant for major investment companies on how climate change threatens their current portfolios and the future investment opportunities climate change brings.

Greater clarity of how the Earth’s ecological problems have either local, or global causes, but all point to local community action.

Improved understanding and documentation of the children’s community-minded approach to participating in the restoration projects.

Improved understanding and documentation of how participation in restoration projects influences children’s resolve to help at a community level.

Improved understanding and documentation of how kids on islands share goals and aspirations with kids on other islands.

Targeting an audience of children, young people, and adults.

Synopsis

Island Kids is a 70-minute feature-length documentary film consisting of the following basic elements:

In the course of conversations, we will put a series of questions to each child we film. The children will range in age from 8-16. Questions will deal with the ecosystem projects they work on, the environment they live in, what they like about their islands ecosystems, changes having occurred as a result of 1st world industrial pollution on their islands, and climate change affecting their past, present, and future, in terms of sea-level rise and erosion, and how they imagine that they can improve the ecosystem.

This will also include destruction of habitat and fishery as a result of ocean warming and increased storm strengths leading to greater fatality and destruction of property. Their responses will be filmed, which is what lends the title to the film. We will also film the joys they experience in spite of these challenges, such as soccer games on the beach, conservation work, family time with parents and grandparents. An important aspect of the film is also to chronicle their existence and give voice to islanders so they can be heard by industrialized societies. Where technologically possible we want to project dailies on a building wall at night so the participants in our film and their families can watch the interviews we filmed, before moving on to our next locations. Their reactions to the dailies will also be filmed and edited into the final project. This would be only a small example of how we capture the real gold that truly makes a project like this.

We will film interviews with the scientists on each island where the children live and do conservation work with them. Dr. Stacey has been corresponding with them and they will provide an informed adult and scientific response to the impact the rest of the world’s practices are placing on island dwellers.
An interview with Captain Liz Clark, who has been sailing the world, most often solo for the last nine years; and has worked with many islanders on beach cleanups and other projects. She brings a rare and unequaled perspective to the film, of the impacted lives of islanders.
B Roll footage of approaching Islands from the ocean, plastic drifting in apparently pristine waters, underwater footage of the Jacques Cousteau nature reserve in the Saints Islands near Guadeloupe, marine, and birdlife, and habitat restoration.
Dr. Stacey will converse with the kids to find the answers to the questions, and also discover their restoration projects. We will focus on stories that bring great ideas and hope to people living in rural areas as well as urbanites. We plan to end the film with the message: “These kids are working hard doing what they can. They still have hope. How about you?”

Expected outputs

Output 1:    Completed film as described with Spanish sections voiced over into English
Output 2:    Dubbing complete film voiced into Spanish
Output 3:    Dubbing complete film voiced into French - (as can be understood in the Caribbean)
Output 4:    Free of charge dissemination of film back to island communities through schools and local conservation organizations and libraries.
Output 5:    Free of charge dissemination through National Geographic Society's venues, Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Hulu.

Output 6:    Free of charge dissemination to North American and European public through film festivals.

Budget

Category

Description

Cost (US$)

Logistics

Transportation Costs

All airline costs, ground travel including

taxis, buses, delivery services.

69,000

Equipment

3 cameras, 2 drones, 6 memory cards,

4 waterproof backpacks, 3 small lights,

1 external recorder, (2) 2 terabyte

external hard drives, 1 Macbook Air for

viewing dailies and data transfer from

SD and SSD and micro SD memory

cards, (4) SSD 250 gigabyte cards,

1 24-100 macro lens for filming night

footage as well as above ground

footage except for aerials (main

camera), the other 2 are underwater

cameras), 2 extra batteries for main

camera, 3 lightweight tripods for

camera, lights and reflectors, (6) SD

cards, Panasonic XLR adapter for SDI

sound connection, cages and HDMI

clamps for camera and 5 inch

recorder monitor, (3) multi disc

collapsible reflectors, 2 external 20,000 ma

power bricks, various lens and

cable adapters, other miscellaneous

equipment.

23,000

Accommodations and

meals

Various hotels, boat rental, meals.

Possible doctors visits.

28,000

Rates
Cinematographer rate		26,000

Line Producer, Sound, Assistant Director

24,000

Producer, Creator,

Writer, Talent

116,000

Director, Producer, Creator,

Writer, Editor

116,000

Post and miscellaneous
Post	Edit, color, grade, translation, and subtitles, and dubbing and score.	83,000

Miscellaneous

Executive Producer

58,000

25,000

Total (USD)

568,000