Talking Dog
Donation protected
Talking Dog is a beautifully told short film about a socially isolated and Deaf 13 year old, Phoebe who finds a lost dog, Mac. They develop a unique ability to communicate through sheer determination and her computing ability. She samples the voices of well known celebrities to give her a voice and together they become a superhero team.
Big Community Productions https://www.bigcommunityproductions.com/
is an ethical film producer on a mission to surface and celebrate new talent from lower socio-economic areas and give them the stage to shine. We are digital first, combining the best of TV and cinema with YouTube, social media, VR, gaming and NFT distribution.
We have a talented core team:
Raabia Hussain – Director, Two Deaf Travellers,
Director’s statement - video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BrvVvGmCvc
William Horsefield – Cinematographer, Two Deaf Travellers,
Alvaro Marcillo - Key Animator.
Billie Loebner - Co-Producer - Lecturer in 3D Animation and Games at Middlesex University
Chris Munro - Producer – film industry veteran with 2 Oscars, 2 BAFTAs (Co-founder BCP)
Craig Fenton - Producer - Google executive and digital media expert (Co-founder BCP)
Cast and crew will be great creatives from less privileged backgrounds.
On the surface this is a story about a lost dog and his connection to a 13 year old girl (Phoebe) that can neither speak nor hear and yet has developed a unique ability to communicate with her dog through sheer determination and her computing ability.
Big Community Productions https://www.bigcommunityproductions.com/
is an ethical film producer on a mission to surface and celebrate new talent from lower socio-economic areas and give them the stage to shine. We are digital first, combining the best of TV and cinema with YouTube, social media, VR, gaming and NFT distribution.
We have a talented core team:
Raabia Hussain – Director, Two Deaf Travellers,
Director’s statement - video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BrvVvGmCvc
William Horsefield – Cinematographer, Two Deaf Travellers,
Alvaro Marcillo - Key Animator.
Billie Loebner - Co-Producer - Lecturer in 3D Animation and Games at Middlesex University
Chris Munro - Producer – film industry veteran with 2 Oscars, 2 BAFTAs (Co-founder BCP)
Craig Fenton - Producer - Google executive and digital media expert (Co-founder BCP)
Cast and crew will be great creatives from less privileged backgrounds.
On the surface this is a story about a lost dog and his connection to a 13 year old girl (Phoebe) that can neither speak nor hear and yet has developed a unique ability to communicate with her dog through sheer determination and her computing ability.
The film will be groundbreaking technically but more importantly will be the first film to cast a 13 year old female protagonist from the Deaf community as a superhero. Director Raabia Hussain and DP William Horsefield are also from the Deaf community.
Though the film could appeal to anyone with a hearing impairment it is not specifically aimed at a hearing impaired audience. The intention is to raise awareness in a young audience that those with a disability are not necessarily different to them. They often share the same feelings even though they may have to discover other ways to express them.
We hope to persuade the audience to invest not only in trying to understand how it may feel to have hearing loss but also to recognise that because someone may have difficulty with one thing it does not mean that they are not able or even exceptional in other ways. Phoebe’s superpowers are not only her ability to “Talk Dog” and being able to communicate with Mac but also her genius with a computer using technology to give her a voice.
The film will be animated but will have a specific look using software give an animated effect to live action https://www.youtube.com/embed/eghGQtQhY38?autoplay=1 The intention is to shoot sequences conventionally as live action and animate them using augmented reality in virtual locations. The visuals seen on Phoebe’s computer will be unprocessed and will be live action, symbolising that online she is equal in every sense.
We will involve young filmmakers in capturing the source material and animators that are currently using AI animation technology to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6bH_Din2dY to make their projects rather than using conventional Visual Effects companies. Cast and crew will be young creatives from less privileged backgrounds many with disabilities. All have a huge amount of talent.
Sound will be important. Chris Munro, co-founder of BCP, has won two Oscars, two BAFTA awards and multiple nominations. The score will be by a composer in the Deaf community and the soundtrack will be mixed using techniques that include ASMR for audiences whether hearing or non-hearing to really feel the soundtrack.
Clare Balding has agreed to play a role describing how dogs communicate using body language. This section will also feature a sign language (BSL) interpreter as part of the action and not as an additional feature.
Team
In subsequent episodes we will see Phoebe and Mac solving mysteries and crimes, for example finding a group of cyber bullies and turning the tables on them, using her ability to Talk Dog to help solve cases. A series of games and books in both electronic and traditional formats is also planned.
The core asset will be a festival eligible short film, which can be built out into a series, and will include a number of additional cutting edge elements that will move film making and distribution to a new level.
We will partner with Minimum, a Carbon Offsetting platform to produce a carbon neutral end product.
BCP will follow a “horizontal distribution strategy” combining the best of traditional cinema, with digital VOD releases of teasers, behind the scenes and eventually the full film over YouTube (2 billion monthly active users), gaming environment collaborations (characters and whole world), and possibly a limited collectors’ edition run of the movie (digital and physical numbered artwork) released via Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
The product is designed as a vehicle to give new entrants their start in film. All of this new talent will be encircled with veterans from the industry combining the new with the experienced in a collision of worlds - both in terms of production but also in distribution and marketing strategy.
We will document the journey in a behind the scenes series to be Vlogged by experienced YouTubers and released on YouTube, building the audience and followership throughout the process.
Team
In subsequent episodes we will see Phoebe and Mac solving mysteries and crimes, for example finding a group of cyber bullies and turning the tables on them, using her ability to Talk Dog to help solve cases. A series of games and books in both electronic and traditional formats is also planned.
The core asset will be a festival eligible short film, which can be built out into a series, and will include a number of additional cutting edge elements that will move film making and distribution to a new level.
We will partner with Minimum, a Carbon Offsetting platform to produce a carbon neutral end product.
BCP will follow a “horizontal distribution strategy” combining the best of traditional cinema, with digital VOD releases of teasers, behind the scenes and eventually the full film over YouTube (2 billion monthly active users), gaming environment collaborations (characters and whole world), and possibly a limited collectors’ edition run of the movie (digital and physical numbered artwork) released via Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
The product is designed as a vehicle to give new entrants their start in film. All of this new talent will be encircled with veterans from the industry combining the new with the experienced in a collision of worlds - both in terms of production but also in distribution and marketing strategy.
We will document the journey in a behind the scenes series to be Vlogged by experienced YouTubers and released on YouTube, building the audience and followership throughout the process.
Organiser
Chris Munro
Organiser
