PROJECT

Synopsis

The recently opened games and hobby store “Beyond Odyssey” intends to be the primary spot for table-top and card gaming communities in Perth. This documentary intends to follow the store and the people that work there, exploring their role in bringing together these communities in the past and present, as well as exploring the hobbies themselves. Primarily following Calum Costelloe and his involvement in the Warhammer community in and around Perth as he prepares to participate in a Warhammer 40k tournament.

[Insert Final Film Here]

Director's Statement

The tabletop gaming and card game communities are often represented as sweaty nerds with no social life, I intend to present these people as the deeply passionate fans that they are. Demonstrating to anyone thinking about entering these hobbies that the community are welcoming and engaging. The people running the store have also been involved in organising numerous charity events, so I want to show the positive force that these hobbies can have. For myself, these hobbies have brought me closer to my friends and forged new relationships, I hope to reflect the positive effects these hobby communities have had on my life.

Producer's Statement

We took a chance to showcase this awesome community, and it was well worth it in the end. The director and I collaborated on this idea much earlier on but kept our intentions true till the end. To take the audiences on a journey through the table-top hobbyist's world. It's a fun and exciting experience that anyone wouldn't want to miss. Let's showcase these wonderful communities of people who enjoy and celebrate the things that they love from D&D, Warhammer 40K, Age of Sigmar, and Magic the Gathering.

Process

Film Production

*Coming Soon*

Sound Design

The direction and process for audio across More Than a Hobby was broken down into three main stages location recording, narrated voice over and mix/master. The overall tone and direction was to capture the playful optimism, simplicity and diversity of people in across the documentaries' narration, interviews, music and mixdown.

Location sound primarily being interviews at the Beyond Odyssey store was executed by a boom operator and sound recordist with lapel mics. The location itself outlined some challenges in the way of a more roomy, reflective and general ambience, however the majority of audio on location was recorded with sonic consistency and no faults.

Voice overs were recorded in a small project studio between the director and audio lead. A SM7B microphone was used and longer takes with a closer, softer and emotive character were the focus of performance. Overall this was an expedient process done at two separate stages both before and after the tournament. These takes were timeline edited after their recording by the film team.

Mix and master being the final stage of the audio process was fundamentally creating balance and consistency across various interview types, voice over and music. Due to a high level of communication, preparation and well executed aspects across all of the audio and music stages this process was very much the icing on the cake. Keeping the set tone of the overall narrative here, mostly transparent and light on mixing decisions were made here with minimal processing and a standardised film mastering approach.

Music Production

Composition #1 - Collaborative composition between Benjamin Else and James Martin using a Reference Track (Sunbeam - Purple Planet) provided by the Film Production Team.

Composition #2 - Narrative Composition, composed by Orry Stephens, a variation of this track was used for composition #3 - Montage using the reference track "Today Is A Good Day To Live" provided by the Film Production Team.

Composition #3 - Montage, composed by Orry Stephens, a variation of the above Narrative Composition.

Composition #4 - Epic Track, Composed by Benjamin Else