Pitching Of Treatments

Today me and Dan presented our treatments to the class and Esther. We really wanted to pursue the Gran National treatment because we feel this was our strongest idea that would work best. We presented our treatment and Esther agreed that Dan's idea was the strongest. I was happy with this because we had organised his idea much better, had emailed and contacted people and had access to a lot of archive, which made the documentary strong to stand on.

We got good feedback from the ideas and were told to pursue the main idea we wanted which was great! :)
We knew we hadn't really produced the second idea as much because we really wanted to focus on making our main idea the best it could possibly be, and wanted to organise it so we could use our time wisely in Liverpool.

For the session, me and Dan each wrote a treatment and we had no input from the rest of the group whatsoever, and none of them turned up to the pitching session... :(

Treatment 2: Liverpool Waters (My Backup)

Our Idea is to produce a documentary behind the recent proposal of the Liverpool Waters Project, which is due to be approved on Tuesday 6^th March 2012. The project, by Peel Holdings, is to improve the northern docklands of the city, by adding features such as 9000 apartments, hundreds of offices, hotels, bars, a cruise terminal and the 55-storey Shanghai Tower. The council has recommended that the city’s planning committee approve the £5.5 billion project to ensure a great change in the city’s future. Our project will be based around official views, of those involved, as well as the public view on the changes to their city, what they think of the change, the amount of money being spent, and what the change will mean for Liverpool. Even though the project is in favour of approval, there are those who are against the project going underway, such as ‘conservation watchdogs’ English Heritage and Unesco, who believe that the project will have a large impact on the city’s World Heritage Site. So in conclusion, our idea is to investigate the city’s views on the project, as well as official views from both those for and against the project, to allow the audience to decide for themselves whether they think the project will be successful for Liverpool or not.

The piece will be 5 minutes long to fit the brief. The format of the piece is DV-PAL, 25 FPS/QuickTime. The audience for the piece may be the general public of Liverpool, who are still unsure as to the changes in their town, as well as a general audience on a vast scale, to see how the changes in this city may affect their own, or may even affect their country. The piece is to firstly inform the audience of the project, as well as offer arguments for and against the project to allow the audience to come up with their own opinion or conclusion on the project. It will allow each angle of argument to be brought forward and considered. And if the project is approved on the Tuesday, what people’s views are on the approval.

Media coverage has been quite quiet for this project because of its lack of approval. The website offer an animation video for the audience to see what the changes will be like, however there aren’t any views presented or anything related, so our work may have a big impact on making people nationwide aware of the project and the different views regarding it. The approach were taking is both professional and personal. We want the audience to know the facts about the project, however we also want them to engage with the general public’s response to it, so the audience can empathize with the Liverpool population.

Peel Holdings are the group in charge of the Liverpool Waters project. They have done similar projects, such as the Chatham Waters, which proved very successful. The company have been involved in a number of projects similar to the waters one, which means that they are reliable and favored to succeed.   

Treatment 1: The Grand National (Dan)

With a viewing audience of 600 million people worldwide, Liverpool’s biggest single day export is infact… The Grand National, and April 14^th this year will be no different. 40 finely tuned thoroughbreds will take on 4m4f (7250m) and tackle 30 fences as tall as some people in this room, to go down in history and earn the lion’s share of a prize fund just shy of £1million. This documentary will go into the reasons, why this race is so popular, what it offers Liverpool, its heritage and how it defies critic after critic to remain the UK’s most followed single sporting event each and every single year.

Our documentary will delve into the facts that will make this year’s race different to any before, in terms of its rule changes and new sanctions placed since last years running. It will move on to listing the numerous stats that show its popularity is nevertheless growing with each passing year.
We’ll show what gives it its unique appeal, and how its links to and importance to Liverpool, both historically and financially make it relevant today in its 165th renewal.  Lastly we aim to hear from those closest to the event, the groundsmen, jockeys and trainers, on what its magic is, and why it’s never lost its passion despite being hounded with criticism and controversy since the media boom of the 90’s and onwards. The story we want to portray is that of a positive exciting event, appreciated for what it actually is as an achievement and it’s benefits to the society that homes it, rather than the sceptical cliché controversy documentaries, made by people who have no interest or knowledge of the ins and outs of the sport of horse racing.

The mood this documentary will want to achieve is that of the sports history and pride, the memories it gives those who are followers and that annual excitement it gives its punters (most of whom are actually purely only national day followers)  We’ll wish to use colour and movement in the selected  shots, I’m currently enquiring with BBC about the use of some archive action footage from past races to include. The fences, statues and the grandeur of the venue will also be a factor when shooting. We’ll want to achieve a good mix of fact, opinion, statistics, footage and personal interaction within the piece. We’ll speak to the people on the inside, fans, business owners in the local area.

Whilst the specific topics in this documentary are quite niche and suited to horse racing followers, the amount of interest in the Grand National nationwide is actually huge, around 9million people will watch it on TV this year and approx.. 50% of theadult population will place a bet on it, be it with money at a bookies, a game within a work, or just bragging rights with friends. So it’s relevance and potential audience could account for any of those. This documentary would be aimed at 4 tv stations in particularly (BBC1,Channel 4, AtTheRaces, Racing UK) or at to be placed on their websites along with (Racing Post) for around mid-April time or as part of the build-up footage to the event on the day. 

Treatment 1: The Grand National Presentation

Presentation created for the idea of the Grand National

The Archive

You can watch the video on Vimeo here.

The Archive

Length: 7 Minutes
By: Sean Dunne (2008)

This documentary follows Paul Manwhinney, a man born in Pittsburgh. The piece reveals he's amazing (world record) collection of records, and how because of health problems and the struggling music industry, Paul has to unfortunately sell his collection.

I really enjoyed this documentary because they made it appear and sound so professional. The main character/person presented in the piece is shown in the very first shot, even before the titles. He rolls back on his chair and reveals the very first record ever released, and asked 'how could this not be enough a lot?' - which automatically identifies the theme of the documentary, it's about music records, money and this man. But it doesn't give too much away straight away to keep the audience interested.

I think the camera shots have been very clear fully considered in regards of the conventions of a standard documentary. The subject is to the side of the shot, looking to the side of the camera (possibly the interviewer or another member of the crew) and the background has features linked to the documentary's purpose, the record stacks. It's clever to keep the topic involved at all times. The background is kind of unfocused to show the importance of Paul in this particular shot, because he's speaking and the information is an important factor for the viewer to understand. The interview shots are really good, they make them professional and different, for example, his *wife is sat facing the other way, somewhere else in the record shop, keeping the topic in the shop but making the shot different therefore interesting to the audience, as well as presenting her in a different way to ensure the audience listen to what she says clearly.

The sound is used very well in the piece. Music is almost always played throughout the piece, whether it's in the foreground, or the background of the interviews taking place. It's clever because music is the topic of the documentary and is therefore always there for that reason, but it's also professional to always have something else there, make an environment for the audience to be comfortable and therefore make it easier for them to listen and understand the documentary. 

The music also makes the mood change within the documentary. At first it's quite light hearted, as Paul introduces his records, saying it's been his life, his wife told him to set up a shop.. and the mood was genuinely happy. But when Paul becomes distressed about how he cannot sell his collection because no one has been interested, and we learn about Paul's health problems, the music because deeper and therefore makes the audience feel empathy for Paul.

It's a simple and lighthearted documentary that makes you feel sorry for this man because he cannot sell his collection, the images and sound work together to create the empathy as well as inform the audience about Paul and the collection, raising awareness and maybe therefore eventually selling the collection.

One of the last shots I liked was this (below). When all the lights in the shop started turning off and then they showed this 'checkout' desk, which is empty. But it can also connote that the shop is over, someone needs to buy these. This shot is shown to you as a push to go to that checkout and buy the collection... maybe... but either way it's an amazing documentary and I think it worked really well and was really well thought through and creative.

Eric's Secrets

Eric's Secrets

Length: 4 Minutes

By: Lucia Ashmore (2008)

The documentary follows 91-year old Dr. Eric Frankel and reflects his life. He talks about the last 53 years in his house, with his wife and reveals secrets about his marriage and his cooking.

Once again, I think this was a nice little documentary. The topic was quite nice and simple, almost giving it the 'aww' feeling. This old man tells us his cooking secrets and about his marriage, it makes you feel a little happiness inside because of the '*cute' feel to it. It also makes you feel empathy when he talks about how his wife died in his arms - it makes the piece play with your emotions, you feel for this man. 

Most of the piece was made up of stills of archive, or photographs from Eric's past. It gave the piece a really nice emotional feel to allow the audience to connect. However it's quiet repetitive in continuously showing pictures.

The camera angles and shots are once again thought out well. I like this shot (above) because it obviously focuses on Eric, but shows his environment, with his teapot. It shows he's comfortable which allows the audience to be comfortable. The house is old-fashioned, giving you that feeling of empathy, the care you feel for elderly people, wanting to hear their history.

I loved the use of sound in this piece. The dialogue was clear and understandable and the music in the background was soft and noticeable, but it only made the environment and made the piece a whole, it wasn't distracting, it said the mood for the audience to feel for Eric himself.

It's nice and simple and I enjoyed this documentary. Conventional shots and sound use which made the piece enjoyable. :)

King Of Laughter

King Of Laughter

Length: 3 Minutes

By: Nick Hillel (2008)

This documentary follows a man in Walsall and holds the record for the longest continuous laugh (world record). The documentary follows him around making the people of Walsall laugh and hopefully making the town a happier place.

Without looking at the name of the documentary beforehand, this shot was actually quite misleading to me. At first I thought that this meant a few shots showing the sad life of the city, saying it's the most unhappiest place to live in Britain makes you both wonder why and also feel sad for those who live there. Then you are introduced to this man, who doesn't stop laughing! It's a nice surprise actually, because you expect a sad informant documentary, however it's much more light hearted than you'd first think.

I think the producing quality of this piece is a little lower than the others I've seen (in my opinion), I wasn't very fond of the camera use as it followed him around, although I understand why they used that idea, because it shows him all the time, always laughing, however it sometimes made the ever-changing backgrounds distracting and sometimes hard to handle. However as before, it was good in the sense that it made the person the centre of the shot, and therefore show the viewer that they are an important character in the work.

Saying that, I do enjoy some of the other shots, when he's with other people, making them laugh. I think they use space well and present happiness in a nice way. 

Another downside to the documentary, in my opinion was some of the sound. The commentary/voiceover itself was quite quiet but clear, but the sounds underneath (the atmos) and other sounds used underneath were sometimes overpowering to me, therefore I didn't really follow what the man was saying, I mostly heard and saw the people laughing.

So, I did like the documentary in the idea it was light-hearted and the idea was presented clearly, but it would have been nice to have more input from the main guy himself, as well as others.

Skateistan: To Live And Skate In Kabul

Skateistan: To Live And Skate Kabul

Length: 10 Minutes

By: Orlando Von Einsiedek (2010)

This documentary follows two young skateboarders who are both from Afganistan. We are told that the Skateistan project is Afghanistan’s first co-educational skateboarding school.

The school was created because the country is currently in trouble, and has problems everywhere, therefore the skate park is an oasis where the children are able to express their inner ‘child’ and build relationships with others to prove future stability of Afghanistan itself.

When the film starts, the viewer is shown around the city of Kabul, and the initial reaction is sympathy or shock of the conditions these people are living in – rubbish on the streets, kids in rags working around rubble and soldiers with guns on the streets. The documentary sets the scene straight away – a run down town where (in opinion) the people are poor and working hard to survive everyday life. The first shows are cleverly used to interpret the town this way. The lack of colour represents the mood of the town – in a sense that it’s a struggle, compared to what we go through on a daily basis. 

We’re then introduced to the town’s markets, which are in quite poor condition: a man cutting meat on a wooden slate outside with no gloves. It’s using this to introduce the audience to the town’s poverty, or if not, their way of living. All the markets are outside in the rubble of the town.

When Murza (one of the main characters in the documentary) is shown in shot, the use of colour is really noticeable, signifying that these children and what they are doing is bringing light to the city – what they are doing is different, is key to the documentary. The character is introduced and explains his past, and how now he works at the skate park.

One of the main things I noticed was the impact the sound had on me as a viewer. It was dreary and dark whilst the city was being introduced, making you feel quite sympathic and upset about the way the city currently is. However when the children are introduced and shaking the tempo picks up and it makes it more ‘happy’ – which means that the audience want to encourage this because it had a big impact on their emotions, therefore the skating park is good and therefore a highlighting point for the children of Kabul. The use of sound is also clever by having different shots to different sounds, such as overlays or sometimes just sounds that would be in environment, like planes passing by or traffic passing. However they clever ensure that the information the children give have shots to juxtapose them. For example, when Murza says he used to work with cars, it shows him stood infront of a car, and later, someone cleaning a car. The documentary ensures relevance as well as being creative with outside sounds.

  

When the children are skating down the road, almost everyone acknowledges them; you see some shocked and some intrigued. It shows how interesting and rare skateboarding is in this town, and it’s clever because it shows that even the town lacks awareness of the skating the children love, not just the audience.

I really liked this documentary. I feel they used the footage very powerfully to play with my emotions as a viewer, and also inform me of the living conditions in Kabul and how the children there like to communicate. It created empathy and it’s a creative way of explaining and informing a greater audience of what Kabul is like to the children, and what they do in Kabul to make their lives happier.

Documentary Project

Parashoot Forms

Here are our Parashoot forms for our Experimental Shoot :)

Editing Issues

Whilst we were editing the work, we ran into problems with the double (doppleganger) shots. We kept the camera in the same place for the shot, however it seemed to have moved ever so slightly, which caused us to decide to leave the shot out. We also noticed that we made the idea rather complicated. In that the normal one was rolling over in the bed whilst the other was staring at her doing so. We ran into problems with the shots because of the positioning of the props, such as the quilt, because we couldn't blend them to make the shot work as one. So, an improvement to skills would be to practice with the camera and the idea (when we had more time) and try making the shot work the way we want to.

Maya Derren - Meshes Of The Afternoon

Maya Derren's 'Meshes Of The Afternoon'

Length: 13 mins 30 Secs

I decided to research more into this film because it had a lot of similarities to my own idea. I wanted to use the 'doppleganger' effect, whereas in this piece, it shows the actress in different time spaces, overviewing what happened to her previously, watching herself make the same mistakes over again... Mistaking items for each other (the flower and the knife).  

The piece was created by Maya Derren in 1943. The narrative of the piece is circular, it follows a cycle of repetitive psychological images, such as the flower or the key falling, as well as the door unlocking and the knife in the bed. Derren also uses a cloaked figure with a mirror for a face, which immediately suggests the psychological element of the piece - it's reflecting the girl, therefore poses the enigma as to... is it actually another version of the girl that she's following?

The narrative follows a woman, who sees a mysterious figure in the streets as she's making her way home. She leaves the streets, enters her house and sleeps in a chair. As she sleeps, she starts to dream the experience of constantly chases this mirror-faced figure in the street. However she is never able to catch up to it. Each time she fails to catch up, she goes back to her home and sees different household items, such as the key, the knife, the phone and the flower.

Then, the woman follows the figure in her house, and into her bedroom where she witnesses the figure placing a knife under the pillow. Throughout the piece, she sees multiple versions of herself, repeating over and over. There are all pieces of her dream that she's already experienced, but is viewing from a different perspective.

The woman then tries to kill her sleeping self with the knife, however is woken up by a man. As the man leads her into her bedroom, she notices that everything she's been seeing in her dreams where actually real. She looks at man as notices a similar posture between him and the mysterious figure, when she realises, she panics and tries to attack or injure him, but fails. The end of the piece shows this man walking into the house and seeing a broken mirror being dropped on the floor, with the sleeping woman in the chair, who is now dead.

The piece uses creative camera angles and use of slow motion through the editing stage to make the surrealism of the piece stand out - the surreal world is created to make it harder to catch the reality of the piece. For example of camera work, the woman is walking up the stairs and she pushes against one of the walls. As she does, the camera moves in that direction, almost triggered - signifying that th camera is part of the woman herself.

I liked this piece because I wanted a similar idea for our work, as blogged before: having a darker side of a person following this normal version around. It gave me a lot of inspiration towards our idea, however, we did decide to change it slightly to make our work individual and creative. We wanted to 'dogglegang' the two sides of the girl, however we wanted the footage to be more unexplainable. We wanted to base it on a normal day in this girl's life.. she wakes up normally, and all these strange things start to occur. Like an episode, that just seems to never end...

Equipment Lists for Both Shoots

Here's a checklist we created for the shoot as we went along, we wanted to make sure we had access to everything when we needed it, so we wouldn't run into any problems within the project.

Saturday's Schedule :)

Thursday's Schedule

Thursday's Schedule (posted late) :)

I Can't Draw Storyboards & Other Ideas...

Here is a few notes I made on some ideas of structuring the piece...