End of week 10 reflection

This week, I finished all my research on the Football Stadiums and I also created a shot list as part of my preproduction for when I go out to film my cutaways.

I did a research blog on the football stadiums in Liverpool which is the Everton ground, Goodison Park and the Liverpool ground, Anfield Stadium. They are two of the most famous football stadiums in the world. I did research on them both so I knew what I needed to go out and take some shots of. I will use these shots in the football part in the documentary over the interview and the voice overs.

I then created a Shot list for filming cutaways so I know what I need to film for when I went out to get my shots around town. I put my shot list together using the research I have gathered.

I also did a blog on the Music venues which was on Mathew Street which is part of the most iconic locations and plays one of the biggest part in Liverpool. I did research on the cavern on the street, The Philharmonic and The Echo Arena – M&S Bank Arena. I did research on these so I knew to go out and get some shots of these locations so I can use them in the music part of the documentary which can be used under the voice over and over the interview.

Shot list for filming cutaways

I have created a shot list for when I start filming my cutaways for my project to put over the voice over and the interviewees. The shot list includes the numbers of shots, the scene number, the location, shot type, length of each shot and the audio of each shot.

This shot list will help me with what I need to get footage of because without it I won’t have much of a clue of what I need to film but with this I know exactly what I need to do. I know what shots I had to put into the shot list because of the research I have done and I need to know what I need to put over the interviewers speaking and the montage at the beginning.

My research has influenced my shot list because I know where I will need to film because I will be using them places on where I need to film in each segment, for example, when I did the research on the football culture, I will need to get footage of both grounds and I will use these shots in that segment. If I didn’t go off my research then there’s a chance won’t have any footage or maybe not enough to fill one whole section of my documentary which will just either be the interviewee speaking or the voiceover with a blank screen or the person being interviewed on it the whole time.

I went out and did some Practise Shots which has influenced me and helped me when it came to writing this shot list because it gave me an idea of what types of shots I will be using for different locations.

I have watched the interviews I have done and also looked at the questions I will be asking or have asked and this as well as my research has helped me write out my shot list because I know what will be spoken about in my documentary.

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Football Stadiums

Goodison Park was the first ever major football stadium built in Walton, Liverpool. The Blues initially spent £3000 on laying out the ground and building stands.

The ground was called Goodison Park and opened on the 24th of August in 1892. Their first game was against Bolton on the 2nd of September, 1892.

Everton was the richest football stadium in the country in 1984 after hosting the its first FA Cup final which was watched by 37000 people. Not long after this, Goodison Park was improved a new Bullens Road stand was built in 1896 which was £3407.

During the Premier League years there have been only superficial changes to the ground. The Club’s focus has been on securing a new permanent home, with plans for a ground on the city’s King’s Dock in the late 1990s eventually falling foul of spiralling development costs.

In 2009, following an extensive review process, the plans were rejected by government.

I am going to go out and get some shots of Goodison Park as it is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Liverpool and plays a huge role in the city. I will use these shots under the voice over and over the interview if I have one.

Evertonfc.com. (2019). History Of Goodison Park | Everton Football Club. [online] Available at: http://www.evertonfc.com/content/history/history-of-goodison-park [Accessed 9 Apr 2019].

Anfield stadium was built in 1884 and got rented by Everton FC and the first game was on the 28th of September in 1884 when Everton won.

In 1891, Liverpool moved in and Everton moved after a dispute over the rent.

Anfield undertook some developments in the late 19th century and the construction in 1895 of a new main stand designed by Archibal Leitch then a decade layer the construction of Spion Kop.

The ground remained basically the same for the next two decades until the Kop got expanded in 1928. It could then hold around 30000 fans.

They then decided to redevelop and expand the stadium rather than moving out of Anfield to a more modern stadium. The first part was the reconstruction of the Main Stand which increased capacity with 8500 seats to a total of 54,047.

I will go to Anfield and get shots of the stadium as it is one of the most famous stadiums in the world. I will use this during the football part of the documentary and I will use it over the interview and the voice over.

Stadiumguide.com. (2019). Anfield – Liverpool – The Stadium Guide. [online] Available at: https://www.stadiumguide.com/anfield/ [Accessed 9 Apr 2019].

Music venues

The Cavern Club had The Beatles’ first performance from the 1960s to the Arctic Monkeys pre breakthrough gig in 2005 and the club remains as one of the most iconic places in Liverpool’s music scene.

The Cavern allows people to enjoy live music listening to local and international solo artists, bands and cover bands until the late evenings.

The Cavern Pub is another venue which also plays live music every night for free and has a display of the history of the cavern and the performers.

There is also a souvenir shop which has merchandise including t-shirtss, CDs, books, badges and postcards.

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Visitliverpool.com. (2019). Cavern Club – Public House/Bar in Liverpool, Liverpool – Visit Liverpool. [online] Available at: https://www.visitliverpool.com/things-to-do/cavern-club-p8968 [Accessed 4 Apr. 2019].

I am going to go to Mathew Street and get some of the iconic scenes and inside and out of each building to put over the person speaking so the person isn’t just on screen and also to give the audience an idea of what they look like.

The Liverpool Philharmonic is an Art Deco style building on Hope Street in Liverpool. The Royal Liverpool Harmonic was found in 1840 by Liverpool music lovers. It is known as one of the world’s oldest concert venues and has groups perform there such as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir, Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company and Children’s choirs.

A wide range of music is played on stage such as classical, contemporary and roots of rock, pop and folk music as well as cinema and and stand up comedy which means it brings all different audiences to this venue of different ages and genders.

Visitliverpool.com. (2019). Liverpool Philharmonic Hall – Theatre / Venue in Liverpool, Liverpool – Visit Liverpool. [online] Available at: https://www.visitliverpool.com/things-to-do/liverpool-philharmonic-hall-p17139 [Accessed 4 Apr. 2019].

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I will only get shots of the outside of the Philharmonic because I would have to get permission to go inside to film which they may not allow, I will still ask for permission to film inside but it is unlikely.

The Echo arena has hosted many events from the world of music, entertainment and sport. In first year, they attracted more than 618000 visitors to 269 different events. since the opening, they have attracted more than7 million visitors and had over 3800 events.

Liverpool, M. (2019). Facts and Figures. [online] M&S Bank Arena Liverpool. Available at: https://www.mandsbankarena.com/about-us/who-we-are/facts-and-figures/ [Accessed 19 Apr. 2019].

I will film around the outside of the arena as you have to have to be attending an event to go inside. I will have lots to film around the arena as well because of the ferris wheel, the homes and the water around there.

End of week 9 reflection

This week, I have created my treatment, wrote a blog on my interview ideas, some information on Nick Broomfield – the film maker, information on Bill Nichols who is a documentary theorist and a blog on how technology has changed.

I did my first blog on my Treatment which is what my whole documentary is about and a cut down of it scene to scene. I have discussed how it will help me with my project as it is part of my preproduction. I talk about what I discuss in it like the target audience, break down of the full project, the problems I may face and timescale.

I then did an Interview ideas blog on what I interviews I will want in my documentaries rather than having one voice right through the film. I had decided I will interview six different people as well as the main interviewee who is the historian and they will all talk about different things in Liverpool.

I then finished my research on existing documentarists and filmmakers; I did a blog on Nick Broomfield – Filmmaker and just gave some information on his life and his work. I spoke about some of his most famous films and how he inspires many documentary filmmakers.

I used Bill Nichols – Theorist who is a famous documentary theorist and used his book for some research on documentaries so I did a blog on him and his work and what he does.

I have done a blog on Equipment and Resources which explains what equipment I will be using throughout this project and why. I said that I would be using a year 2 video camera, a tripod, a clip on microphone and a zoom microphone. I explained why I will use these and that I know what I need from past experience in other projects.

I then made a blog on Technology Changes and why more people watch documentaries nowadays and how they are easier to watch over the years and how technology has changed at home and how they have more chances to watch more things on the internet and on other consoles as well as the television.

Technology Changes

Technology changes shows how people viewed documentaries when they first came out and then shows how they have changed in the present and how they are viewed now and why it is easier and more common for people to watch documentary films.

Thomas Edison’s created a Kinetoscope in which was a peepshow device for individual viewing; the first films were presented to the public through this in 1894. The films that were shown on these were usually one shot ‘actuality’ and ‘interest’ films depicting celebrities, current affairs and more. Most of these films would last around twenty minutes.

In the early 1900s, there were improvements to the technology were made in the recording and editing which would allow the film maker to produce longer and multi shot films. In 1910 and onwards, the audience demanded film makers to create longer films which was when multi reel films and and the first features were born.

Davies, R. (2019). The long history of short films. [online] Telegraph.co.uk. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-life/7593291/The-long-history-of-short-films.html [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019].

There are DVDs for rental and purchase or available to watch on premium satellite and or cable TV channels. They can also be legally downloaded to a computer for rental or purchase.

Atechnologysociety.co.uk. (2019). Technology & Films. [online] Available at: http://www.atechnologysociety.co.uk/technology-films.html [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019].

Television remains the most popular form of entertainment in the home. It has been the most dominant entertainment medium for decades. They offer channels on Freeview or satellite TV. Shows can be recorded onto hard drives to watch later.

At home, computers can also be used to stream live television or watch things on catchup which is allowed from the BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub.

High speed broadband has changed everything because of the fast connections. They have helped video sharing sites like Youtube and music downloads feasible and helped bring them into the mainstream of entertainment.

Television is one of the biggest cultural changes of the 20th century. This is why creating a documentary is effective because they are viewed on televisions and computers which are in most households around the UK and can be recorded for catch up. Making a documentary will increase the chance of being seen on television because most people watch reality on television and computers at home.

Atechnologysociety.co.uk. (2019). Finding Our Entertainment. [online] Available at: http://www.atechnologysociety.co.uk/finding-our-entertainment.html [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019].

I have done some research on the portable camera changes and the development. The changes allowed documentarians to embrace the new observational style and valorised the technology. It allowed filmmakers such as Nick Broomfield – Filmmaker who was one of the first documentarians to create observational documentaries such as Juvenile Liaison.

This screenshot shows the development of portable cameras and synch sound equipment that brought changes to documentary filming. These changes allowed the cameras to be hand held due to the cameras having attached microphones allowed people to create more intimate documentary films without using tripods as they could be hand held and held on the shoulders so they can walk round and be more free to move around. The old way would be a camera on a tripod and then a sound box with someone operating it and the crew and equipment would have to stay in the same position and when they move they have to move all the equipment as well.

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Filmreference.com. (2019). Observational documentary – Documentary – actor, film, voice, show, producer, music, cinema, news, story. [online] Available at: http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Documentary-OBSERVATIONAL-DOCUMENTARY.html [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019].

What I will do/ what I have done

This links in with my work because I have used a small video camera that I spoke about in Equipment and Resources that I will use in my interviews and to film all of my cutaways. This makes it easier to walk around with it to film different things. In the interviews, I will use this camera with a small tripod so it will be in the same place the whole way through them and because it is small, it helps the interviewees feel much more at ease because they aren’t all in their faces and helps them feel less pressurised. The camera also has a microphone port that I can connect a clip on microphone into which means the interviewee can be further away from the camera so there is a better chance of me to get the right framing which fits in with the interview conventions.

Equipment and Resources

The equipment I will be using throughout my production will be a Sony FDR-AX33 video camera, a tripod, a clip on microphone and a zoom microphone.

I will need a second year video camera which is a Sony FDR-AX33 to film my cutaways and my interviews. I know to use this camera because I used it to film my production last year and throughout the second year. I know how to use these cameras which is helpful when I film independently.

I will be using a tripod to hold my camera on for when I will be filming my cutaways and interviews. A tripod will be helpful with getting still shots for my cutaways and it will also be useful when filming my interviews as I can set it to a certain height and keep it at a certain angle. A tripod helps me with moving shots such as panning and tilt shots.

Another piece of equipment I will need is a clip on microphone. I need this for my interviews which plug into my camera that has a microphone port which I will plug the wire into and clip it onto the interviewee. A clip on microphone is best to use for an interview because it doesn’t have to be held and we can hear what they are saying loud and clear.

The last piece of equipment I wont need until the end is a Zoom Microphone for when I am editing my production so I know exactly what I need to say and put into my script when I have got all my shots. I used this last year to record my voice over and the audio was loud and clear so this is why I will be using this microphone.

I will test out this equipment before I use them before using them for the real filming and recording in case they don’t work or the quality isn’t good so I can change the equipment and make sure it is reliable before I film properly.

Bill Nichols – Theorist

I have done some research on Bill Nichols as a whole because I used his work for my research on expository documentaries. I did some research on his theories and techniques in expository that he talks about in his book and how I will apply them to my own work in Expository Documentaries – Bill Nichols.

Bill Nichols is known for his pioneering work as founder of the contemporary study of documentary film. His book, Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary applied to modern film theory to the study of documentary for the first time.

Nichols has lectured in numerous countries countries and served on film juries on different continents and published over 100 articles. He is former president of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, a former American Filmmaker Institute and served as Department Chair in Canada and the United States. The Encyclopedia of Documentary Film describes his place within film studies as the most significant documentary scholar in the world. Nichols has been to offer a conceptual framework for the study and production of documentary film.

Cinema.sfsu.edu. (2019). Bill Nichols | School of Cinema. [online] Available at: https://www.cinema.sfsu.edu/people/emeriti/bill-nichols [Accessed 4 Apr. 2019].

Nick Broomfield – Filmmaker

Nick Broomfield is an English documentary film director. He studied Law at Cardiff and Political Science at Essex University. He went on to then study Film at the National Film School. His work shows the techniques he uses and I will apply the same techniques to my own documentary film.

He discovered his love for photography when he was 15 on a foreign exchange visit in France. He made his first film on Slum Clearance in Liverpool called ‘Who Cares’ whilst at University.

Professor Colin Young at the NFS influenced his work who encouraged participation and observations and introducing him to Joan Churchill. Joan and Nick created several films together; Juvenile Liaison, Tattooed Tears, Soldier Girls, Lily Tomlin and more. They also have a son together.

Nick originally was influenced by the observational style of Fred Wiseman and Robert Leacock before he moved on to the more idiosyncratic style by accident for which he is known for. When filming Driving Me Crazin in 1988, he decided to place himself as the producer of the film in the story, this was a way to make sense of the story.

This experiment led to the sense of freedom, from the confines of observational cinema and led to a more experimental type of filmmaking like; The Leader The Driver, Aileen Wurnos, Kurt and Courtney, Biggie and Tupac.

Nickbroomfield.com. (2019). Bio – Nick Broomfield’s Official Website. [online] Available at: http://www.nickbroomfield.com/Bio [Accessed 3 Apr. 2019].

QUOTES

‘You know so many documentaries now are very carefully scripted before you start, and then people are sort of put in chairs which are beautifully lit, and they tell their stories and you do that with another 10 people and you then construct a story from what they say. You do a sort of paper thing, and then you put some images in-between, and that’s your film. And that’s so not what I think is a good documentary. It can be so much more than that, it should be much more of an adventure and much more uncertain… like real things are.’ – Nick Broomfield.

‘Music documentaries are hard to tell, but I think they’re an amazing vehicle to look at racism, our attitude to sex, the way we judge drugs. There’s the ability to get a big audience because of these incredible, iconic, charismatic people. You can look at a number of issues – the challenge is to make sure you choose something that has all those issues. Popular music is like a mirror of culture, of who we are.’ – Nick Broomfield.

A-Z Quotes. (2019). Nick Broomfield Quote. [online] Available at: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1588440 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2019].

booking equipment 1

I booked a camera out so after Easter I will be able to film after the half term to do some practise shots but then the real shots and the interviews so I am ready to start my editing.

I emailed the technician asking if I could have the camera from the 23rd of April for a week. I asked for a video camera with a microphone port so I can plug the clip on mic in it for the interview I have. I also booked out a tripod to put my camera on for when I film around town and for the interviews.

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