Liverpool Residential

The morning of Monday 18^th we traveled up to Liverpool by train for a three day residential to film our ‘Liverpool Stories’ Documentary. Prior to leaving, we had prepared all relevant paperwork we would require during the trip, including actor and location release forms and risk assessments. We had also put together a shot list and storyboards to help structure an idea of what we wanted in the documentary.

After arriving, later in the afternoon we decided it would be a good idea to use the rest of the spare time we had that day to take trip down to Albert Docks where the Duckmarines are based. By doing this it allowed us to get a look at the area we had to work with prior to filming, and decide on other shots we could add, things we couldn’t do, etc.  We also took the opportunity to go into The Yellow Duckmarine office to meet some of the staff. We were aware that the gentleman dealing with our filming access and knowledge was away on a course, but the rest of the staff were very friendly and able to help us organize some interviews and set ups for the following day.

Heading back to the hostel, a Yellow Duckmarine actually passed us on a tour outside where we were staying, allowing us to be able to plan shots along that stretch of road.

 

Later that night, Sophie and I decided to alter our shot list, and produce a new one in more detail. We made a note of all areas/aspects we could film in, then within those areas, exactly what we wanted to capture. For example, in the office, we wanted to film the staff working, close ups of merchandise, newspaper articles and an establishing shot of the office. We also planned things we could be doing throughout the day to make the most of the time available. We also made a new set of questions for our interviews the next day with the crew, thinking of every possible question relating to the tour guides and Duckmarines as possible. I planned all this out in a notepad that I would be able to work from during the full day of filming.

 

On Tuesday, we arrived down at the Docks around an hour and a half before they opened the first tour of the day. By doing this, it allowed us to get the shots inside the office we required before it started to get busy, as we were shooting during Half Term. Dalena also sorted out actor and location release forms with Paul and other memebers of staff we interacted with. Once we had finished, Charlotte and I boarded the 10:45 boat trip, during which Charlotte filmed majority of the tour and I collected some sound. We also made a note of interesting landmarks and areas along the tour that we would later be able to go back and capture again. Unfortunately, the tour proved very awkward to work with. While trying to collect sound, it was very obvious that the loud engine noise of the tour bus would prove to be hard to work around. Charlotte also struggled to get clear, steady shots as the movement from the bus was extrememly bad. However, aside from the difficult circumstances she worked really well to prodcuce some great shots. We also noticed that the built up areas and buildings constantly affected the light and camera.

While we were away, the rest of the group used the time without the camera to walk around Albert Dock collecting voxpops from the public, getting some of their personal opinions of the Duckmarines.

We then started capturing images around Albert Dock, such as an old merry-go-round, boats and scenic shots. We also filmed the Duckmarines in action around the docks as they submerged into the water and drove around. We had arranged an interview with one of the tour guides in front of one of the Duckmarines during the afternoon, however while waiting for him we were lucky enough to capture a voxpop with one of the other drivers who was able to provide us with some in depth details about the history behind the boats. Although he asked not to be filmed, I feel this was something that could of been a positive contribution to our documentary when we begin edting.

Once we were happy that we had captured everything we needed from the docks, we set off back towards the hostel, taking the route that the tour boats used. Along the way, we got shots of some of the landmarks that are visited along the tour including one of the cathedrals and a statue of Queen Victoria. While doing this, we tried to keep track of the last few tours of the day. Luckily during a few stages, the Duckmarines passed us on the streets of Liverpool and we were able to grab some shots of it driving through the streets. We were also able to capture the bus from different angles and levels, shooting from on top of a multi-storey carpark, and one of my favourite shots in front of one of Liverpool's cathedrals, driving into shot, and round the corner.

That evening we looked back at some of the shots to see if we would need to use our final day of filming to capture anything else, or reshoot anything. We were happy with everything and thought that the only thing that might be nice to grab as well would be the sunrise the following morning.
 

On the Wednesday morning we got up and reached the docks at 7am in order to try and catch the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was extremely foggy that early in the morning and we were unable to get any useful footage. However, everything we had got the previous day was fine and we were happy to finish filming and return to Sheffield Wednesday morning. 

Arranging Production

After receiving the email back from Paul Furlong, I rang him earlier today to go through arrangements for filming. I also had to prepay for tickets to take the tour to allow us on as we would be in Liverpool during Half Term, when it would be extremely busy. 
Paul was very happy for us to film for the days we would be in Liverpool, and in return asked for a finished copy of the short documentary for possible use on their website. 

Location Recce

Shot List

Prior to the Liverpool Trip, I have prepared a rough Shot List to aid us.

Name of Production: “The Yellow Duckmarines”

Director: Dani O’Toole

Producer: Dalena Vo

Date of Production: 18^th – 20^th February 2013

Shot	Location	Type	Description
1	Various	Various	Establishing shots of Liverpool
2	Mathew Street	WS, Stationary/ Fast Pan Right	Transition from Mathew Street (Beatles) to Albert Docks
3	Albert Docks	WS, Stationary/ Fast Pan Right	End of transition from Mathew Street to Albert Docks
4	Albert Docks	WS, Stationary	Static shots introducing the boats
5	Albert Docks	Various including MS, CU, MCU at different angles	Static shots of the boats
6	Albert Docks	MCU, Slow Pan Right	Shots of boat driving
7	Albert Docks	MLS/MCU, Stationary	Boat driving into the water
8	Albert Docks	MCU, Stationary, Panning Up	Shot from outside the doors of the boat, pan up from ground looking into the boat
9	On Board	CU, Stationary	Shots of the driver
10	On Board	MLS/CU, Stationary	Shots from on board looking out of windows
11	On Board	MCU, Stationary	Shots of the tour guide
12	Various	WS/MCU, Stationary	Shots of the boats driving around Liverpool from the street
13	Various	WS/MCU, Stationary, Panning Left & Right	Shots of the boats driving around Liverpool from the streets
14	Various	MS/CU, Stationary	Interviews with public about the boat
15	Albert Docks	MLS/ MCU, Stationary	Boat driving back out of water
16	Albert Docks	MCU, Stationary	Interview with crew
17	Albert Docks, Ticket Office	MS, Stationary, Slow Pan	Inside ticket office
18	Albert Docks, Ticket Office	MCU, Stationary	Staff inside working
19	Albert Docks	MLS, Stationary	Public queuing up from boats
20	Albert Docks	WS, Stationary (Possible Time Lapse)	Boat in shot, people around the area
21	Albert Docks	Various	Final shots of boat

Charlotte composed our storyboards from the basics of our shot lists. Dalena our producer has the rest of the production folder including the parts produced by the rest of the group.

Production Confirmation

Out on a Limo

While online I came across this Channel 4 documentary. It follows the largest limo company in Lancashire and shows in depth coverage of the company’s day to day structures during one summer in Blackpool. I felt this would be an interesting piece to watch as it may show styles we could portray and develop further with our own documentary.

Within the first few minutes of the programme, you can see that the director has taken an observational approach to the documentary, following the drivers of the limos using on board cameras to film average days on the job. This is used throughout the documentary, along with individual interviews with the management and the customers who hire the vehicles. There is also use of a narrator at the beginning to introduce the company and explain what the intention of the documentary is.

I liked the style of this documentary, but there are a few things I have taken into consideration after watching it. I noticed that the interviews with the management were taken in the back of the limousines and were effective. However, the lighting was quite poor at times and when filming our documentary we will need to ensure that once we set up, we are in a well-lit area and you can see your interviewees. I also feel from watching it we need to take consideration into the background. Involving relevant things, such as the Duck Marines behind the interviewee would be effectual, however if we try and cram too much into the backdrop, we will risk taking attention away from the interviewee.

I also liked the observational approach, capturing footage of the staff whilst they were doing their daily routines, and I feel it would add more interest to our project if we could get plenty of shots of the crew running the Duck Marines in Liverpool.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/out-on-a-limo/4od 

Yellow Duckmarines, Liverpool

During research, we found The Yellow Duckmarines website with alot of useful information that would be relevant for our documentary.

Liverpool Visit

Over the weekend, I was over in Merseyside and decided to take the opportunity to visit Albert Docks where the Duckmarines are stationed to try and see if I could make any contacts face to face with members of staff to seek filming permission. Previous to my trip, Charlotte had emailed the company to explain our interests in the Duckmarines.

At the booking office, I spoke to one of the senior members of staff and explained our intentions for wanting to film the Duckmarines and possibly interview staff and crew involved. Although they had not received our email, they seemed keen to help and explained the decision would have to go through the manager of the company before we could get the go ahead. If this was accepted we would be allowed to film the boat in action and have interviews with the crew on board. In return they asked for a copy of the final project. I was also told that we would be able to film on board the Duckmarine, however as our trip to Liverpool is during half term, we would have to pay full price to ride the tour, and we were also not allowed any shots of the paying customers on board the boat during the tour. However, I do not feel this is a major issue. I provided contact details and I am now waiting to hopefully hear a response back this week to allow us permission to film.

Documentary Treatment

Yellow Duckmarines

We have been assigned the task to produce a five minute documentary in Liverpool, focusing on an attribute that relates to the city.
Liverpool is well-known for the producing worldwide sensation, The Beatles, who had many hits including “The Yellow Submarine”. But how many people know of Liverpool’s Yellow Duck Marines?
Our documentary will look closer into the unusual tour boat that has given a new outlook to how the city is toured, by water and land.

Our documentary would start with a short twist; introducing Liverpool with known facts, such as it is the capital of culture, and home to The Beatles. Although we will have to look into copyrights, by using the song “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles during the intro, it can allow us to make the jump from the obvious, to the abnormal: introducing the Yellow Duck Marines. The main idea behind the project will be to find out just what the Duck Marines are, how they began, what they do, and what the locals and tourists think of them.
Interviews are essential to produce this piece as it is a strong technique to gather relevant information about the topic. Asking the public a series of questions will give us a wide range of feedback and also produce more facts we may not be aware of. Questions can include:
- Have you been on the Yellow Duck Marines?
- If so, describe in one word your experience?
- What makes them so different?
If possible, interviewing the owners or organisation behind the Yellow Duck Marines would be another strong aspect to form our documentary as they would be able to tell us great depths of detail about the tour service in a more interesting manner.
The documentary approach is informative, exploring the Duck tours in detail and providing various types of information from different sources. The narrative would also be a voiceover throughout.

The documentary can be produced in various ways. Gathering many shots of the tour in action from short distances will enable us to create different sequences to show just what it does. It would also be a good idea to film the tour whilst aboard the Duck to show just where it goes and what you seen. Depending on the length of the tour, we can use a time lapse to speed it up. Also, filming reactions of the public both on and off the Duck can be used effectively within our project.

Our target audience is aimed more towards tourists wishing to visit Liverpool, however the age range can run from 7 to 70, as the tour is a fun experience for all ages.

Liverpool Fashion & Beauty

We have been commissioned to make a 5 minute documentary in Liverpool.

Liverpool has been known of being the capital city for beauty and fashion. We decided to base our project around the crazy fashion lifestyle which is the norm for the people in Liverpool. 

The start of our project will be the recording of the Liverpool streets and town centre; seeing women overly dressed, for example, wild hairstyles and over the top make up.

We will record outside buildings consisting of wig shops, beauty salons, hair dressers and clothes. 

We would also would like to stop the members of the public and ask questions such as:

- What is Liverpool latest trend?

- Is wearing hair rolls in your hair shopping normal in Liverpool?

- What is the “Liverpool look”

We would also like to grab an interview with shop keepers and towards the end of the documentary grab archives collages of the fashion and beauty within Liverpool. 

We will do it in the style of Poetic, collage and informative documentary. We will use voice over’s or text on screen to inform the audience the lives of Liverpool and how their dramatic style influences the life of Liverpool’s fashion and beauty. 

Interviews on streets will include close up of the fashion accessory or make-up on the interviewer. For example, member of the public answering a question and we have a close up of her drawn on eye brows or as known in Liverpool, “scouse brows“. 

When interviewing in the shops, we'd first have a shot of the object the shop sells and then questions with the shop owner. 

We'll then do long takes of people on the Liverpool street and probably fast forward that long take in post production. 

We'd use copyright free music of an upbeat/highlife tempo to contrast with an imagery of the 'hype' of Liverpool’s fashion and beauty. 

Our target audience will be ages of 16 - 25. This is the main era where people care for their beauty and fashion due to the high demands of society and the impression of impressing people.

Documentary Research

What is a Documentary?

To help with planning our documentary, I decided to research in what documentaries are and consist of. After reading an article in "Film Art: An Introduction", I was given a clearer insight to the subject.

Documentaries are distinguished from other types of film in many ways. One of the main being how the documentary is identified; by its title, publicity or subject matter, allowing us to believe the contents is real and actually exists.
Documentaries aim to present factual information, in some cases allowing filmmakers to re-enact scenes or events that could not be captured in order to present the audience with more information.
Although things like this may lead to suspicion that it is therefore unreliable material, some staging is legitimate in order for filmmakers to be as informative as possible.

The article also introduces us to two different documentary forms.

Rhetorical Form - An approach used to present the audience with a persuasive argument to agree with the opinion which has been stated within the film.

Categorical Form - A simplistic approach to film structuring, this allows the filmmakers to break the film down into categories, which can then be introduced and spoken about at different/specific times.

This article and information is useful as it has given me a wider understanding of documentary and how they can be presented.

Types of Documentary

Informative -Based often with multiple contributors giving factual information about a detailed subject

Collage - An approach that combines moving image, archive footage, stills etc. to present a subject differently

Direct Cinema - When the filmmaker involves him/herself within the production, interacting with the subject of the film to reveal more information about the topic

Observational - The camera and filmmaker simply observes a subject, and does not intervene 

Poetic - Often using a universal human theme, Poetic documentary uses music, metaphors and visual lyricism to portray the subject

Pitches

After pitching our ideas during today's seminar, we decided to go with the Duckmarine idea. Although both ideas did receive positive feedback, the Duckmarine seemed to create an interesting story, whereas we were worried that the Beauty and Fashion Documentary might struggle to find a strong story to follow throughout.

This discussion also allowed to have a firmer idea of what roles we would all participate in. For the project, I will be director as our documentary will be developed from one of my initial ideas and will allow me to work along side the producer from the artistic viewpoint e.g. camera shots.

Skateistan

This documentary follows the youngsters of Kabul who have found skateboarding as an enjoyable hobby. It is an observational and poetic documentary told by the young people at the centre of the story.

Watching the documentary was really interesting; it was good to see a different side to Kabul that we are only too familiar with portrayed by the media on a daily basis. It is focused away from the political conflict and focuses on more positive aspects of everyday life to the young locals. However, the documentary touches upon feministic views as young girls who skate are questioned and judged that they enjoy taking part, all because of their gender.

There are three main characters that provide the narration through the use of voice overs  The audio is out of sync to the visuals on screen that helps to add layers of depth.

What I liked most about this documentary was the visual aesthetics that help to apply a different representation to Kabul. It is the first time I have seen the beautiful landscapes that surround the remains of the damaged city, and it helps to paint a very different picture, one that shows that there are still positive aspects of Kabul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGoRXuHiVFo 

The Apology Line

The apology line is a short fictional dramatic service where people ring an ‘apology phone line’ and apologize for something.

It is a poetic and experimental documentary that I found very different to anything I had seen before. Throughout the piece, the voices you can hear do not match any of the visuals on screen, however they seem to relate and fit rather strangely together. Although it was a simple piece, I found it quite challenging as it was difficult at times to understand what was being said, and at the same time I was trying to programme how the visuals worked with the audio. It wasn't a very exciting documentary, but it was interesting to see the way it had been created and how it differed from the usual documentaries you expect to see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5AddytxQqs 

Documentary

For our next assignment, we have been given the task to create a short five minute documentary following the theme 'Liverpool Stories'. I will be working in a group with Sophie, Charlotte, Dalena, Chrissie and James.

During Debbie's seminar on Friday, we were told to prepare two pitches and treatments of our proposed ideas for the following week. We decided as a group it would be important to meet early on in the week to come up with some ideas that would be suitable to put forward to the rest of the group.

On Sunday, Charlotte, Dalena, Sophie and I met to discuss some ideas that we had already thought of and see if we could develop any of them further. After some light research into Liverpool, Charlotte had seen a quote online stating that Liverpool was 'the Capital of Beauty and Fashion' in Britain. Liverpool is known for its fashion trends, and we thought this would be an interesting topic to touch upon. Charlotte also mentioned a guy in Liverpool known as the 'King of Bling' and how he was a sort of celebrity to locals in the city. We thought that getting first hand interviews him and similar people would also be intriguing, so we looked into contacting him, however could only find details of salons he owned in the area for appointment purposes. 
We all agreed this would be a strong idea to go along with for one of our pitches. Charlotte and Dalena volunteered to look further into the topic over the week and prepare a treatment.

I had remembered a few days before about a talk I had back home over Christmas with my Dad about a specialized vehicle based in Liverpool known as a 'Duckmarine'. I had never previously heard of the car/boat and was fascinated at the time that they actually existed and could drive on both land and water. I brought the topic up to the girls and suggested that would be something different to look at that might not be too obvious to a lot of people. We researched more into it online and found an official website for the Duckmarines; revealing that they were a series of them used as tour buses around Liverpool. After some more discussion, we settled on the Duckmarines as our second pitch, and me and Sophie set to continue the research and treatment. As Chrissie and James were unable to make it to meet us, we decided to communicate with everyone via online chats, texts and messaging so we could keep each other informed on updates.